Diffuse Mesothelioma Payment Scheme tariff 2026: payments by age and calculator
Last updated · By Mustafa Bilgic · Amounts from Schedule 4 to the Diffuse Mesothelioma Payment Scheme Regulations 2014, as amended by S.I. 2025/1069
This page sets out the full DMPS tariff for both tables, the rules on who can apply and what is deducted, and the government's other mesothelioma payments. The calculator picks the right table from the date of diagnosis, splits a dependants' payment and shows the effect of deductions you already know about.
DMPS tariff: payment by age at first diagnosis
The payment depends on the age of the person with diffuse mesothelioma at the date of first diagnosis. If the diagnosis was only made after the person died and a dependant applies, the age at death is used instead. The amount falls by about £5,500 for each year of age in the current table.
| Age | First diagnosed on or after 4 Nov 2025 | First diagnosed 10 Feb 2015 to 3 Nov 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| 40 and under | £403,969 | £271,120 |
| 41 | £398,484 | £267,439 |
| 42 | £393,000 | £263,758 |
| 43 | £387,516 | £260,078 |
| 44 | £382,030 | £256,396 |
| 45 | £376,545 | £252,715 |
| 46 | £371,061 | £249,034 |
| 47 | £365,576 | £245,353 |
| 48 | £360,090 | £241,671 |
| 49 | £354,605 | £237,990 |
| 50 | £349,120 | £234,309 |
| 51 | £343,636 | £230,628 |
| 52 | £338,150 | £226,946 |
| 53 | £332,665 | £223,265 |
| 54 | £327,180 | £219,584 |
| 55 | £321,695 | £215,903 |
| 56 | £316,209 | £212,221 |
| 57 | £310,725 | £208,540 |
| 58 | £305,240 | £204,859 |
| 59 | £299,757 | £201,179 |
| 60 | £294,272 | £197,498 |
| 61 | £288,786 | £193,816 |
| 62 | £283,301 | £190,135 |
| 63 | £277,816 | £186,454 |
| 64 | £272,332 | £182,773 |
| 65 | £266,846 | £179,091 |
| 66 | £261,361 | £175,410 |
| 67 | £255,876 | £171,729 |
| 68 | £250,392 | £168,048 |
| 69 | £244,905 | £164,366 |
| 70 | £239,421 | £160,685 |
| 71 | £233,936 | £157,004 |
| 72 | £228,451 | £153,323 |
| 73 | £222,965 | £149,641 |
| 74 | £217,480 | £145,960 |
| 75 | £211,996 | £142,279 |
| 76 | £206,513 | £138,599 |
| 77 | £201,028 | £134,918 |
| 78 | £195,542 | £131,236 |
| 79 | £190,057 | £127,555 |
| 80 | £184,572 | £123,874 |
| 81 | £179,088 | £120,193 |
| 82 | £173,601 | £116,511 |
| 83 | £168,117 | £112,830 |
| 84 | £162,632 | £109,149 |
| 85 | £157,147 | £105,468 |
| 86 | £151,661 | £101,786 |
| 87 | £146,176 | £98,105 |
| 88 | £140,692 | £94,424 |
| 89 | £135,207 | £90,743 |
| 90 and over | £129,721 | £87,061 |
DMPS payment calculator
Tariff by age and date of diagnosis
Who can apply to the DMPS
According to GOV.UK, you may be able to claim if all of the following apply:
- you were diagnosed with diffuse mesothelioma on or after 25 July 2012
- your mesothelioma was caused by exposure to asbestos when working in the UK
- you cannot trace the employer that exposed you to asbestos, or their insurers
- you have not made a civil claim against any employer or insurer
- you have not received damages or a specified payment for mesothelioma and you are not eligible for a specified payment
Specified payments include awards under the War Pension Scheme and the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme, compensation from any government department, and payments from the UK Asbestos Trust, the EL Scheme Trust and the Financial Services Compensation Scheme. A dependant can apply if the person with mesothelioma has died without applying. If there are two or more eligible dependants, the tariff amount for one dependant is divided equally between them.
An application must be received within 3 years of the date of first diagnosis. The scheme administrator can extend that time if there was a good reason for applying late. The payment is made as one lump sum, and if an applicant dies before it is paid, it goes to their personal representatives.
What is deducted, and the legal fees contribution
The payment is reduced by any relevant deduction: recoverable benefits and lump sum payments recovered under the Social Security (Recovery of Benefits) Act 1997. GOV.UK says that if you have already had a payment from the 2008 scheme or under the Pneumoconiosis Act, it will be deducted from your DMPS payment. You can apply to the DMPS even if you have already claimed from those schemes.
The scheme administrator says the tariff amounts include fixed fees towards legal costs: £13,700 for a diagnosis on or after 4 November 2025 and £7,000 for an earlier diagnosis. These are deducted to pay your solicitor's fees. If your legal costs are lower you keep the difference, and if they are higher you pay the difference. You do not need a solicitor to apply.
If a liable employer or insurer is found after a DMPS payment and a claim against them succeeds, the compensator must deduct the DMPS payment from the compensation and repay it to the scheme.
The 2008 scheme: when the DMPS does not apply
The government's 2008 scheme is a one-off payment for people who were exposed to asbestos in the UK, are not entitled to a payment under the 1979 Pneumoconiosis Act, have not been paid for the disease by an employer, a civil claim or elsewhere, and are not entitled to compensation from a Ministry of Defence scheme. GOV.UK's examples include contact with asbestos from a relative, for instance by washing their clothes, exposure in the environment and exposure while self-employed. You may still be able to claim from the 2008 scheme if a DMPS claim is unsuccessful.
A 2008 scheme claim must be made within 12 months of diagnosis, or within 12 months of the death for a dependant. The amounts below apply to a first diagnosis on or after 1 April 2026, and the dependant amounts to a death on or after that date.
| Age | Person with mesothelioma | Dependant |
|---|---|---|
| 37 or under | £120,566 | £62,743 |
| 38 | £118,221 | £61,396 |
| 39 | £115,882 | £60,049 |
| 40 | £113,543 | £58,703 |
| 41 | £111,199 | £57,358 |
| 42 | £108,858 | £56,013 |
| 43 | £107,691 | £54,723 |
| 44 | £106,513 | £53,424 |
| 45 | £105,347 | £52,145 |
| 46 | £104,176 | £50,858 |
| 47 | £103,005 | £49,573 |
| 48 | £99,733 | £47,994 |
| 49 | £96,457 | £46,409 |
| 50 | £93,173 | £44,831 |
| 51 | £89,901 | £43,257 |
| 52 | £86,614 | £41,676 |
| 53 | £84,275 | £40,381 |
| 54 | £81,939 | £39,099 |
| 55 | £79,602 | £37,811 |
| 56 | £77,249 | £36,515 |
| 57 | £74,908 | £35,231 |
| 58 | £68,825 | £31,668 |
| 59 | £62,735 | £28,091 |
| 60 | £56,656 | £24,526 |
| 61 | £50,567 | £20,954 |
| 62 | £44,481 | £17,379 |
| 63 | £40,735 | £16,359 |
| 64 | £36,985 | £15,347 |
| 65 | £33,245 | £14,308 |
| 66 | £29,498 | £13,286 |
| 67 | £25,753 | £10,387 |
| 68 | £24,989 | £10,387 (67 or over) |
| 69 | £24,224 | £10,387 (67 or over) |
| 70 | £23,471 | £10,387 (67 or over) |
| 71 | £22,710 | £10,387 (67 or over) |
| 72 | £21,953 | £10,387 (67 or over) |
| 73 | £21,304 | £10,387 (67 or over) |
| 74 | £20,644 | £10,387 (67 or over) |
| 75 | £20,012 | £10,387 (67 or over) |
| 76 | £19,377 | £10,387 (67 or over) |
| 77 or over | £18,733 | £10,387 (67 or over) |
Other payments for mesothelioma
- Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit. Diffuse mesothelioma is one of the diseases covered, and it is assessed as 100%, which pays £233.90 a week in 2026/27.
- Pneumoconiosis etc. (Workers' Compensation) Act 1979. A lump sum can be paid if you get IIDB for the disease, your former employer has stopped trading and you have not taken civil action. You must claim within 12 months of the IIDB decision.
- Veterans. If the mesothelioma was caused by service in the armed forces before 6 April 2005, the War Pension Scheme offers a lump sum of £185,000 from 6 April 2026. Those awards are specified payments, so they rule out a DMPS payment.
- A civil claim. If the employer or its insurer can be traced, a claim for damages is made against them rather than the DMPS. See our guide to claiming against your employer.
How to apply
You apply online through the DMPS website, which is run by the scheme administrator, TopMark Claims Management. You will need your National Insurance number, your full employment history with evidence such as P60s, evidence of your attempts to trace the employer or insurers, the date of your diagnosis and evidence of it, details of any previous claims and a witness statement. The scheme administrator says that once it has all the information, it will make a decision within four weeks and, if the application succeeds, pay within two weeks after that. If you disagree with the decision, you can ask for a review and then appeal to the First-tier Tribunal.
Sources and methodology
Both tariff tables were read from the amending regulations on legislation.gov.uk and checked against the revised Schedule 4, the Schedule as it stood on 3 November 2025 and the scheme administrator's published tariff. The 2008 scheme amounts were read from S.I. 2026/377 and checked against the GOV.UK guide, including its example of £56,656 at age 60.
- The Diffuse Mesothelioma Payment Scheme (Amendment) Regulations 2025, S.I. 2025/1069, on legislation.gov.uk.
- The Diffuse Mesothelioma Payment Scheme Regulations 2014, S.I. 2014/916, regulations 3, 9, 16 and 19 and Schedules 2 and 4, on legislation.gov.uk.
- The Diffuse Mesothelioma Payment Scheme (Amendment) Regulations 2015, S.I. 2015/367, on legislation.gov.uk.
- Diffuse mesothelioma payments guide, on GOV.UK.
- Payment tariff and questions and answers, TopMark Claims Management (DMPS scheme administrator), on mesoscheme.org.uk.
- The Mesothelioma Lump Sum Payments (Conditions and Amounts) (Amendment) Regulations 2026, S.I. 2026/377, on legislation.gov.uk.
Frequently asked questions
How much is the Diffuse Mesothelioma Payment Scheme payment?
It depends on the age at first diagnosis. For a first diagnosis on or after 4 November 2025, the tariff runs from £403,969 at 40 and under to £129,721 at 90 and over; at 70 it is £239,421. Recoverable benefits and some lump sums already paid are deducted.
Has the DMPS tariff gone up?
Yes. The Diffuse Mesothelioma Payment Scheme (Amendment) Regulations 2025 increased the payment for each age by 49% for people first diagnosed on or after 4 November 2025. At 70, the payment rose from £160,685 to £239,421.
What is the time limit for a DMPS application?
The application must be received within 3 years of the date of first diagnosis. The scheme administrator can extend the time limit if there was a good reason for the delay.
Can a family member claim after the person has died?
Yes, an eligible dependant can apply if the person with mesothelioma died without applying. If there are two or more eligible dependants, the tariff amount for one dependant is shared equally between them.
Do I need a solicitor to apply to the DMPS?
No. You can apply yourself or through someone acting for you. The tariff amounts include a fixed contribution to legal fees of £13,700 for a diagnosis on or after 4 November 2025 (£7,000 before that), which is used to pay a solicitor if you have one.