No Win No Fee Claims UK: How CFAs Work (2026)

Overview

A Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA) is a written contract between you and a solicitor that links their right to be paid to the outcome of your claim. If the case is lost, you do not pay the solicitor's basic charges.

If the case is won, the solicitor recovers their basic charges, usually some or all of which come from the losing side, plus a 'success fee' on top of those charges, which is capped and typically taken from your compensation. Since the Jackson reforms in 2013, the success fee can no longer be recovered from the opponent in most personal injury cases.

In practice that means it comes out of your damages, and there is a statutory cap on how much of your general damages a personal injury solicitor can take as a success fee. You may also be asked to take out an After The Event (ATE) insurance policy to cover the other side's costs and disbursements if you lose. 'No Win No Fee' is therefore an accurate headline, but the detail of each agreement matters.

Key steps

1. Check whether you actually have a claim. Personal injury claims generally require three things: someone owed you a duty of care, they breached it, and you suffered an injury or loss as a result. Common scenarios include road traffic accidents, accidents at work, slips and trips on occupied premises, and clinical negligence. Most claims must be brought within three years of the injury or the date you became aware of it.
2. Find a firm that handles your type of case. Not every firm runs every kind of claim. Road traffic and workplace claims are common, but clinical negligence, industrial disease, and serious injury work tends to sit with specialist teams. Ask how many cases like yours the firm handles each year, and whether the named fee earner is a solicitor, legal executive, or paralegal supervised by one.
3. Read the CFA carefully before you sign. The agreement should set out the basic charges, the success fee percentage, what happens if you end the agreement early, what counts as 'winning', and whether you are required to take out ATE insurance. If anything is unclear, ask for it in writing. A reputable firm will expect this and will not rush you.
4. Understand what you might still have to pay. Even under a CFA you can be liable for disbursements (medical reports, court fees, expert evidence), for the opponent's costs if you lose and have no ATE cover, and for the success fee and any ATE premium out of your damages if you win. The firm should give you a written estimate of these potential deductions at the outset.
5. Cooperate fully as the case runs. Once the CFA is in place, the solicitor will gather medical evidence, notify the defendant or their insurer, and usually enter the Claims Portal for lower value road traffic, employer liability or public liability claims. Respond to requests for information promptly, keep records of expenses and time off work, and tell the solicitor about anything that changes, including any further treatment.