Apply for compensation

Compensation for victims of crime

The state pays damages to victims of crime. This compensation is so-called non-pecuniary damage compensation. The claim for compensation is part of your case. Your legal rights protection officer then sends the claim to the state, to a fund often referred to as the state compensation fund. There, a request is made for the fund to guarantee payment of the compensation. The state then collects the compensation from the perpetrator. In this way, the state acts as an intermediary so that you do not have to collect the compensation yourself.

Conditions

You need to have reported the offense within two years of it occurring. Your legal rights protection officer can inform you about other conditions that apply.

It is not necessary that:

• the offense has gone to court or ended in a conviction; you may be entitled to compensation even if the case is dropped.
• the perpetrator is known; you may be entitled to compensation even if the perpetrator 1 is deceased or their whereabouts are unknown.
• the perpetrator is criminally responsible; you may be entitled to compensation even if the perpetrator is not criminally responsible due to young age or other reasons.

If you suffered harm due to violence abroad, you need to contact the authorities in that country, as many countries pay compensation to victims of crime.

Read more

• Compensation for Victims of Crime on Ísland.is.