Horizon Family Members Redress Scheme: How to Register, Eligibility and the Two Routes to Compensation

What the Horizon Scandal Did to Postmasters' Families

The Horizon scandal saw hundreds of Post Office postmasters wrongly prosecuted, and many more financially and personally harmed, over roughly two decades because of faults in the Horizon IT accounting system. Existing compensation schemes, including the Horizon Convictions Redress Scheme, the Horizon Shortfall Scheme and the Group Litigation Order scheme, have paid almost £1.475 billion directly to postmasters themselves. Until now, there has been no dedicated route for the partners, children, parents and siblings who lived through the scandal alongside them, often experiencing serious harm to their own mental health, finances and family life as a direct consequence, without any compensation of their own. The Horizon Family Members Redress Scheme, developed following the government's acceptance of recommendation 18 of the Post Office Horizon IT Inquiry Volume 1 report, closes that gap.

Who Is Eligible for the Family Members Scheme

To be eligible, a claimant must demonstrate that they were the partner, spouse, child, parent or sibling of a postmaster affected by Horizon, and that they were living with that postmaster at the time the postmaster was affected. The scheme was developed with continued input from Lost Chances, a campaign group representing children of former sub-postmasters, alongside other postmasters and interested groups. Each claimant will first undergo an initial eligibility review before the substance of their claim is assessed, confirming their relationship to the postmaster and their living arrangement at the relevant time.

The Two Routes to Compensation

The scheme offers two distinct routes so that family members are not excluded simply because they cannot produce decades-old evidence. Applicants who are eligible under both routes can see both offers and choose whichever award is of higher value, but cannot claim under both routes at once. This design responds directly to feedback that an evidence-only approach would leave many genuinely affected family members without any redress at all, because formal medical or financial records from years or decades ago are often unavailable.

The Events-Based Route in Detail

Under the events-based route, an eligible applicant can apply for a flat recognition payment tied to specific events experienced within their family that are likely to have caused harm, such as the postmaster relative's prosecution or bankruptcy. This is a light-touch process that does not require legal knowledge or submission of evidence beyond what is needed to establish eligibility for the scheme itself. Events-based claims are verified using existing data held by the Department for Business and Trade and Post Office Limited, rather than requiring the applicant to gather their own supporting documents. Any eligible applicant for whom there is evidence of the relevant event having occurred is entitled to the recognition payment regardless of the actual impact that event had on them personally.

The Individually-Assessed Personal Injury Route in Detail

The alternative route is available to family members who can provide contemporaneous evidence of personal injury, or who have an ongoing medical condition arising from the Horizon scandal, and who want compensation tailored to the specific injury they suffered rather than a flat payment. These claims are reviewed by an independent panel, operating independently of government and made up of medical and legal experts, who assess an appropriate payment based on the Judicial College Guidelines, the standard guidance used by courts and other redress schemes when assessing personal injury compensation. Claimants have the right to appeal the panel's conclusions in defined circumstances, consistent with the other Horizon compensation schemes. The government has committed to funding legal advice so that claimants can decide which route to pursue, and to providing legal support to those submitting an individually-assessed claim.

How to Register

The government confirmed on 16 July 2026 that the live registration link for the scheme had been added to the Horizon Family Members Redress Scheme collection page on GOV.UK, following the Written Ministerial Statement published two days earlier on 14 July 2026. Post Office Limited will not be involved in running the scheme. Instead, the Department for Business and Trade oversees an independent claims facilitator, appointed to administer applications and provide assurance around fraud prevention and value for money, while Post Office Limited's role is limited to supplying existing data relevant to verifying events-based claims.

How This Fits with Other Horizon Compensation Schemes

This scheme is additional to, not a replacement for, the existing Horizon compensation schemes that provide redress to postmasters themselves for losses that affected both them and their families. Those existing schemes, the Horizon Convictions Redress Scheme, the Horizon Shortfall Scheme and the Group Litigation Order scheme, remain open and continue to operate alongside the new Family Members Redress Scheme, which specifically recognises the separate personal injury experienced by close family members in their own right.

Frequently asked questions

Am I eligible if I did not live with the affected postmaster?

No. Eligibility requires demonstrating both the qualifying family relationship, as a partner, spouse, child, parent or sibling, and that you were living with the postmaster at the time they were affected by Horizon.

Do I need evidence of personal harm to claim under the events-based route?

No. The events-based route is deliberately light-touch and does not require evidence of personal harm beyond what is needed to establish eligibility for the scheme. Claims are verified against existing Department for Business and Trade and Post Office Limited data on the qualifying event.

Can I apply under both routes and take both payments?

No. If you are eligible for both routes, you can see both offers and choose whichever is of higher value, but you cannot receive payment under both routes for the same claim.

Will the Post Office decide or administer my claim?

No. Post Office Limited will not run the scheme. The Department for Business and Trade oversees an independent claims facilitator, and individually-assessed personal injury claims are reviewed by an independent panel of medical and legal experts operating separately from government.

Is legal advice funded to help me decide which route to choose?

Yes. The government has committed to funding legal advice so that claimants can decide whether to accept an events-based offer or pursue an individually-assessed claim, and to providing legal support for those submitting an individually-assessed claim.