How to fill in your PIP form

To apply for personal independence payment (PIP), you need to complete the PIP form. Your answers will determine how many PIP points you score, whether you’re eligible for PIP and at what rate. It’s important to put as much detail into your answers as you can.

How the PIP form works

The PIP form ‘how your disability affects you’ has 15 questions. Some questions ask for a date, such as the last time you saw a health professional about your condition. It’s okay to just write the year if you’re not sure of the exact date.

Questions based on your ability to perform tasks, such as eating and drinking, start with a yes or no tick box. Mark yes if your condition makes it difficult for you to perform the task. You’ll then have space to write about:

how you manage these difficulties, such as using aids or getting other people to help
help you should receive, even if you don’t get it
the time it takes to complete the task – the assessor wants to know whether it takes twice as long compared to someone without your condition
how you cope on good and bad days if your condition varies from day to day
symptoms you get before, during and after certain activities, such as being in pain after walking 50 metres
the safety of yourself and others, such as whether you’re likely to or have burnt yourself while heating up food on the hob

If you struggle to perform a task for another reason, such as having difficulties with verbal communication because English isn’t your first language, you won’t get awarded PIP points. You can include additional documents to support your claim. Make sure you only send photocopies, as the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) can’t send anything back to you.

If you need help filling in your PIP form, speak to an adviser at Citizens Advice or ask a friend. Question 15 of the PIP form includes space for additional information. Write about any help you needed filling in the form, who helped and how long it took. If this is your first claim, call the PIP enquiry line – you may be given the option to apply online.

Your answers are measured against a list of statements, known as descriptors. A PIP assessor scores each answer based on these. Our guide on the PIP points system explains how PIP is assessed in more detail.

What if I need more space to write?

You can add more pages if you can’t fit your answer in the space provided. Include the question number so the PIP assessor knows what you’re referring to and write your national insurance number and name on each page.

PIP question 1: your condition

This question is made up of three parts:

1a - what disability or conditions you have and when they started
1b - medications you’re currently taking, including the dose
1c - any treatments, operations or therapies you’ve had, are currently having or have planned

If you’ve got a printed prescription, send this along with your form. Our PIP question 1 guide explains how to answer each section in detail.

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PIP question 2: health professionals

List all health professionals you’ve seen about your condition, including when you last saw them and their contact details. DWP may get in touch with them to confirm your answers.

Our PIP question 2 guide explains how to answer this section in detail.

PIP question 3: preparing and cooking food

You should mark yes to this question if your condition makes it difficult to:

prepare a simple meal for yourself – not for others
heat food on the hob or in a microwave

You’ll need to explain how you usually manage any difficulties, such as with aids or the help of another person. Our PIP question 3 guide explains how to answer this section in detail.

PIP question 4: eating and drinking

You should mark yes to this question if your condition makes it difficult to eat and drink, or it means you eat too much or not enough. It’s made up of three parts:

4a – whether eating and drinking is difficult
4b – whether you use a feeding tube for eating or drinking
4c – the difficulties you have with eating and drinking

DWP define eating as being able to cut up food, put it in your mouth, chew and swallow. Our PIP question 4 guide explains how to answer each section in detail.

PIP question 5: managing treatments

This question is about how your condition or disability makes it difficult for you to manage your treatments and monitor your condition, including your mental health. You should mark yes if you need:

a pill box to separate your medications because you can’t remember when to take them
an alarm to remember your medication
help from someone else to manage your medication or condition

The question is split into three parts:

5a – whether your condition affects your ability to manage treatments
5b – what difficulties you have monitoring changes in your condition and taking medication, and what you do to manage them
5c – whether you have therapies at home and need help from another person

Our PIP question 5 guide explains how to answer each section in detail.

PIP question 6: washing and bathing

You should mark yes to this question if your condition makes it difficult to bathe or wash in a standard shower or bath (not an adapted one). If your bathroom is adapted, you can write about this in section 6b. Include any aids or support you need from others to wash or bathe.

Our PIP question 6 guide explains how to answer this section in detail.

PIP question 7: managing toilet needs or incontinence

You should mark yes to this question if:

your condition makes it difficult to use the toilet, such as getting on and off and cleaning yourself
you’re incontinent

You don’t need to write about difficulties getting to the bathroom or removing clothes, this is covered in the following questions. Our PIP question 7 guide explains how to answer this section in detail.

PIP question 8: dressing and undressing

You should mark yes to this question if your condition makes it difficult to put on and take off clothes, including shoes. DWP want to know if you can put on appropriate clothing for the:

time of day
weather
occasion

For example, you could write that you can only put on sandals or sliders by yourself, which is not appropriate for winter. Our PIP question 8 guide explains how to answer this section in detail.

PIP question 9: communicating verbally

You should mark yes to this question if your condition makes it difficult to:

hear and understand what people say to you
speak so that you’re understood

If you’re partially or fully deaf, this question is the most important. Only write about communicating in your first language, even if this isn’t English. Our PIP question 9 guide explains how to answer this section in detail.

PIP question 10: reading

You should mark yes to this question if your condition makes it difficult to read:

standard size text (not large print)
signs, e.g. road signs
indoors or outdoors

Only discuss difficulties you have in reading and understanding your first language. Our PIP question 10 guide explains how to answer this section in detail.

PIP question 11: mixing with others

You should mark yes to this question if your condition makes it difficult to:

meet people and mix with them
judge situations and behave appropriately
establish relationships

This question is about mixing with people face to face, not over the phone or online. You can write about how mixing with others makes you feel and if you usually avoid it. Our PIP question 11 guide explains how to answer this section in detail.

PIP question 12: managing money

This question is about difficulties managing everyday transactions and purchases, such as:

paying in restaurants and shops
budgeting for big items, such as a washing machine or laptop
budgeting for and paying bills, such as credit card and utility bills

You should mark yes to this question if your condition makes it difficult to manage your money, rather than if you find it difficult to physically get money out of your purse or wallet. Our PIP question 12 guide explains how to answer this section in detail.

PIP question 13: planning and following journeys

You should mark yes to this question if your condition makes it difficult to:

leave the house due to stress or anxiety
plan and follow a route to somewhere you don’t know – it doesn’t matter how you get there
plan and follow a train or bus route to a new place
manage in a place you don’t know

Write about long and short journeys, such as going to the local shop or the hospital. This question is very important if you’ve got hearing or sight difficulties, autism, learning disabilities or a mental health condition. You shouldn’t include physical difficulties you have following journeys; this is covered in the next question. Our PIP question 13 guide explains how to answer this section in detail.

PIP question 14: moving around

You should mark yes to this question if your condition makes it difficult to:

walk around safely without help or without stopping
stand safely without help

The question is split into three parts:

14a – whether your condition makes it difficult to move around
14b – how far you can walk using appliances or aids
14c – what difficulties you have moving around and how you manage them

You can write about difficulties moving around and what happens afterwards, such as if moving around causes you pain. Our PIP question 14 guide explains how to answer each section in detail.

PIP question 15: additional information

The final question on the PIP form is a blank page. It can be used if you run out of space or for additional information, such as:

if someone helped you fill out the form
details of friends and family that care for you – get consent if including someone else’s name or contact details

Our PIP question 15 guide explains what you might want to include in this section. You can also leave this section blank.