How to claim Personal Independence Payments (PIP)

Personal independence payment (PIP) provides help with extra living costs if you have both:

a disability or long-term physical or mental health condition
trouble getting about or doing certain everyday tasks because of your disability or condition

This guide will talk you through the process of applying for PIP.

A customer calling a support phone line asking a question

How do I claim PIP?

You can start a PIP claim by phone or post but if you opt to do it by post, it’ll take longer to get a decision. In some areas, you can also apply for PIP online.

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Applying for PIP online

You’ll need your:

national insurance number
email address
mobile phone

Enter your postcode to see if you can apply for PIP online in your area.

Starting your PIP claim by  phone

Call the PIP new claims phone line:

Telephone: 0800 917 2222
Textphone: 0800 917 7777
Relay UK (if you can’t hear or speak on the phone): 18001 then 0800 917 2222
British Sign Language (BSL) video relay service if you’re on a computer - find out how to use the service on mobile or tablet
Calling from abroad: +44 191 218 7766
Opening hours: Mon to Fri 8am to 5pm

Find out about call charges

They’ll send you a form asking about your condition (usually within two weeks).

Fill in the form and return with any supporting evidence e.g. prescription lists, information from a doctor or other health professional involved in your care, care plans etc.
Unless you have a terminal illness, you’ll probably need to have an assessment to complete your application.

If you want someone to speak on your behalf

You can:

have a family member or friend added to your call (this isn’t possible on textphone)
have a family member or friend call on your behalf (as long as you’re with them when they call)

Preparing for the call

You’ll be asked for:

your contact details
your date of birth
your national insurance number
your bank account number and sort code
the name, address and phone number of your doctor or health worker
the addresses of any hospitals or care homes you’ve spent time in
the dates you’ve been in any hospitals or care homes
the names of any countries you’ve visited for more than four weeks at a time
the dates you’ve spent abroad for more than four weeks at a time

Starting your PIP claim by post

Send a letter to:
Personal Independence Payment New Claims
Post Handling Site B
Wolverhampton
WV99 1AH

They’ll send you a form asking about your condition (usually within two weeks).

Fill in the form and return, along with any supporting evidence e.g. prescription lists, information from a doctor or other health professional involved in your care, care plans etc.
Unless you have a terminal illness, you’ll probably need to have an assessment to complete your application.

Will I need a PIP assessment?

Unless you have a terminal illness, you’ll probably need to have an assessment to complete your application.

Person asking a question on the phone to a customer service representative

What does a PIP assessment involve?

A PIP assessment is an opportunity for you to explain how your condition affects you. It isn’t a medical examination or a diagnosis of your condition.

Most assessments will be carried out by looking at the medical evidence you provided and talking to you over the phone or by video call.

If it isn’t possible to assess your condition over the phone, you’ll be invited for a face-to-face assessment.

Someone aged 16 or over can be on the call with you or accompany you to the face-to-face assessment.

During the assessment, you’ll be tested and scored on your ability to complete certain daily-living and mobility tasks. Your scores will determine if you qualify for the daily living payment and/or the mobility part and at what rate.

Take the PIP test to see how you might score.

Things you can ask for

Adjustments
Check that your assessment centre has everything you need to accommodate any specific needs you have as a result of your condition or disability. If it doesn’t, you can ask for an adjustment to be made by ringing the number on your appointment letter.

Recording
It might be a good idea to ask for the assessment to be recorded in case you want to challenge the decision. You should do this as soon as you can after getting your appointment letter.

Alternative location
If the assessment centre is more than 90 minutes away by public transport and you have difficulty travelling long distances, you might be offered an alternative location or home visit.

Travel expenses
You can claim travel expenses to and from the assessment centre for you and another person who accompanies you. If you travel by taxi, ask the centre for approval before your assessment. They may not pay your travel costs if you don’t do this. If you travel by car, you can claim for parking and 25p per mile towards the cost of fuel.

Ask the receptionist at the assessment centre for a claim form and pre-paid envelope. Include all your tickets and receipts with the claim form.

What questions could I be asked in my assessment?

You’ll be asked about your medical condition. The assessor will want to know how long you’ve had the condition, who diagnosed it, who manages it, what the symptoms are and how the effect on you varies from day to day.

The question of how your condition varies is key. PIP rules mean the assessor will be looking to find out how you are affected at least half the time. This means, if you have three days a week when you’re bedridden but you’re much better on the other four days, you’ll be assessed on how you are and what you can do on your better days.

Person asking a question with magnifying glass

FAQs

The PIP claims process is a long one. It’s not unusual for it to take six months between starting your claim and getting your first payment.

If your claim is successful, your payments will be backdated to the date you started your claim.

Make a note of everything you want the assessor to know about how your condition affects you, so you don’t forget anything.
Let the assessor know what a bad day is like for you and how often those days occur e.g. ‘on a bad day, I’m in so much pain I can’t get out of bed’ or ‘on a bad day, I feel so anxious I can’t leave the house’. Bear in mind you'll be assessed on how you feel most of the time. So, if you have three bad days a week and on the other four you feel much better, you’ll be assessed on what you can do on your good days.
Talk about the things you struggle to do, or can’t do at all, e.g. travelling to appointments alone, cooking meals etc.
Have a copy of the PIP claim form you filled in so you can refer to everything you said in that.
Don’t let the assessor rush you – make sure you tell them everything you want them to know.
Try not to just answer ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to the assessor’s questions.
Explain how you feel after doing tasks you struggle with and the effect it has on you if you have to do the same task repeatedly over a short time period.
Be aware that the assessor may draw conclusions from the things you say and how you act during the assessment. So if they ask you how you got to the assessment centre and you say by bus, they’ll probably make a note that you can travel alone on public transport. They may also note down how well you seem to cope with social interaction.
You may be asked to carry out physical tasks during the assessment. If you wouldn’t normally be able to do those tasks, don’t feel pressured into doing them. You can tell the assessor if you’re unable to do something.

There isn’t a specific list of conditions that you can get PIP for. The qualifying criteria are you must have:

a disability or long-term physical or mental health condition
trouble getting about or doing certain everyday tasks because of your disability or condition

Having said that, Benefits and Work has come up with a list of more than 500 conditions arranged in order of how hard it is to get a PIP award.

The overall success rate for PIP claims is 52% but it varies greatly depending on the condition.

Awards for continence-related conditions fall below the average success rate, while awards for arthritis are above the average.

Awards for mental health conditions vary enormously, with anxiety disorders generally less likely to be successful than awards for bipolar affective disorder and schizophrenia.

Claims for certain conditions are highly likely to be successful, including:

dementia
motor neurone disease
Down's syndrome
Creutzfeldt – Jakob disease

The key thing is not the specific condition but how it affects your ability to carry out certain daily-living and mobility tasks.

The person assessing your claim may contact your doctor or healthcare professional for a factual report on your condition. They can only do this with your consent, and they don’t do it as a matter of course.

It can be useful to include medical evidence of how your condition affects you with your claim.

You don’t need to do this, but many people find it helps their claim if they do.

Medical evidence usually takes the form of a letter or report from your doctor, psychiatrist or other healthcare professional explaining:

what your condition is
your treatment
how the condition affects you on a day-to-day basis

Not all healthcare professionals will agree to write supporting letters and they’re not obliged to. But it’s worth asking and stressing how it could help your claim. If they agree to write a letter or report, they may charge a fee.

If you have a terminal illness, you’ll usually get PIP automatically. There’s a fast-track process if your doctors say you may reasonably be expected to live for less than a year.

The fast-track process means you:

won’t have to fill in as many forms
won’t be asked to attend a face-to-face assessment
should get your first payment sooner

To apply using the fast-track process, you should call the PIP claim line and get your doctor or consultant to send the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) a form called an SR1.