What is a mandatory reconsideration?
Checked 21 September 2026 against GOV.UK · Sources at the bottomA request for DWP to look at a decision again. You usually have one month from the date of the decision to ask for one.
How it works
You usually have one month from the date of the decision to ask DWP to look at it again. This is called a mandatory reconsideration. DWP writes back with its decision.
If it's still wrong
If the decision is still wrong, there is usually one month from the date DWP wrote back to appeal to a tribunal, online or by post.
A worked example
Invented example, not a real claim: a claim is turned down after the form said only "needs help with meals." The mandatory reconsideration letter says the same thing again, but in full - how often help is needed, roughly how long it takes, and what happens on the days nobody is there. Restating the same true answers, just fully, is often the whole difference.
Often missed
Over 1.1 million eligible households are thought not to claim Attendance Allowance, worth about £5.2bn a year. A refusal is not always the last word - asking for a mandatory reconsideration is free, and there is no penalty for asking.
If you are doing the caring
Carer's Allowance pays £86.45 a week (April 2026 to April 2027). To get it, the carer must care for the person for at least 35 hours a week, earn no more than £204 a week after certain deductions, be 16 or over, and not be in full-time education. The person cared for must get a disability benefit such as Attendance Allowance. A carer's claim can reduce some of the benefits of the person they care for, so get a free benefits check first, from Citizens Advice or Age UK.
The start date does not move
Asking for a mandatory reconsideration does not create a new claim. Attendance Allowance cannot be backdated before the date of the claim. If it succeeds, payment still starts from the date of the original claim.
If it's about the special rules
There is a fast route for someone not expected to live longer than 12 months. The 6-month wait is skipped, and a doctor or specialist provides a form called the SR1. If a decision looks wrong specifically because the special rules were not applied, say so when asking for reconsideration.
Worth checking again
The rate does not change
If the mandatory reconsideration succeeds, the same two rates apply as to any other claim: £76.70 a week for help needed by day or by night, £114.60 a week for help needed day and night, or for someone nearing the end of life.
Three questions. Nothing stored.