The PIP assessment: what to expect

Most people who claim PIP are asked to an assessment after sending in the PIP2 form. It's carried out by a health professional working for an assessment provider on behalf of DWP – currently by phone, video, or in person, depending on your case and what your provider offers.

1. 1

   After you submit the form

   DWP sends an acknowledgement once your completed PIP2 is back with them. From there, most claims move to an assessment. A small number are decided on the paper evidence alone, but expect to be asked to one unless you're told otherwise.

2. 2

   Preparing for the assessment

   The most useful thing you can do beforehand is re-read what you wrote on the form, so what you say in the assessment matches it. Assessors compare the two, and a big mismatch – "I can't stand for more than a minute" on the form, something different said out loud – raises a question.

   Describe your bad day first, then a typical day. Start with what a bad day actually looks like – what you can't do, what has to be done for you – then explain how a more typical day compares. Leading with your typical day tends to under-describe how much help you actually need.

   Be specific, not vague. "I have a lot of pain" says little on its own. "On a bad day I can't get out of bed until the painkillers work, which can take an hour or more" says something the assessor can actually use.

3. 3

   What happens at the assessment

   The health professional isn't there to diagnose you or judge how serious your condition is medically – they're assessing what you can and can't do, day to day, against the same activities as the form. In a face-to-face assessment there may be a brief physical examination, but this is only one part of the evidence gathered, alongside what you say and what you've already written.

4. 4

   The assessment report

   After the assessment, the health professional writes a report and sends it to DWP. This report, your form, and any evidence you sent go to a DWP decision maker, who makes the actual decision – the assessment provider doesn't decide your claim itself. You can ask DWP for a copy of the report.

5. 5

   The decision letter

   DWP writes to you with the decision. If you're awarded PIP, the letter sets out which part or parts you get and how long the award runs before it's reviewed. Payment is backdated to the date you first contacted DWP to claim, not the date of the letter.

6. 6

   If the decision looks wrong

   The first step is to ask DWP to look at it again – a mandatory reconsideration – before any appeal to a tribunal. In the three months to July 2026, about 1 in 4 (26%) PIP mandatory reconsiderations led to a change in award. DWP, Personal Independence Payment statistics to July 2026, checked 23 September 2026.

   Our reconsideration helper walks through this: what the letter said, why it's wrong, and the real examples that show it. See our guide to mandatory reconsideration for the full time limit and what a good letter covers.

Getting ready with the helper

If you used our free PIP helper to build your answers, keep a copy or printout of what you wrote close by before the assessment – the same specific, honest wording you used on the form is exactly what's worth repeating out loud.

Questions people ask

You can apply to DWP directly, and Citizens Advice can help at no cost.