The PIP assessment: what to expect
Checked 24 September 2026 against GOV.UK · Sources at the bottom
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. This page covers what happens, how to prepare, and what the decision letter means.
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 of claims are decided on the paper evidence alone, without one, but you should expect to be asked to one unless you're told otherwise.
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 unexplained differences can cause problems - not because small gaps are unusual, but because a big mismatch between "I can't stand for more than a minute" on the form and something different said out loud raises a question.
Describe your bad day first, then a typical day. This is the same order the form's own "good days and bad days" question uses, and it's worth carrying into the assessment: start with what a bad day actually looks like - what you can't do, what has to be done for you - and only then explain how a more typical day compares. Leading with your typical day and mentioning the bad ones as an afterthought 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.
It's fine to bring notes. There's no rule against bringing a written note of what you want to cover, particularly for a phone or video assessment where it's easy to forget something under pressure.
What happens at the assessment
The health professional carrying it out 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: preparing food, washing, getting around, and the rest. In a face-to-face assessment, there may be a brief physical examination, such as being asked to stand or reach, but this is only one part of the evidence gathered, alongside what you say and what you've already written.
The assessment report
After the assessment, the health professional writes a report and sends it to DWP. This report, along with your form and any evidence you sent, goes 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 if you want to see what it says.
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 - the daily living component, the mobility component, or both - and how long the award runs before it's reviewed. If you're awarded anything, payment is backdated to the date you first contacted DWP to claim, not the date of the letter itself.
If the decision looks wrong
If you disagree with the decision, 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.
More on the PIP form
Sources
- Going to a PIP assessment, GOV.UK - checked 24 September 2026
- How to claim PIP, GOV.UK (claim process, timeline, decision) - checked 24 September 2026
- Personal Independence Payment, GOV.UK (overview) - checked 24 September 2026