Personal Independence Payment (PIP)

If your parents or carers already get DLA for you, they should get letters from DWP before you turn 16. In one of these letters, DWP will ask them if they want to apply to be the appointee for your PIP claim. Find out more about what an appointee is and who needs one. [ANCHOR LINK]

After your 16th birthday, you should get a letter from DWP inviting you to claim PIP. As long as you begin the claim by the date given in the letter, DLA will continue to be paid until you get your PIP decision. If you decide not to claim PIP your DLA will be stopped.

If you’re already 16 years old or older and still get DLA, DWP are likely to invite you to claim PIP at some point in the future. As long as you begin the claim by the date given in the letter, DLA will continue to be paid until you get your PIP decision. If you decide not to claim PIP your DLA will be stopped.

If you are 16 or over, you can choose to claim PIP before your DLA award ends or before DWP invite you to claim. PIP is assessed very differently to DLA and you won't qualify automatically. If you do make a claim and are not awarded PIP, your DLA will end.

To claim PIP you must be eligible according to DWPs eligibility rules. Citizen's Advice have more information about:

• the residence and immigration rules that apply
• whether your immigration status lets you get benefits.

You can claim PIP while you're in hospital or a care home. However, it can affect when your payments start. Citizens Advice has more information about claiming PIP while in hospital or a care home.

If you attend a residential school or residential college, your PIP payments can be affected if a local authority pays the fees. Find more information about claiming PIP when you are at residential school or college (Contact).

Start your claim by calling the ‘PIP new claims’ phone line at DWP for free on 0800 917 2222 (phone) (9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday). They will ask questions to check that you fulfil the basic requirements to apply for PIP. You will be asked for your contact details and sent a paper form in the post. The form will include the date you should return your PIP form to DWP. This will be one month from the date of your first call.

If you're a British Sign Language (BSL) user, you can contact the PIP phone line by:

• textphone on 0800 917 7777
• Relay UK on 18001 then 0800 917 2222
• BSL video relay service on a computer or mobile or tablet.

If English isn’t your first language, you can contact DWP to get help in your chosen language. However, you have to apply in English.

In some areas, you can fill in your PIP form online. Check to see whether you can claim PIP online in your area (GOV.UK).

You can start a claim by post, but your claim will take longer. Send a letter to the Freepost address to start your claim:

Freepost DWP PIP 1

You do not need a stamp.

• Questions 1 and 2 will ask you to list your health professionals, health conditions and medication.
• Questions 3 to 12 are about the 10 daily living activities.
• Questions 13 and 14 are about the two mobility activities.
• Question 15 asks you to provide any additional information.

When you fill in the form, you have to show the impact of your disability on your everyday life. We recommend using the STAR method when filling in your form. In each section you need to think about whether you can or can’t do something:

• safely and without risk to yourself and others
• in a reasonable amount of time
• to an acceptable standard
• repeatedly (as many times as you would reasonably need to).

Filling in the claim form can be a long and potentially unsettling process. Take your time and reach out for support from a friend, relative or local support organisation.

If you have further questions about how to fill in the form, you can contact our free Helpline.

• Letters from the health and education professionals who know and work with you.
• Medical reports or letters of identification, such as hearing test results, audiograms, or cochlear implant mapping reports.
• Current symptoms of a long-term illness, their severity and how they affect you.
• Additional information about the aids and/or appliances you require because of your deafness and/or other additional needs.
• Test results or certificates, care or treatment plans, and therapies or adaptations.
• Social care or social work assessments.
• Educational support plans, reports or letters from your school, college or university.
• Supporting information from a carer or someone who knows you well.

You can ask lots of different people to write supporting letters to support your claim. This can include:

• audiologist

• speech and language therapist

• ear, nose and throat (ENT) specialist

• GP

• teacher

• Teacher of the Deaf (ToD)

• social worker

• employer

• close family member or friend.

Make sure everything they say is related to the PIP activities and descriptors, otherwise it won’t be relevant. Giving them information about PIP activities and the descriptors will help them to focus on the things most relevant to your PIP claim.

Use these template letters to request supporting evidence from a professional for your PIP claim.

If you’re an appointee for a deaf young person, use these template letters to request supporting evidence from a professional for their PIP claim.

You may see other professionals because of a disability or health condition in addition to your deafness. Because you only fill in one PIP form for all your disabilities or conditions, ask these professionals to provide their own supporting evidence.

This should explain how your disabilities or health conditions affect you throughout the day in relation to the PIP activities and descriptors. They could also include the impact your deafness has on your ability to manage this additional need or the impact your additional need has on your ability to manage your deafness.

PIP assessments are often over the phone or on a video call. You may also be invited to a face-to-face assessment at an assessment centre. You’ll get a text and an appointment letter which will explain where and when your assessment is.

Make sure you request any reasonable adjustments you need. If you are not able to attend an assessment centre or communicate by phone, inform the office arranging the assessment as soon as possible. It may be possible for you to request a video call or home visit. If your assessment is over the phone and you’re worried about it, you can request:

• a face-to-face assessment
• a language or British Sign Language (BSL) interpreter.

You can also bring someone to the assessment with you for support. They can take notes and participate in discussions, but they can’t answer the questions for you. If you request it in advance, you can ask for the assessment to be recorded. If your assessment is at an assessment centre let them know in advance about any access or mobility requirements you may have.

Remember, PIP assessments are an important part of claiming PIP. You should attend your assessment. If you don't your claim may be rejected, and you will have to claim again.

DWP use the assessment report to decide whether you get PIP. The assessor will ask questions based on how your disability affects you. They'll try to form a picture of a “typical day” and can include informal observations in their report. This could be how well you responded to the questions asked and how you got to the assessment centre if your assessment is in person. It’s important you explain the difficulties you have hearing in normal daily life.

Citizens Advice have more information about how to prepare for your PIP assessment.

There are different ways your payments can start. If you claim by letter, you'll be paid from the date of your decision. If you called the ‘PIP new claims’ phone line to start your claim and you return your form within the deadline, you will be paid from the date of your first call. Meaning you’ll be paid PIP for the time it took for you to fill in and return the form, and for DWP to make their decision.

If you’re transferring from DLA and your PIP claim is successful, your DLA will stop around four weeks after you get your PIP decision. You will be paid PIP from when the DLA stops.

If you’re unhappy with the PIP decision, you can challenge and appeal a disability benefits decision.

If DWP do not award you PIP, or you feel you have been awarded the wrong amount, you can ask DWP to look at the decision again. This is called a mandatory reconsideration (GOV.UK). Find out more about challenging and appealing a PIP decision.

It’s important to remember that when asking DWP to look at your PIP award again, there is a risk that it can go up or down, stop completely or stay the same. If you are thinking about asking for a mandatory reconsideration, contact our Helpline.

You can contact our Helpline by phone, text (SMS), SignVideo (video call with a BSL interpreter), contact form or live chat. If English isn't your first language, we can call you back with an interpreter in your preferred language for free.

In your request for a mandatory reconsideration, you need to explain what part of DWP’s decision you think is wrong and why. You can include evidence, but this should be new and not already included in your PIP application. DWP will send you a mandatory reconsideration notice with their decision.

You can ask for a mandatory reconsideration by phone, by letter or by filling in and returning a mandatory reconsideration form (GOV.UK). It’s better if you do this within a month of the date on the decision letter. However, mandatory reconsiderations can be asked for up to 13 months after the date on the decision letter. DWP will usually accept a late request for mandatory reconsideration if you give a good reason. A good reason could be illness within the family or waiting for an advice appointment about the decision.

If DWP do not accept your late request, you do not lose your appeal rights. The law only requires that you ask DWP to look at the decision again first. If DWP refuse your late request, you can go straight to appeal the decision to an independent tribunal.

If you’re still unhappy with your PIP decision after a mandatory reconsideration request, you can ask for an appeal. Appeals are decided by the First-tier Social Security Tribunal, which is independent of DWP.

You should ask for an appeal within one month. If you miss the deadline, you can still submit a late appeal. Late appeals are usually accepted by the Tribunal if you give a good reason. A good reason could be illness within the family or waiting for an advice appointment about the decision.