Challenging a disability benefit decision
Information for how to appeal a Disability Living Allowance (DLA) or Personal Independence Payment (PIP) decision. You can use this information if you live in England, Wales or Northern Ireland. In Northern Ireland (NI Direct), some of the names of institutions are different but the law and the process are the same.
Scotland has its own separate disability benefit system and process for appealing a disability benefit determination.
The decision
You should receive a decision from Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) about 8 to 12 weeks after your form has been received.
If your application is successful, the letter will include:
- which components you’ve been awarded
- how much you’ll receive
- the date of your first payment
- how long your award is for
If you’re unhappy with the decision
Mandatory reconsideration
If your claim has been unsuccessful or you are unhappy with the amount you have been awarded, you can ask DWP for a mandatory reconsideration. A mandatory reconsideration is when DWP look at the decision again to see if it is correct. You can ask for a mandatory reconsideration by writing a letter or filling in and posting the CRMR1 form (GOV.UK). It’s important to remember that when DWP look at the decision again, your award could go up or down, stop completely or stay the same.
When DWP have finished the mandatory reconsideration, they will send you a mandatory reconsideration notice. This notice is a letter which explains the outcome of the reconsideration and whether their decision has changed. There’s no limit on the amount of time DWP has to reconsider their decision.
If you are thinking about asking for a mandatory reconsideration, contact our Helpline. One of our disability benefit specialists may be able to help. 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.
Find out more about asking for a DLA mandatory reconsideration or PIP mandatory reconsideration.
Appeal
If you’re still not happy with the decision after the mandatory reconsideration, you can appeal to an independent tribunal. You can only appeal if you’ve requested a mandatory reconsideration and have received a mandatory reconsideration notice. You’ll need the notice to appeal.
You have one month from the date of the mandatory reconsideration notice to appeal. Late appeals are allowed in some circumstances.
When you appeal a disability benefit decision, you’re appealing to the tribunal. The tribunal is independent of DWP and will be a panel of three people. The panel will include a judge, who will consider all the evidence and make a decision. Around half of all appeals are successful. This is usually because the tribunal takes a different view of the evidence to DWP. New evidence can also be crucial in getting decisions changed. However, don’t wait until you have new supporting evidence to appeal as you can send it in later.
Find out more about the supporting evidence and letters you can include for DLA and PIP.
You can appeal in two ways. If you live in England or Wales, you can appeal against a DLA or PIP decision online (GOV.UK). You can find out more about the appeals process (GOV.UK). The form asks for some basic details about you and your reasons for appealing. If you can’t do it online, you can fill in a paper form and post it to His Majesties’ Courts and Tribunal Service. In Northern Ireland, you have to fill in the paper form.
If you miss the time limit for appealing but it’s been less than 13 months since the decision, you can make a late appeal. The tribunal will decide whether to accept your late appeal. There are lots of reasons why you might need to make a late appeal. Your late appeal will usually be accepted if you give a good reason. However, saying that you didn’t realise there was a one-month time limit to appeal isn’t accepted as a reason.
The appeal form
You will need your mandatory reconsideration notice to appeal. If you appeal online, you can enter the details of the notice into the online form. If you fill in the paper form, you need to include a photocopy of the notice with the form when you post it off. Always keep the original versions of any documents you send to DWP or receive from them. Make photocopies to send.
Most of the questions are straightforward. There are some sections you’ll need to think about in more detail.
Section 5: your reasons for appealing
This is where you write why you disagree with the decision. You could write something very short, like “The decision maker has underestimated my child’s needs and not considered all the evidence.”
However, what you write here is what the tribunal will read in advance. It’s a good idea to try and write something a bit more detailed, especially if you’re not going to attend the hearing.
Section 6: your appeal hearing
This is where you choose what kind of hearing you want. You can decide whether or not to attend the hearing.
If you tick the box, ‘I do not want to take part in the hearing,’ the tribunal will look at all the paperwork and make its decision without you being present. If you choose this option, you will need to send in as much evidence as you can. You could send something explaining your reasons directly to the tribunal once you have the appeal bundle. Appeals decided on the papers have less chance of winning.
If you want to attend, you’ll be asked what type of hearing you want. You can tick more than one box. If you have a face-to-face hearing, you’ll go to a tribunal venue and sit in a room with the tribunal. Video and telephone hearings take place remotely.
Section 7: communication support
You can use this section to ask for support with communication, such as a British Sign Language (BSL) interpreter, other language interpreter, or palantypist.
Section 8: availability
This section of the appeal form asks about your availability (if there are any dates you can’t make). The hearing probably won’t be for several months so don’t worry too much about any commitments you have now.
It’s important to include any dates you would not be able to attend a hearing, including:
- if you’ll be out of the country
- important hospital appointments
- days of the week you can’t make
- if school holidays would make attending a hearing difficult.
Next steps
After you submit the appeal form, all your communication will be with His Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS). HMCTS are the government body that organises the courts and tribunals in the UK.
HMCTS will sometimes communicate with you via email and texts. They’ll tell DWP you have appealed and ask DWP to write a submission explaining their decision.
The appeal bundle
DWP’s submission will then be sent to you along with all other relevant documents, including a copy of your claim form and any medical reports that you submitted with your claim. This is called the appeal bundle.
The appeal bundle is very important. You will need it for the appeal hearing.
Read the appeal bundle carefully. This might be the first time you get to see the evidence DWP has used, or the first time you get a proper explanation of their decision. You will have a better idea of why DWP have made their decision.
Submission
You then have the opportunity to write a letter to the tribunal, explaining why you disagree with DWP’s decision. This is called a submission.
What you include in your submission is up to you. You can ask the tribunal to consider a specific point, or you may want to disagree with something you’ve read in the appeal bundle. You can also submit additional evidence to HMCTS to support your appeal.
You don’t have to make a submission. However, it can help, especially if you spot things DWP have written that are wrong or inaccurate.
Make sure you put the appeal reference number on anything you send. Remember to only send photocopies of evidence documents.
HMCTS will notify you of the date of the hearing, normally by post. You should make every effort to attend.
Tribunal
At the tribunal
If you’re attending the hearing, it should be held in one of the three ways you requested; in person, by telephone or by video. The judge will introduce everyone and then they and the other panel members will ask questions.
Tribunals are informal and inquisitorial. This means they are there to ask questions, establish the facts and make a decision on the balance of probabilities (something is more likely than not), in accordance with the law. There are no rules about what you can and can’t say. If you don’t understand a question or can’t answer it, simply tell them this.
Remember, the panel consider the circumstances when DWP made the decision, which could be some months ago.
The judge should give you an opportunity to make points yourself, as well as answer their questions. If they don’t, you can ask to do this at the end. Focus on the reasons you appealed and why you think the decision was wrong, such as if you disagree with a school report or something DWP wrote.
After the tribunal
The tribunal will usually inform you of their decision a few days after the hearing. But in some cases, they may tell you on the day or soon after the hearing is over.
If you win at tribunal
If your appeal is successful, it normally takes a few weeks for the decision to be put into effect. It’s a good idea to send DWP a copy of the tribunal decision when you get it.
DWP might consider appealing against the decision, but this is extremely rare. You will know if this happens as they will ask for a statement of reasons for the tribunal decision, and you will be sent one as well. Seek advice if this happens.
You can call our free Helpline for advice and support.
If you lose at tribunal
If your appeal is unsuccessful, your options are limited. You could consider making a new claim for the benefit. If your child’s needs have increased since the original claim or you have better supporting evidence, it’s worth claiming for the benefit again.
If the benefit you're awarded is not as much as you’d hoped, it's important to remember that a tribunal decision is final, unless the tribunal got the law wrong, made an irrational decision or made a serious procedural error. A tribunal decision can’t be challenged just because you disagree with its findings, or even because another tribunal hearing all the same evidence might have made a different decision.
Appealing a decision of the First-tier Tribunal to the Upper Tribunal
Appeals to the Upper Tribunal can only be made in certain circumstances. You should seek specialist advice if you want to challenge a decision by the First-tier Tribunal.
If you do want to appeal to the Upper Tribunal, seek advice as soon as you receive the decision. The first step to challenging a First-tier Tribunal decision must be taken within one month of the date of decision.
Find out more about appealing to the Upper Tribunal (GOV.UK).
Some legal firms offer advice and representation in appeals to the Upper Tribunal. Advice may be free if you are eligible. You can search for legal firms here (Law Society).