The PIP assessment
Many claims involve a health assessment with an independent health professional. It can be by phone, by video, or face to face. The assessor is not your doctor and does not decide the claim: they ask questions, observe, and write a report. A DWP case manager reads the form, the evidence, and the report, and makes the decision.
What assessors ask
Expect questions tied to the activities: a typical day from waking to bedtime, what help you need for each task, what happens when you try without help, how far you can walk and what stops you, and how often each pattern holds. Assessors also ask about medication, treatments, and appointments — not to test your memory, but to check consistency with your evidence. Answer in the same concrete terms as the form: frequencies, examples, and recovery time.
Your rights at the assessment
- You can bring someone with you for support, including to a phone or video assessment.
- You can ask for the assessment to be audio recorded. Ask in advance, and confirm the arrangement before the appointment.
- You can ask for breaks, and for questions to be repeated or rephrased.
- Afterwards, you can ask DWP for a copy of the assessor's report, and you can send extra evidence if the report misses something.
After the assessment
The decision comes by letter, with the points scored per activity, the rates awarded, and the award length. Awards run for a fixed period — often a few years, sometimes longer — and are reviewed before they end (see reviews and changes). If the report contains something you believe is wrong, do not wait for the review: the challenge route is the mandatory reconsideration on the appeals page, and its one-month clock runs from the decision letter.
Sources
Official sources for the figures on this page: GOV.UK — Personal Independence Payment; nidirect — Personal Independence Payment (Northern Ireland); DWP — Annual Benefits Statistics Compendium 2026.