PIP Decoded
Personal Independence Payment, in plain English

If PIP is refused: appeals

The Royal Courts of Justice, London.
The Royal Courts of Justice in London. If reconsideration does not change the decision, the next step is an independent tribunal appeal. Photo: Wikimedia Commons, CC0.
The Royal Courts of Justice, London.
The Royal Courts of Justice. You normally cannot appeal until you have asked for a mandatory reconsideration first. Photo: Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0.
A wall calendar.
A wall calendar. Ask for a mandatory reconsideration within one month of the date on the decision letter. Photo: Wikimedia Commons, Public domain.

A refusal, or an award lower than you expected, is not the end of the claim. There is a fixed order for challenging a PIP decision, and the first step is mandatory: you normally cannot appeal to a tribunal until you have asked for a mandatory reconsideration.

Step 1 — Mandatory reconsideration

Ask DWP to look at the decision again. You normally need to ask within one month of the date on the decision letter — the date on the letter, not the day you opened it. You can ask by phone, by letter, or on the CRMR1 mandatory reconsideration form from GOV.UK. A late request can still be accepted if you have a good reason, such as a hospital stay or a bereavement, but do not rely on that: protect the deadline first, then send reasons and evidence to follow.

In the request, go activity by activity: say which descriptors you believe apply, why, and what evidence supports them. Point out anything the decision or the assessor's report got wrong, and add any new evidence. DWP reviews the whole case again, and the outcome can uphold, increase, or — rarely — reduce the award, so frame the challenge around the activities you dispute.

Step 2 — Tribunal appeal

If the reconsideration does not change the decision, you can appeal to the independent Social Security and Child Support Tribunal. The tribunal is independent of DWP: it hears your case afresh, looks at the evidence, and can ask you questions directly. Many people are represented by a welfare rights adviser, Citizens Advice, or a similar service, and representation is free through those routes.

If a challenge succeeds, arrears may be backdated to the original decision in many cases; the exact position depends on the decision and the dates involved, so treat backpay as something the decision letter will confirm rather than a sum to count on in advance.

Keep the clock in view. The one-month reconsideration deadline is the most commonly missed step in the whole process. Check the date on the decision letter the day it arrives, and diary the deadline immediately.

Challenge a benefit decision (mandatory reconsideration) on GOV.UK: GOV.UK — mandatory reconsideration.

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.

General information only. This page explains Personal Independence Payment in plain English. It is not legal, financial, or medical advice, and it cannot decide whether you qualify. Only the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) — or the Department for Communities (DfC) in Northern Ireland — can decide a claim. Rates and rules change over time; always confirm the current position with GOV.UK before you act on it. Contact: hello [at] tapetoolhq.com.