Personal Independence Payment - PIP - How do I claim Personal Independence Payment (PIP)?

How do I claim Personal Independence Payment (PIP)?

This page gives an overview of claiming PIP.

For more detail about each stage, click on the sections below or see our Claiming Personal Independence Payment (PIP) guide. Alternatively, you can use the Turn2us PIP Helper to learn how to manage each stage of PIP application process.

Start your PIP claim

Call the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to start your claim for PIP.

In England or Wales:

• Telephone 0800 917 2222
• Textphone 0800 917 7777

In Northern Ireland:

• Telephone 0800 012 1573
• Textphone 0800 587 0937

Get documents for your PIP claim

Start getting the documents that you want to put with your claim. You may want to get your medical records or letters from people who help you.

Write your name and national insurance (NI) number on all the documents you send with the form.

Only send copies of your documents, not originals.

Fill out your PIP form

Take your time to fill out the form and ask the DWP for more time if you need it. Get help to do it if it’s too much for you on your own. Put in as much as you can about how your health affects what you can do by yourself.

The DWP is introducing a digital form which you fill in online.

Send your PIP form

If you're using a paper form, this has an address on the back page. Use the envelope or the address on the form to send your form to the DWP with any documents you have. Try to send your form in on time.  

Go to medical assessment

You will hear from Independent Assessment Services or Capita to arrange a medical assessment.

You might be:

• asked to go to an appointment at an assessment centre, or

• invited to have your assessment over the phone or by video call.

You can take someone with you. It is important that you go, unless you have a good reason not to. If you cannot go, you need to tell the assessment provider why you can't go and ask them to move the appointment or arrange an assessment that accommodates your disability needs.

You can request your assessment to be recorded. You need to ask the health professional at the start of your assessment. 

Get decision

The DWP will send you a letter telling you whether you qualify for PIP. If you disagree with the decision, you may want to challenge it.

Get paid

If you qualify for PIP, you normally get it for a fixed amount of time. Awards can be made for periods between one and ten years depending on when the DWP think it is likely that your needs may change. Payments are usually made every four weeks into your bank account.  

Report changes

It is important that you tell the DWP if and when anything changes which might affect your entitlement to PIP. If your health is getting worse or better, the DWP may want to reassess you to check you are getting the right amount. You can call the PIP enquiry line on 0800 121 4433, textphone 0800 121 4493.

Renew your PIP claim

The DWP will contact you in the last year of your PIP claim about review or renewal. Or you can ask to renew yourself in the last 6 months of your claim. You will need to complete another form and go to another medical assessment.

From December 2022, the DWP will automatically extend PIP claims that are about to end and haven't been reviewed. If your claim ends before December 2022, and you haven't heard from the DWP, you should contact them and ask for your claim to be extended.