Key takeaways
- PIP is decided on how your condition affects you day to day, not on the diagnosis itself, so the form must describe what you cannot do, or cannot do safely, reliably and repeatedly.
- For each activity, describe a typical day, say how often bad days happen, and explain any help, aids or prompting you need even if you do not currently get it.
- Attach evidence (care plans, prescription lists, letters from professionals) and keep a copy of everything you send.
- Free help is available from Citizens Advice; Win Your PIP writes personalised answers for a fee if you would prefer professional support.
The Personal Independence Payment form, officially 'PIP2: How your disability affects you', is where most claims are won or lost. It is around 40 pages long, and it asks the same thing twelve different ways: what help do you need to manage daily life and get around? This guide explains how to answer so that the assessor sees the real picture.
What is the PIP form actually asking?
PIP is not awarded for a diagnosis. It is awarded for the help you need with ten daily-living activities (such as preparing food, washing, dressing, managing medication and mixing with other people) and two mobility activities (planning a journey and moving around). For each one, the assessor decides which 'descriptor' fits you best and awards points. You need 8 points for the standard rate and 12 for the enhanced rate of each component. Our guide to PIP descriptors and points sets these out in full.
How should I describe a typical day?
Start each answer with what happens on a typical day, then say how often bad days happen and what is different on them. Assessors are told to consider whether you can do an activity safely, to an acceptable standard, repeatedly, and in a reasonable time. If you can make a meal but it takes an hour, exhausts you, or you have burned yourself doing it, say so. 'I manage' is the most expensive phrase on the form.
What are the most common mistakes?
- Describing a good day only. If you have bad days more than half the time, the bad day is your typical day for PIP purposes.
- Leaving out help you do not currently get. PIP asks what help you *need*, not what you receive. If you should have someone with you but do not, say so.
- Forgetting prompting and supervision. Needing reminders to eat, wash or take medication counts, as does needing someone nearby in case things go wrong.
- Answering 'no' because you can do it sometimes. The test is whether you can do it reliably, on the majority of days.
- Not attaching evidence. A prescription list, a care plan, a letter from a nurse or occupational therapist, or a diary of a typical week all help.
What evidence should I send with the form?
Send copies, never originals: your repeat prescription list, any care or support plan, letters from consultants, GPs, nurses or therapists that describe your needs, and a short diary covering a typical week. A statement from someone who helps you, describing what they do and how often, is valuable too. Keep a copy of the complete form; you will want it when the assessment letter arrives. Our guide to the PIP assessment explains what happens next.
Frequently asked questions
Sources and further reading
The Win Your PIP team
A service of AgeTrust
AgeTrust (charity no. 1124019) has worked on older people's health and loneliness since its founding, including national programmes with the NHS and the Department of Health. Articles are reviewed by the team and updated when guidance changes.
