- You need 8 points in a component for the standard rate and 12 points for the enhanced rate. Daily living and mobility are scored separately.1
- In 2026/27 daily living pays £76.70 a week (standard) or £114.60 (enhanced). Mobility pays £30.30 (standard) or £80.00 (enhanced).2
- In each activity only your single highest-scoring descriptor counts. Your daily living points are the total across the 10 daily living activities; mobility is the total across its 2 activities.
- A descriptor applies if it is true on more than half of days, and only if you can do the activity safely, to an acceptable standard, repeatedly and in a reasonable time.1
PIP points decide the rate, not the diagnosis
PIP is built around activities and descriptors. Points are awarded because of the level of difficulty you have with those activities, not simply because of the name of a condition.
That is why understanding the points system matters so much. It tells you where a claim looks strong, borderline or likely to need better evidence.
The key thresholds are 8 points and 12 points
In each component, 8 points usually means standard rate and 12 points usually means enhanced rate. The components are separate, so you can score enough in one component without qualifying in the other.
This is the reason even a simple checker can be useful. It helps you sense-check the likely band before getting lost in the full assessment language.
Points only matter if the descriptor applies reliably
A point total is only useful if the descriptor genuinely applies most of the time and meets the reliability tests: safely, repeatedly, to an acceptable standard and within a reasonable time.
Use a points guide to orient yourself, but use evidence and examples to make the case stronger.
The two components cover different things
PIP has two separate components. The daily living component looks at everyday tasks: preparing and eating food, managing medication and treatment, washing and dressing, communicating, reading, mixing with other people and managing money. The mobility component looks at just two areas: planning and following a journey, and moving around physically. You can qualify for one component, the other, or both.
Because the components are scored independently, it is common to receive, say, the enhanced mobility rate and no daily living award, or the reverse. Each component has its own 8-point and 12-point thresholds, and the results are worked out separately.
Daily living descriptors and points: activities 1 to 5
These are the official descriptors from the PIP assessment regulations, in plain wording. Pick the line in each activity that best describes most of your days. Only the highest-scoring line that applies counts.
| Activity 1: Preparing food | up to 8 pts |
| 1a. Can prepare and cook a simple meal unaided | 0 pts |
| 1b. Needs an aid or appliance to prepare or cook a simple meal | 2 pts |
| 1c. Cannot cook a simple meal using a conventional cooker but can using a microwave | 2 pts |
| 1d. Needs prompting to prepare or cook a simple meal | 2 pts |
| 1e. Needs supervision or assistance to prepare or cook a simple meal | 4 pts |
| 1f. Cannot prepare and cook food | 8 pts |
| Activity 2: Taking nutrition | up to 10 pts |
| 2a. Can take nutrition unaided | 0 pts |
| 2b. Needs an aid or appliance, supervision, or help to cut up food | 2 pts |
| 2c. Needs a therapeutic source (for example a feeding tube) to take nutrition | 2 pts |
| 2d. Needs prompting to take nutrition | 4 pts |
| 2e. Needs assistance to manage a therapeutic source | 6 pts |
| 2f. Cannot convey food and drink to their mouth and needs another person to do so | 10 pts |
| Activity 3: Managing therapy or monitoring a health condition | up to 8 pts |
| 3a. Either receives no therapy or medication, or can manage it unaided | 0 pts |
| 3b. Needs an aid or appliance, or supervision, prompting or assistance, to manage medication or monitor a condition | 1 pt |
| 3c. Needs supervision, prompting or assistance with therapy for no more than 3.5 hours a week | 2 pts |
| 3d. Needs it for more than 3.5 but no more than 7 hours a week | 4 pts |
| 3e. Needs it for more than 7 but no more than 14 hours a week | 6 pts |
| 3f. Needs it for more than 14 hours a week | 8 pts |
| Activity 4: Washing and bathing | up to 8 pts |
| 4a. Can wash and bathe unaided | 0 pts |
| 4b. Needs an aid or appliance to wash or bathe | 2 pts |
| 4c. Needs supervision or prompting to wash or bathe | 2 pts |
| 4d. Needs assistance to wash their hair or body below the waist | 2 pts |
| 4e. Needs assistance to get in or out of a bath or shower | 3 pts |
| 4f. Needs assistance to wash their body between the shoulders and waist | 4 pts |
| 4g. Cannot wash and bathe at all and needs another person to wash their entire body | 8 pts |
| Activity 5: Managing toilet needs or incontinence | up to 8 pts |
| 5a. Can manage toilet needs or incontinence unaided | 0 pts |
| 5b. Needs an aid or appliance | 2 pts |
| 5c. Needs supervision or prompting to manage toilet needs | 2 pts |
| 5d. Needs assistance to manage toilet needs | 4 pts |
| 5e. Needs assistance to manage incontinence of either bladder or bowel | 6 pts |
| 5f. Needs assistance to manage incontinence of both bladder and bowel | 8 pts |
Daily living descriptors and points: activities 6 to 10
Add your highest score from each of the 10 daily living activities together. 8 to 11 points gives the standard daily living rate; 12 or more gives the enhanced rate.
| Activity 6: Dressing and undressing | up to 8 pts |
| 6a. Can dress and undress unaided | 0 pts |
| 6b. Needs an aid or appliance to dress or undress | 2 pts |
| 6c. Needs prompting to dress, undress or choose appropriate clothing, or needs prompting or assistance to select clothing | 2 pts |
| 6d. Needs assistance to dress or undress their lower body | 2 pts |
| 6e. Needs assistance to dress or undress their upper body | 4 pts |
| 6f. Cannot dress or undress at all | 8 pts |
| Activity 7: Communicating verbally | up to 12 pts |
| 7a. Can express and understand verbal information unaided | 0 pts |
| 7b. Needs an aid or appliance to speak or hear | 2 pts |
| 7c. Needs communication support to express or understand complex verbal information | 4 pts |
| 7d. Needs communication support to express or understand basic verbal information | 8 pts |
| 7e. Cannot express or understand verbal information at all, even with communication support | 12 pts |
| Activity 8: Reading and understanding signs, symbols and words | up to 8 pts |
| 8a. Can read and understand basic and complex written information unaided or with glasses or contact lenses | 0 pts |
| 8b. Needs an aid or appliance other than glasses or contact lenses | 2 pts |
| 8c. Needs prompting to read or understand complex written information | 2 pts |
| 8d. Needs prompting to read or understand basic written information | 4 pts |
| 8e. Cannot read or understand signs, symbols or words at all | 8 pts |
| Activity 9: Engaging with other people face to face | up to 8 pts |
| 9a. Can engage with other people unaided | 0 pts |
| 9b. Needs prompting to engage with other people | 2 pts |
| 9c. Needs social support to engage with other people | 4 pts |
| 9d. Cannot engage with other people because of overwhelming psychological distress, or behaviour that would risk substantial harm | 8 pts |
| Activity 10: Making budgeting decisions | up to 6 pts |
| 10a. Can manage complex budgeting decisions unaided | 0 pts |
| 10b. Needs prompting or assistance to make complex budgeting decisions | 2 pts |
| 10c. Needs prompting or assistance to make simple budgeting decisions | 4 pts |
| 10d. Cannot make any budgeting decisions at all | 6 pts |
Mobility descriptors and points
Mobility has only two activities, so the totals move quickly. Activity 1 covers mental and sensory difficulties with journeys; activity 2 covers physical difficulty standing and moving. Add the highest score from each.
| Activity 1: Planning and following journeys | up to 12 pts |
| 1a. Can plan and follow the route of a journey unaided | 0 pts |
| 1b. Needs prompting to undertake any journey to avoid overwhelming psychological distress | 4 pts |
| 1c. Cannot plan the route of a journey | 8 pts |
| 1d. Cannot follow the route of an unfamiliar journey without another person, an assistance dog or an orientation aid | 10 pts |
| 1e. Cannot undertake any journey because it would cause overwhelming psychological distress | 10 pts |
| 1f. Cannot follow the route of a familiar journey without another person, an assistance dog or an orientation aid | 12 pts |
| Activity 2: Moving around | up to 12 pts |
| 2a. Can stand and then move more than 200 metres, aided or unaided | 0 pts |
| 2b. Can stand and then move more than 50 metres but no more than 200 metres, aided or unaided | 4 pts |
| 2c. Can stand and then move unaided more than 20 metres but no more than 50 metres | 8 pts |
| 2d. Can stand and then move using an aid or appliance more than 20 metres but no more than 50 metres | 10 pts |
| 2e. Can stand and then move more than 1 metre but no more than 20 metres, aided or unaided | 12 pts |
| 2f. Cannot, aided or unaided, stand, or move more than 1 metre | 12 pts |
The 20-metre line in activity 2 matters most: being able to move no more than 20 metres scores 12 points on its own, which is the enhanced mobility rate and the gateway to the Motability Scheme.
A simple worked example
Imagine someone whose descriptors across the daily living activities add up to 9 points. That is above the 8-point standard threshold but below the 12 needed for enhanced, so they would receive the standard daily living rate. If, on top of that, their mobility descriptors reach 12 points, they would also receive the enhanced mobility rate. The two components are added together to give the total award.
This is exactly why you should tot up your likely points in each component separately, rather than looking for a single overall score. A claim can look weak on one component and strong on the other, and only the component-by-component view shows that.
Why the enhanced rates matter beyond the cash
The enhanced rate of the mobility component is also the gateway to the Motability Scheme, which lets you exchange the mobility payment for a leased car, powered wheelchair or scooter. That makes the 12-point mobility threshold particularly significant for many claimants.
The daily living part at either rate can unlock other help too: someone who cares for you for 35 hours a week may be able to claim Carer's Allowance, your household is not affected by the benefit cap, and at State Pension age it can count towards the severe disability amount in Pension Credit. PIP does not add an element to Universal Credit; the Universal Credit health element depends on a separate Work Capability Assessment.
Before you go
PIP Claim Pack 2026/27
- What each of the 12 activities is really assessing, with worked examples
- A 7-day diary and an evidence organiser
£4.99 one-off · full refund if you ask within 14 days