PIP review form: how to fill it in and what happens next

Why have I been sent a PIP review form?

Every PIP award has a review date. When you were first awarded PIP, your decision letter said how long the award would last and when it would be reviewed; first awards run for anywhere from 9 months to 10 years, depending on whether your needs are likely to change.⁴ The review form usually arrives ahead of that date.

A review can also be triggered by something you reported, such as your condition getting worse or better. A review form is not a sign that DWP thinks you are no longer entitled. It is the routine way DWP checks that the award still matches how your condition affects you.

What does the review form ask?

The form goes through the same 12 activities as a new claim: 10 for daily living (preparing food, eating and drinking, managing treatments, washing and bathing, managing toilet needs, dressing, communicating, reading, mixing with other people and managing money) and 2 for mobility (planning and following journeys, and moving around).

For each activity it asks how your condition affects you now and whether anything has changed since your last award. It also asks about your health professionals, your medication and treatment, and any stays in hospital.

The mistake people most often make is to write 'no change' and leave the box short. The person deciding your review may not have your old form in front of them, and they are deciding what applies now. Describe each activity fully again, even where nothing has changed, so the decision rests on today's facts.

How do I describe each activity on the review form?

Before you start, find your last decision letter and, if you can, ask the PIP enquiry line for a copy of the assessment report from your last claim. Together they show the points you were given for each activity and why. Use them as a checklist: for each activity, note what you scored, what happens now, and whether that is better, the same or worse.

Write about a typical week, not your best day. A descriptor applies if it applies on more than 50% of days over the period being looked at.⁵ If your condition varies, say how many days a week are bad, what happens on those days, and what happens on the better days.

Cover the things that are easy to leave out: help or prompting someone gives you, aids you use (a perching stool, a raised toilet seat, a shower chair, a pill organiser), tasks you avoid or cannot finish, how long things take, pain, breathlessness or fatigue afterwards, and accidents or near misses. If you can do something only slowly, unsafely, or not more than once, say so, because each activity is judged on whether you can do it safely, to an acceptable standard, repeatedly and in a reasonable time.

Our activity-by-activity PIP form guide goes through what each of the 12 activities is really asking, with the points for each descriptor, and works for review forms as well as new claims.

What evidence should I send with it?

Send copies, never originals, of anything recent that shows how your condition affects what you can do: letters from your GP, consultant, specialist nurse, occupational therapist or community mental health team, a care plan, a current prescription list, and a short statement from someone who helps you or sees you most days.

Evidence about function beats evidence about diagnosis. A letter saying 'she has rheumatoid arthritis' adds little. A letter saying 'she cannot grip a kettle on most mornings and needs help to dress' is the kind of detail that changes points. Do not delay the form to wait for evidence: send the form on time and say what is to follow.

Keep a copy of the completed form and everything you send, and get proof of postage if you post it.

What happens if I can't return it in a month?

Contact the PIP enquiry line before the deadline and ask for more time; GOV.UK says to do exactly this if you need longer.¹ Make a note of the date and who you spoke to.

Do not simply let the deadline pass. If the form is not returned and you have no good reason, DWP can stop your PIP. If that happens, ask for a mandatory reconsideration straight away, explain why the form was late, and send the completed form.³

What happens after I send the review form back?

DWP looks at the form and evidence. It may decide on the papers, or an independent health professional may phone you or invite you to an assessment in person, by phone or by video.¹

You then get a decision letter. Your PIP can be increased, kept the same, reduced or stopped, and the letter gives the points for each activity.¹ Read it carefully against what you wrote.

If you think the decision is wrong, you have one month from the date on the letter to ask for a mandatory reconsideration, and then you can appeal to an independent tribunal.³ Our PIP mandatory reconsideration guide walks through each step.