Appeal a PIP decision

An appeal is when a judge and two experts who do not work for the DWP will look at your claim to see if the right decision was made. Appeals can take longer than mandatory reconsiderations, but they are much more likely to be successful.

Unfortunately, in lots of places it is hard to get advice or representation to help with your appeal. Most people have to do most or all of the work themselves or with the help of their family and friends. We will help you through the process.

We know from our research that 90% of people who use this guide and our PIP mandatory reconsideration tool get the decision about their PIP claim changed in the end. It is worth the effort!

his information applies in England, Wales, and Scotland. It will also be helpful for claimants in Northern Ireland where the rules are the same but the relevant government departments and forms are different.

Last updated: March 2024

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You can ask for an appeal online or you can use a paper form.

You can find both at Submit your appeal on GOV.UK

Both are easy-to-use and understand. If you use the online version, a record of what you have said is sent to your email address. If you use the form, try to keep a copy, or take a photo of each page with your phone.

No matter which you use, there are three things that you should be aware of.

You need to explain what you disagree with and why. If you used our Mandatory Reconsideration Request Tool to produce a letter, and your argument is still the same, you can just copy and paste that on to the form. (You probably have a copy in your email, or it will be saved in your Advicenow account).
If you have not used our tool, look at your decision notice and the list of daily tasks on our PIP points system explainer. For each explain all of the difficulties that you have with that task and the help that they need.
If your appeal is not within one month, you should appeal anyway but explain why the delay was unavoidable or a result of your child’s disability (for example, if you were unable to deal with it until now because meeting your child’s care needs takes up all your time).
Choose to attend the hearing. You will be asked whether you want to attend a hearing or whether you want the case to be decided on the papers alone. Almost everybody wants to choose the paper hearing because it seems less scary. However, you are much more likely to win if you have a chance to speak to them. Don’t worry, it will not be nearly as frightening as you might think. Since Covid, many hearings are happening via video – so you may not have to actually ‘go’ anywhere.

When you ask for an appeal online, you are asked if you would like to be able to save the appeal and continue later. In order to do this, you will need to set up an account. If you say yes and provide your email address, you will be sent an email enabling you to register for the Manage Your Appeal service. This service lets you keep track of how your appeal is progressing, and you can use it to upload evidence (including audio and video evidence if you want to). It will send you texts or emails to let you know that the DWP have responded to your appeal, to confirm evidence has been received, and when your hearing date has been scheduled. See How to prepare for the hearing for other ways to sign up.

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Help to appeal online

If you need help to ask for an appeal online We Are Group will help.
They can help with access to a device, or data, or provide guidance and reassurance on how to use the online service.
If you would like their help

phone the helpline on 03300 16 00 51, or
text FORM to 60777, or
email them at [email protected]

They will respond within 2 working days.

“

We used this guide to appeal my Husband's PIP decision and went from nothing to the enhanced rate in both areas. After we had put in the appeal and sent some evidence we received a phone call from DWP. They said that they had got hold of the UC medical assessment for my Husband. I did not know they could do that and hadn't thought to send it to them. They said that having looked at that report they decided to award him the help he deserves. This guide was invaluable! I doubt we could have made it this far without it. Thank you.

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If you have missed the deadline to appeal, ask for an appeal anyway. You will need to explain that the delay was unavoidable or a result of your disability. For example:

you may have been unable to deal with it until now because you need help to deal with your post, or
you were too depressed or anxious to manage it, or
you needed help to understand if you should challenge the decision and you did not find that help until now.

The DWP then has one month to object to your reasons for missing the deadline. If they do not object, your appeal continues. If they do object, a judge decides whether to allow your appeal even though it is late.

Your appeal will usually be accepted if less than 13 months have passed since you were sent the decision, as long as you give reasons for the delay. There are times when you can even appeal after 13 months if the delay was unavoidable. If you are in this situation, try to get advice if you can.

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HMCTS will send a copy of your appeal to the DWP and ask them to explain how they came to their decision. The DWP must do this within 28 days, although they can ask for an extension. You will receive a copy of their response. It is often around 150 pages, or sometimes even longer. Do not be put off by the size of it. Most of it is just your application form and copies of the letters you already have, the assessment report and any evidence the DWP has gathered from other places or that you sent in. But keep it safe. You will need it to prepare for your hearing.

You should start preparing now. How to prepare for the PIP appeal hearing explains everything you need to do.

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If the DWP call you

The DWP have been ringing some people at this stage, or before the hearing, and offering them a higher award in return for dropping their appeal. Sometimes the DWP say that you might not win at an appeal or put pressure on you to accept their offer.

Advicenow and other charities took DWP to court about this practice because it is not fair. Now, if they make you an offer of a better award after you have asked for an appeal, they are supposed to explain that you can accept the higher award and then appeal again (without having to ask for another reconsideration).

In most cases, this would be the best thing for people to do. If they phone you and offer you a higher award, accept it. If you think you might be entitled to an even higher award, put in another appeal form immediately.

If you get a phone call and they do not explain about your right to appeal the new award, please tell us about it.

“

Thank you so much for the excellent advice on this site. By following the advice I have managed to win my PIP tribunal, and now have standard rate for daily living and enhanced rate for mobility. I've been through 4 years of hell trying to get the benefit, Thank you so much for helping me, the money will make my life so much easier.

Sophie

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Find the appeal form or ask for an appeal online

You can find both the online system for asking for an appeal and the latest form to use if you wish to do it by hand/post at www.gov.uk/appeal-benefit-decision/submit-appeal/

Speak to the DWP

PIP Enquiry Line

Telephone: 0800 121 4433
Textphone: 0800 121 4493
Free to call - Monday to Friday, 9am – 5pm

More information about appeals

GOV.UK

Benefit appeals come under the section known as the Social Security and Child Support Tribunal. You can find details about how to appeal, how to claim expenses, appeal venues and how to get to them, as well as other information about the appeal process.

Appeal to the Social Security and Child Support Tribunal

Citizens Advice

Citizens Advice have some helpful information about PIP, how claims are assessed, and how to appeal.

Citizens Advice

Find an adviser

See How to find an adviser to help with your disability benefits.

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Disclaimer

The information in this guide applies to the UK.

The law is complicated. We recommend you try to get advice from the sources we have suggested.

The cases we refer to are not always real but show a typical situation. We have included them to help you think about how to deal with your own situation.

Acknowledgements

This guide was updated thanks to funding from the Ministry of Justice. Our thanks to Greg Brown from Money Matters Money Advice Centre for his expert feedback on this version of the guide.

Advicenow would like to thank all those who provided advice and feedback on this guide, particularly Jim McKenny, Rachel Ingleby, Jane Owen-Pam from The National Autistic Society, Sangeeta Enright from Cystic Fibrosis Trust, Christine Hallam-Cutler from Macmillan Benefits Rotherham, Sue Lovell from Cornwall Council, Richard Stacey from St Pauls Advice Centre, Chris Beer of Maggies Glasgow.

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