What is a Personal Independence Payment (PIP) assessment?

When you make a claim for Personal Independence Payment (PIP), the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) will first check that the basic entitlement conditions (as set by the DWP) are met. The PIP entitlement conditions stipulate that you must be aged between 16 and 64 and have had difficulties with 'activities of daily living' and/or mobility for three months and expect them to last for at least 9 months. If you meet these criteria a PIP assessment will take place.

The DWP will ask you to complete a 'How your disability affects you' form about how your health condition or disability affects your daily life. They will then pass this information to one of their assessment providers, of which Atos Healthcare is one. A Health Professional (HP) with specialist training in assessing the impact of disability will consider your ability to carry out a series of key everyday activities using guidance provided by the DWP. Sometimes they will be able to do this by using the information you have provided on your 'How your disability affects you' form together with any supporting evidence, but it is more likely that they will ask you to attend a face to face consultation.

Whether the HP has been able to assess your claim with or without the need for a face to face consultation, they will produce a report of their findings and send it to the DWP. Using this report, together with any other available information, the DWP will decide on your PIP entitlement and level.

More information on Personal Independence Payment assessments can be found on our website.