Preparing for your PIP assessment
An assessment is not a medical examination. Nobody tests your reflexes or revisits your diagnosis. The assessor is there to answer one question: what can you actually do, reliably, on most days?
On this page
How assessments are carried out
There are four formats. The one you get is decided by the assessment provider based on your PIP2 form and evidence, but you can ask for a different one.
| Format | Share of cases | What it involves |
|---|---|---|
| Telephone | 72–74% | A call to your home, usually 45–90 minutes. Most people find this the least stressful, and you can keep your notes in front of you. |
| Paper-based | 19–20% | A decision from your form and evidence alone, with no consultation. Most likely where you have submitted strong professional evidence. |
| Face to face | 7–8%, rising to 30% from April 2026 | At an assessment centre, or occasionally at home. The assessor makes informal observations throughout, not just during the consultation. |
| Video | Small but growing | By video link from home. Allows some visual observation while keeping you at home. |
Why format matters more than it should. In 2024, claimants assessed face to face were awarded PIP at a rate of 44%, against 57% for telephone and video assessments — a 13-point gap that has been widening since 2022. One explanation supported by research is that telephone assessors, unable to see you, ask more thorough questions and produce more accurate reports. Face-to-face assessors may lean on informal observations that do not reflect how you actually function at home.
If you are offered a format you cannot manage, ask the provider to review it. Your claim is paused while that request is considered.
Who carries out the assessment
Since September 2024, assessments in England, Wales and Northern Ireland are delivered through the Health Assessment Advisory Service by four providers:
- Maximus — northern England and Scotland
- Capita — the Midlands, Wales and Northern Ireland
- Serco — the south west and south central England
- Ingeus — the south east, London and East Anglia
A small number of assessments are now carried out directly by the DWP. The provider makes no difference to the questions asked — the framework is consistent.
The questions, activity by activity
Assessors work through questions tied to the twelve activities, though not necessarily in order. Many deliberately jump around to test consistency. Here is what to expect, and how to answer well.
The structure that works for every answer: state the difficulty, explain why, describe the consequence, and say what help you need.
For example: "I can't prepare a meal safely. My grip is weak from arthritis, so I drop things — I've dropped a pan of boiling water twice this year. My partner prepares all the hot food. On days she isn't here I eat cold food or nothing at all."
| Activity | What they will ask | What scores |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Preparing food | Can you make a simple meal? How long does it take? Do you use aids? Have you had accidents? | Time taken beyond twice the norm, supervision needed, burns or dropped pans, reliance on microwave only. |
| 2. Taking nutrition | Can you cut up your own food? Do you need help eating or drinking? | Needing food cut up, adapted cutlery, prompting to eat, therapeutic feeding. |
| 3. Managing therapy | What medication do you take? Do you need reminders? Do you manage treatments at home? | Missed doses, a dosette box, someone filling it, therapy hours per week. |
| 4. Washing and bathing | Can you get in and out of the bath? Do you use a shower seat or rails? Can you wash your hair? | Any aid used, help with hair or lower body, inability to raise arms, falls risk. |
| 5. Toilet needs | Can you get on and off the toilet? Do you use rails or a raised seat? Any continence issues? | Aids, supervision, assistance, incontinence of bladder or bowel. |
| 6. Dressing | Can you dress yourself? Buttons, zips, shoelaces? Do you need help choosing clothes? | Adapted clothing, help with upper or lower body, time taken, pain on repetition. |
| 7. Communicating verbally | Can you express yourself clearly to a stranger? Do you lose words or your train of thought? | Needing an aid, support for complex or basic information. |
| 8. Reading and understanding | Can you read a letter or a short article? Do you understand signs and labels? | Prompting needed, cognitive difficulty, sensory overload from written material. |
| 9. Engaging with others | Do you find it difficult being around people? How do you cope socially? Have you had a panic attack in public? | Prompting, social support, overwhelming distress. Masking is recognised as relevant. |
| 10. Budgeting decisions | Do you manage your own money? Can you plan and pay for a weekly shop? Do you understand bills? | Prompting or assistance needed, inability to manage even simple decisions. |
| 11. Planning journeys | Can you plan an unfamiliar route? Could you manage it alone? Does travelling make you anxious or disorientated? | Needing another person, overwhelming psychological distress, inability to plan a route. |
| 12. Moving around | How far can you walk before stopping? Do you use a stick or wheelchair? What happens when you go too far? | Distance walked, aids used, rest needed, consequences afterwards. |
The casual questions that are not casual
Some of the most consequential exchanges do not sound like assessment questions at all.
| What they ask | What it is actually testing |
|---|---|
| "How did you get here today?" | Planning and following journeys — whether you can travel alone, and whether you can use public transport. |
| "Do you have any pets?" | If you feed a dog, the assessor may infer you can bend, carry and manage a routine. |
| "Do you use a smartphone?" | Manual dexterity, concentration and cognitive function. |
| "What did you do yesterday?" | A picture of your actual daily function, which is hard to keep consistent with a bad day narrative if it is not accurate. |
| "Do you watch television or have hobbies?" | Concentration, routine, and whether you are housebound. |
Answer these honestly and specifically too. "I got here because my partner drove me and walked me to the room — I can't manage buses because of my anxiety" is a far better answer than "my partner drove me."
What assessors observe
Many claimants do not realise that observation begins the moment they arrive, not when the consultation starts.
In person
- Which chair you choose, and whether you avoid one with armrests
- How you walk to the room — gait, speed, whether you use a stick or the wall
- How you sit down and stand up
- How you handled your identification — grip, dexterity, vision
- Eye contact and social interaction
- Your appearance and whether you are well presented
- How you removed your coat — shoulder mobility
By telephone or video
- The quality and complexity of your answers, as a proxy for cognitive function
- Whether someone had to prompt you
- Pauses, confusion, or evident distress
- Whether you needed a break
- Consistency across questions about the same activity
How to handle this honestly. Do not perform, and do not exaggerate. But equally, do not push through symptoms you would normally give in to. If you need to rest after walking, rest. If sitting is painful, say so: "I've been sitting for twenty minutes and I'm in a lot of pain. I need to stand for a moment."
Your rights during the assessment
Bring someone with you
Anyone aged 16 or over. They can take notes, prompt you, add information and provide support. For telephone assessments, ask for a three-way call. Tell the provider in advance.
Record the assessment
You can record your own assessment. For face-to-face and telephone consultations you can ask the provider to record it, or use your own equipment including a mobile phone — tell them in advance and they must record too. Video recording is not permitted.
Request breaks
You can ask to stop, stand or take five minutes at any point. Make sure the assessor notes that you needed a break — it is evidence.
Ask for adjustments
A home visit if you are housebound, a ground-floor room, a same-gender assessor, an interpreter or BSL signer, or an open room rather than a small enclosed one. Contact the provider as soon as you receive your appointment.
Reschedule
You must receive at least seven days' written notice. One reschedule is usually permitted, and a fluctuating condition is a valid reason. Missing without good reason can result in refusal of your claim.
Report problems
Complain to the assessment provider first, then the DWP. If it remains unresolved, the Independent Case Examiner can look at it.
Getting ready
- Have your PIP2 form to handThe panel and assessor will both work from it. If what you say contradicts what you wrote, you will be asked about it. Read it again before the assessment.
- Prepare bullet points for your worst daysNot a script — a few notes covering each activity, with times, distances and frequencies. Trying to remember everything under pressure is where answers become vague.
- List your medicationNames, doses and side effects. Medication side effects are frequently the direct cause of functional difficulty and are regularly overlooked.
- Have your evidence readyCopies of GP letters, consultant reports, prescription lists. You can refer to them during a telephone assessment.
- Arrange for someone to be with youBrief them on your condition and where you believe the points lie, so they can prompt you if you minimise.
- Do not dress up for itWear what you normally wear. If you wear pull-on clothing because you cannot manage buttons, that is what the assessor should see.
Things not to say. These phrases cause damage without the claimant realising:
- "I'm fine" or "I manage" — tells the assessor you cope independently on the day that matters most
- "On a good day I can…" — the assessment should reflect most days
- "I don't want to make a fuss" — the assessment exists to record your difficulties
- General answers without specifics — "I struggle with cooking" scores nothing
After the assessment
The health professional writes a report called the PA4 and sends it to the DWP. A DWP case manager then makes the decision, usually within 4 to 12 weeks. From initial claim to decision has recently averaged around 15 to 16 weeks.
Get the report. Call your assessment provider about three working days after the assessment and ask for a copy of the PA4. Read it carefully and immediately. Errors in the report are the single most common reason PIP decisions go wrong — and if the decision has not yet been made, flagging a factual error can fix it before it becomes an award you have to appeal.
If the decision comes back below what the report supports, the errors you identified become the backbone of your mandatory reconsideration. You have one month from the date of the decision letter to request one.
Assessment coming up?
We can review your PIP2 form beforehand and flag the activities where your answers are likely to be scored low — and what to say instead.
Book a consultation — £50 Read the evidence guide