How to fill in a Personal Independence Payment (PIP) form.
When you apply for PIP, you will need to fill in a form called "How your disability affects you". You can use our guidance to help you. There is advice for each question, including:
What the questions mean
what to write about in your answers, explaining how your illness or disability affects you etc.
PIP is based on how your condition/disability affects you. It's not based on your particular illness or disability, or your medication but how it affects you personally.
It’s very important to think about each question.
Question 1a:
"Tell us in the space below:"
What health condition or disability do you have?
The approximate start date.
You don't need to go into any detail about how your conditions affect you - you can add these details in questions 3 to 15.
You don’t need to be too specific about the date if you are unsure - the year it started will be enough.
Question 1b
"Tell us about tablets or other medication you are taking or will be taking and the dosage."
This includes anything you pay for yourself (for example, painkillers) as well as anything you’ve been prescribed.
If you’re not sure whether a tablet or medication is relevant, it’s best to include it anyway.
Write down how often you take each medicine, as well as the strength and dosage if you know it - for example “2 tablets, 50mg, 3 times a day”. You can find the strength on the packet or the patient information leaflet that comes with the medicine.
If you've got a printed prescription list you can attach this to your claim form - write your name and National Insurance number on it.
Question 1c
"Tell us about any treatments you have had, you are currently having or have planned for the future (include private as well as NHS funded treatments)."
You’ll need to include:
when your treatment or therapy started or when it’s due to start
how often your treatment or therapy is
the dates of any operations you’re going to have
If you’re not sure whether a treatment, therapy or operation is relevant, it’s best to include it anyway. Include anything that you pay for yourself privately as well as anything you get from the NHS.
Q2: listing your health professionals
You need to give the DWP details of any health professional you've seen about your condition.
Include:
doctors, GPs, consultants and nurses
counsellors, psychotherapists and occupational therapists
people like care workers, support workers, social workers and physiotherapists
their contact details - in case the DWP need to know more about your condition
the date you last saw them
If you don’t know the exact date you last saw them it's ok to just give the year.
If a family member or friend cares for you, add their details at question 15.
Q3: preparing and cooking a meal
You should probably tick “Yes” if:
you need to sit down while preparing or cooking - a stool or similar counts as an aid
you have a prosthetic limb
you take rest breaks while preparing or cooking
you use an aid either all the time or sometimes
you're likely to undercook or overcook your food
someone helps, reminds, encourages, supervises or assists you
someone stays with you or checks on you to make sure you're safe
you're at risk of injury like burning or scalding
you need help to read or understand numbers - for example, when following simple recipes or using timers
you need help but don't get it
Question 3b
"Tell us about the difficulties you have with preparing food and how you manage them."
It’s your chance to give the DWP a true picture of how your condition affects your ability to prepare and cook a meal. They'll use this to decide if you get PIP.
You can also use this space to explain what help you need but don't get.
List all the aids you use including things like stools or prosthetic limbs.
Aids and adaptions:
Never miss an aid off your list because you think it's obvious, and always:
explain how they help you
explain what would happen if you didn't use them
make it clear if a health professional advised you to use them
include any that would help you if you had them
include any that your condition prevents you from using.
Make it clear if you need help but don’t get it.
if you get help, say who helps you (for example, a relative or friend) and explain:
why they help
how they help
how often they help
Make it clear if you need them to:
remind you to prepare or cook a meal
explain how to prepare or cook a meal
physically help you
help with all or some of a task
help you all of the time or just sometimes (if it's too difficult to predict - say this)
be on hand - for example, help only if needed or to make sure you're safe
Always explain what happens (or would happen) if you don't get help. For example:
you're more likely to have an accident or injury
you're more likely to experience physical or mental symptoms like pain, discomfort or tiredness
it'll take you at least twice as long to prepare or cook a meal as someone without your condition.
Time it takes you:
Think about whether it takes you at least twice as long to prepare or cook a meal as someone without your condition.
Try to explain how long it takes. It's ok to estimate but say if you are. If it's too hard to estimate explain why - for example, because your condition fluctuates.
Remember to:
include time for breaks if you need them
explain if it takes you even longer on a bad day
say if it takes longer if you have to do it repeatedly.
Good days and bad days:
Explain how you cope on both good days and bad and how you manage over a longer period of time (like a week). This gives the DWP a better picture of how you cope most of the time.
Make it clear:
if you have good days and bad days
how often you have bad days
if you have bad days more often than not
how your difficulties and symptoms differ on good days and bad - for example, you can't finish preparing a meal or you only use pre-chopped vegetables etc.
Symptoms:
Explain if the difficulties you have preparing or cooking a meal cause you any physical or mental symptoms (like pain, discomfort, tiredness or lack of motivation).
It's helpful to explain the symptoms and give an example, including:
how often you have them
how long they last
if they're likely to increase the risk of an accident
if they affect your ability to carry out any of the other activities on your PIP claim form.
Q4 eating and drinking:
This question is about how your physical or mental health condition:
makes it difficult for you to eat and drink
means you eat too much or not enough
Eating means being able to cut up food into pieces, put it in your mouth, chew and swallow it.
You should say if you have physical difficulties, and if you need prompting or reminding them to eat or stop eating.
It's your chance to give the DWP a true picture of how your condition affects your ability to eat and drink. They'll use this to decide if you get PIP.
You can also use this space to explain what help you need but don't get.
You use a tube feed system
If you use a feeding tube into your stomach, or a feeding line into your veins, consider whether you need any help with this.
You’re more likely to get PIP if someone helps you, so it’s important to say:
who helps you
how they help you
what would happen if you didn’t have the help.
Think about what aids you need to eat and drink including things like weighted cups and adapted cutlery. It might help to imagine eating out or at a friend’s house instead of your own.
List all the things you use and why you need them - for example if you have to use a bowl instead of a plate to avoid spilling your food.
Never miss an aid off your list because you think it's obvious, and always.
If someone helps you to eat or drink, explain what they do and why.
If you need someone to help you cut up your food then explain why they need to, and what would happen if they didn't.
Also explain if you avoid eating any particular types of food because it needs to be cut up, or it's too fiddly. For example if you don't eat fish because of the bones but you could if someone cut it up and de-boned it for you
If you can't get food or drink to your mouth at all and someone has to do this for you, explain who does this for you, why they need to, and what would happen if they didn't.
Explain how they help you
explain what would happen if you didn't use them
make it clear if a health professional advised you to use them also include any aids that would help you if you had them, include any aids that your condition prevents you from using.
If someone is with you when you eat or drink. They don't have to be constantly watching you - they just have to be around. For example, this could be because you're at risk of choking.
If you've had problems with eating and drinking in the past, say what happened and why - for example if you had an epileptic fit while eating.
You should also mention:
how often a risk happens, even if it doesn't happen regularly how badly you could be harmed, whether there's anything you can do to prevent it happening.
If you need someone to help you eat in a safe way, you should explain how they do this.
If you need prompting to eat
Think about whether you ever skip meals. This could be for many reasons such as:
trying to eat causes you pain or leaves you exhausted
you can’t face it
the thought makes you anxious
If you don’t eat regular meals, try to explain why and how often this happens. Try to be specific about whether you’re prompted, reminded or encouraged, and who does this.
Q5 Managing treatments:
This question is about how your health condition makes it difficult for you to:
manage your treatments
monitor your own health condition, including your mental health
take action to stop your condition getting worse
Tell the DWP about treatments you have in your home that have been prescribed or recommended by a medical professional.
If you need someone to help you with therapy, for example physiotherapy exercises or home dialysis, the DWP wants to know the amount of time they help you for in an average week. It's important to be as specific as you can about how much time someone helps you so the DWP has a better picture of how you cope.
Tick box question 5a
"Does your condition affect you managing your treatments?"
Yes
No
You should probably tick “Yes” if you:
use a dosette box (a pill box with compartments) to make sure you take the right medicines at the right time
need an alarm or someone to remind you to make sure you take your medication at the right time
need help from another person to monitor your health conditions or take medication
Question 5b
"Tell us about the difficulties you have with monitoring changes in your health condition or disability and taking medication, and how you manage them."
Question 5c
"Tell us about any therapies you take at home that need the help of another person."
List any therapies that you get at home which have been prescribed or recommended by a doctor, nurse or health professional. For example, physiotherapy or dialysis.
For each therapy you should explain:
how often you get it
how long it takes
if you need someone else to help you with it and for how long
You should also explain what help you need with your therapy but don't get.
Q6 Washing and bathing:
or have someone to help you, but don’t at the moment.
Question 6b
"Tell us about the difficulties you have with washing and bathing and how you manage them."
Q7 Managing toilet needs:
This question is about how your condition makes it difficult for you to:
get on and off an unadapted toilet seat
clean yourself afterwards
if applicable, manage your incontinence
The DWP is not interested in the difficulties you have getting to the bathroom or managing your clothes - for example, unzipping your trousers or undoing a belt. If you have difficulties with these, you can explain them in question 8.
Question 7a
"Does your condition affect you using the toilet or managing incontinence?"
Yes
No
You should probably tick “Yes” if:
you're incontinent and have to use aids such as incontinence pads or grab rails
you use an adapted toilet seat or toilet - for example, it has handrails
you don't use a toilet - for example, you use a commode or catheter instead
you use an aid either all the time or sometimes
someone helps you (even if it's just with your aid - for example, dealing with a used portable bidet)
someone is around in case you need help
someone reminds you to go to the toilet
someone explains how to clean yourself properly
you need help but don't get it
Question 7b
"Tell us about the difficulties you have using the toilet and how you manage them."
Q8 Dressing and undressing:
rather than buttons, or slip on shoes rather than shoes with laces
use crutches to hold you up while you dress or undress
You should probably tick "Yes" if:
someone reminds you
someone encourages you
someone supervises you
someone stays with you to make sure you’re safe or not at risk
someone helps you in anyway - it doesn't have to be physical help
You should also tick "Yes" if you need to use something or have someone to help you, but don’t at the moment.
Q9 Communicating verbally:
This question is about how your condition makes it difficult for you to:
speak to others so that you're understood
hear and understand what other people are saying to you
It doesn't matter whether English is your first language - you’ll be assessed on whether you have difficulties communicating in your first language.
Tick box question 9a
"Does your condition affect you talking, listening and understanding?"
Yes
No
You should probably tick “Yes” if:
you need to use something to help you hear people - for example, a hearing aid or amplifier
you need to use something to help other people understand you - for example, an electro larynx or a pen and paper
you need to use something else to help you at home, for example a light-up doorbell or textphone
you use an aid either all the time or sometimes
you need an interpreter or signer
a friend or family member fills in the gaps in conversations
you lip-read
you have autism and find it difficult to communicate with people
you have Tourette’s syndrome
your medication makes it difficult to concentrate on a conversation
you need help but don't get it.
Q10 Reading:
encourage you to read - for example, they read a menu for you
need someone to explain written or printed information to you
need help from someone but don't get it
can’t read words at all including on a sign.
Q11 Mixing with other people:
people (for example to help you keep calm)
don’t know how you’re going to react when you meet and mix with other people (for example you might become aggressive)
need someone with you but you don’t currently get that help
become anxious when you meet and mix with other people
don’t like the idea of mixing with other people
avoid mixing with other people because of the anxiety and distress it causes you.
Q12 Making decisions about money:
understanding how to make your money last
understanding how to pay your bills on time
understanding what happens if you don’t pay your bills - for example, your gas might be cut off
understanding how to save for a specific item, like a TV.
Q13 Going out:
This question is about how your condition makes it difficult for you to:
plan and follow a route to a place you know (it doesn't matter how you get there)
plan and follow a bus or train route to a place you don't know
cope in places that you don't know
if applicable, leave the house because of stress or anxiety
The DWP is interested in how you cope with both long and short journeys - think about getting to local places (like a local shop, friend's house or a place you don't know). They're not interested in your ability to walk - you can describe your walking difficulties in question 14.
Tick box question 13a
"Does your condition affect you planning and following journeys?"
Yes
No
Base your answer on what you can manage most days. You should probably tick “Yes” if:
you need help but don't get it
your stress, anxiety or other mental health condition make it difficult for you to go out
you find it hard to cope with large crowds or loud noises
you find it hard to cope with unexpected changes to a journey - for example, roadworks or diversions
you only attempt a journey during quiet times of the day - for example, when the shops aren't busy or there's less traffic on the road
someone helps or encourages you to go out
someone goes out with you
your mental health condition makes using a bus or train difficult
you can't plan a route to an unfamiliar place yourself.
Q14 Moving around:
distance you can manage most of the time (that is, on a regular and repeated basis) with or without an aid, such as a walking stick.
If you use a wheelchair or mobility scooter, it won’t be counted as an aid or appliance for this question. You should answer the question by describing how well you can stand and move without using it.
Don't overestimate your ability. For example, if you can't regularly and repeatedly walk 50 metres then don't say you can.
If pain and breathlessness affect how far you walk, take that into account.
20 metres is the length of 2 buses
50 metres is the length of 5 buses
200 metres is the length of 20 buses
Q15 Additional information:
makes it difficult for you to do the activities detailed in questions 3 to 15. This is because the DWP base their decision on whether or not you get PIP on these activities.