The PIP assessment
If DWP needs more information, you might be invited to an assessment with a health professional. It can be at an assessment centre, at your home, over the phone or by video call, and usually takes 1 hour.
Source: gov.uk: PIP, after you've applied. Checked 11 October 2026.
Not every claim needs an assessment. DWP asks for one if it needs more information than your form and evidence give.
Source: gov.uk: How to claim PIP. Checked 11 October 2026.
What happens at the assessment
The health professional asks how your condition affects daily living and mobility tasks, and about any treatments you've had or will have. They might ask you to do some simple movements.
The audio of the assessment is recorded. If you don't want it recorded, contact the assessment provider using the details in your invitation letter. You can have someone with you, such as a friend or support worker.
Source: gov.uk: PIP, after you've applied. Checked 11 October 2026.
How long the assessment stage takes
From referral to the assessment provider to their report coming back, the median new claim took 10 weeks in July 2026: the longest stage of a claim. After the report reached DWP, the decision took a median of 2 weeks. The full picture is on how long PIP takes.
Source: DWP: Personal Independence Payment statistics to July 2026, published 15 September 2026. Table 1A, normal rules, new claims.
How the assessment is scored
After the assessment, DWP decides your claim, scoring 12 activities. For each activity, the descriptor that counts is the one that applies on more than half the days, looking at a 12-month period: the 3 months up to the date DWP assesses your claim from, and the 9 months after it. If two or more apply on more than half the days, the higher scoring one counts. You only count as able to do an activity if you can do it safely, to an acceptable standard, as often as you need to, and in no more than twice the time someone without your condition would take.
Sources: PIP Regulations 2013, regulation 7; PIP Regulations 2013, regulation 4. Checked 11 October 2026.
The PIP points calculator has every descriptor word for word.
After the assessment
DWP sends a letter saying whether you'll get PIP. If you will, it gives the date of your first payment and when your claim will be reviewed. A first award lasts between 9 months and 10 years.
Source: gov.uk: PIP, after you've applied. Checked 11 October 2026.
If you disagree with the decision, the next step is a mandatory reconsideration.
Questions people ask
How long does a PIP assessment take?
The assessment itself usually takes 1 hour. The assessment stage of a claim, from referral to the assessment provider to their report coming back to DWP, took a median of 10 weeks for new claims in July 2026.
Is the PIP assessment recorded?
The audio of the assessment is recorded. If you don't want it recorded, contact the assessment provider using the details in your invitation letter. You can have someone with you, such as a friend or support worker.
Does everyone have a PIP assessment?
Not every claim needs an assessment. DWP asks for one if it needs more information than your form and evidence give.
How long after the assessment do you get a PIP decision?
Once the assessment report reached DWP, the median new claim got its decision 2 weeks later in July 2026. DWP sends a letter saying whether you'll get PIP. If you will, it gives the date of your first payment and when your claim will be reviewed. A first award lasts between 9 months and 10 years.
We are not the DWP and can't see your claim. For help preparing for an assessment, Citizens Advice and Scope give free advice.