PIP Mandatory Reconsideration Request Letter Tool

Welcome to our PIP Mandatory Reconsideration Request Letter Tool. We hope this will make it easier for you to ask the DWP to look again at their decision about your claim for Personal Independence Payment.

You have to ask the DWP to look at their decision again (called a ‘mandatory reconsideration’) before you can appeal. If the DWP don’t change their decision, you can appeal - see How to win a PIP appeal for advice.

You should ask for a mandatory reconsideration within 1 calendar month of the date on the decision letter. If this time limit has passed, you can usually still appeal as long as you are within 13 months. See What if I've missed the deadline? for what to do.

How To Use This Tool

Create an account

Using this tool takes a little while. If you get tired or are called away, you can save your progress and come back to it later. In order to do this you need to have an Advicenow account - you can create an account now, or while using the tool.

If you save your letter to your account, we will have to store your personal details. We will keep them secure and will never pass them on to anyone. You can read more in our Privacy notice.

You can also use the tool without creating an account. If you do this, you will not be able to take a break half way through using the tool, and we will not store your letter or personal details. The letter can still be downloaded and/or emailed to your address. However, if anything goes wrong while using the tool, you will have to start again.

Check what rate you are entitled to

We need to know which of the activities and descriptors that entitle you to PIP you think you meet. This will also tell you what rate of PIP you think, by your own assessment, you should have received.

Below are the ‘activities’ and ‘descriptors’ used to decide if you are entitled to PIP. The ‘activities’ are the daily tasks (like making a meal), and the ‘descriptors’ are the phrases that describe the help you need to complete that task. Your difficulty must be covered by the phrase you choose for it to help you be entitled to PIP.

Please select all of the descriptors below that you meet for each task. If you select more than one this tool will automatically choose the one that gives you the most points. We’ve changed the language of them slightly to make it easier to understand.

If the only way you can do something is to do it badly, unsafely, slowly or only occasionally, then select the descriptor that says you can’t do it. Similarly if you can’t do a task as many times as you might need, or if doing it causes you pain, tiredness, breathlessness, nausea, or makes your condition worse, you should select the descriptor that says you can’t do it. On the next page, you can explain the problems it causes you.

If you feel better on some days than on others, choose the phrase that describes how things are on bad days. When you are asked to explain why you meet this descriptor on the next page, explain what help you need on bad days and better days and how frequently you have both.

Activity 1. Preparing food.
Activity 2. Taking nutrition.
Activity 3. Managing therapy or monitoring a health condition.
Activity 4. Washing and bathing.
Activity 5. Managing toilet needs or incontinence.
Activity 6. Dressing and undressing.
Activity 7. Communicating verbally.
Activity 8. Reading and understanding signs, symbols and words.
Activity 9. Engaging with other people face to face.
Activity 10. Making budgeting decisions.
Activity 11. Planning and following journeys.
Activity 12. Moving around.

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