Most parents and carers expect a Personal Independence Payment (PIP) decision to hang on the diagnosis. It doesn’t. PIP is scored on points, and the points come from how your young person manages a fixed set of everyday activities.
You need at least 8 points for the standard rate and 12 points for the enhanced rate, scored separately in daily living and in mobility. Points come from how reliably your young person can do each activity, safely, to an acceptable standard, repeatedly and in a reasonable time, not from the label on their diagnosis.
This guide walks through the PIP descriptors and points so you can see exactly how a claim is scored, and where the evidence has to land. In England, PIP is governed by the Social Security (Personal Independence Payment) Regulations 2013, and the descriptors and point values sit in Schedule 1 to those Regulations. PIP is the young person’s own claim from the age of 16, when Disability Living Allowance (DLA) usually transfers to PIP.
PIP is not means-tested, so your household income doesn’t change the result. Scotland uses Adult Disability Payment instead, but in England the test is the points system set out below.
Key facts
- The standard rate of a component needs 8 points; the enhanced rate needs 12 points, scored separately in daily living and mobility (gov.uk).
- There are 10 daily living activities and 2 mobility activities (Schedule 1, SI 2013/377).
- A descriptor only scores if your young person can do the activity reliably: safely, to an acceptable standard, repeatedly and in a reasonable time (PIP Assessment Guide Part 2).
- The PIP2 form (“How your disability affects you”) must be returned within one month (gov.uk).
- Decisions take around 16 weeks end to end (PIP statistics to October 2025).
Rates and descriptors checked June 2026.
What does the PIP score actually measure?
PIP measures how much your young person’s condition affects everyday tasks, not the condition itself. The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) scores them against a set list of activities and awards points for the descriptor that best matches what they can actually do.
Two children with the same diagnosis can score very differently, because the test is about function, not the label. This is why a strong claim describes the day, not the disability.
The points fall into two separate buckets. One is the daily living component, which covers self-care and dealing with the world. The other is the mobility component, which covers getting around and planning a route. Each is scored on its own and pays its own rate.
So your young person could score enough for daily living and nothing for mobility, or the other way around. Nothing carries over between the two. That separation matters when you decide where to put your evidence.
How many points do you need for PIP?
You need 8 points for the standard rate of a component and 12 points for the enhanced rate, counted within that one component (gov.uk: how much you’ll get). Daily living and mobility are added up separately, so an 8 in daily living and a 4 in mobility means standard daily living and no mobility award.
The thresholds are the same in both components. Falling one point short of a band is the difference between an award and nothing, which is why the wording of each descriptor is worth reading slowly.
Those points translate into real money. The April 2026 weekly rates are set out below, and they show what is at stake in each band.
| Component | Standard rate | Enhanced rate |
|---|---|---|
| Daily living | £76.70 | £114.60 |
| Mobility | £30.30 | £80.00 |
Rates checked June 2026 against gov.uk, and they match our guide to the April 2026 benefit rate changes. A young person who scores enough in both components at the enhanced level receives both enhanced rates together each week.
Which activities does PIP score?
PIP scores 10 daily living activities and 2 mobility activities, each with its own set of descriptors, and the full list is fixed in Schedule 1 to the Regulations. Within each activity, the assessor picks the single descriptor that best describes what your young person can do most of the time.
Reading the activity names tells you a lot. Several of them, like managing money or engaging with people face to face, catch difficulties families often overlook on the form. That is especially true with a learning disability or an autistic young person.
| Daily living activities | Mobility activities |
|---|---|
| 1. Preparing food | 1. Planning and following journeys |
| 2. Taking nutrition | 2. Moving around |
| 3. Managing therapy or monitoring a health condition | |
| 4. Washing and bathing | |
| 5. Managing toilet needs or incontinence | |
| 6. Dressing and undressing | |
| 7. Communicating verbally | |
| 8. Reading and understanding signs, symbols and words | |
| 9. Engaging with other people face to face | |
| 10. Making budgeting decisions |
Only one descriptor is chosen per activity, but the points from across all the activities in a component are added together to reach the 8 or 12 threshold. So several activities scoring 2 points each can still build a standard-rate award.
What does it mean to do an activity reliably?
A descriptor only counts if your young person can do the activity reliably, which is the single most important rule in PIP scoring. The PIP Assessment Guide Part 2 sets out four parts, and if any one of them fails, your young person is treated as unable to do the activity at that level.
This is where many genuine claims are lost. A young person who can technically wash but only with someone watching, or who can walk but not without exhausting themselves, is not doing it reliably. The form needs to say so in plain terms.
Hold every descriptor up against all four tests. If your young person can dress, but it takes them three times as long, that fails the reasonable-time test, and a higher descriptor should apply.
Write the “only with” sentences. “She can prepare food, but only if someone stays in the kitchen because of the hob.” “He can walk, but only short distances before his legs give way.” Those sentences carry the reliably rule.
How are the daily living activities scored?
Each daily living activity has a scale of descriptors from “can do it unaided” at 0 points up to “cannot do it at all” at the top of the scale. Activity 1, Preparing food, is a clear worked example of how the points climb.
The descriptor your young person matches is the one that fits most of the time, judged against the reliably rule. The wording and points below are quoted from the official PIP assessment criteria.
| Activity 1: Preparing food | Points |
|---|---|
| a. Can prepare and cook a simple meal unaided | 0 |
| b. Needs to use an aid or appliance to prepare or cook | 2 |
| c. Cannot cook on a conventional cooker but can use a microwave | 2 |
| d. Needs prompting to prepare or cook a simple meal | 2 |
| e. Needs supervision or assistance to prepare or cook | 4 |
| f. Cannot prepare and cook food | 8 |
Notice how “needs prompting” already scores 2 points. Many parents assume only physical help counts, but needing someone to start them off, supervise for safety, or talk them through it all score. The other nine daily living activities follow the same shape. So a young person who needs prompting or supervision across several of them can reach the 8-point standard rate on prompting alone.
How is the mobility component scored?
Mobility is scored across just two activities, Planning and following journeys and Moving around, and either one alone can reach the enhanced rate. Planning and following journeys covers the mental side of getting somewhere, which often matters most for an autistic young person or one with anxiety, not only physical walking.
Moving around is the clearest scale in PIP, because it is measured in metres. The descriptors and points are set out verbatim in Schedule 1, Activity 2.
| Activity 2: Moving around | Points |
|---|---|
| a. Can stand and move more than 200 metres, aided or unaided | 0 |
| b. Can move more than 50 but no more than 200 metres | 4 |
| c. Can move unaided more than 20 but no more than 50 metres | 8 |
| d. Can move using an aid more than 20 but no more than 50 metres | 10 |
| e. Can move more than 1 but no more than 20 metres | 12 |
| f. Cannot stand, or move more than 1 metre | 12 |
The reliably rule applies here too. Say your young person can manage 60 metres once but not repeatedly, or only at the cost of severe pain or exhaustion. The assessor should score the distance they can manage reliably, not their one best effort. Distance is measured as what they can do safely and repeatedly, not on a good day.
What is the PIP assessment like?
The PIP assessment is where an assessor checks the claim against the descriptors, and it can be paper-based, by telephone or face to face (gov.uk: how you’re assessed). The assessor considers whether your young person can do each activity safely, how long it takes, and whether they need help from another person or a piece of equipment.
It starts with the PIP2 form, “How your disability affects you”, which is where the descriptors are really won or lost. That form must be returned within one month, or the claim can be turned down unless there is a good reason (gov.uk: how to claim).
The whole process, from claim to decision, takes around 16 weeks on average (PIP official statistics to October 2025). As a parent or carer you can usually be present and speak up if your young person under-reports their difficulties, which they very often do.
Young people who move from DLA to PIP often play down their needs in front of an assessor. Agree beforehand that you will add anything they miss, and bring your evidence to the assessment.
How do you evidence your young person’s worst days on the form?
You evidence the worst days by describing what a difficult day actually looks like, in concrete detail, against each activity, rather than answering yes or no. The descriptors are scored on how your young person is most of the time, including bad days, not on their best moment.
The strongest forms turn a vague answer into a scene. “Needs help washing” tells the assessor little. “Needs me to run the bath, test the temperature and stay in the room, because she cannot judge hot water safely” maps straight onto a descriptor and the reliably rule.
- Keep a two-week diary of the help your young person actually needs, day by day
- Quote the worst days, not the best - the test covers how they are most of the time
- Use the “only with” sentence for every activity where help is needed
- Gather supporting letters from the GP, paediatrician, therapist or school
- Match your words to the descriptors so the assessor can see which one fits
Send copies of supporting evidence with the form and keep the originals. A short letter from a professional that describes day-to-day function is worth more than a thick file of clinic notes the assessor has to wade through.
What if the points come out too low?
If the points come out too low, you can challenge the decision, and a great many low scores are overturned. The first step is a mandatory reconsideration (MR), where you ask the DWP to look at the decision again. You must request it within one month of the decision letter.
If the mandatory reconsideration doesn’t change the outcome, you can appeal to an independent tribunal. Appeals succeed often enough that it is almost always worth getting advice before giving up on a low award. Reading the DLA to PIP transition guide and our piece on PIP for an autistic or ADHD young person will help you frame the descriptors before you challenge a score.
You normally have one month from the decision letter to ask for a mandatory reconsideration. Miss it and you can lose the right to appeal, so act quickly even if you are still gathering evidence.
Getting help
Citizens Advice helps with PIP claims, the PIP2 form and challenges. An adviser can sit with you through the descriptors and check your answers map to the points.
Scope runs a benefits helpline and clear guides on the PIP assessment and what to expect at each stage.
Disability Rights UK publishes detailed PIP descriptor factsheets and guidance on scoring and appeals.
Contact supports families with disabled children specifically, including the DLA to PIP move at 16 and getting the evidence right.
How the assistant can help
The free SEND Parents Help assistant can talk through a normal day with your young person and help you see which PIP activities and descriptors their needs map to. You can ask it to help word the PIP2 form against the reliably rule, or to explain what a low score means and how a mandatory reconsideration works.
Sources and further reading
Legislation and official guidance
- Social Security (Personal Independence Payment) Regulations 2013, Schedule 1 (the activities, descriptors and point values)
- Social Security (Personal Independence Payment) Regulations 2013, contents (the governing Regulations)
- PIP Assessment Guide Part 2: the assessment criteria (the reliably rule and descriptor guidance)
- PIP: how much you’ll get (rates and the point thresholds)
- PIP: how you’re assessed (the assessment process)
- PIP: how to claim (the PIP2 form and the one-month return)
Statistics
- PIP official statistics to October 2025 (clearance times and award outcomes)
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