How to fill in the PIP form (PIP2 questionnaire)
PIP starts with a phone call, then this form - "How your disability affects you". It asks the same thing in many ways, but the decision turns on one idea: how much help your young person needs with everyday tasks, and whether they can do each one safely, well, often enough, and in a reasonable time. These notes walk you through the parts that decide the claim.
- Deadline
- PIP starts with a phone claim, then the PIP2 form arrives. There’s a return-by date printed on the front of the form, normally about a month after your call. Call the PIP enquiry line if you need more time.
- Time to complete
- Allow 2 to 3 hours, plus time to gather evidence
- Who it’s for
- A disabled young person aged 16 or over claiming PIP, often with a parent or appointee helping (PIP replaces DLA at 16).
- Where it applies
- England and Wales
Scotland and Northern Ireland run these benefits themselves, so the form and the office are different there. In Scotland, check Social Security Scotland. In Northern Ireland, check nidirect.
GOV.UK is the official source and is always the most up to date. These copies are provided for convenience.
We’ve put the parts that decide the claim first. The question numbers tell you where each one sits on the form.
Before you start: the rule that decides it
PIP isn’t about the diagnosis. It scores how much difficulty your young person has with everyday tasks and getting around. The single most important idea is the "reliably" rule: for a difficulty to count, they must be unable to do the task to an acceptable standard, and most of this form is your chance to show that.
The "reliably" test behind every question
- What they’re really asking
- For each activity, whether your young person can do it safely, to an acceptable standard, repeatedly (as often as needed), and in a reasonable time (no more than twice as long as someone without the condition).
- How to answer it well
- Test every answer against all four. If your young person can wash but only with you watching for safety, or can dress but it takes three times as long, or can do it once but not again later, that’s help needed. Say which of the four fails and why, for example: "She can physically butter bread, but leaves the hob on and burns herself, so can’t prepare food safely without me there."
- Common mistake
- Saying "they can do it" because it’s physically possible once, ignoring that it’s not safe, not repeatable, or takes far too long.
Worst days and how often, not your best day
- What they’re really asking
- A descriptor applies if it fits on more than half the days. PIP looks at difficulty most of the time across a 12-month picture (the past 3 months and the expected next 9 months).
- How to answer it well
- For each difficulty, say how many days it happens, for example "4 days out of 7", not "sometimes". Describe a bad day in full. A short diary kept over 2 to 4 weeks makes this much easier and is strong evidence.
- Common mistake
- Describing a good day to seem fair, or writing "sometimes" and "it varies" without the frequency, so it reads as occasional rather than most of the time.
How the PIP claim works (phone first, then this form)
PIP doesn’t start with the PIP2 form. You start the claim by phone, the DWP sends the PIP2 ("How your disability affects you"), you return it by the date on the front, and then most people have an assessment. At 16 the DLA appointee role doesn’t carry over, so a parent must apply separately to act for the young person.
Step 1 - Start the claim by phone
- What they’re really asking
- That the young person (or someone for them) has begun the claim so the form can be issued.
- How to answer it well
- Call the PIP new claims line on 0800 917 2222 (Relay UK: 18001 then 0800 917 2222). They take basic details and then send the PIP2 form to fill in. If you’re moving from DLA at 16, claim by the date in the DWP invitation letter so DLA keeps paying until the PIP decision.
- Common mistake
- Waiting for a form to arrive on its own. Nothing happens until the claim is started by phone (or by post to Freepost DWP PIP 1).
Acting for a young person aged 16 or over
- What they’re really asking
- Whether a parent or carer is formally allowed to manage the claim for a young person who can’t.
- How to answer it well
- A DLA appointee role doesn’t transfer to PIP automatically. If your young person can’t manage their own claim, ask about becoming a PIP appointee when you call. You can still help them complete the form even if you’re not yet an appointee.
- Common mistake
- Assuming you can act for them at 16 the way you did under DLA, and not arranging appointeeship in time.
About the health condition (Q1 to Q3)
The opening questions ask for every condition and its start date, the medication and any side effects, and treatments or therapies. List everything, including difficulties without a formal diagnosis. There’s no points score here, but it sets the scene for the activities that follow.
Q1 - Conditions and start dates
- What they’re really asking
- Every physical, sensory, learning, developmental, behavioural or mental health condition, and roughly when each began.
- How to answer it well
- List them all, with an approximate start date for each. Include difficulties you’re still waiting to have diagnosed - PIP is based on the effect on daily life, not on having a label, so describe needs that exist now.
- Common mistake
- Naming only the main diagnosis and leaving off the conditions that actually create the daily difficulties.
Show the wording on the form
Q1, page 17
Tell us what health condition or disability do you have and the approximate start date
Q2 and Q3 - Medication, side effects and treatments
- What they’re really asking
- What medication and treatment your young person has, and any side effects, so the picture of daily impact is complete.
- How to answer it well
- List each medication, dose and how often, plus side effects such as drowsiness or nausea that themselves create difficulty. Include therapies (for example speech and language therapy or physiotherapy) and how often they happen.
- Common mistake
- Leaving out side effects, which can be part of why an activity can’t be done reliably.
Show the wording on the form
Q2, page 17
Tell us about tablets or other medication you are taking or will be taking and the dosage. If you have side effects from taking your medication, please tell us what they are.
Q3, page 18
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).
Health professionals (Q2 on the form)
You can name up to three professionals who know your young person best and can advise on how the condition affects them day to day. The most useful names are the people who see the daily reality, not the consultant seen once a year.
Naming the right professionals and sending evidence yourself
- What they’re really asking
- Who can confirm how the condition affects daily living and mobility, and any reports that back up what you’ve written.
- How to answer it well
- Choose people who see the everyday impact: a GP, paediatrician, OT, speech and language therapist, CAMHS worker, or a school SENCO or support worker. Send photocopies of reports, an EHCP or care plan, a medicines list, and any care diary yourself - don’t rely on the DWP to chase them. Good evidence can mean a decision without an assessment.
- Common mistake
- Picking a specialist who sees your young person rarely over a therapist or SENCO who knows the daily needs; or sending nothing and assuming the DWP will request it.
Stuck on a question? The assistant can help you word it for your child.
Ask the assistantDaily living activities (Q3 onwards on the form)
These questions cover preparing food, eating and drinking, managing treatments and monitoring a condition, washing and bathing, using the toilet, and dressing. Each starts with a Yes or No tick, then a large box for detail. Prompting, supervision and using aids all count as needing help, not just hands-on physical help.
Preparing food
- What they’re really asking
- Whether your young person can plan and cook a simple meal for one from fresh ingredients - peeling, chopping, using the hob or oven - safely and reliably.
- How to answer it well
- Cover safety (leaving the hob on, burns, dropping pans), prompting needed to start or follow steps, and whether aids or a microwave only are used. Note if supervision is needed throughout.
- Common mistake
- Answering "they can use a microwave" as if that’s no difficulty - needing a microwave because the hob is unsafe is itself a recognised difficulty.
Managing treatments and monitoring a condition
- What they’re really asking
- Whether your young person needs help, prompting or supervision to take medication correctly, monitor a health condition, or carry out therapies at home.
- How to answer it well
- Say what’s needed and how often: prompting to take medication, help measuring or monitoring (for example blood sugar or seizures), or another person to help with home therapy. If a therapy needs help, give the hours a week.
- Common mistake
- Skipping this because medication "is just a tablet" - if they won’t or can’t take it reliably without you, that’s help needed.
Washing, bathing, the toilet and dressing
- What they’re really asking
- For each task, whether your young person needs help, prompting, supervision or aids, and how that compares with managing it independently.
- How to answer it well
- Take each task separately, describing physical help AND prompting - a young person who can physically dress but won’t without step-by-step prompting still needs help. Add safety (slips in the bath), and continence needs at the toilet question. Give frequency every time.
- Common mistake
- Counting only physical help and ignoring prompting, supervision and encouragement, which the rules treat as help with the activity.
Mental health, communication and money
Several activities are about the mind as much as the body: communicating, reading and understanding, mixing with other people, and managing money. These are often where autistic young people and those with anxiety or a learning disability score, but only if the difficulty is described in full.
Mixing with other people (engaging socially)
- What they’re really asking
- Whether your young person needs prompting or social support to be around others, or can’t manage it because of overwhelming distress or a risk of harm.
- How to answer it well
- Describe what actually happens: shutdowns or meltdowns, severe anxiety, not reading social cues, behaviour that puts them or others at risk. Say whether they need another person there to help them cope, and how often.
- Common mistake
- Writing "shy" or "a loner" - the question is about needing support to engage, or being unable to, not personality.
Communicating, reading and managing money
- What they’re really asking
- Whether your young person needs support to be understood or to understand others, to read and understand written information, or to make budgeting decisions.
- How to answer it well
- For communication, say if they need someone to explain things, or an aid. For reading, note difficulty understanding signs, words or numbers (needing glasses doesn’t count). For money, this is about understanding cost and change and managing a budget, not physically handling cash.
- Common mistake
- Treating "managing money" as whether they can hold coins - it’s about the decision-making, which is where a learning disability often shows.
Mobility activities (the last two questions)
There are two mobility activities. The first, planning and following a journey, is about the mind: working out a route, leaving home, and coping with the journey - you don’t need a physical disability to score here. The second, moving around, is about physically standing and walking, measured in distance bands.
Planning and following a journey
- What they’re really asking
- Whether your young person can plan a route and follow it, and whether anxiety or distress means they need someone with them, especially on unfamiliar routes.
- How to answer it well
- Describe what happens leaving home and on a journey: severe anxiety, getting lost, no road sense, bolting, or being unable to set out at all because of distress. Say whether they need another person, an assistance dog, or a long cane. This activity covers cognitive and mental health difficulty, not just physical.
- Common mistake
- Assuming this is only for physical or sensory difficulty - overwhelming anxiety that stops a journey, or needing someone on unfamiliar routes, is exactly what it asks about.
Moving around
- What they’re really asking
- How far your young person can stand and physically move, reliably, and whether they need aids to do it.
- How to answer it well
- The form gives distance bands (cannot stand and move even with aids / less than 20 metres / 20 to 50 metres / 50 to 200 metres / more than 200 metres / it varies). Pick the distance they can manage reliably - safely, repeatedly, and without pain or exhaustion stopping them - not the best they’ve ever managed once. Add detail about pain, falls and how they walk.
- Common mistake
- Choosing the furthest distance achieved on a good day, when most days it’s shorter or causes pain afterwards.
Evidence, extra space, and after you send it
The last form question is a large additional-information box - use it. Send supporting evidence with the form, return it by the date on the front, and if a difficulty doesn’t fit a box, say so. If the decision is wrong, you can challenge it.
Use the additional information box
- What they’re really asking
- Anything important that didn’t fit the activity boxes, including notes from a carer, family member or the young person.
- How to answer it well
- Add anything you ran out of room for, label it with the question it relates to, and explain bad days, fluctuation, and the help your young person needs that the set questions didn’t capture. Carers and family can write here too.
- Common mistake
- Leaving this blank, or repeating the form instead of adding the things the boxes missed.
Return on time and send evidence
- What they’re really asking
- That the form comes back by the printed deadline with the evidence you have.
- How to answer it well
- Return the form by the date on the front (about a month), sending photocopies of evidence with your full name and reference number on each. If you’re still waiting for a report, send what you have now and the rest later, and say so in the additional information box. Call the PIP enquiry line if you need more time.
- Common mistake
- Holding the whole form back to wait for one report and missing the return date.
If the decision is wrong
- What they’re really asking
- Whether to challenge a refusal or a rate you think is too low.
- How to answer it well
- You have 1 month from the decision to ask for a mandatory reconsideration. Add the day-to-day detail and evidence that was missing, rather than starting a fresh claim. Many awards are won later at tribunal, so don’t give up after a first refusal.
- Common mistake
- Reapplying from scratch instead of challenging the existing decision.
Common questions
You start by phone on 0800 917 2222 (Relay UK: 18001 then 0800 917 2222), or by writing to Freepost DWP PIP 1. The DWP takes basic details and then sends the PIP2 form, "How your disability affects you", for you to fill in and return.
There’s a return-by date printed on the front of the PIP2 form, normally about a month after your phone call. If you need more time, for example to gather evidence, call the PIP enquiry line and ask before the deadline.
It’s about how the condition affects everyday tasks and getting around, not the diagnosis itself. Describe the difficulties and the help your young person needs now, even for conditions you’re still waiting to have diagnosed.
For a difficulty to count, your young person must be unable to do the task safely, to an acceptable standard, repeatedly (as often as needed), and in a reasonable time (no more than twice as long as someone without the condition). Test every answer against all four.
PIP replaces DLA at 16. A parent or carer can help, but the DLA appointee role doesn’t transfer automatically, so if your young person can’t manage the claim themselves, ask about becoming a PIP appointee when you call. Claim by the date in the DWP invitation letter so DLA keeps paying until the PIP decision.
No. PIP isn’t means-tested. Income, savings and whether the young person works make no difference to whether they qualify or how much they get.
Related forms
Sources
Get this form right, together
Open SEND Parents Help in ChatGPT and get help worded for your child. It’s free, for parents.
Get help with this form in ChatGPT