How to fill in the PIP review form (AR1)
The AR1 is sent when DWP reviews an existing PIP award. It covers the same 12 activities as your original claim - but this time you describe how things are now, including any changes since the last decision. Even if nothing has changed, you still need to describe your needs in full, and these notes walk you through the parts that count.
- Deadline
- The form has a printed return-by date of approximately one month from the date on the covering letter. Send it before that date or call 0800 121 4433 to request more time.
- Time to complete
- Allow 1 to 2 hours
- Who it’s for
- A young person aged 16 or over, or a parent or appointee acting on their behalf, whose existing PIP award is being reviewed by DWP.
- 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: a review isn’t a new claim, but describe everything again
The AR1 asks about the same 12 activities as your original PIP claim, and DWP is checking whether your needs have stayed the same, improved, or got worse since the last decision. The key trap is assuming DWP already knows what was said before: they reassess from scratch. You must describe every relevant need in full, even if nothing has changed.
The review covers the same activities as PIP2
- What they’re really asking
- How your health condition or disability affects each of the 10 daily living activities and 2 mobility activities right now, and whether that’s changed since the last award.
- How to answer it well
- Go through each activity as if you were completing the form for the first time, using the original claim form as a reference but updating the answers to reflect how things are today. If your needs are exactly the same as before, say so - and describe them just as fully. If they’ve got worse, explain what’s changed and when; if they’ve improved, say that too - the form asks for an honest picture.
- Common mistake
- Writing "same as before" or leaving sections blank because you assume DWP will carry information forward. They won’t: a blank answer is treated as no difficulty with that activity.
Don’t under-report because things "feel normal now"
- What they’re really asking
- What help, prompting or supervision is needed now, regardless of whether it’s become routine.
- How to answer it well
- If a family member or carer now helps with something automatically - cooking, prompting medication, managing travel - that help still counts. The question is whether the young person needs it, not whether it’s given smoothly. Describe what would happen without that support.
- Common mistake
- Saying "they manage fine" because the family has adapted around the need. PIP assesses the need for help, not whether help is currently being given.
The test behind every activity: can they do it reliably?
A descriptor applies only if the young person can’t complete the activity in a specific way. DWP applies four conditions to every activity: safely, to an acceptable standard, repeatedly, and in a reasonable time. Missing any one of these counts as not being able to complete the activity - this is the legal test under the Social Security (Personal Independence Payment) Regulations 2013.
Safely, to an acceptable standard, repeatedly, and in a reasonable time
- What they’re really asking
- Whether the young person can complete each activity in all four ways - and if not, which limb they fail.
- How to answer it well
- For each activity, ask: (1) Could they do it safely, without risk of harm to themselves or others? (2) Could they do it to an acceptable standard - not just attempt it, but complete it adequately? (3) Could they do it as often as needed - not once, but every time? (4) Could they do it in no more than twice the time a non-disabled person would take? If they fail any one of these on more than 50% of days, the relevant descriptor applies.
- Common mistake
- Answering based on what the young person can do on a good day, or in ideal conditions, rather than what they can do on a typical day when the condition is affecting them.
Good days and bad days: describe both
- What they’re really asking
- Whether the difficulty is consistent, or varies - and what the bad days look like.
- How to answer it well
- The descriptor that applies is the one that describes the young person’s ability on more than 50% of days. So "4 out of 7 days they can’t manage without prompting" is more useful to a decision-maker than "sometimes". For each activity, say how many days a week the difficulty occurs and what happens on those days - a diary kept for 2-4 weeks before sending the form is the simplest way to capture this.
- Common mistake
- Describing only an average or only the worst day. DWP needs frequency: "most days", "3 days out of 7", "every day except one good day a week".
About your conditions and any changes (Sections 1 to 4)
The first sections of the AR1 ask you to list conditions, medications, treatments since the last decision, and any hospital admissions. They also ask whether your support contacts or consent to information sharing has changed. These sections set the context for the activity questions that follow.
Q13 - Conditions: list all of them, including difficulties without a diagnosis
- What they’re really asking
- Every health condition or disability affecting daily life, with the date each one started.
- How to answer it well
- List the main diagnosed conditions and any co-occurring difficulties - sensory needs, sleep, anxiety, fatigue, pain - even if they don’t have a separate diagnosis. If a condition has worsened or a new one has developed since the last award, say so and give the approximate date.
- Common mistake
- Listing only the headline diagnosis and leaving off the day-to-day difficulties that are actually driving the care needs.
Show the wording on the form
Q13, page 6
Tell us the name of each health condition or disability and when each one started
Q21 - Treatments since the last decision
- What they’re really asking
- Any treatment, therapy, or surgery that’s taken place, started, or is planned since DWP last looked at the award.
- How to answer it well
- List new therapies, changed medications, assessments, or operations. If treatments have ended, say so. This question isn’t about whether you’ve told DWP before - it asks specifically for changes since the last award decision, so include anything new.
- Common mistake
- Leaving this blank because treatments have continued unchanged. If therapy has been ongoing but the young person now needs more support within it, note that here.
Show the wording on the form
Q21, page 8
Tell us about any treatment, therapy or surgery since we last looked at your award
Q7 and Q8 - Support contacts
- What they’re really asking
- The healthcare professional who best knows the young person’s needs, and any other contacts who can provide information.
- How to answer it well
- Name the professional who sees the functional day-to-day reality, not just the consultant who diagnoses. An OT, SENCO, CAMHS worker, or community nurse who sees how the young person manages daily tasks is often more useful than a letter from a specialist who sees them annually.
- Common mistake
- Leaving this section with outdated contacts from the previous claim, particularly if the young person has changed school, moved to adult services, or switched GP.
Show the wording on the form
Q7, page 3
What is their job?
Q8, page 3
Is there someone else we can contact to tell us about your health condition or disability?
Answer options: No / Yes
Stuck on a question? The assistant can help you word it for your child.
Ask the assistantThe 12 activities: daily living and mobility (Section 5)
This is the core of the form: ten activities cover daily living (preparing food, eating, managing treatments, washing, toilet needs, dressing, communicating, reading, mixing with people, managing money) and two cover mobility (planning routes, moving around). For each activity, say whether it’s affected, what aid or help is needed, and why. The form uses the same reliably test throughout.
Daily living activities (Q24 to Q72): prompting counts just as much as physical help
- What they’re really asking
- Whether the young person can manage each of the 10 daily living activities without an aid, without prompting, and without help from another person.
- How to answer it well
- For each activity, answer the "can you manage without help" question honestly, and if the answer is No, tick the aid, prompting, and physical help boxes as appropriate. Prompting - being reminded, encouraged, or told what to do by another person - is explicitly scored and is just as important as physical help. Describe what the prompt is, how often it’s needed, and what happens without it, and use the free-text boxes to say when the need started and how it links to the condition.
- Common mistake
- Ticking "No" to an aid and "No" to prompting because nobody physically touches the young person - and missing that daily verbal reminders and encouragement count as the prompting descriptor.
Activity 11 - Planning and following a route (Q73 to Q76)
- What they’re really asking
- Whether the young person can plan and follow a route to an unfamiliar place, including by public transport, and whether severe anxiety or distress prevents journeys.
- How to answer it well
- This activity covers cognitive and psychological ability to navigate, not physical ability to walk. A young person who can walk fine but can’t plan journeys independently due to anxiety, autism, or ADHD may score significant points here. Describe what happens when the young person tries to travel to an unfamiliar place: whether they can plan the route, whether anxiety prevents them leaving the house, whether they’ve become lost or put themselves in danger - give examples.
- Common mistake
- Saying "they can walk to the shops" and stopping there. The question is about planning and following routes, not physical walking.
Activity 12 - Moving around (Q77 to Q82)
- What they’re really asking
- How far the young person can walk on a regular and repeated basis, whether they need to pause, and whether they use an aid or need physical assistance.
- How to answer it well
- Walk distances are specific: less than 20 metres, 20-50 metres, 50-200 metres, and 200 metres or more, so choose the distance that applies on more than half of days. Fifty metres is approximately five double-decker buses parked end to end. If the young person uses a wheelchair or scooter, answer by describing how far they can stand and move without it, including pain, breathlessness, fatigue, or dizziness that limits distance.
- Common mistake
- Answering based on the maximum distance ever achieved rather than what the young person can manage reliably, repeatedly, and safely on most days.
Q83 - Further information
- What they’re really asking
- Anything else DWP should know about the condition that hasn’t been covered by the activity questions.
- How to answer it well
- Use this space to flag: fluctuating conditions (how good days and bad days differ), the cumulative cost of completing multiple activities in one day (fatigue after morning routine affecting afternoon activities), masking in formal settings (the young person may appear more capable in an assessment than in daily life), and any evidence you’re sending separately.
- Common mistake
- Leaving this blank. It’s the one place to capture anything the structured questions can’t accommodate.
Show the wording on the form
Q83, page 23
Is there anything else you think we should know about your health condition or disability? For example any results from tests you have had.
Evidence to include with the AR1
The AR1 review is decided on the evidence in front of the decision-maker. Sending supporting information with the form avoids delays and can prevent an assessment appointment. Evidence that describes functional daily needs is more useful than a letter that only confirms a diagnosis.
What to send
- What they’re really asking
- Which documents best demonstrate how the young person’s condition affects the 12 activities right now.
- How to answer it well
- Useful evidence includes: reports from OTs, CAMHS, physiotherapists, or specialist nurses describing daily function; an EHCP or annual review describing support needs; a medication list; care plans; school or college support plan extracts; and a diary of the 2-4 weeks before you completed the form. Send photocopies, not originals. Write the young person’s name and National Insurance number on each page.
- Common mistake
- Sending only a letter confirming the diagnosis. DWP needs to know what the young person can’t do, not just what their condition is.
Changes in evidence since the last award
- What they’re really asking
- Whether any new reports, assessments, or letters are available that weren’t part of the previous claim.
- How to answer it well
- If new professionals are involved since the last award (for example, a transition to adult services, new CAMHS involvement, or an OT assessment), their reports are especially relevant. If existing evidence has been updated (a new EHCP, an annual review, a change in medication), include the latest version.
- Common mistake
- Assuming DWP holds documents from the previous claim. Send everything relevant again, including any documents that were submitted before.
After you send it
DWP may decide on the paperwork, or may ask for a telephone, video, or face-to-face assessment. If the award changes and you think the decision is wrong, you have 1 month to ask for a mandatory reconsideration. Your existing PIP award continues throughout the review, right up until a new decision is made.
Your award continues while the review is decided
- What they’re really asking
- Whether PIP payments stop while the review is in progress.
- How to answer it well
- Your existing PIP payments continue while DWP is processing the AR1 and making its decision. They don’t stop the moment you submit the form. Once a new decision is made, the new rate (or confirmation of the same rate) takes effect from that point.
- Common mistake
- Assuming DWP will stop payments immediately when they send the review form. They won’t, provided you return the form on time.
If the award is reduced or removed
- What they’re really asking
- Whether the decision can be challenged, and how.
- How to answer it well
- You have 1 month from the date of the decision letter to ask for a mandatory reconsideration (MR), which you can request by phone (quickest), letter, or form CRMR1. Add the detail and evidence that was missing or underweighted in the original decision. If the MR doesn’t change the outcome, you can appeal to the Social Security and Child Support Tribunal within 1 month of the MR notice - success rates for PIP appeals at tribunal are 65-70%.
- Common mistake
- Starting a new claim instead of challenging the review decision. A new claim resets your effective date and you lose the right to challenge the decision that was already made.
Common questions
Yes. DWP reviews every PIP award periodically to check whether needs have stayed the same, improved, or changed. You must return the form by the date printed on it, even if your situation is identical to when the original award was made. Describe your needs in full again - don’t write "same as before" or leave sections blank.
Processing times vary. DWP aims to make a decision within a few months of receiving the completed AR1. Your existing PIP payments continue throughout the review process, so you won’t lose money while you’re waiting for the decision.
Yes. Call DWP on 0800 121 4433 before the return-by date on the form to request an extension. Extensions are often granted, particularly if you’re waiting for supporting evidence, so send what you already have by the deadline and follow up with additional evidence later.
You can challenge the decision by asking for a mandatory reconsideration within 1 month of the decision letter. If that doesn’t succeed, you can appeal to the tribunal within 1 month of the mandatory reconsideration notice. Add as much specific, functional evidence as you can at each stage, and your current award stays in place during the mandatory reconsideration period.
No. A review means DWP is checking the award is still correct, and the outcome can be an increase, no change, a reduction, or removal depending on how needs have changed. Many reviews result in the same award continuing, so the key is to complete the form in full and send strong evidence.
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