You might be able to get Personal Independence Payment (PIP) if you need extra help because of an illness, disability or mental health condition. You can make a PIP claim whether or not you are already getting help from someone with your needs.
You don’t need to have worked or paid National Insurance to qualify for PIP, and it doesn’t matter what your income is, if you have any savings or you’re working. You can also get PIP as well as Employment and Support Allowance (ESA).
To get PIP you must find it hard to do everyday tasks or get around because of a physical or mental condition. You must have found these things hard for 3 months and expect them to continue to be hard for another 9 months.
You must be living in England, Wales or Scotland when you apply – unless you or a close family member are in the armed forces.
You must be at least 16 years old to get PIP.
You can claim PIP while you're in hospital, a care home or a nursing home, but it can affect when your payments start.
If you’re in hospital, payments usually start when you leave. You can get PIP while you’re in hospital if either:
If you’re in a care home and you pay privately, you can get PIP while you’re there.
If the government, the NHS or your local council pay for you to stay in the care home, you can’t get the ‘daily living component’ of PIP until you leave. You can still get the ‘mobility component’. The daily living component is for the extra help you need with everyday tasks. The mobility component is for the extra help you need getting around.
If you’re in a residential college or school, your eligibility for PIP can be affected if a local authority pays the fees.
If you need help with understanding the PIP requirements or applying, you should get support and advice from your local Citizens Advice.
You’ll need to give evidence to show the UK, Ireland, Channel Islands or Isle of Man is your main home and you plan to stay. This is known as being ‘habitually resident’.
You must also have lived in Great Britain for 2 out of the last 3 years. Great Britain is England, Wales and Scotland. It doesn’t include Northern Ireland.
Your time spent in Great Britain doesn't need to have been in one go. For example, you could have lived in England for 1 year, the USA for 1 year and Wales for 1 year.
If you haven’t lived in Great Britain for enough time
You might be eligible if you’ve worked or claimed benefits for 2 out of the last 3 years in the EU, Norway, Switzerland, Iceland or Liechtenstein.
The rules in this area are complicated and it’s best to get advice before you apply from your local Citizens Advice.
You might also be eligible if you’ve got a ‘genuine and sufficient link’ to the UK.
You might have a ‘genuine and sufficient link’ if for example:
The rules in this area are complicated and it’s best to get advice before you apply from your local Citizens Advice.
If you get a pension or benefit from the EU, Norway, Switzerland, Iceland or Liechtenstein
Your eligibility for PIP could be affected. The rules in this area are complicated and it’s best to get advice before you apply from your local Citizens Advice.
If you’re not a UK citizen
The rules depend on whether you're a citizen of a country in the EU, EEA or Switzerland.
The EEA includes EU countries and Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway.
If you’re a citizen of a country in the EU, EEA or Switzerland:
To apply for PIP you need to show:
If you're terminally ill you'll need to show you're habitually resident, but you don't need to have lived in Great Britain for 2 out of the last 3 years.
To claim PIP you also normally have to have one of the following:
If none of these apply to you, you might be able to make a late application to the EU Settlement Scheme. You’ll need to have a good reason for missing the deadline of 30 June 2021.
If you’re a citizen of a country outside the EU, EEA or Switzerland:
You can’t apply for PIP if you’re subject to immigration control.
To apply for PIP you need to show:
If you're terminally ill you'll need to show you're habitually resident, but you don't need to have lived in Great Britain for 2 out of the last 3 years.www.citizensadvice.org.uk
PIP is not based on the condition you have or the medication you take. It is based on the level of help you need because of how your condition affects you.
You’re assessed on the level of help you need with specific activities. It’s hard to say if the level of help you need will mean you qualify you for PIP. But, if you get help or need help with any of the following, you should consider applying:
The help you get may be from a person, an aid (such as a walking stick or guide dog) or an adaptation to your home or car.
Making a claim for the benefit Personal Independence Payment (PIP) can take a long time. It can often take up to 4 months from starting the application to getting your money (if you’re terminally ill your claim will be processed more quickly).
If you’re moving from DLA to PIP your payments won’t stop while you’re waiting for your PIP claim to be processed, as long as you make your claim for PIP within 28 days of being told by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) that you should. Your PIP payments will start the day after your DLA payment stops.
If you don’t get DLA, your first payment for PIP will start from the date you make your claim. It will cover the length of time it takes the DWP to make its decision. PIP can’t be backdated, so you won’t get any money for the time before you make your claim.
You should make sure you’re prepared and have all the relevant information to help you make your claim.
There are 3 stages to your claiming PIP:
You can’t backdate PIP – this means you won’t get any money for time before you made your claim.
Monday to Friday, 8am to 5pm
Telephone: 0800 917 2222
Textphone: 0800 917 7777
Calls to these numbers are free from mobiles and landlines.
Calling from abroad: +44 191 218 7766
Relay UK - if you can't hear or speak on the phone, you can type what you want to say: 18001 then 0800 917 2222. You can use Relay UK with an app or a textphone. There’s no extra charge to use it.
It should take about 20 minutes to complete the call. If you’d prefer someone else to call for you that’s fine, but you need to be with them so you can give permission for them to speak for you.
The DWP will ask if you want them to send you the ‘How your disability affects you’ form by post or by email.
The DWP will also ask if you have any conditions relating to your mental health, a learning difficulty or behavioural condition. They ask these questions to check if you need any additional help or support with your claim.
If you need help with understanding the PIP requirements or applying, you should get support and advice from your local Citizens Advice.
It’s quicker to apply by phone, but if that isn’t possible you can write to the DWP and ask for a PIP1 form.
Write to the PIP New Claims address. You’ll need to tell them why you (or someone else) can’t fill in the PIP1 form over the phone.
Personal Independence Payment New Claims
Post Handling Site B
Wolverhampton
WV99 1AH
When you get the PIP1 form, fill it in and send it to the address on the form as soon as possible. You must send it back within 1 month after the DWP got your letter – that might be a few days before you get the form.
If the DWP decides you can get PIP, they’ll pay you the money you should have got from the date they received the PIP1 form.