It’s often worth appealing. Success rates are high, particularly for appeals that relate to how your ill health or disability affects you. In making its decision, the DWP may have relied on the medical report from the healthcare professional who did your PIP assessment which may be inaccurate, or it may have overlooked evidence, not weighed the evidence carefully enough, or misunderstood your circumstances.
Appealing means that the DWP's decision will be considered again by an independent tribunal and if the tribunal considers it's wrong, it can replace the decision.
PIP appeals are dealt with by the Social Entitlement Chamber of the First-tier Tribunal (Social Security and Child Support) (referred to here as ‘the tribunal’ or the ‘First-tier Tribunal’) which is independent of the DWP. If you appeal a PIP decision, your appeal is decided by a tribunal that normally consists of a judge and two other tribunal members. A tribunal clerk assists the tribunal with the administration of your appeal.
The administration of tribunals is the responsibility of HM Courts and Tribunals Service.
The tribunal must apply the law and can’t make exceptions that the law doesn’t allow. The tribunal should consider whether, given what the law says, the facts in your case mean that the DWP’s decision is incorrect. The tribunal will consider the evidence to decide what the relevant facts are.
Tribunals can decide your appeal in one of two ways.
The tribunal reconsiders the decision that’s being appealed and can make any decision that the DWP could have made.
It can either:
Changing the decision means that the tribunal substitutes the decision being appealed with one it considers to be correct. However, it doesn’t have to make exactly the decision you’ve asked for.
It's a good idea to get advice about a PIP appeal. An adviser can help you assess the strength of your case, understand whether there are any risks to appealing, and help you with the appeal process. It's not necessary to pay for advice. You can get free, independent advice from a local advice agency (such as Citizens Advice), a Law Centre or, if your local authority has one, your local authority's welfare rights department. Some national charities which support people in particular circumstances may also offer support with appeals.
To find a local advice agency, see advicelocal.uk or find an adviser on turn2us.org.uk.
Although our PIP appeal pages are addressed to 'you' as the claimant, they contain information aimed at advisers, particularly those who may not have a lot of experience of helping claimants with PIP appeals. They deal with the different stages of the appeal process, from deciding whether to appeal, to what happens after the tribunal has made its decision. Central to all stages of the appeal process is the importance of checking what the law allows, understanding the facts relevant to the appeal, and checking and gathering evidence to support the appeal.
If you need information about the qualifying conditions for PIP, see our handbooks and guide:
Also, see our topic page on Personal independence payment for links to information and articles about PIP.
If you're an adviser or support worker and you need advice about the appeal, contact our Adviceline for advisers.
If you normally live in Scotland, you can’t claim PIP but can claim adult disability payment (ADP) instead. If you're already getting PIP, you will be transferred to ADP some time this year (the transfer of PIP claimants to ADP is expected to be completed by the end of 2025).
If you’re getting PIP and, before you transfer to ADP, there's a change in your circumstances (such as a worsening of your health), or you appeal against a PIP decision see our Welfare Benefits Handbook (for subscribers):
Moving from personal independence payment to adult disability payment
And our article (February 2023):
If you need help and you're an adviser or support worker, contact our Adviceline for advisers. If you're a member of the public, you can find an adviser by using advicelocal.uk.
