The Short Answer
A tribunal decision can only be appealed on a point of law, and the first step is asking for the full written reasons within one month. The Upper Tribunal does not rehear the evidence. Where there is no error of law, a fresh claim is the realistic route, and it runs from its own date rather than reaching back. Both routes are open at the same time.
The Two Routes After a Loss
The table below sets out the position, with each figure taken from the source named beneath it.
| Route | What it tests | Deadline | Produces arrears |
|---|---|---|---|
| Statement of reasons | Nothing yet — it is the document you need | 1 month from the decision | — |
| Upper Tribunal | A point of law only | After permission is applied for | Yes, for the disputed period |
| Fresh claim | The descriptors as they apply now | None | No, it runs from its own date |
Last checked: 7 August 2026
What Losing Actually Means
The tribunal decided the descriptors differently from you, and that is usually the end of the evidence question. Of the DWP decisions cleared at a tribunal hearing between October 2020 and September 2025, 65% were revised in the claimant's favour — which means a substantial minority were not.
Last checked: 7 August 2026
The decision notice states the outcome. The full written reasons, which set out why each descriptor was decided as it was, are a separate document and have to be requested.
The One-Month Statement of Reasons
Ask the First-tier Tribunal for full written reasons within one month of the date of the decision. GOV.UK sets that deadline, and missing it usually closes the Upper Tribunal route.
The statement is the document an adviser reads to decide whether an error of law exists. Without it there is nothing to test, which is why the request is made first and the decision about appealing is made second. GOV.UK sets the deadline as asking the First-tier Tribunal for full written reasons "within one month of the date of the decision".
Last checked: 7 August 2026
What Counts as an Error of Law
Not a disagreement about the facts. The Upper Tribunal considers whether the tribunal applied the law correctly, gave adequate reasons, or reached a decision no reasonable tribunal could have reached on the evidence.
The recurring grounds are procedural or reasoning failures: reliability not addressed at all, the 50% rule applied to a single day rather than across the period, or a descriptor rejected without a reason being given. Regulation 4 of the PIP Regulations 2013 requires safely, to an acceptable standard, repeatedly and within a reasonable time period to be considered, and a decision silent on all four is a candidate.
The Recording and the Papers
Both are available and both are free. A tribunal hearing is recorded, and a copy can be applied for within 18 months of the hearing date.
Last checked: 7 August 2026
Where the written reasons do not match what was said at the hearing, the recording is the evidence of that. It is the single most useful document in an Upper Tribunal application and the one most often not requested.
When a Fresh Claim Is the Better Route
Where the difficulties have changed, or where no error of law exists. A new claim is decided on the descriptors as they apply now, and nothing about the earlier decision binds it.
The cost is the lost back pay. A new claim runs from its own date, so the period covered by the failed appeal is not recovered. Against that, the DWP's published median for a new claim was 20 weeks end to end at January 2026, which is shorter than an Upper Tribunal application usually takes.
Last checked: 7 August 2026
Doing Both
The two routes are not alternatives. An Upper Tribunal application about the earlier period can run while a fresh claim covers the current one, and neither prejudices the other.
Where the fresh claim succeeds, the Upper Tribunal application still matters, because only it can produce back pay for the disputed period. At the 2026/27 enhanced daily living rate of £114.60 a week, a disputed year is £5,959.20 that a fresh claim cannot recover.
Last checked: 6 August 2026
Where This Sits
The hearing itself is where most of these questions are decided, and preparing for it is worth more than any later route. GOV.UK states it usually takes at least 6 months for an appeal to be heard, and the mean age of a social security case disposed of between January and March 2026 was 35 weeks — so a second attempt is a long way round.
Last checked: 7 August 2026
How the panel works, what it asks and how to answer is on how tribunal works, and the whole claim sequence is on applying for PIP.