The Short Answer
A PIP claim has three deadlines and one list of documents, and both are short. Before calling, have your National Insurance number, bank details and doctor's details to hand. The PIP2 form must come back within one month. Every challenge deadline after that is also one month. Nothing else in the process moves as fast as those three clocks.
Before You Call
GOV.UK lists exactly what the claim line will ask for.
- Contact details, including a telephone number
- Date of birth
- National Insurance number
- Bank or building society account number and sort code
- Your doctor or health worker's name, address and telephone number
- Dates and addresses of any time in a care home or hospital
- Dates of any period abroad longer than 4 weeks, and the countries visited
- Details of money or support you or a close family member receive from an EEA country or Switzerland
Last checked: 7 August 2026
Assembling these first shortens the call and prevents a partly completed online application from timing out.
The Claim Line
0800 917 2222, Monday to Friday 8am to 5pm. Relay UK is 18001 then the same number, and a British Sign Language video relay service is available. Calling from abroad is +44 191 218 7766.
Someone can be added to the call, or can call on your behalf if you are with them. A home visit can be requested during the call.
The postal alternative is a letter to Freepost DWP PIP 1 saying you want to start a claim. No stamp or postcode is needed.
The PIP2 Form
One month, and the detail boxes are where the points are. For each activity, four things make an answer usable: what happens when you attempt the task, how many days a week, what help you need and who gives it, and how long it takes compared with someone without your condition.
Do not leave sections blank. Four 2-point descriptors across four activities reach the 8-point standard-rate threshold, and blank sections are scored at zero rather than held open. Those thresholds are set by regulations 5 and 6 of the PIP Regulations 2013: 8 points in a component for the standard rate, 12 for the enhanced rate. The section-by-section guidance is on claim forms.
What to Send
Copies of what you already have, rather than reports you have to wait for. GOV.UK names prescription lists, care plans, and information from your doctor or others involved in your care.
Write your National Insurance number on every page. Send what you have by the deadline and add anything further as it arrives — evidence can be added after the form is returned and up to the decision. The postal form usually reaches you within 2 weeks of the claim being registered, and the 1 month runs from the date printed on it.
Last checked: 7 August 2026
Every Deadline in Order
The table below sets out the position, with each figure taken from the source named beneath it.
| Stage | Deadline |
|---|---|
| Return the PIP2 form | 1 month from issue |
| Ask for a mandatory reconsideration | 1 month from the decision letter |
| Appeal to the tribunal | 1 month from the mandatory reconsideration notice |
| Ask for a statement of reasons | 1 month from the tribunal decision |
Last checked: 7 August 2026
More time can be requested for the form from the PIP enquiry line on 0800 121 4433. Late challenges can be accepted with a good reason, up to 13 months, but acceptance is not automatic.
After You Send It
The claim moves to a possible assessment and then to a decision, and the waiting is measured in months rather than weeks. The DWP's published median at January 2026 was 20 weeks end to end for a normal rules new claim, and 15 weeks from referral to the assessment provider to the decision.
Last checked: 7 August 2026
The whole sequence, with typical timings, is on How to Claim PIP.