The Short Answer
PIP uses about twenty abbreviations, and most of them name a form, a body or a stage. The ones that decide a claim are PIP2 (the claim form), the descriptors (the statements that score points), MR (mandatory reconsideration) and SSCS (the tribunal). This page defines every term used across the site, with what it means for a claim rather than only what the letters stand for.
Forms
Each form belongs to one stage, and knowing which is which prevents the commonest confusion.
| Term | Meaning | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| PIP1 | The first-stage claim form | Collects basic details after you start a claim; sometimes handled entirely by phone |
| PIP2 | 'How your disability affects you' | The main claim form. Asks about each assessed activity; return within 1 month |
| AR1 | Award review form for complex change | Used where medical conditions or the needs arising have changed |
| AR2 | Award review form, routine | Issued for a scheduled award review |
| PA4 | The assessment report | Written by the health professional after an assessment; requestable from the DWP |
| SR1 | Special rules for end of life form | Completed by a medical professional where you might have 12 months or less to live |
| SSCS1 | Benefit appeal form | Used to appeal a benefit decision by post; an online route also exists |
| SSCS2, SSCS5, SSCS7 | Other appeal forms | Child Maintenance, HMRC decisions, and Vaccine Damage Payment respectively |
| UT1 | Upper Tribunal application | Applies for permission to appeal to the Upper Tribunal |
Last checked: 7 August 2026
Bodies and People
Four organisations touch a PIP claim, and only two of them decide anything. The DWP decides entitlement; the Social Security and Child Support Tribunal decides appeals. The assessment provider and HM Courts and Tribunals Service support those decisions without making them.
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| DWP | Department for Work and Pensions — administers PIP in England and Wales |
| HP | Health professional — carries out the assessment for the assessment provider |
| DM | Decision maker — the DWP official who decides the claim, not the health professional |
| HMCTS | HM Courts and Tribunals Service — supports the tribunal administratively |
| SSCS | Social Security and Child Support — the tribunal that hears benefit appeals |
| FtT | First-tier Tribunal — the tribunal that hears the appeal |
| UT | Upper Tribunal (Administrative Appeals Chamber) — hears appeals on a point of law only |
| SSAC | Social Security Advisory Committee — scrutinises draft regulations |
Last checked: 7 August 2026
Stages and Decisions
Every challenge passes through the same named stages, each with its own deadline. A mandatory reconsideration must be requested within one month of the decision letter, and an appeal within one month of the mandatory reconsideration notice.
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| MR | Mandatory reconsideration — the DWP looking at a decision again, within one month of the decision letter |
| MR notice | The letter ending a reconsideration; required to appeal |
| Lapsed appeal | An appeal where the DWP changes the decision in your favour before the hearing |
| Overturned | A tribunal revising the decision in the claimant's favour |
| Set aside | A tribunal decision cancelled because of a procedural mistake |
| Statement of reasons | The tribunal's full written reasons; requested within one month of the decision |
Last checked: 7 August 2026
Assessment Terms
These are the words that decide points. Each one is defined in the PIP Regulations 2013 or in the DWP assessment guide, and a claim is scored by matching your circumstances to them rather than to a diagnosis.
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Activity | One of the twelve tasks scored: 10 daily living and 2 mobility |
| Descriptor | A numbered statement within an activity, carrying a point value |
| Aid or appliance | Anything used to complete a task, including items bought without a prescription |
| Prompting | Needing another person to remind, encourage or explain, without doing the task |
| Supervision | Needing another person present to avoid a substantial risk of harm |
| Assistance | Needing another person to do part of the task |
| Social support | Support from someone trained or experienced in helping with social engagement |
| Reliability criteria | Safely, to an acceptable standard, repeatedly, and in a reasonable time |
| Majority of days | A descriptor applies where it is satisfied on more than half the days |
| Required period condition | The 3-month backward and 9-month forward duration test |
Last checked: 7 August 2026
How these are applied in scoring is set out on the how pip assessment works hub.
Benefits and Payments
PIP sits alongside other benefits rather than replacing them. GOV.UK states that you can get PIP at the same time as all other benefits except Armed Forces Independence Payment, and PIP is not counted as income for Universal Credit.
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| ADP | Adult Disability Payment — replaces PIP in Scotland |
| DLA | Disability Living Allowance — replaced by PIP for most working-age adults |
| AA | Attendance Allowance — the equivalent benefit above State Pension age |
| AFIP | Armed Forces Independence Payment — cannot be received alongside PIP |
| UC | Universal Credit — means-tested; PIP does not reduce it |
| LCWRA | Limited capability for work and work-related activity — a Universal Credit outcome, not a PIP one |
| WCA | Work Capability Assessment — decides Universal Credit health status, separate from PIP |
| Arrears | Back pay: the lump sum covering the period from the owed-from date to the decision |
| Uprating | The annual April change to benefit rates |
Last checked: 7 August 2026
Legal References
Almost all of PIP law sits in one statutory instrument. The Social Security (Personal Independence Payment) Regulations 2013, S.I. 2013/377, contains the twelve activities, their descriptors and point values, the reliability criteria and the 8 and 12-point thresholds.
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| PIP Regulations 2013 | S.I. 2013/377, which contains the activities, descriptors and thresholds |
| Schedule 1 | The part of those Regulations listing the twelve activities and their descriptors |
| Regulation 4 | The reliability criteria |
| Regulation 5 | The daily living component and its 8 and 12-point thresholds |
| Regulation 6 | The mobility component and its 8 and 12-point thresholds |
| Regulation 7 | The majority-of-days rule and the highest-descriptor rule |
| S.I. | Statutory Instrument — how regulations are numbered and cited |
Last checked: 7 August 2026
Where the Terms Appear
Most of these terms appear in three documents: the PIP2 form, the decision letter and the mandatory reconsideration notice. Most claimants meet these in three places: the claim, the assessment and the challenge. The journey hub covers the first, and the pip appeal route covers the third.