The Short Answer
Sleep apnoea counts towards PIP only where its effects stop you doing the 12 activities safely, repeatedly or in a reasonable time, scoring at least 8 points in a component; the diagnosis and a CPAP machine do not score on their own. Preparing food, washing and bathing, and managing therapy are the activities most often engaged. Each difficulty must apply on more than half of the days. The enhanced rate needs 12 points.
Can You Get PIP for Sleep Apnoea?
Yes, but only where the effects of sleep apnoea score at least 8 points in the daily living or mobility component; the diagnosis itself carries no points. PIP has no list of qualifying conditions. The same test applies to sleep apnoea, and to "sleep apnea" as most people search for it: how far the condition limits the 12 activities in Schedule 1 of the PIP Regulations 2013.
GOV.UK sets out the duration test: "To get PIP you must experience difficulty with tasks most of the time. This means that you expect to have difficulty more than half of the days over a 12-month period." The difficulties must also be expected to last at least 12 months from when they started.
Snoring is not an activity or a descriptor. The regulations name no condition and no symptom, so a claim built on snoring alone has nothing to score against. Points come from what sleep apnoea stops you doing safely.
Which PIP Activities Can Sleep Apnoea Affect?
Three activities can be engaged by the effects of sleep apnoea: managing therapy, preparing food, and washing and bathing. The table gives each descriptor exactly as Schedule 1 words it, with its points. The middle column describes the effect on the task, not a symptom or a treatment.
| Activity | Effect on the task | Descriptor (Schedule 1) | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| Managing therapy or monitoring a health condition | Help needed to manage therapy at home | c. Needs supervision, prompting or assistance to be able to manage therapy that takes no more than 3.5 hours a week. | 2 |
| Managing therapy or monitoring a health condition | Help needed to manage therapy at home | d. Needs supervision, prompting or assistance to be able to manage therapy that takes more than 3.5 but no more than 7 hours a week. | 4 |
| Preparing food | Falling asleep during cooking, so it is not done safely | e. Needs supervision or assistance to either prepare or cook a simple meal. | 4 |
| Washing and bathing | Someone needs to be nearby during washing | c. Needs supervision or prompting to be able to wash or bathe. | 2 |
Last checked:
Schedule 1 defines supervision as "the continuous presence of another person for the purpose of ensuring C's safety". Under that definition, someone who is around the house but not present during the task is not supervising it. The Managing Treatments activity and the Preparing Food activity pages list every descriptor in those activities.
The planning and following journeys activity is not in the table. The assessment guide says it "is designed for limitations on mobility deriving from mental health, cognitive and sensory impairments", and that physical problems belong under moving around. Whether any journey descriptor applies is for the decision maker on the evidence.
Does Using a CPAP Machine Count for PIP Points?
No. Using a CPAP machine does not score points on its own, and the assessment guide does not mention CPAP machines. Descriptors c to f in the therapy activity score only where a person needs supervision, prompting or assistance to manage therapy. A person who sets up and uses the machine unaided falls under descriptor a, which scores 0.
Schedule 1 defines therapy as treatment prescribed or recommended by a registered health professional, and excludes taking medication and monitoring a health condition. The guide describes therapy as "a non-pharmaceutical treatment" and gives the examples of physiotherapy, home dialysis and special diets. On equipment, its only comparable statement concerns another device: "A nebuliser could be considered to be delivering either medication or therapy depending on the clinical indication and use."
The guide is silent on CPAP, so no source says a machine is therapy and none says it is not. The decision maker weighs the evidence in each case. The hours in descriptors c to f measure the help given, not the time the machine runs. The guide states that these descriptors "apply to the duration of the supervision, prompting or assistance and not the duration of the therapy". How equipment scores elsewhere is covered under Aids and Appliances.
How Does Daytime Sleepiness Count Under the Reliability Criteria?
A task counts as done only if it can be done safely, to an acceptable standard, repeatedly and within a reasonable time. Regulation 4(2A) sets those four conditions, and regulation 4(4) defines "safely" as "in a manner unlikely to cause harm to C or to another person, either during or after completion of the activity". These are the reliability criteria.
Where falling asleep at the hob makes cooking unsafe, the person cannot be assessed as able to cook a simple meal. The supervision descriptor is then the one that fits. "Repeatedly" means as often as the activity is reasonably required, so a task managed once but not on the days it recurs does not pass.
Regulation 7 selects a descriptor that is "satisfied on over 50% of the days of the required period". The required period covers 3 months before the relevant date and 9 months after it. Sleepiness that affects a task on fewer than half of those days does not engage a descriptor on its own. However, regulation 7(1)(c) allows days on which different descriptors apply to be added together. The PIP 50% Rule explains how days are counted.
How Many PIP Points Could You Score With Sleep Apnoea?
8 points in a component pays the standard rate and 12 points pays the enhanced rate. Regulations 5 and 6 set both thresholds. Daily living and mobility are scored separately, and their points never combine.
The example below shows the arithmetic only and is not a prediction of any award.
| Activity | Descriptor | Points |
|---|---|---|
| Preparing food | e | 4 |
| Washing and bathing | c | 2 |
| Managing therapy or monitoring a health condition | c | 2 |
| Daily living total | 8 |
Last checked:
An 8-point total reaches the standard rate of daily living. Each activity scores its single highest applicable descriptor, and the activity scores are added.
Points are added across conditions as well. Needs caused by sleep apnoea and by another condition are scored together within the same component. Two conditions that commonly occur alongside sleep apnoea have their own pages: PIP for COPD and PIP for Heart Conditions. To score your own descriptors activity by activity, use the descriptor picker.
What Evidence Supports a PIP Claim With Sleep Apnoea?
Evidence that describes what you cannot do safely carries more weight than evidence that names the diagnosis. The assessment guide states of another activity that there is no requirement for a formal diagnosis, only enough evidence to be confident the reported needs are consistent. The same approach applies to sleep apnoea.
- A sleep clinic or GP letter recording the diagnosis and how long it has been present
- A dated diary of days on which a task could not be done safely, naming the task
- A statement from someone who is present during cooking or bathing, describing what they do
- Records of any equipment prescribed for home use and of who helps to set it up
- Any incident record, such as a fall, a burn or a fire caused by falling asleep during a task
Evidence must be honest and specific to the descriptors above. The guidance on Evidence That Wins PIP Appeals covers how decision makers weigh each type.
How Much PIP Would You Get With Sleep Apnoea, and Is It Backdated?
The rate depends on points, not on the condition, so sleep apnoea has no rate of its own. GOV.UK publishes the weekly amounts below. See the four weekly PIP rates for the full table.
| Award | Weekly |
|---|---|
| Daily living standard | £76.70 |
| Daily living enhanced | £114.60 |
| Mobility standard | £30.30 |
| Mobility enhanced | £80.00 |
Last checked:
A new claim is paid from the date of the claim, or from the date the 3-month qualifying period was satisfied, according to DWP statistics guidance. Where a decision is later changed on reconsideration or appeal, the award normally runs from the original entitlement date, so the months of waiting become arrears. To see what those months could add up to, estimate how much back pay is owed.