The Short Answer
PIP stops for a decision or an administrative problem: a decision letter gives you 1 month to ask for a mandatory reconsideration, while a stop with no letter is a query for the enquiry line on 0800 121 4433. Establishing which it is, on day one, is the whole of the first step: a decision can be challenged, while a stop with no decision behind it is a problem the DWP has to put right.
The Common Causes
PIP stops or drops for one of eight recognisable causes, and the letter you receive, or its absence, shows which one applies. Citizens Advice lists the same causes, including a review form not returned in time, a missed assessment and the recovery of an overpayment.
| Cause | What it looks like | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| The award reached its end date | Payments simply end on a known date | Check the decision letter; a new claim may be needed |
| A review or change decision | A letter reducing or ending the award | One month to ask for a reconsideration |
| The review form was not returned | Payments end after a reminder | Contact the DWP immediately and explain |
| An assessment was missed | A letter ending the award | Explain the reason; one month to ask for a reconsideration |
| Hospital, care home or detention | Payments suspended after a reportable change | Check the rules for that situation |
| More than 4 weeks abroad | Payments suspended | Report the return |
| An overpayment is being recovered | A lower payment rather than none | Contact the DWP about the rate of recovery |
| Bank or administrative fault | No letter, no reason | Call the enquiry line |
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Step One: Is There a Decision?
Everything turns on that. A decision carries a one-month deadline from the date on the letter; an administrative problem carries none but needs chasing.
Where no letter has arrived, the DWP's PIP enquiry line on 0800 121 4433 (Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm) can confirm whether a decision was made, on what date, and what it said. If one was made, the clock runs from that letter's date whether or not it reached you — which is why the call matters even when the post has failed.
A late request can still be accepted up to 13 months from the decision where there are reasons for the delay. Acceptance is not automatic, so the 1-month route is the one to aim at.
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Can PIP Be Stopped Without Notification?
A decision to stop or reduce PIP comes with a decision letter, but payments can stop before that letter reaches you, so a missing payment with no letter does not prove that no decision was made. The one-month deadline for a mandatory reconsideration runs from the date on the decision letter, whether or not the post arrived. Information requests come first too: regulation 8 of the PIP Regulations 2013 lets the DWP ask for evidence and allows "one month from the date of the request" to provide it. A letter sent to an old address is one reason it is never seen. If a payment is missing and no letter has arrived, call the PIP enquiry line on 0800 121 4433 the same week and ask whether a decision was made, on what date and to which address it was sent.
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Why Is PIP Stopped After a Review?
PIP stops after a review when the DWP decides your needs no longer meet the points thresholds, or when a review step was missed: GOV.UK states that if your needs have changed, "your PIP might be increased, reduced or stopped". The DWP's statistics show how often that happens. Of planned award reviews from August 2021 to July 2026, 16% ended with the award disallowed and 5% with it reduced. Two procedural causes lead to the same result. Under regulation 8 of the PIP Regulations 2013, a review form not returned without good reason means a negative determination "must be made", and regulation 9 applies the same rule to a missed assessment. Each is a decision, so each can be challenged within one month.
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Reviews Should Not Interrupt Payment
GOV.UK states that "you will continue to get PIP while your claim is being reviewed". Payments stopping during a review is not the expected behaviour, and it is worth querying the week it happens rather than assuming a decision has been made.
When an Award Ends by Expiry
A new claim starts a new date. Where an award has expired without a review being started, there is no way to continue it: a fresh claim is required, and it runs from the new claim date rather than from the end of the old award.
A new claim also rejoins the queue. The DWP's published median in July 2026 was 18 weeks end to end for a normal rules new claim, so the gap is measured in months rather than weeks.
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That gap is not recoverable, which is why acting on a review letter promptly is worth more than anything that can be done afterwards.
Challenging a Decision to Stop or Reduce
One month, and the points section is where the disagreement lives. Of mandatory reconsiderations cleared in the quarter ending July 2026, excluding withdrawn requests, 26% led to a change in award.
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There is no equivalent in England and Wales of Scotland's Short-term Assistance, so payments do not continue during the challenge. A successful challenge is backdated instead, to the date the reducing decision took effect.
Reporting While It Is Sorted Out
The duty to report changes continues whether or not payments are in issue. The form that follows depends on the change: the DWP issues the AR2 for a routine award review, and uses the AR1 for more complex changes such as changes to medical conditions or the needs arising from them.
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The list, and what each change does, is on check award reviews, and the challenge route is on check challenging decisions.