PIP assessment questions: how to prepare examples
There is no guaranteed script for a PIP assessment. Questions are designed to understand how your condition affects daily life and mobility.
Daily living topics
- You may be asked about preparing food, washing, dressing, managing treatment, communicating, reading, mixing with other people or handling money.
- For each relevant activity, think about the real help you receive and what happens on difficult days.
Mobility topics
- Questions may explore planning journeys, following routes, moving around and what limits your ability to do so.
- Be specific about distance, pain, fatigue, safety, distress, assistance and recovery time where relevant.
How to prepare examples
- Use your own experience, not an invented answer. Think of a recent occasion when an activity was difficult and what support was needed.
- Describe how often the problem happens and whether you can do the activity reliably.
During and after the assessment
- It is reasonable to ask for a question to be repeated or clarified. Make sure the explanation reflects your actual situation.
- A professional's report informs DWP, but DWP issues the decision. Our materials are preparation guidance, not coaching to secure particular points.
Daily living questions worth practising
- Preparing food: what happens when you attempt a simple meal?
- Washing and dressing: do you use aids or need prompting or assistance?
- Taking nutrition and managing treatment: what help is actually needed?
- Engaging face to face and communicating: what are the difficulties, and are they different tasks for you?
- Budgeting: can you make the budgeting decisions described by the activity?
Mobility questions worth practising
- Planning and following journeys: can you work out a route, undertake it and follow it? What support is actually required?
- Moving around: what distance can you walk reliably, whether with an aid and including breaks?
- Explain the typical pattern across time rather than one unusually good or bad occasion.
What a useful example contains
- The exact activity, a recent genuine event, and what happened.
- What help or aid was used, who helped and why it was necessary.
- How often it happens, what changes on better days and the after-effects.
- Whether you could repeat the activity and whether it was safe.
Do not treat a question list as a script
- Assessors may ask follow-up questions; there is no guaranteed list that predicts every question.
- Say when you do not understand, and correct misunderstandings rather than agreeing to an inaccurate description.
- The purpose of preparation is to describe your daily experience accurately, not to rehearse manufactured points.
Check the official guidance
PIP information and official contact details can change. These are relevant GOV.UK resources.
You may also find these guides useful
Would personalised assessment preparation help?
Enhanced PIP Support includes a personalised preparation sheet. Compare exactly what each package includes before buying.
Compare £59 and £79 PIP supportIndependent paid support is optional. We are not the DWP and cannot guarantee an award.
We help you explain your difficulties clearly and correctly. We cannot guarantee award outcomes — those decisions are made by the DWP.