PIP activity 8: Reading and understanding signs, symbols and words
Reading and understanding signs, symbols and words is activity 8 of the 12 PIP activities, and counts towards the daily living component. Reading and understanding basic and complex written information. Here’s what it covers, the descriptors and the points each one scores, and what assessors look for.
What this activity looks at
Whether you can read and understand written information in your native language. Ordinary glasses and contact lenses don’t count as aids here.
Descriptors and points
The assessor picks the one descriptor that best fits you on most days. Only the highest-scoring descriptor that applies counts; points aren’t added up within an activity.
| Descriptor | What it means | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 8A | I can read and understand written information unaided or with glasses/contacts | 0 |
| 8B | I need an aid other than glasses (e.g. a magnifier) to read | 2 |
| 8C | I need prompting to read or understand complex written information | 2 |
| 8D | I need prompting to read or understand basic written information | 4 |
| 8E | I cannot read or understand signs, symbols or words at all | 8 |
What the assessor takes into account
- “Basic” written information means signs, symbols and dates, like a green exit sign. “Complex” means more than one sentence of standard text.
- Braille isn’t counted as reading for this activity.
- Your difficulty has to be caused by a health condition. Not having learned to read doesn’t score on its own.
- Memory, and remembering what you’ve read, isn’t part of this activity.
- You need to be able to read both indoors and outdoors.
How to describe this on your form
- Describe your worst days, not your best or average days. A descriptor applies if it’s true on more than half of days, and that includes conditions that vary or come in flare-ups.
- An activity only counts as something you can do if you can do it safely, repeatedly, to an acceptable standard, and in a reasonable time (no more than twice as long as someone without your condition). If any of these isn’t true on most days, say so and explain why.
- Be specific. Give distances, how long things take, how often problems happen, and examples of things that have gone wrong.
- Name any help you need using the words the DWP uses: supervision, prompting, assistance, or aids and appliances. “My partner helps me” is too vague; say what they do and why.
- Describe what your condition stops you doing, not just its name. Assessors score how your condition affects you, not the diagnosis.
- Avoid phrases like “I manage”, “I cope”, “I try my best” or “I sometimes have difficulty”. They suggest you can do the activity, and can cost you points.
How points turn into an award
Your points from activities 1 to 10 are added together for the daily living component.
- 8 to 11 points: standard rate, £73.90 a week
- 12 points or more: enhanced rate, £110.40 a week
2026/27 rates. Estimate your points across all 12 activities.
Try it free: free PIP sample answer
Choose “Reading and understanding signs, symbols and words”, describe your difficulty in your own words, and see a sample answer written the way assessors score it.
Open the free PIP sample answerWant every answer written for you?
Our personalised PIP answer guide covers all 12 activities, written around your condition and your worst days.
Get my personalised answer guide — from £59We help you explain your difficulties clearly and correctly. We cannot guarantee award outcomes — those decisions are made by the DWP.