Personal Independence Payment is assessed on how your condition affects you day to day. Evidence supports what you have written on the form — it does not replace it, and on its own it rarely decides anything.
Work through this before you start writing, not after.
First, understand what evidence is for
A letter confirming a diagnosis confirms a diagnosis. It usually says nothing about whether you can prepare a meal safely, or how long it takes you to get dressed, or how you are after a shower.
The evidence that carries weight describes function: what you can and cannot do, how reliably, and what happens when you try. Keep that test in mind as you gather things, and you will spend your effort in the right places.
Priority one — evidence about function
These are worth chasing:
- Occupational therapy assessment — often the single most useful document, because it is explicitly about daily tasks
- Physiotherapy notes or discharge summary — movement, mobility, what you were advised to avoid
- Community mental health team notes or care plan
- Social care assessment or care package details
- A letter from a support worker, care coordinator or key worker
- Falls clinic or pain clinic correspondence
Priority two — clinical background
Useful for establishing the picture, less useful on its own:
- A list of your current medication, with doses — a printout from your pharmacy or GP is fine
- Recent consultant letters covering the relevant conditions
- Test or scan results where they explain a limitation
- Hospital discharge summaries from the past year or two
- A summary printout of your GP record, if you can get one
Priority three — the everyday picture
Frequently overlooked, and often the most vivid:
- A statement from someone who sees you regularly — a partner, family member, neighbour or friend. Ask them to describe what they actually observe, not to argue your case.
- A symptom or difficulty diary (see below)
- Photographs of aids or adaptations you use at home
- Receipts for equipment you have bought because of your condition
Keeping a diary that is worth reading
Two weeks is usually enough, and short entries beat long ones. For each day, note:
| What to record | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| What you could not do | Establishes the difficulty exists |
| What it took to do it anyway | Speaks to "reliably" and "in a reasonable time" |
| How long it took | Reasonable time is roughly twice as long as someone without your condition |
| What happened afterwards | Fatigue and recovery are frequently missed |
| Whether anyone helped | Assistance is part of several descriptors |
A fortnight of "Tuesday — managed a shower, needed to sit down twice, then slept for an hour" is more useful than several paragraphs of general description.
Before you send anything
- Every document names you and is dated
- Nothing contradicts what you have written on the form
- You have kept a copy of everything, including the completed form
- You have noted the date you sent it and how
When evidence will not arrive in time
This happens constantly, and it is not a reason to miss a deadline.
Send the claim with what you have. Say clearly on the form which document you have requested, from whom, and when — then send it on as soon as it arrives, quoting your reference. A late piece of evidence is far better than a late claim.
A note on what this is
This checklist describes how the process works and what tends to help. It is not advice about your particular claim, and gathering everything on this list does not determine the outcome — that decision is made by the Department for Work and Pensions.
If you would like help working through it, that is what our PIP support is for.