To qualify for PIP you need a long-term physical or mental health condition or disability that causes difficulty with everyday tasks or getting around. DWP's guide for assessors says the PIP assessment considers the overall impact of a health condition or impairment on functional ability, rather than focusing on a particular diagnosis.
Key points
✓PIP is assessed on the overall impact of your condition on functional ability, rather than on a particular diagnosis
✓The eligibility rules ask for a long-term physical or mental health condition or disability and difficulty with everyday tasks or getting around, and the list does not name a diagnosis
✓Schedule 1 to the PIP Regulations 2013 sets 10 daily living activities and 2 mobility activities
✓A score of at least 8 points in a component gives the standard rate and at least 12 points gives the enhanced rate
✓If you are nearing the end of life you will automatically get the daily living part, and whether you get the mobility part depends on your needs
PIP is not based on your diagnosis
DWP's guide for assessors says the PIP assessment considers the overall impact of a health condition or impairment on functional ability, rather than focusing on a particular diagnosis. DWP's PIP statistics use the primary or main disabling condition, which is identified during the PIP assessment process.
DWP's guide also tells the assessor to make clear that the assessment is not a medical which involves diagnosis and treatment of your condition, and that it focuses on the effects of your health condition or impairment on your day-to-day life.
GOV.UK says you can get PIP if you are 16 or over, have a long-term physical or mental health condition or disability, have difficulty doing certain everyday tasks or getting around, and expect the difficulties to last for at least 12 months from when they started. You also usually need to be under State Pension age to make a new PIP claim. That list does not name any particular diagnosis.
If you live in Scotland you need to apply for Adult Disability Payment (ADP) instead of PIP, and GOV.UK has a separate how-to-claim route for Northern Ireland.
What PIP actually assesses
GOV.UK says there are 2 parts to PIP, a daily living part if you need help with everyday tasks and a mobility part if you need help with getting around. Schedule 1 to the PIP Regulations 2013 sets 10 daily living activities and 2 mobility activities. The activities are:
Daily living: preparing food, taking nutrition, managing therapy or monitoring a health condition, washing and bathing, managing toilet needs or incontinence, dressing and undressing, communicating verbally, reading and understanding signs, symbols and words, engaging with other people face to face, and making budgeting decisions
Mobility: planning and following journeys, and moving around
GOV.UK says you do not have to have a physical disability to get the mobility part, and you might also be eligible if you have difficulty getting around because of a cognitive or mental health condition, like anxiety. You can get PIP even if you are working, have savings or are getting most other benefits.
In DWP's statistics to July 2026, the five most commonly recorded disabling conditions for claims under the normal rules were psychiatric disorder (39% of claims), general musculoskeletal disease (19%), neurological disease (13%), regional musculoskeletal disease (12%) and respiratory disease (4%).
DWP's guide for assessors covers a claim where the diagnosis is unclear: it tells the assessor to record the condition as you describe it, describing the symptoms, rather than trying to guess at the underlying pathology.
Regulation 4 says you are assessed as satisfying a descriptor only if you can do the activity safely, to an acceptable standard, repeatedly and within a reasonable time period. GOV.UK says you must experience difficulty with tasks most of the time, which it explains as expecting to have difficulty more than half of the days over a 12-month period. DWP's PIP2 booklet asks you to tell it how often you have good days and bad days. It says to send information about how your health condition or disability affects your daily life, and lists reports or care or treatment plans from occupational therapists, GPs or consultants, social workers and community psychiatric nurses, hospital discharge or outpatient clinic letters about your condition or diagnosis, and your current repeat prescription list among what you could send.
Has any of this changed in 2026?
The proposed 'four-point rule' was removed from the Bill on 9 July 2025 and never became law. PIP is being looked at by the Timms Review, which published an interim report on 9 July 2026, published emerging recommendations in September 2026, and will report its recommendations to the Secretary of State by autumn 2026. For the full picture, see our PIP changes 2026 guide.
DWP's guide for assessors says the PIP assessment considers the overall impact of a health condition or impairment on functional ability, rather than focusing on a particular diagnosis. The exception is if you are nearing the end of life: GOV.UK says you will automatically get the daily living part, and whether you get the mobility part depends on your needs.
Is there a list of PIP qualifying conditions?
GOV.UK says you can get PIP if you are 16 or over, have a long-term physical or mental health condition or disability, have difficulty doing certain everyday tasks or getting around, and expect the difficulties to last for at least 12 months from when they started. That list does not name any particular diagnosis. DWP's PIP statistics use the primary or main disabling condition, which is identified during the PIP assessment process.
What illnesses or disabilities can qualify for PIP?
GOV.UK says you do not have to have a physical disability to get the mobility part, and you might also be eligible if you have difficulty getting around because of a cognitive or mental health condition, like anxiety. DWP's guide for assessors says the PIP assessment considers the overall impact of a health condition or impairment on functional ability, rather than focusing on a particular diagnosis.
How many points do I need to qualify for PIP?
You need 8 to 11 points for the standard rate of a component, or 12+ points for the enhanced rate. Schedule 1 to the PIP Regulations 2013 sets 10 daily living activities and 2 mobility activities.
Know Your Rights UK. "PIP Qualifying Conditions: What Conditions Qualify for PIP?." Know Your Rights UK, https://www.knowyourrightsuk.com/benefits/pip/qualifying-conditions