You are now leaving the Turn2us site. Turn2us is not responsible for content on third party sites.

Coronavirus information - Get up-to-date information and support now
Home > Your Situation > Ill, Injured or Disabled > Challenging a Personal Independence Payment (PIP) Decision > Get Mandatory Reconsideration Notice

Challenging a Personal Independence Payment (PIP) Decision - Get Mandatory Reconsideration Notice

If you are unhappy with the outcome of your claim for Personal Independence Payment (PIP), what you can do about it depends on what you are unhappy about. This may include asking for the decision to be looked at again, an appeal or tribunal.

  1. 1. Options for challenging a PIP decision?
  2. 2. Check a PIP decision
  3. 3. Ask for Mandatory Reconsideration
  4. 4. Get Mandatory Reconsideration Notice
  1. 5. Appeal to Tribunal
  2. 6. Complain about a PIP decision
  3. 7. Tell your MP
  4. 8. PIP Judicial Review

Get Mandatory Reconsideration Notice

The Mandatory Reconsideration Notice is a letter which tells you if the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has changed their decision or not, and why.

You have to ask for a Mandatory Reconsideration before you can get the Mandatory Reconsideration Notice. Read about how and when to ask for a Mandatory Reconsideration on our Ask for a Mandatory Reconsideration page.

How long does it take?

The DWP does not have a deadline for doing the Mandatory Reconsideration. Some reconsiderations take 2 weeks, some take several months. 

If you have not received your Mandatory Reconsideration Notice, it is a good idea to call the DWP after:

  • 2 weeks to check they have logged your Mandatory Reconsideration 
  • 8 weeks to check how much longer it will take
  • 12 weeks to chase again

If you are not happy with how long a Mandatory Reconsideration is taking, you may want to complain or tell your MP.

Phone call

When the DWP are looking again at the decision, they normally phone you to talk about it. If they can’t get through to you, they usually try a few times. 

When the DWP speak to you, you can tell them if there is something else that they should take into account, or if you have documents that you think they need to see. Sending documents can make it take even longer to get a Mandatory Reconsideration Notice.

Get Mandatory Reconsideration Notice

When the DWP have looked again at the decision, they send you a Mandatory Reconsideration Notice.

You will get two copies of the Mandatory Reconsideration Notice. Keep them in a safe place. If you appeal, you will need to send one with your appeal form.

If you still disagree with the decision, you can appeal to Tribunal. Beware that if you challenge a decision, it can be changed to make the PIP award lower or shorter. If you’re not sure whether you should challenge a decision, you can:

You normally have to start your appeal within one month of the date on the Mandatory Reconsideration Notice.

Read about when and how to appeal to Tribunal on the Appeal to Tribunal page of this guide

Updated August 2017


Anything wrong with this page?

Tell us the problem

Please enter your name
Please enter a valid email address
Please enter what you were doing
Please enter what you'd like to report
Please enter the security code shown
Close

Thank you

If you would like to tell us more please visit our contact page

Close
Add to favourites Print this guide

PIP Guides

Check benefit entitlement

Find out what means-tested benefits you might be entitled to, including tax credits.

Use the Benefits Calculator

Search for a grant

Look for funds that might be able to give you a grant and/or other types of help.

Use the Grants Search tool