Scottish Adult Disability Living Allowance - Can I get Scottish Adult DLA?

You are eligible for Scottish Adult DLA if you:

• Are aged 18 or older, and
• live in Scotland, and 
• are already getting Disability Living Allowance (DLA) paid for by the Department for Work and Pensions

Requesting Scottish Adult DLA 

If you were in receipt of Scottish Adult DLA or Disability Living Allowance that ended in the past twelve months you can make a request. You must not have been entitled to Adult Disability Payment, Personal Independence Payment or Pension Age Disability Payment since your claim ended. You must not be challenging the ending of your previous Scottish Adult DLA or DLA award.

You will also be unable to apply for Scottish Adult DLA if your DLA claim ended because you lived in England or Wales and were refused PIP.

If you apply for Scottish Adult DLA in this situation, you’ll only get the same component and rate as before, and only for the same health conditions. If you didn’t get the other component before, you can apply for it later by reporting a change in your circumstances and meeting the eligibility requirements.

If your previous award ended when you reached State Pension age, you will only get the mobility component if it was already included in the previous claim. You can only get the higher rate mobility component if you were getting it previously.

Do I need to make a claim for Scottish Adult DLA?

You don’t have to do anything as the transfer process is automatic, and you shouldn’t experience a gap in your payment or a change in your amount.

The process will take around 4 to 8 weeks to complete.

If your DLA award is due to be renewed before your benefit moves to Scottish Adult DLA, the DWP will contact you.

Will I be contacted by the DWP or Social Security Scotland?

The DWP will contact you to let you know that your DLA claim will be ending, and you will be transferring to Scottish Adult DLA.

The DWP will continue to manage your DLA claim until the process is complete, and you should continue to report any changes of circumstances to them. Social Security Scotland might contact you to confirm some details about your bank account and address.

When the transfer is complete, you’ll receive a letter from Social Security Scotland. It’ll give you more information about your Scottish DLA claim, like your payment amounts and key dates.

Can I claim Adult Disability Payment instead?

If you are eligible for Scottish Adult DLA and were born after 8 April 1948, you can choose to claim Adult Disability Payment instead. However, you should speak to a welfare benefits adviser before doing this as you will not be able to move back to Scottish Adult DLA. You can use the Turn2us Find an Adviser tool to find local support.

If you live outside the UK

If you live outside the UK, your transfer from DLA to Scottish Adult DLA will not be automatic. You will have to prove that you have a ‘genuine and sufficient link’ to Scotland, and be living in the EU, Switzerland, Gibraltar, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein. You will have to contact the DWP to start the case transfer process.

If you enter hospital or live in a care home

Generally, your Scottish Adult DLA payments will stop if you are in hospital for more than four weeks. However, your payments will restart once you tell Social Security Scotland after you leave hospital. For more information, please read our Hospital and benefits guide.

You can’t usually get the care component of Scottish Adult DLA if you live in a care home and your care is paid for by a Local Authority. You can only receive it if you are paying for your own care. There are exceptions for people who are terminally ill and living in a hospice.

Rules for people who have a terminal illness.

If your doctors say that you are terminally ill and that your illness is reasonably expected to cause your death, there are special rules to help you get the highest rate of Scottish Adult DLA. You should contact Social Security Scotland.