PIP has 10 daily living activities and 2 mobility activities. Understanding exactly what each one assesses — and how they’re scored — is crucial to getting the right award.
Daily Living Rates 2026/27
| Rate | Weekly | 4-Weekly |
|---|---|---|
| Standard (8-11 points) | £76.70 | £306.80 |
| Enhanced (12+ points) | £114.60 | £458.40 |
Rates apply from 6 April 2026.
How Scoring Works
Doing an activity reliably. You can only be treated as able to do an activity if you can do it safely, to an acceptable standard, repeatedly and within a reasonable time.
- Safely: in a way that's unlikely to cause harm to you or anyone else.
- To an acceptable standard.
- Repeatedly: as often as the activity reasonably needs to be done.
- Within a reasonable time: no more than twice as long as it would normally take someone without your condition.
Which descriptor applies. A descriptor applies to you if it's true on over 50% of the days; if two or more are, the one scoring the most points applies.
- A descriptor applies if it's satisfied on over 50% of the days in the required period.
- If two or more descriptors each apply on over 50% of the days, the one scoring the most points counts.
- If no single descriptor applies on over 50% of the days, but descriptors that score points do when added together, the one that applies on the most days counts (on equal days, the one scoring the most points).
For each of the 10 activities, you’re matched to the descriptor that best fits your ability. Only the highest-scoring descriptor from each activity counts. Points from all 10 activities are added together.
Activity 1: Preparing Food
Can you prepare and cook a simple meal?
| Descriptor | Points |
|---|---|
| Can prepare and cook a simple meal unaided | 0 |
| Needs to use an aid or appliance to prepare or cook a simple meal | 2 |
| Cannot cook a simple meal using a conventional cooker but can using a microwave | 2 |
| Needs prompting to prepare or cook a simple meal | 2 |
| Needs supervision or assistance to prepare or cook a simple meal | 4 |
| Cannot prepare and cook food | 8 |
“Simple meal” means a cooked one-course meal from fresh ingredients — not a ready meal or sandwich.
Activity 2: Taking Nutrition
Can you eat and drink?
| Descriptor | Points |
|---|---|
| Can take nutrition unaided | 0 |
| Needs an aid or appliance, supervision, or assistance to cut up food to take nutrition | 2 |
| Needs a therapeutic source to take nutrition | 2 |
| Needs prompting to take nutrition | 4 |
| Needs assistance to manage a therapeutic source of nutrition | 6 |
| Cannot convey food and drink to their mouth and needs another person to do so | 10 |
Activity 3: Managing Therapy or Monitoring a Health Condition
Can you manage medication, therapy, and monitor your condition?
| Descriptor | Points |
|---|---|
| Can manage medication/therapy/monitoring unaided or doesn’t need to | 0 |
| Needs an aid or appliance to manage medication, or supervision, prompting or assistance to manage medication or monitor a health condition | 1 |
| Needs supervision, prompting or assistance to manage therapy that takes no more than 3.5 hours a week | 2 |
| Needs supervision, prompting or assistance to manage therapy that takes more than 3.5 but no more than 7 hours a week | 4 |
| Needs supervision, prompting or assistance to manage therapy that takes more than 7 but no more than 14 hours a week | 6 |
| Needs supervision, prompting or assistance to manage therapy that takes more than 14 hours a week | 8 |
“Therapy” means treatment carried out at home that a doctor, nurse, pharmacist or other regulated health professional has prescribed or recommended, such as home dialysis, physiotherapy exercises or nebuliser treatment. Taking medication is covered by the 1-point descriptor, not by the therapy hours.
Activity 4: Washing and Bathing
Can you wash and bathe yourself?
| Descriptor | Points |
|---|---|
| Can wash and bathe unaided | 0 |
| Needs an aid or appliance to wash or bathe | 2 |
| Needs supervision or prompting to wash or bathe | 2 |
| Needs assistance to wash either hair or body below the waist | 2 |
| Needs assistance to get in or out of a bath or shower | 3 |
| Needs assistance to wash body between shoulders and waist | 4 |
| Cannot wash and bathe at all, needs full assistance | 8 |
Activity 5: Managing Toilet Needs or Incontinence
Can you get to and use the toilet and manage incontinence?
| Descriptor | Points |
|---|---|
| Can manage toilet needs or incontinence unaided | 0 |
| Needs an aid or appliance to manage toilet needs or incontinence | 2 |
| Needs supervision or prompting to manage toilet needs | 2 |
| Needs assistance to manage toilet needs | 4 |
| Needs assistance to manage incontinence of either bladder or bowel | 6 |
| Needs assistance to manage incontinence of both bladder and bowel | 8 |
Activity 6: Dressing and Undressing
Can you dress and undress yourself?
| Descriptor | Points |
|---|---|
| Can dress and undress unaided | 0 |
| Needs an aid or appliance to dress or undress | 2 |
| Needs prompting to dress, undress, or determine appropriate clothing | 2 |
| Needs assistance to dress or undress lower body | 2 |
| Needs assistance to dress or undress upper body | 4 |
| Cannot dress or undress at all | 8 |
Activity 7: Communicating Verbally
Can you express and understand verbal information?
| Descriptor | Points |
|---|---|
| Can express and understand verbal information unaided | 0 |
| Needs an aid or appliance to be able to speak or hear | 2 |
| Needs communication support to express or understand complex verbal information | 4 |
| Needs communication support to express or understand basic verbal information | 8 |
| Cannot express or understand verbal information at all, even with support | 12 |
Activity 8: Reading and Understanding Signs, Symbols and Words
Can you read and understand written and printed information?
| Descriptor | Points |
|---|---|
| Can read and understand basic and complex written information unaided | 0 |
| Needs an aid or appliance (other than glasses/contacts) to read or understand written or printed information | 2 |
| Needs prompting to read or understand complex written information | 2 |
| Needs prompting to read or understand basic written information | 4 |
| Cannot read or understand signs, symbols, or words at all | 8 |
Activity 9: Engaging With Other People Face to Face
Can you interact with others?
| Descriptor | Points |
|---|---|
| Can engage with other people unaided | 0 |
| Needs prompting to engage with other people | 2 |
| Needs social support to engage with other people | 4 |
| Cannot engage with other people due to such engagement causing either overwhelming psychological distress or the claimant to exhibit behaviour which would result in a substantial risk of harm to the claimant or another person | 8 |
This activity is particularly relevant for mental health conditions, autism, and social anxiety.
Activity 10: Making Budgeting Decisions
Can you manage your finances?
| Descriptor | Points |
|---|---|
| Can manage complex budgeting decisions unaided | 0 |
| Needs prompting or assistance to make complex budgeting decisions | 2 |
| Needs prompting or assistance to make simple budgeting decisions | 4 |
| Cannot make any budgeting decisions at all | 6 |
“Simple” budgeting decisions means working out the cost of goods and the change you should get. “Complex” means working out household and personal budgets, managing and paying bills, and planning future purchases.
Mobility Activities and Descriptors
The mobility component is assessed on two activities. You need a total of 8 points from both activities combined for the standard rate, or 12 points (or a specific descriptor worth 12 points alone) for the enhanced rate.
Mobility Activity 1: Planning and Following Journeys
This assesses your ability to plan a route and follow it to a destination.
| Descriptor | Points |
|---|---|
| Can plan and follow the route of a journey unaided | 0 |
| Needs prompting to undertake any journey to avoid overwhelming psychological distress | 4 |
| Cannot plan the route of a journey | 8 |
| Cannot follow the route of an unfamiliar journey without another person, an assistance dog, or an orientation aid | 10 |
| Cannot undertake any journey because it would cause overwhelming psychological distress | 10 |
| Cannot follow the route of a familiar journey without another person, an assistance dog, or an orientation aid | 12 |
Mobility Activity 2: Moving Around
This assesses how far you can walk reliably, in the sense set out above: safely, to an acceptable standard, repeatedly and in a reasonable time.
| Descriptor | Points |
|---|---|
| Can stand and move more than 200 metres, either aided or unaided | 0 |
| Can stand and move more than 50 metres but no more than 200 metres, either aided or unaided | 4 |
| Can stand and move unaided more than 20 metres but no more than 50 metres | 8 |
| Can stand and move using an aid or appliance more than 20 metres but no more than 50 metres | 10 |
| Can stand and move more than 1 metre but no more than 20 metres, either aided or unaided | 12 |
| Cannot, either aided or unaided, stand or move more than 1 metre, or cannot stand or move at all | 12 |
Tips for Describing Your Difficulties
- Describe how you manage on most days, including bad days: A descriptor applies if it's satisfied on over 50% of the days in the required period.
- Be specific — “I can’t stand at the cooker for more than 5 minutes due to back pain” is better than “I find cooking difficult”
- Mention aids you use: needing an aid or appliance usually scores 2 points on a daily living activity (1 point for managing medication)
- Describe what happens if you try — “If I try to wash my hair, my shoulder dislocates and I need help getting my arm back”
- Include mental health impacts — Can’t cook because depression prevents you from getting out of bed? That counts.
- Think about safety — Have you burned yourself cooking? Fallen in the shower? These indicate you need supervision.