Take the PIP test

Our PIP test allows you to score yourself for the daily living and mobility components of PIP just by clicking with your mouse.

It will do the maths for you, tell you what components you assess yourself as qualifying for and what rates you assess yourself as being eligible for. It will even email you a copy of your test results if you decide to provide your email address – but that’s entirely up to you.

But you do need to be aware that a decision maker using a report from a health professional working for the Independent Assessment Services (IAS), formerly known as ATOS, or for Capita may not reach the same conclusion that you do about your eligibility for PIP. The PIP self-test is anonymous, and the results will appear in your browser as soon as you have completed the single page of multiple choice questions. But, if you wish, you can also have your PIP results emailed to you.

Start the PIP test

How the PIP test works

Pip is divided into two components, the Daily Living component and the Mobility component. The number of points you score decides whether you get an award of either component or both and at what rate.

Daily living activities

The decision about whether you are entitled to the daily living component, and if so at what rate, is based on the number of points you score in total for the following activities:

1. Preparing food
2. Taking nutrition
3. Managing therapy or monitoring a health condition
4. Washing and bathing
5. Managing toilet needs or incontinence
6. Dressing and undressing
7. Communicating verbally
8. Reading and understanding signs, symbols and words
9. Engaging with other people face-to-face
10. Making budgeting decisions

Each of these activities is divided into a number of point scoring descriptors. To get an award of the daily living component, you need to score:

• 8 points for the standard rate
• 12 points for the enhanced rate

You can only score one set of points from each activity, if two or more apply from the same activity only the highest will count. So, for example, if:

• 4d. Needs assistance to be able to wash either their hair or body below the waist. 2 points
• 4f. Needs assistance to be able to wash their body between the shoulders and waist. 4 points

both apply, you will receive only the 4 points for the ‘between the shoulders and waist’ activity. These can then be added to points for other activities, such as 'Dressing and undressing'

Mobility activities

The decision about whether you are entitled to the mobility component, and if so at what rate, is based on the number of points you score in total for the following activities:

• 1 Planning and following journeys
• 2 Moving around

Both of these activities are divided into a number of point scoring descriptors. To get an award of the mobility component, you need to score:

• 8 points for the standard rate
• 12 points for the enhanced rate

As with daily living above, you only score the highest points that apply to you from each activity, but you can add points from mobility activities 1 and 2 together to reach your final total.

Reliably

It’s vital that, before you complete the PIP test, you understand that just because you can carry out an activity, that doesn’t mean you are prevented from scoring points for being unable to do it.

You need to be able to complete an activity ‘reliably’ in order for it to apply. According to the guidance, ‘reliably’ means whether you can do so:

• Safely
• To an acceptable standard
• Repeatedly
• In a reasonable time period, no more than twice as long as a person without a physical or mental health condition would take to carry out the activity.

So, for example, if you can ‘wash and bathe unaided’ you will not score any points for that activity. But if it takes you hours to do so or it would be dangerous to leave you alone to bathe – for example, because you might have a seizure - then you may score points.

Or if you could walk 20 metres once, but afterwards you would be so exhausted that you could not do so again for hours or you would be unable to carry out other everyday activities after walking 20 metres, then you may count as not being able to do so.

Fluctuating conditions

You can score points in the PIP test even if there are some days when you can carry out an activity.

The fluctuating conditions rules state that you are awarded points if you satisfy one or more descriptors under an activity on more than 50% of the days in the twelve-month qualifying period.

So if, because of depression, you are unable to motivate yourself to prepare and cook a simple main meal on four days a week, then you should score points for that even though on the other three days a week you can cook for yourself.

Start the PIP test

Good luck.