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PIP review form (AR1) help: answers written for your review

The AR1 is not the PIP2. It asks what has changed, and "no change" is the answer that costs awards. See how a review answer is written for your conditions, free, then get all 12 activities done for you.

Updated September 2026 · 6 min read

Quick answer

What the PIP review form actually asks

The AR1 arrives some months before a fixed-term award is due to end. It covers the same 12 daily living and mobility activities as the original claim form, but it is shorter, and the questions are different in one important way. For each activity it asks three things: whether anything has changed since your last assessment, how you manage the activity now and what help you get from other people or aids. The decision maker scores your current situation against the same descriptors as a new claim, so a thin answer scores thin.

Two things are different in 2026. Since 2 June the DWP has been able to extend fixed-term awards instead of reviewing them when they fall due, to clear its review backlog, so many people get an extension letter rather than a form. And when a form does come, the wait for a decision is long: around 14 weeks on average once the form is back, and many months for the cases caught in the backlog. You have one month to return the form, with a two-week extension available if you call 0800 121 4433 before the date rather than after it.

The trap in almost every AR1: "No change." It feels honest and quick. But it tells the decision maker nothing about your difficulties today, so they fall back on the old assessment report, which may have under-recorded you even then. Describe every activity in full as it is now, and where it is worse, say so and say since when.

How the review mode writes your answers

1. You describe todayYour conditions, medication, aids, who helps, how many bad days a week and whether anything has got worse and roughly when. Nothing is invented: if you say nothing has changed, the answers say so and still describe the difficulty in full.
2. One activity, freeThe free preview writes one activity in the AR1's own structure: the "has anything changed" line, how you manage now, the help you get, in the wording the descriptors are scored against.
3. All 12, ready to copyThe Full Report (£49.99) explains every activity and which descriptor it points to. Done For You (£99.99) writes the answers to copy onto the form, with an evidence plan and a GP letter template for the review.
Has anything changed since your last assessment?

Yes, it is worse. At my last assessment I could stand at the hob for about ten minutes. Now the pain in my back and knees stops me after two or three minutes, on five or six days a week.

How do you manage this activity now?

My partner cooks on most days. When he is at work I use the microwave sitting on a perching stool. In March I dropped a pan of boiling water when my hands gave way, and I have not used the hob on my own since.

Has the help you get changed?

Yes. He now prepares meals from scratch on most days. Before, he only helped with heavy pans.

Preparing food, illustrative example only. Your own answers are written from what you enter and describe only your genuine difficulties.

See one of your review answers written, free

Tell us your conditions and what has changed. One activity comes back in the AR1 structure in about two minutes, no card needed. If it reads like you, the report does the other eleven.

Start the free review preview → Prepare for the review assessment

After you send the form

Some reviews are decided on the papers alone. Others are sent for an assessment, in 2026 usually by phone, where the first question is the same one the form asked: what has changed? Say it the same way you wrote it, with how often and what help. Assessment Prep works through that question and the rest of the consultation for your conditions, with a practice mode.

The decision letter can keep your award, raise it, lower it or stop it. If it is reduced or stopped, you have one month to ask for a Mandatory Reconsideration. Paste the letter into the free Decision Analyser to see where the report and your form disagree, and the Mandatory Reconsideration Pack writes the challenge, activity by activity.

Nothing due yet? The best thing you can do for a future review is evidence. The free symptom and bad days diary turns "it is worse" into "worse on 19 days out of 28", which is what a review decision maker can score.

Frequently asked questions

Is the PIP review form the same as the PIP2?+
No. The review form (AR1, sometimes called PIP2R) covers the same 12 activities but is shorter, and for each activity it asks whether anything has changed since your last assessment, how you manage the activity now and what help you get. It is sent before your award ends. Our review mode writes answers in that structure, not in the PIP2 structure.
How long do I have to return the AR1?+
You have one month from the date on the letter to return the form. If you cannot make it, call the PIP enquiry line on 0800 121 4433 before the date: a two-week extension is available. Missing the date without contacting them can lead to the award stopping.
My award has been extended. Will I still get a review form?+
Since 2 June 2026 the DWP can extend a fixed-term award instead of reviewing it when it is due to end, to clear its review backlog. If your letter says the award now runs to a later date, no form is due yet. A review can still come later, so it is worth keeping a symptom diary so the evidence is ready.
Should I just write "no change"?+
No. "No change" tells the decision maker nothing about your current difficulties, so they fall back on the old assessment report, which may have under-recorded them even then. Describe each activity in full as it is now, even if it is the same, and say plainly where it is worse and since when.
Can a review reduce my award?+
Yes. A review can keep, raise, lower or stop the award. If it is reduced or stopped, you can ask for a Mandatory Reconsideration within one month of the decision and appeal to a tribunal after that. Our free Decision Analyser reads the letter against your form, and the Mandatory Reconsideration Pack writes the challenge.
Does PIPexpert write the AR1 or the PIP2?+
Both. Tick "award review" and the report is written for the AR1: the "has anything changed" line for every activity, how you manage now and the help you get, using only what you tell us. Done For You gives you the answers to copy onto the form, with an evidence plan and a GP letter template. The free preview shows one activity first.

Guides for every stage of a review

Prefer to work through the review form question by question instead? Our sister site FillMyPIP fills in the AR1 answer by answer.

© 2026 PIPexpert.co.uk · Guidance only, not legal advice.

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