PIP Review Reminder: When Is My Review Due?

Your award letter tells you when your PIP ends and whether it will be reviewed. DWP generally sets the review date 12 months before the award end date, so the review form usually arrives from about a year before your award ends. Without a reminder, the first sign is often the envelope itself. With one a few months earlier you have time to gather evidence and keep a record of your bad days first.

What does your letter give you? The date my award endsOn your award letter, or the new date on a letter saying your award has been extended A review dateOr a date DWP says it will contact you again after Only the date my award startedWe work out the end date from the length of the award

Award end date

Works in your browser. Nothing you enter is sent anywhere unless you ask for the email reminder.

When does a PIP review start?

Three dates matter, and your letters give you at least one of them:

The award end date. Your PIP stops on this date unless DWP makes a new decision first, usually after a review. It is on your award letter, or on a later letter saying your award has been extended.
The review date. DWP generally sets it 12 months before the award end date, to check whether your PIP should continue. From then on the review form can arrive. In practice it can come later, especially while DWP works through its reviews.
Your own reminder. About 4 months before the review date. That leaves time for a month of symptom diary and for letters from the people who treat you, before the one-month deadline on the form starts.

Since 2 June 2026 DWP can also extend a fixed-term award, and it has used this to move many existing awards onto the longer review pattern. If you have had a letter like that, the newest end date is the one that counts. Our guide to PIP extension letters explains what they say.

How long PIP awards last in 2026

DWP changed award lengths in 2026. This is what its own statistics release says, in table form:

Your situation	Award length	Review
New award since April 2026, aged 25 or over	Usually 4 years	After 3 years
New award after a successful review	Usually 6 years	After 5 years
An award you already had on 16 June 2026	Moved onto the same pattern, often by extending the end date	About a year before the newest end date you have been sent
Your review would fall after State Pension age	Generally ongoing	Light-touch review at 10 years
Other cases, such as needs that are likely to change	Can be shorter or longer	As set on your letter

Sources: DWP, Personal Independence Payment statistics to July 2026 (published 15 September 2026); Explanatory Memorandum to SI 2026/457. More detail in our guide to the 2026 review frequency changes.

Live in Scotland? Adult Disability Payment has replaced PIP there, and Social Security Scotland runs its own reviews. In Northern Ireland PIP is run by the Department for Communities, so go by the dates on your own letters. The award lengths above are DWP's.

What the review involves

You get a letter asking you to fill in a form called "Personal Independence Payment Review", often called the AR1.
You have 1 month to send it back. If you need more time, call the PIP enquiry line on 0800 121 4433 (Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm).
You keep getting PIP while the review happens.
DWP may ask a health professional to phone you, or invite you to an assessment in person, by phone or by video call.
You then get a decision letter. Your award can go up, stay the same, go down or stop, and you can challenge a decision you disagree with.

Most reviews do not cut the award. Over the five years to July 2026, 79% of planned award reviews ended with an increase or no change to the award (DWP statistics). The form still matters: it asks what has changed since your last assessment, activity by activity, and a short "no change" answer is the one that costs awards.

When the form arrives

The review form is not the PIP2. See how a review answer is written for your conditions, with one of yours free, before you fill it in.

See how review answers are written →

Use the months before the form

A reminder only helps if the time is used. Three free tools make it easier:

The Symptom & Bad Days Diary turns "I struggle" into "on 19 days out of 28", which is how PIP is scored.
The Evidence Tracker keeps track of the letters you have asked for, so they arrive before the form is due back.
The Carer's Statement Template lets the person who helps you describe what they see.

Frequently asked questions

When will my PIP review start?+

Your award letter tells you when your PIP ends and whether it will be reviewed. DWP generally sets the review date 12 months before the award end date, so the review form usually arrives from about a year before your award ends. It can come later, and since June 2026 DWP has extended many awards instead, so always use the newest end date you have been sent.

How long are PIP awards in 2026?+

DWP says that since April 2026 most new awards to people aged 25 or over are for 4 years with a review after 3 years, and awards after a successful review are for 6 years with the review after 5 years. The changes also apply to the existing caseload from 16 June 2026. People whose review would fall after State Pension age generally get an ongoing award with a light-touch review at 10 years. Decision makers can still set shorter or longer awards.

My award was extended. Which date do I use?+

Use the newest end date you have been sent. Since 2 June 2026 DWP can extend a fixed-term PIP award, and it has used this to move many existing awards onto the longer review pattern. If your letter also gives a date DWP will contact you again after, you can enter that as your review date.

How long do I have to return the review form?+

One month. The form comes with a letter and is called Personal Independence Payment Review, often known as the AR1. If you need more time, call the PIP enquiry line on 0800 121 4433 before the deadline.

Does my PIP stop while it is being reviewed?+

No. You continue to get PIP while your claim is being reviewed. After the review DWP writes to tell you whether your award goes up, stays the same, goes down or stops, and you can challenge a decision you disagree with through mandatory reconsideration.

Is the reminder free, and what do you store?+

It is free. The dates are worked out in your browser and the calendar file is made on your device, so nothing is sent to us. Only if you ask for the email reminder do we keep your email address and the dates, in our email system, to send the reminder and occasional PIP guidance. You can unsubscribe at any time.

Sources

GOV.UK, PIP: if your PIP claim is reviewed (the award letter, the review form, the 1-month return, PIP continuing during the review).
DWP, Personal Independence Payment statistics to July 2026, 15 September 2026 (award lengths since April 2026, the existing caseload from 16 June 2026, ongoing awards at State Pension age, 79% of planned award reviews).
Explanatory Memorandum to SI 2026/457, paragraphs 5.1 and 5.5 (the review date is generally set 12 months before the award end date; first review generally after three years, then after five) and the regulations allowing award extensions from 2 June 2026.
GOV.UK, PIP: report a change of circumstances (PIP enquiry line 0800 121 4433).

PIP Review Reminder

Email me these dates and a reminder (optional)

When the form arrives