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PIP by condition · Osteoarthritis
PIP for osteoarthritis: can you get it, and how much?
Osteoarthritis is the third most common main condition on PIP, and just over half of new claims succeed. Here is what the DWP looks for, activity by activity, and how to describe pain and stiff joints in the way the descriptors score them.
- People getting PIP235,612
- Average award a week£105.51
- Enhanced daily living13%
- Enhanced mobility26%
Yes. 235,612 people get PIP with osteoarthritis as their main condition, the 3rd largest group, and 51.4% of new claims were awarded in the year to July 2026, above the 44.8% average for all conditions.
PIP for osteoarthritis is usually awarded at the standard rates: 13% of awards include enhanced daily living and 26% enhanced mobility, against 34% and 36% for all conditions, and the average award is £105.51 a week. The claims that score higher say how far you can walk, how long it takes and what you need help with on most days, not on your best one.
awarded
The figures
Osteoarthritis and PIP in numbers.
Every figure here comes from the DWP’s own data, released each quarter. Pick another condition to compare.
| People getting PIP | 235,612 | July 2026 |
| Average award a week | £105.51 | |
| Awards with enhanced daily living | 13% | |
| Awards with enhanced mobility | 26% | |
| Reconsiderations that changed the award | 27.6% |
Source: DWP Stat-Xplore, PIP cases with entitlement (July 2026) and clearances (August 2025 to July 2026). A pattern across claimants, not your chance. Why figures differ: we count awards as a share of all decisions made after an assessment in the last 12 months.
Where claims go wrong
Why osteoarthritis claims are refused.
Almost half of new osteoarthritis claims are refused after the assessment, usually because the form describes the diagnosis and the pain rather than what the joints stop you doing. These four patterns lose the most points.
“Walked into the room without difficulty”
The assessor watches you arrive, sit and stand. A few steps on painkillers, slowly, is not 50 metres repeatedly and in a reasonable time. Say how far you can go before you have to stop, how long it takes, and how you are afterwards.
Pain described, the task left out
“My knees and hands are very painful” does not score. The descriptors score tasks: standing at the hob, getting out of the bath, pulling on socks, getting up from the toilet. Name the task, then say what the pain stops you doing.
Aids you bought yourself, left off the form
A perching stool, a raised toilet seat, a long handled shoe horn or a grab rail all count, whether a hospital gave them to you or you bought them online. Each one you need can be worth 2 points in an activity.
The morning left out
Stiffness is often at its worst for the first hour of the day and after sitting still. If washing and dressing take you twice as long in the morning, or you need help until your joints loosen, that is what the form needs to say.
If your decision letter reads like one of these, the Should I challenge my PIP decision? checker shows what the points were worth and your deadline.
The rule that decides osteoarthritis claims
The reliability test: safely, repeatedly, in a reasonable time.
Under regulation 4(2A) of the Social Security (Personal Independence Payment) Regulations 2013, you only count as able to do an activity if you can do it in all four of these ways, on the majority of days. For osteoarthritis this is often the whole case: a walk you can do once, then need the rest of the day to recover from, is not a walk you can do repeatedly.
Flares count in the same way. If there are weeks when a knee or hip locks or swells and you cannot get upstairs or out of the house, count them: “I could not walk to the end of the road on 17 days in June” is evidence; “I have bad days” is not.
From symptoms to points
Which activities each symptom scores on.
The DWP does not score pain or stiffness. It scores the twelve activities. This is where each symptom lands.
| Symptom | The activities it scores on | What to describe |
|---|---|---|
| Pain in the knees, hips and feet | Moving around, preparing food, washing and bathing | How far you can walk and stand before the pain stops you, how long it takes, and whether you can do it again later the same day. |
| Stiffness, especially in the morning | Washing and bathing, dressing and undressing, managing toilet needs | How long it takes you to get going, what you cannot reach or bend for until your joints loosen, and who helps in the meantime. |
| Painful, weak or swollen hands | Preparing food, taking nutrition, dressing and undressing | Whether you can grip a knife, open jars and packets, lift a full pan, do up buttons or cut up food on your plate. |
| Joints that lock or give way | Moving around, washing and bathing, managing toilet needs | Falls and near falls, getting in and out of the bath or off the toilet, and the grab rails or seats you rely on. |
| Tiredness and the side effects of pain relief | Everything, on the days it is worst | Poor sleep from pain at night, drowsiness from stronger painkillers, and what you cannot do safely because of them. |
Activity by activity
Does this apply to you?
These are the six activities where osteoarthritis most often scores, with every descriptor and its points. Pick the one that fits you on most days in each activity and see roughly where you stand. Eight points in a component is the standard rate; twelve is enhanced.
Preparing foodActivity 1 · up to 8 pts
Standing at the worktop or hob, gripping a knife, lifting a pan or kettle, and whether you sit on a perching stool or use a microwave instead because you cannot manage a cooker.
Taking nutritionActivity 2 · up to 10 pts
Whether your hands let you cut up food on your plate, hold a cup or use ordinary cutlery, or whether you need adapted cutlery or someone to cut food for you.
Washing and bathingActivity 4 · up to 8 pts
Getting in and out of the bath or shower safely, bending to wash your legs and feet, and the seat, rail or person you need to do it.
Managing toilet needs or incontinenceActivity 5 · up to 8 pts
Getting down onto and up from the toilet, cleaning yourself when your hips, back or hands are stiff, and whether you use a raised seat, a frame or rails.
Dressing and undressingActivity 6 · up to 8 pts
Bending for socks, shoes and trousers, fastenings when your fingers are stiff, and how long it takes you in the morning.
Moving aroundActivity 12 · up to 12 pts
How far you can walk reliably: safely, to an acceptable standard, repeatedly and in a reasonable time. Not once, on a good day, with a rest and painkillers afterwards.
The DWP counts the highest descriptor that applies in each activity. The six activities here are a guide for osteoarthritis; the calculator covers all twelve, including managing therapy and planning journeys, where pain relief and the fear of a fall can also score.
What to write
Weak and strong descriptions, side by side.
The DWP scores what you write against the descriptors. The same difficulty, described two ways, gets two different results.
“I have arthritis in my hips and knees so I find it hard to have a bath.”
“I cannot get into or out of the bath on my own because my left knee gives way when I lift my leg over the side. My husband helps me in and out every time, and I sit on a bath board to wash. I cannot bend to wash my legs and feet, so I use a long handled sponge. I slipped getting out in March and have not tried alone since. It takes about 40 minutes in the morning.”
“I can walk but not very far because of my knees.”
“On most days I can walk about 40 metres, from my front door to the end of the next house, before the pain in my knees makes me stop. That takes me around two minutes, and I use a stick. I then need to sit for ten minutes before I can go back. On five or six days a week this is as far as I can go; on a good day I can reach the corner shop, but my knees swell and I can barely walk the next day.”
More worked examples, for six activities: PIP appeal letter examples. If you would rather it was written for you, every answer on the PIP2 form, in this language, for your conditions, is our PIP2 Form Answers service.
Evidence
The evidence that helps an osteoarthritis claim.
An X-ray or scan shows wear in a joint, but not what it stops you doing; two people with the same X-ray can manage very differently. These six carry the most weight, in this order.
The assessment
What to expect at an osteoarthritis assessment.
Most assessments are by phone or video and last 45 to 90 minutes. The assessor is a health professional, not someone who knows your case, and they write a report that the DWP decision maker scores. Three things make the difference for osteoarthritis.
Distances need numbers
“Not far” is written down as anything. Work out a distance you know, such as your front door to a lamp post, and say in metres or in steps how far you can go before you have to stop, and how long it takes.
The assessor notes what they see
On a video call they may ask you to stand, bend or raise your arms, and write down that you did. Say if it hurt, how far you could go, and how you will be afterwards. Never push through pain to show willing.
Answer for most days, not the best one
“Can you dress yourself?” invites a yes if you can on a good afternoon. Say what happens in the morning, how long it takes, what you cannot reach, and who helps on the days your joints are worst.
Our PIP assessment checklist walks through the week before, the day itself and the week after. Ask for a copy of the assessor’s report (the PA4) as soon as you get your decision; it is where most reconsiderations are won.
The official rules on claiming, assessments and payments are on GOV.UK’s PIP pages, and free independent advice is on Citizens Advice’s PIP pages.
Refused or underpaid?
What happens next, and what it is worth.
You have one month from the date on the decision letter to ask for a mandatory reconsideration. In the last year 27.6% of osteoarthritis reconsiderations changed the award, and if the reconsideration fails, 67% of PIP appeals decided at a tribunal hearing go the claimant’s way (Ministry of Justice, April to June 2026). An award is backdated to the date of your claim, so a standard daily living award overturned after nine months is worth around £3,000 on the day it is granted, before the weekly payments start.
A reconsideration letter that works goes through the decision letter and the assessor’s report point by point, in the DWP’s own language, and attaches the evidence the report ignored. Ours is written by the team and reviewed by Neil, a former DWP decision maker, within 48 hours, for a flat £49. We never take a percentage of your backpay. Use the deadline calculator first so you know your date, and the backpay calculator to see what winning is worth.
Other benefits
Other benefits for osteoarthritis.
PIP is not the only benefit an osteoarthritis claim can lead to, and the rules change if you are over State Pension age or in Scotland.
Keeping up
What changed in 2026.
Kept current by our quarterly data refresh and weekly checks of GOV.UK. Last reviewed .
Related conditions
Conditions that often go with osteoarthritis.
List every condition on your form; each one can score on different activities. Guides for these are being added; until then each link opens the condition’s own figures.
Questions
Osteoarthritis and PIP: your questions.
Yes. 235,612 people get PIP with osteoarthritis as their main condition, and 51.4% of new claims were awarded in the year to July 2026, against 44.8% for all conditions.
PIP is decided on how osteoarthritis affects your daily life, not on the diagnosis or what an X-ray shows. What counts is how far you can walk and what help or aids you need to cook, wash, dress and use the toilet.
£105.51 a week on average, below the £118.77 average for all conditions, because fewer osteoarthritis awards are at the enhanced rates (13% enhanced daily living and 26% enhanced mobility). The 2026/27 rates are £76.70 or £114.60 a week for daily living and £30.30 or £80.00 for mobility.
There is no set number for osteoarthritis; your points depend on what you cannot do reliably. Moving around alone gives 12 points, enough for the enhanced mobility rate, if you cannot stand and then move more than 20 metres, and 8 points if you can manage 20 to 50 metres without a stick.
Daily living points add up across the activities: 8 is the standard rate and 12 the enhanced rate. For osteoarthritis they usually come from preparing food, washing, dressing and using the toilet.
Yes. What matters is how far you can walk with the stick, safely, repeatedly and in a reasonable time. Between 20 and 50 metres using an aid is 10 points, enough for the standard mobility rate on its own.
No. The DWP does not need imaging, and an X-ray showing mild changes does not mean your claim will fail. Send what you have, but the GP letter, your diary and a statement from someone who helps you usually carry more weight.
Yes, if the joint has limited you for at least three months and is likely to for at least nine more. Send the waiting list letter. Tell the DWP after the operation if your needs change; a successful replacement can mean your award is reviewed.
Yes. Painful or weak hands score in preparing food, taking nutrition (cutting up food), dressing (fastenings) and washing. Say which tasks you cannot grip, open or fasten, and what you use instead.
51.4% of new osteoarthritis claims decided after an assessment were awarded in the year to July 2026. The DWP records generalised osteoarthritis and osteoarthritis of a single joint separately: 52.3% (21,400 decisions) and 43.9% (2,457 decisions). Knee and hip osteoarthritis are recorded on their own: 52.3% and 65.5%.
It is a pattern across claimants, not your chance. Your chance depends on how your form describes your days.
Yes, if you still cannot do the activities reliably while you take them. PIP looks at how you manage with the treatment and aids you normally use, so describe what you can do once the painkillers work, how long that lasts and what the side effects stop you doing, such as drowsiness making it unsafe to cook.
Send your repeat prescription list with the form; it shows the DWP what you take every day.
Count them. A descriptor applies if it fits you on more than half the days, so say how many days a week your knees, hips or hands stop you doing each activity, and what happens on those days. “I cannot get upstairs to wash on four days a week” scores; “some days are worse than others” does not.
Keep a diary for a few weeks before you fill in the form, including the stiff mornings and the days after you overdo it.
Refused, underpaid, or starting your claim?
Upload your decision letter for a free case review by the team, with Neil’s eye over it. If you go ahead, your letter is written for you, for a flat £49. We never take a percentage. You keep 100% of your backpay.
PIPAppeal is a letter-drafting service, not a law firm. It isn’t regulated by a legal body and doesn’t represent claimants at hearings. The DWP decides your claim and the tribunal decides your appeal.
Sources: Social Security (Personal Independence Payment) Regulations 2013, Schedule 1 and regulation 4(2A) · DWP Stat-Xplore, PIP statistics to July 2026 · Ministry of Justice, Tribunal Statistics Quarterly, April to June 2026 · NICE guideline NG226 on osteoarthritis · GOV.UK, PIP rates 2026/27.
Last reviewed