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Free PIP reliability test checker · 2026Does the PIP reliability test apply to you?
You can only be scored as able to do something if you can do it safely, to an acceptable standard, repeatedly and in a reasonable time. Check one activity at a time and see which higher descriptors could apply.
- All 12 activities, with the real descriptors and points
- Based on regulation 4(2A) of the PIP Regulations 2013
- Free, and nothing you choose is saved or sent
Last reviewed
Check one activity
One question at a time. Tap an answer to move on, and start again to check another activity.
Which activity do you want to check?
You can check another one afterwards with Start again.
Preparing food: what can you do on most days?
Pick the description that fits you on more than half of days, before thinking about the four tests.
Taking nutrition: what can you do on most days?
Pick the description that fits you on more than half of days, before thinking about the four tests.
Managing therapy or monitoring a health condition: what can you do on most days?
Pick the description that fits you on more than half of days, before thinking about the four tests.
Washing and bathing: what can you do on most days?
Pick the description that fits you on more than half of days, before thinking about the four tests.
Managing toilet needs or incontinence: what can you do on most days?
Pick the description that fits you on more than half of days, before thinking about the four tests.
Dressing and undressing: what can you do on most days?
Pick the description that fits you on more than half of days, before thinking about the four tests.
Communicating verbally: what can you do on most days?
Pick the description that fits you on more than half of days, before thinking about the four tests.
Reading and understanding signs, symbols and words: what can you do on most days?
Pick the description that fits you on more than half of days, before thinking about the four tests.
Engaging with other people face to face: what can you do on most days?
Pick the description that fits you on more than half of days, before thinking about the four tests.
Making budgeting decisions: what can you do on most days?
Pick the description that fits you on more than half of days, before thinking about the four tests.
Planning and following journeys: what can you do on most days?
Pick the description that fits you on more than half of days, before thinking about the four tests.
Moving around: what can you do on most days?
Pick the description that fits you on more than half of days, before thinking about the four tests.
Can you do that safely?
Can you do it without being likely to harm yourself or anyone else, during or afterwards? For example: Falls, burns, cuts, forgetting the hob, choking, or being left exhausted and at risk later.
Can you do that to an acceptable standard?
Is the result good enough, not just technically done? For example: A meal that isn’t properly cooked, washing that leaves you not clean, or walking with so much pain you can barely manage.
Can you do that repeatedly?
Can you do it as often as you reasonably need to in a day? For example: You can cook once, but not again for the evening meal. You can dress, but couldn’t change again later.
Can you do that in a reasonable time?
Can you do it in no more than twice as long as someone without your condition? For example: Dressing takes you 45 minutes when it would take most people 10.
- Whether the descriptor you picked really applies
- Which higher descriptors could apply instead, with points
- What to do next
What each test actually means.
The wording comes from regulation 4(4) of the PIP Regulations 2013. ‘Acceptable standard’ isn’t defined there, so it takes its everyday meaning.
Safely
Can you do it without being likely to harm yourself or anyone else, during or afterwards? For example: Falls, burns, cuts, forgetting the hob, choking, or being left exhausted and at risk later.
To an acceptable standard
Is the result good enough, not just technically done? For example: A meal that isn’t properly cooked, washing that leaves you not clean, or walking with so much pain you can barely manage.
Repeatedly
Can you do it as often as you reasonably need to in a day? For example: You can cook once, but not again for the evening meal. You can dress, but couldn’t change again later.
In a reasonable time
Can you do it in no more than twice as long as someone without your condition? For example: Dressing takes you 45 minutes when it would take most people 10.
See the regulation on legislation.gov.uk.
Reliability is where decisions go wrong.
If your award ignores what you can’t do reliably, you can challenge it. You have one month from the date on your decision letter.
We argue it for you, activity by activity
Our letters take each activity in turn and show which test you can’t meet, with your own examples.
- Mandatory reconsideration or tribunal letter, written for your case
- Reviewed by a former DWP decision maker
- Ready in 48 hours, with free revisions
- £49 flat. You keep 100% of your backpay
PIP2 Form Answers
Every question on ‘How your disability affects you’ answered for you, with the reliability tests written into each activity from the start.
How to use the reliability test.
The ‘most days’ rule
A descriptor applies if it fits you on more than half of the days in the period being looked at. Describe how you are on most days, not your best.
One test is enough
If you can’t do something reliably in just one of the four ways, you shouldn’t be treated as able to do it at that level.
Say what actually happens
Give a real example for each test you fail: what happened, when, and how often. “Last week I fell getting out of the shower” beats “I struggle”.
See every descriptor and its points in the PIP Descriptors & Points Guide.
Tools for your PIP claim.
PIP reliability test questions answered.
When the DWP scores an activity, you only count as able to do it if you can do it safely, to an acceptable standard, repeatedly and in a reasonable time. It’s set out in regulation 4(2A) of the PIP Regulations 2013. If you can’t meet one of these, you should be scored as if you can’t do it at that level.
No more than twice as long as the maximum time someone without a condition affecting that activity would normally take.
In a way that’s unlikely to cause harm to you or anyone else, either while you’re doing the activity or afterwards.
As often as the activity is reasonably needed. For example, you need to be able to prepare a meal more than once a day, and walk again after resting.
The regulations don’t define it. In practice it means the result is good enough for its purpose, for example you’re actually clean after washing, or a meal is properly cooked.
Yes, to all 12 daily living and mobility activities. It’s especially important for moving around, where pain, breathlessness or fatigue can mean you can’t walk a distance repeatedly or in a reasonable time.
It’s one of the most common reasons decisions change. Ask for a mandatory reconsideration within one month and explain, activity by activity, which test you can’t meet and why, with examples.
No. It shows how the rules work for one activity at a time. The DWP decides your award, and the full picture across all 12 activities is in the PIP Points Calculator.
Scored too low? Challenge it for £49.
We take each activity in turn and show which reliability test you can’t meet, with your own examples. Reviewed by a former DWP decision maker, ready in 48 hours.
This tool explains how the reliability rules work for one activity at a time. It isn’t a decision or legal advice: the DWP decides your award. Descriptors from Schedule 1 to the PIP Regulations 2013, in plain English.