PIP stopped after missed assessment

Short answer: Yes, the DWP can stop or refuse your PIP if you miss an assessment, but this is not automatic and it is often reversible. The key issue is whether you had a “good reason” for missing it.

Legal position:

If you fail to attend a medical assessment without good reason, the DWP can treat you as not having limited ability to carry out daily living or mobility activities, which usually means your claim is refused or your existing award is stopped. However, the rules require the DWP to consider whether you had a good reason before deciding against you. They should contact you to ask why you did not attend.

There is no fixed statutory list of what counts as a good reason. The DWP must look at all the circumstances. Examples that are commonly accepted include being ill on the day, a family emergency, a hospital appointment, transport failure, not receiving the appointment letter, mental health difficulties that made attending very difficult, or a disability-related reason connected to the appointment itself.

If the DWP accepts you had a good reason, or agrees to rebook you and then decides you still qualify, they should pay any PIP you would have received if it had never stopped, so you should not lose out.

Practical next steps:

1. Contact the DWP straight away. Phone as soon as possible, explain clearly why you missed the assessment, and ask them to book another appointment. Acting quickly makes it far more likely they will treat the reason as genuine.
2. Explain the reason fully and honestly. Do not understate things. If your health, a mental health condition, a carer’s absence, transport problems, or not receiving the letter played a part, say so. Small details matter.
3. Gather any supporting evidence. This might be a GP note, hospital letter, proof of a family emergency, a bus or train cancellation, or anything showing you did not receive or could not respond to the letter. Send copies, not originals.
4. If they refuse to rebook, you have two routes and can use both:

Challenge the decision. Ask for a mandatory reconsideration of the decision to stop or refuse your PIP, arguing that you had a good reason for not attending. You normally have one month from the date of the decision to ask for this, so do it promptly. If the reconsideration fails, you can appeal to the First-tier Tribunal (Social Security and Child Support).

Start a fresh PIP claim. If the DWP will not rebook and you do not want to wait for a challenge, you can begin a new claim at the same time. Doing both protects you: the challenge could restore your award from the original date, while a new claim gets a new payment running as soon as possible.

Points to bear in mind:

Reasonable adjustments. If your disability or health condition made it hard to attend or to deal with the paperwork, tell the DWP. They are expected to make reasonable adjustments, for example a telephone or video assessment, or a home visit.

Time limits. The one-month window for mandatory reconsideration is important. Late requests can sometimes be accepted for up to thirteen months if you have a good reason for the delay, but do not rely on this.

Keep records. Note the date and time of any call, the name of the person you spoke to, and what was said. Follow up important points in writing if you can.

Missing facts that affect the answer:

Whether this was a new claim or a review of an existing award, whether you have already received a formal decision letter, the date of that letter, and exactly why you missed the assessment will all affect the best route. If you already have a decision letter, the one-month clock for challenging it has started, so check the date.

If any part of this concerns a different part of the UK, such as Scotland where Adult Disability Payment has replaced PIP, let me know, because the rules and process are different there.