After you send back your PIP2 form, most claimants are invited to a PIP consultation (often called the assessment). The consultation is carried out by an assessment provider working for the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). This guide explains how to prepare for the call or appointment, and how Activity 12 (Moving around) is tested.
How Activity 12 (Moving around) distance bands work
Mobility Activity 12 tests your physical ability to stand and then move around. Walking no more than 20 metres (aided or unaided) scores 12 points, which reaches the Enhanced Rate of Mobility (£80.00 per week for 2026/27).
Here is how the statutory Schedule 1 descriptors for Activity 12 are broken down:
- 12a (0 points): Can stand and then move more than 200 metres either aided or unaided.
- 12b (4 points): Can stand and then move more than 50 metres but no more than 200 metres, either aided or unaided.
- 12c (8 points): Can stand and then move unaided more than 20 metres but no more than 50 metres.
- 12d (10 points): Can stand and then move using an aid or appliance more than 20 metres but no more than 50 metres.
- 12e (12 points): Can stand and then move more than 1 metre but no more than 20 metres, either aided or unaided.
- 12f (12 points): Cannot, either aided or unaided, stand, or move more than 1 metre.
Assessors sometimes note that you walked from a waiting room to a consultation room and treat that as proof you can walk 50 to 200 metres reliably. During your assessment, explain what happens to your pain, breathlessness, balance, and pace over that distance, and whether you could repeat the walk later the same day.
What happens during a PIP assessment?
The consultation is a structured interview with a health professional (such as a nurse, paramedic, physiotherapist, or occupational therapist). They go through your PIP2 form and ask about your everyday routine.
Assessments take place in one of three ways:
- By telephone (very common).
- By video call.
- Face to face at an assessment centre or, where medically needed, on a home visit.
If the type of appointment offered does not suit your health needs, call the assessment provider using the number on your appointment letter to ask for a reasonable adjustment.
Five practical ways to prepare for your consultation
1. Be open about your bad days as well as your good days
Many people naturally try to put on a brave face when speaking to a health professional. In a PIP consultation, downplaying your difficulties can lead to an inaccurate report. Explain how many days a week your symptoms flare up and what you have to stop doing.
2. Explain the four Regulation 4(2A) tests (S.A.R.R. criteria)
Under Regulation 4(2A), you only count as able to complete an activity (including walking a given distance) if you can do it:
- Safely: In a way that is unlikely to cause harm, falls, or severe risk to you or someone else.
- To an acceptable standard: Without severe pain, breathlessness, dizziness, or loss of dignity.
- Repeatedly: As often as the activity is reasonably required across the day (for example, being able to walk back again, not just one way).
- In a reasonable time: Taking no more than twice the maximum time a person without your condition would take.
If preparing food or walking 20 metres leaves you so exhausted that you have to rest for hours afterwards, tell the assessor clearly.
3. Keep your PIP2 form and notes next to you
Have a copy of your completed "How your disability affects you" (PIP2) form and your medication list in front of you during a phone, video, or in-person appointment. You are allowed to read from your own notes so you do not forget details when tired or anxious.
4. Have a companion with you
You have the right to have a family member, friend, carer, or support worker join the call or come into the room with you. They can take notes, prompt you if you lose your train of thought, and explain the help they give you at home.
5. Link your symptoms to each daily task
PIP points are based on how your symptoms affect the 12 activities, not on the name of your diagnosis alone. Instead of only naming arthritis or asthma, explain what happens: for example, how far you can walk before you have to stop, how long you need to rest before moving again, and which walking aids you use.
What happens after the consultation?
The assessor sends their PA4 consultation report to a DWP decision maker. You can phone the DWP PIP enquiry line on 0800 121 4433 (textphone 0800 121 4493) a few days after your appointment to ask for a free copy of your PA4 report. If the report contains errors, read our guide on how to challenge a PA4 assessor report.