The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has confirmed that people with one of 46 specific psychiatric disorders may be able to claim Personal Independence Payment (PIP). PIP is designed to help with extra living costs for individuals whose long-term mental health condition or disability makes it difficult to perform certain everyday tasks or get around.
How PIP entitlement is determined
Entitlement to PIP is not based solely on a diagnosis. Instead, it depends on how a condition affects a person's ability to carry out specific daily living and mobility activities. The benefit has two components: daily living, which covers tasks such as washing and cooking, and mobility, which relates to travel and movement. Each component is paid at two different rates, depending on the level of help needed.
Individuals can receive up to £194.60 per week if they qualify for the higher rate on both the daily living and mobility parts of PIP. The DWP has published a list of 46 psychiatric conditions that have been recorded as the primary disabling condition on successful PIP claims, unlocking the daily living component, the mobility component, or a combination of the two.
The full list of 46 qualifying conditions
The list includes a wide range of conditions, from neurodevelopmental disorders to mood and psychotic disorders. The 46 conditions are:
- Personality disorder
- Dyslexia
- Dyspraxia
- Specific learning disorder - other / type not known
- Speech or language disorder
- Post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
- Stress reaction disorders - Other / type not known
- Agoraphobia
- Anxiety disorders - Other / type not known
- Generalised anxiety disorder
- Panic disorder
- Phobia - Social
- Phobia - Specific
- Obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD)
- Anxiety and depressive disorders - mixed
- Body dysmorphic disorder (BDD)
- Conversion disorder (hysteria)
- Dissociative disorders - Other / type not known
- Somatoform disorders - Other / type not known
- Bipolar affective disorder (Hypomania / Mania)
- Depressive disorder
- Mood disorders - Other / type not known
- Psychotic disorders - Other / type not known
- Schizoaffective disorder
- Schizophrenia
- Cognitive disorder due to stroke
- Cognitive disorders - Other / type not known
- Dementia
- Anorexia nervosa
- Bulimia nervosa
- Eating disorders not otherwise specified (EDNOS)
- Alcohol misuse
- Drug misuse
- Factitious disorders - Other / type not known
- Munchausen syndrome
- Down's syndrome
- Fragile X syndrome
- Learning disability - Other / type not known
- Asperger syndrome
- Autism
- Retts disorder
- ADHD / ADD
- Conduct disorder (including oppositional defiant disorder)
- Bedwetting (enuresis)
- Faecal soiling (encopresis)
- Psychiatric disorders of childhood - Other / type not known
What this means for claimants
The DWP has stressed that this list is not definitive. Individuals should still make a claim even if their condition is not listed, as awards depend on the individual impact of the condition rather than the diagnosis alone. The department assesses each application based on how the condition affects the person's daily life and ability to move around, meaning that even unlisted conditions could qualify if the impact is severe enough.
For those who do qualify, PIP can provide significant financial support, with the maximum weekly payment of £194.60 available to those needing the highest level of help with both daily living and mobility. The confirmation of these 46 conditions provides clarity for many claimants, but the DWP's guidance makes clear that the system remains flexible and person-centred.
