What Happens to a Child's DLA at 16

Disability Living Allowance for a child does not continue into adulthood. When a child turns 16, they move onto Personal Independence Payment (PIP), the benefit that replaced DLA for working-age claimants from 2013¹. The move is not automatic: the child, or whoever acts for them, has to make a fresh claim, and the DWP writes out shortly after the 16th birthday to say so³.

The letter gives a deadline. If the DWP has invited your son or daughter to claim PIP from DLA, they or you must do so within 28 days⁵. As long as the claim is made on time, the child's DLA continues until the PIP claim has been decided⁶. If it is not made, the DLA payments stop and the DLA claim is closed¹.

The assessment is different from DLA, and the outcome is not guaranteed. Of DLA reassessment claims cleared in the quarter ending April 2026, 74% resulted in an award, up from 73% in April 2025⁹. This page sets out what the letter means, how the claim works, who manages it, and what to do if the decision goes against you.

DLA stops at 16 and PIP takes its place

DLA has been replaced by PIP for people of working age, which means between the ages of 16 and pension age¹¹. You cannot make a new claim for DLA if you are over 16¹². PIP was introduced in 2013 to replace DLA, and it now covers adults aged 16 to pension age².

For a child already on DLA, the change is triggered by the birthday. Children getting DLA must normally claim PIP shortly after their 16th birthday⁴. The DWP will normally invite them to claim shortly after that date⁵. Indefinite DLA awards, which used to run on without a review date, end when the claimant turns 16¹⁵.

Changing from DLA to PIP at 16 is not an automatic process⁸. The claim has to be started, the form completed and returned, and a decision waited for. The only exceptions to the move are currently young people who are terminally ill and those who are hospital in-patients¹⁰. For a child claiming DLA under the special rules for terminal illness, the DWP invites them to claim PIP 20 weeks before the current DLA award ends⁵.

In Scotland, Adult Disability Payment has replaced PIP and DLA for those aged between 16 and state pension age¹⁷. Where a young person in Scotland is moving on from a child disability payment, the equivalent transition applies through Social Security Scotland rather than the DWP.

The PIP invitation letter and the deadline to claim

Shortly after your child's 16th birthday, the Department for Work and Pensions sends a letter inviting them to apply for PIP by a certain date¹. Where a child on DLA is approaching 16, notice in writing is sent saying when they will need to claim PIP¹⁰. The guardian of the child is contacted by the DWP, or by the Disability and Carers Service in Northern Ireland, as the child approaches 16¹⁸. The DWP invites the claim 20 weeks before the current DLA award ends, and the claim must be made within 28 days of that invitation⁶. Once the invitation is made, the process cannot be reversed, and a failure to claim PIP also ends the DLA award⁷.

The deadline matters more than anything else on the page. If the DWP has invited your son or daughter to claim PIP from DLA, they or you must do so within 28 days⁵. Once invited to make the switch, there are 4 weeks to claim PIP, the process cannot be reversed, and if the claim is not made the DLA award will also be ended¹⁹. The practical steps are:

1. Call to start the PIP claim⁸.
2. Complete the PIP claim form and send it off within 28 days of calling⁸.
3. If the questionnaire is not returned by the date given, the DWP will normally turn down the claim for PIP, and any existing DLA payments will also stop²⁰.

How the PIP assessment differs from DLA

The biggest change is what the assessment measures. Unlike with DLA, the assessment does not compare your child to other children of the same age²⁰. PIP looks at how a person's condition affects their daily life against a fixed set of activities, rather than against what other children their age can do.

There is also a difference in the qualifying period. If your child is moving from DLA to PIP, you will not have to show that they met the tests in the previous three months, but there is an expectation that needs last for at least nine months⁵. That forward-looking test is a common reason a claim that looks strong on paper does not produce the award a family expected.

A 16-year-old might need to have a PIP assessment if more information is needed⁸. Assessments can be by phone, video or face to face, and someone can go in with them if they are 16 or over²¹. The assessment is not a repeat of the DLA decision, and the evidence that supported the DLA award may not answer the PIP questions.

Who manages the claim: appointees at 16

An appointee is someone the DWP authorises to manage benefits for a person who cannot manage their own benefit affairs²². The DWP can appoint someone to act on behalf of a person receiving state benefits who cannot manage their benefit-related affairs because of physical disability or lack of mental capacity²³. Appointees manage benefit claims and payments on behalf of the person who is mentally unable to do so²⁴.

Turning 16 changes this. Where a parent is already their child's appointee for DLA, that does not automatically move over to PIP, and an application is needed to continue as their appointee¹. An appointee is someone the Department for Work and Pensions authorises to manage benefits for another person, and is responsible for the claim, which means updating the DWP about any changes¹⁴.

There is a separate route for starting the claim. You can start the claim for your child if they are getting DLA, they have just turned 16 and they do not have the mental capacity to manage their own money⁷. Where a young person can manage their own affairs, the claim is theirs to make, and the DWP's own guidance on who can request a review of a DLA decision lists the options as the parent or guardian of a child still under 16, an appointee for a child if they are now over 16, or the young person themselves if they are over 16, able to manage their own affairs and do not need someone to act for them²⁵.

Appointeeship is not the only way to help. Third-party access arrangements with banks, and deputyship or power of attorney where someone lacks capacity, are separate from the benefit claim, and the rules on who can be appointed are strict: appointees can only be made where there is no person who has authority to act, is willing to act on their behalf and lives with the person²⁶.

What a PIP decision means for other benefits and Carer's Allowance

PIP replaces DLA for children when they turn 16⁵. It is a benefit for those aged between 16 and state pension age²⁷. Because it is a different benefit with its own rules, a PIP decision can change what else the household receives.

Carer's Allowance is the one families ask about most. It depends on the disabled person receiving a qualifying disability benefit, so if the DLA ends and no PIP award replaces it, the carer's entitlement is affected. The DWP contacts the guardian as the child approaches 16 to explain the change¹⁸. Where the young person's award changes level, the carer's position can change with it, and it is worth checking both at the same time.

Other passported help can also turn on the award. A PIP award can open access to other support, and the loss of an award can close it. The DWP's own statistics show how many young people are affected: as at November 2025, 50,000 young people aged 16 to 17 had entitlement to DLA, which is 31% of the overall DLA (working age) caseload⁹.

Challenging a PIP decision: mandatory reconsideration and appeal

If the decision is not what you expected, there is a route to challenge it, and it has a fixed order. You must first ask the DWP to look at the decision again, which is called a mandatory reconsideration, and then you can appeal to the First-tier Tribunal³⁰. The mandatory reconsideration is the first step in challenging a PIP decision³².

The deadline is tight. A request for a mandatory reconsideration is made to the DWP within one month of the date of decision²¹. Missing that month does not automatically end the matter, but it makes the process harder, and the DWP has to be asked to accept a late request.

The two stages do different jobs. A mandatory reconsideration is a fresh look at the same decision by the DWP, and it is the step that has to happen before a tribunal can consider the case²⁷. An appeal to the First-tier Tribunal is decided by an independent panel rather than by the DWP. Where a decision is changed at either stage, the new award is backdated to the original decision date in the usual way.

Free, impartial help is available while a claim or a challenge is running. Citizens Advice, Scope, Contact and Turn2us all publish guidance on completing the PIP questionnaire and on challenging a decision, and they do not charge for it³³.