Mandatory Reconsideration vs Appeal: How to Challenge a Benefit Decision

If you disagree with a benefit decision, there are usually two stages to challenging it. The first is a mandatory reconsideration: you ask the office that made the decision to look at it again. The second is an appeal to an independent tribunal, which only becomes available once the first stage has produced a decision you still disagree with.

The two stages are not interchangeable, and the order matters. For most DWP decisions, the department must be given the opportunity to reconsider its decision before you can appeal it¹. You normally have one month to ask for a mandatory reconsideration, counted from the date of the decision, and one month from the date on the reconsideration notice to appeal¹.

The distinction that catches people out is who decides. A mandatory reconsideration is decided by the DWP, but appeals are heard by an independent tribunal, the Social Security and Child Support Tribunal, which is completely separate from the benefit office³. Appeals are also much more likely to be successful than mandatory reconsiderations⁵.

Which decisions you can challenge

The two-stage route covers most benefits, tax credits and child maintenance decisions. If you disagree with a decision about benefits, tax credits or child maintenance, you can request a mandatory reconsideration⁸. The list of benefits where this applies includes Carer's Allowance, child maintenance, Disability Living Allowance, Employment and Support Allowance, Income Support, Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit, Jobseeker's Allowance, Maternity Allowance, Pension Credit, Personal Independence Payment, Universal Credit (including advance payments), tax credits and Child Benefit⁹.

The same structure runs through individual benefits. For Universal Credit, you must ask for a mandatory reconsideration before you can make an appeal¹⁰. The same is true for Child Benefit and Guardian's Allowance: you must have asked for a mandatory reconsideration before you can appeal to the tribunal¹¹. Pension Credit follows the same pattern, starting with a mandatory reconsideration and then an appeal¹². New Style Jobseeker's Allowance is challenged by asking for mandatory reconsideration¹³.

Some decisions sit outside the standard route. A decision to make you repay a Universal Credit overpayment cannot be appealed in the usual way, but you can challenge how the overpayment happened or is calculated by asking for a mandatory reconsideration and then appealing¹⁴. Deductions from benefits ordered by a court are not appealed to the court; instead you appeal the DWP decision through the DWP internal tribunal system¹⁵.

How a mandatory reconsideration works

A mandatory reconsideration is the process of asking for a benefit decision to be looked at again before appealing¹⁶. In practice, you ask for the decision to be looked at again, and a different decision maker reviews it⁸. The person who looks at your claim again should not be the same person who made the original decision¹⁷.

You can ask in several ways. You can write to the DWP using the address on your decision letter, complete a mandatory reconsideration request form, write a letter explaining why you think the decision is wrong, or ask by phone using the number on your decision letter¹⁸. For Personal Independence Payment, the usual route is the CRMR1 mandatory reconsideration request form on Gov.UK, or a letter to the DWP explaining why you disagree¹⁹. For child maintenance decisions, you can ask by calling the Child Maintenance Service, writing to it, or using your online account²⁰.

When the review is done, you receive a mandatory reconsideration notice. The decision maker sends you two copies, and it explains what their decision is²¹. Keep it safe, because you will need it if you want to appeal²². If they decide they cannot change the decision, they will write to confirm this and tell you whether you have a right to appeal⁷.

When you can appeal to a tribunal

You can normally only appeal after you have received a mandatory reconsideration notice². For PIP, the same rule applies: you can only appeal after you have received the notice²³. You have a month from the date shown on the notice to submit your claim²⁴.

Your appeal must be made in writing. You will need to explain why you think the decision you are appealing against is wrong, and include a copy of the mandatory reconsideration notice²⁵. If you are still unhappy with the outcome after the notice, you can appeal to an independent tribunal²⁷.

If you miss the one-month deadline, late appeals may still be possible. You may still be able to appeal later if the date on your mandatory reconsideration notice was less than 13 months ago². It may also be possible to appeal outside the one-month time limit provided you submit your appeal within 13 months of the date on the notice⁶. An Upper Tribunal decision has held that you can have the right to appeal if you request a mandatory reconsideration within 13 months²⁷.

Beyond the First-tier Tribunal, there is a further stage. You can appeal to the Upper Tribunal if you have already had a mandatory reconsideration and then appealed to the First-tier Tribunal²⁴.

Mandatory reconsideration or appeal: how the two stages differ

The clearest way to see the difference is to set the two stages side by side.

The mandatory reconsideration is part of the steps to challenge and appeal a benefit decision, not a separate system³⁰. For most DWP decisions, the department must be given the opportunity to reconsider before you can appeal¹. The appeal stage is where an independent tribunal takes a fresh look, and it is completely separate from the benefit office³.

One practical difference is the evidence you bring. You do not need new medical evidence to ask for a mandatory reconsideration⁴, and plenty of people win mandatory reconsiderations and appeals without new medical evidence⁴. What changes at the appeal stage is who weighs that evidence: not the department that made the decision, but a tribunal that is not part of the DWP and is independent of government⁶.

Challenging a work capability assessment decision

A work capability assessment decides whether you are treated as capable of work, and it feeds into Universal Credit and Employment and Support Allowance. If your claim was closed for not returning the questionnaire on time, you can ask for a mandatory reconsideration of the decision to close your claim and explain what happened³¹. If it was closed because you did not attend the medical assessment, you can ask for mandatory reconsideration and explain why you failed to go³¹.

If the DWP does not change its decision, you can appeal³¹. The same applies where a mandatory reconsideration is unsuccessful: you can appeal³². Free help exists for this stage. Advicenow's work capability assessment mandatory reconsideration tool helps you write a letter that sets out your case³³, and its purpose is to help you make your case when you want to challenge a decision about whether you are capable of work³⁴.

There is an important limit on what an appeal can consider. If your illness or impairment has got worse since the date of your decision, it cannot be taken into account in an appeal³¹. That is a reason to describe your condition as it was at the date of the decision, not as it is now.

Where to get free help with a challenge

You do not have to work through this alone, and the help is free. Advicenow provides free tools for PIP mandatory reconsiderations and DLA mandatory reconsiderations³³, and its work capability assessment tool helps you write a letter setting out your case³³. Its answers on fit for work challenges and appeals are written by welfare rights advisers³⁵.

For child maintenance decisions, you can ask for a mandatory reconsideration by calling the Child Maintenance Service, writing to it, or contacting it in your online account²⁰. For PIP, the CRMR1 form or a letter to the DWP is the usual route¹⁹. If you reach a court hearing, free legal help at the court may be available through a court duty adviser³⁶.

If you want to understand the wider system, our guides to challenging a decision and appealing to a tribunal set out the surrounding rules, and appealing after the one-month deadline covers what to do if you are out of time.