Why Nearly Half of Attendance Allowance Claims Are Rejected — And How to Avoid It

Published DWP figures suggest that roughly 48% of Attendance Allowance applications submitted without help are rejected. That’s a huge number of genuinely eligible people being turned away — not because they don’t qualify, but because the form isn’t designed to make it easy to explain why you do.

The most common reasons for rejection

• Describing a diagnosis instead of describing the day-to-day impact ("I have arthritis" rather than what that actually stops you doing safely on your own).
• Understating need out of pride or habit — many people minimise their own struggles when filling in a form, especially to a stranger.
• Missing the six-month rule — the condition (or the level of need) has to have lasted, or be expected to last, at least six months.
• Inconsistent answers across different sections of the form, which reads as unreliable to a decision maker even when it isn’t.
• Not mentioning night-time needs at all, which is one of the most common reasons someone who qualifies for the higher rate is only awarded the lower rate — or nothing.

What to do if you’ve already been rejected

A rejection is not the end of the road, and it doesn’t mean you weren’t entitled. You have the right to ask for a Mandatory Reconsideration — a fresh look at the same decision — and if that doesn’t succeed, the right to appeal to an independent tribunal.

• Mandatory Reconsideration: normally requested within one month of the decision letter. This is your chance to submit further evidence or clarify anything that was missed or misunderstood the first time.
• Appeal: if the Mandatory Reconsideration is also unsuccessful, you can appeal to HM Courts & Tribunals Service, which reviews the case independently of the DWP.

Many of the clients we help have already been rejected once. We review exactly what was submitted, identify what was missing or unclear, and either help with a Mandatory Reconsideration or prepare a fresh, properly evidenced application — whichever gives the best chance of success.

We only take on cases where we genuinely believe there’s a real, provable care need — and we only get paid if the claim succeeds.