Does Crohn's / UC qualify?
Yes. Crohn's disease (NG129) and ulcerative colitis (NG130) are recognised long-term conditions. The PIP test is functional impact, and both conditions commonly hit continence, food handling, therapy management and mobility in flare and recovery.
The continence descriptor
DL 5 (managing toilet needs / continence) is the anchor for IBD claims:
- Needs to use an aid or appliance (stoma bag, incontinence pads): 2 points.
- Needs supervision or prompting to be able to manage toilet needs: 2 points.
- Needs assistance to manage toilet needs: 4 points.
- Needs assistance to manage incontinence of either bladder or bowel: 6 points.
- Needs assistance to manage incontinence of both bladder and bowel: 8 points.
Under Reg 7 apply the 50 per cent rule across the 12 month period: flare frequency and severity determine which descriptor is majority.
Biologics and Daily Living 3
DL 3 (managing therapy or monitoring a health condition) covers medication as well as therapy. Schedule 1 does not count taking or administering medication as "therapy", so help with the medicines below is descriptor 3b (1 point): needing an aid or appliance, or supervision, prompting or assistance, to manage medication or to monitor a health condition. Include:
- Biologics: infliximab (IV infusions on 8-week cycles), adalimumab / golimumab (self-injection), vedolizumab, ustekinumab, risankizumab.
- Immunosuppressants: azathioprine, mercaptopurine, methotrexate.
- JAK inhibitors: tofacitinib, upadacitinib.
- Steroid tapers, aminosalicylates (mesalazine).
- Regular monitoring bloods (FBC, LFTs, CRP, calprotectin), TB screening pre-biologic.
Which descriptors apply
- Daily Living 5 (managing toilet needs): anchor descriptor (see above).
- Daily Living 3 (managing therapy or monitoring a health condition): biologics and other medication, and monitoring (see above).
- Daily Living 1 (preparing food): fatigue in flare, restricted diet, low-residue prep, cannot stand at hob during flare.
- Daily Living 2 (taking nutrition): tube feeding through a pump or other rate-limiting device (what Schedule 1 calls a therapeutic source), needs prompting to eat.
- Daily Living 4 (washing / bathing): around a stoma, appliance care, skin protection.
- Mobility 1 (planning and following a journey): cannot travel without guaranteed bathroom access; cannot follow a journey alone in flare.
- Mobility 2 (moving around): distance limited by pain, urgency, and fatigue.
Example answers you could adapt
These are illustrations of the kind of detail that helps, not answers to copy. Describe your own experience in your own words, and never copy an example that is not true for you.
Example onlyDaily living activity 5: Managing toilet needs or incontinence
“During a flare I need the toilet 10 to 15 times a day, often with only a minute or two of warning, and I have accidents two or three times a week.
I wear incontinence pads every day and keep a change of clothes in the bathroom and the bedroom. After an accident my partner helps me clean up and change because I'm shaky and exhausted, and it can take half an hour. Between flares I go around six times a day and accidents are rarer, and my flare diary shows how many days each pattern covered over the last year.”
Why this detail matters: The descriptors separate using “an aid or appliance”, such as pads, from needing “assistance to be able to manage incontinence of either bladder or bowel”, so how often accidents happen, what help you need afterwards and how many days flares last show which line fits across the year.
Example onlyDaily living activity 3: Managing therapy or monitoring a health condition
“I inject a biologic every two weeks and take several tablets at different times of day, plus a steroid course when I flare.
When I'm fatigued or on high-dose steroids I lose track of whether I've taken things, so my partner fills a weekly pill organiser and texts me reminders. Twice in the last six months I missed an injection because I was too exhausted to remember. My partner also keeps track of my blood test dates and chases results with the IBD nurse, because I've missed monitoring appointments when I was unwell.”
Why this detail matters: This activity asks whether you need “an aid or appliance”, or “supervision, prompting or assistance”, to “manage medication” or “monitor a health condition”, so the pill organiser, the reminders and the missed doses show the help that keeps your treatment on track.
Example onlyMobility activity 1: Planning and following journeys
“I plan every journey around toilets and won't take a bus or train route unless I know I can reach one quickly.
Because of accidents I've had in public, I get very anxious before going anywhere unfamiliar, and some days I turn back at the front door. For new places my partner comes with me, checks where the toilets are and keeps me calm. On better days I can do short familiar trips, like the local shop, on my own.”
Why this detail matters: This activity covers going out without “overwhelming psychological distress” and following an unfamiliar route “without another person”, so describe the anxiety about accidents and what happens when you try to go out, not only the toilet trips themselves.
Example onlyDaily living activity 2: Taking nutrition
“During a flare I often go most of the day without eating, because eating brings on pain and urgency and I'm frightened of it.
My partner reminds me at meal times, puts small portions in front of me and sits with me until I've eaten something. When nobody does that, I skip meals, and I've lost weight during each of my last three flares.”
Why this detail matters: The descriptors include needing “prompting to be able to take nutrition”, so explain who reminds or encourages you to eat, how often that happens, and what happens when nobody does.
Example onlyDaily living activity 1: Preparing food
“In a flare I'm too exhausted to stand at the cooker for more than a few minutes, and I often have to leave the kitchen suddenly for the toilet, so pans have boiled over or burnt.
My partner batch-cooks the food I can tolerate at weekends and I reheat it in the microwave. Chopping and peeling wear me out, so I sit down to do them. Between flares I can make simple meals myself, slowly and with rests.”
Why this detail matters: The descriptors separate cooking with “a conventional cooker” from using “a microwave”, and from needing “supervision or assistance”, so leaving pans unattended, reheating meals someone else made and needing to sit show whether you can cook a simple meal safely.
Evidence to send
- Gastroenterology clinic letter with diagnosis (Crohn's or UC), disease extent, and current treatment.
- Colonoscopy / MRE report where available.
- Biologics prescription and infusion schedule; IBD nurse specialist letter.
- Stoma nurse letter and appliance regimen where applicable.
- 4 to 8 week flare and toilet-frequency diary.
- Recent bloods (FBC, CRP, faecal calprotectin).
At the assessment
Answer for typical days across a 12-month period, not for the good week between infusions. State how often you have accidents, how many toilet trips per day, and how often flares happen. Bring an advocate.
The four-point rule (scrapped)
You may have read about a four-point rule starting in November 2026. It was removed from the bill in July 2025 and never became law. PIP rules are unchanged while the Timms Review runs (expected to report around autumn 2026). Evidence in descriptor and reliability language remains what decides awards.
Frequently asked questions
Can you get PIP for Crohn's or ulcerative colitis?
Yes. IBD can affect several PIP activities. Continence, therapy management, food preparation and mobility are all commonly affected in flare. NG129 (Crohn's) and NG130 (UC) are the NHS anchors.
Do I have to be in flare all the time?
No. Under the 50 per cent rule (Reg 7) a descriptor applies if it fits on more than half of days over 12 months. Long flare periods, urgent bathroom access, fatigue, and post-biologic infusion recovery days all count.
Which activities does IBD score on most?
Most commonly: DL 5 managing toilet needs / continence, DL 3 managing medication (biologics, immunosuppressants), DL 1 preparing food (restricted diet, fatigue), Mob 1 planning a journey (bathroom access), DL 2 taking nutrition (tube feeding, or needing prompting to eat).
Does a stoma affect the claim?
Yes. A stoma is relevant to DL 5, because Schedule 1 defines managing incontinence to include using a collecting device. Needing an aid or appliance is descriptor 5b (2 points), and needing assistance to manage incontinence of either bladder or bowel is descriptor 5e (6 points). It also affects DL 4 washing and DL 6 dressing (bag placement, appliance changes, skin care).
Do biologics count as complex therapy?
Not as therapy. Schedule 1 to the PIP Regulations excludes taking or administering medication, by any means, from "therapy", so infliximab, adalimumab, vedolizumab, ustekinumab and JAK inhibitors count as medication. Help with them is descriptor 3b, "supervision, prompting or assistance to be able to manage medication", which carries 1 point. Include infusion schedules, injection training and monitoring bloods on your form.
General information and document drafting, not benefits advice. Finally Seen is not affiliated with DWP or the NHS and does not guarantee any award. Check current guidance at gov.uk before sending.