Attendance Allowance check → How long does Attendance Allowance take?

How long does Attendance Allowance take?

What GOV.UK says about the wait: the 3-week text or letter, the date your claim counts from, the six-month rule, first payment, and what to do meanwhile.

Written and checked by the Attendance Allowance Check team at Virix Ltd. Last reviewed 25 September 2026 against gov.uk.

Once the form is in the post, most families want to know one thing: how long will this take? GOV.UK does not give a set number of weeks, and we will not invent one. What it does say is when you should hear something, the date the claim counts from, and when the money can start. This page sets out those rules, what to do while you wait, and what to do if nothing seems to happen. If you have not sent the form yet, start with how to fill in the AA1.

The first thing you should hear

GOV.UK says that after you send your claim, you will get a text or letter within 3 weeks that explains when you can expect a decision.

Some people are asked to an assessment. GOV.UK says this only happens if it is unclear how your disability or health condition affects you. If it does, a letter will say why and where you must go, and a medical professional will examine you.

Once a decision is made, it comes by letter, explaining the outcome.

The date your claim counts from

This date matters more than the wait itself. GOV.UK gives three rules, depending on how you claim:

With the third rule, the date of the request only counts if the form goes back within 6 weeks. If it comes back later, expect the later date to apply instead.

Illustrative example, made up: a daughter asks for a form for her father on 3 March. They work through it over a few weekends and post it on 31 March, well inside 6 weeks. Under the rule above, the claim counts from 3 March, not from the day the DWP opened the envelope.

The AA1 notes include a small box on the back page for the date you post the form. Fill it in, and keep that note.

Is Attendance Allowance backdated?

GOV.UK describes when a claim starts, as above, and it does not describe any way to be paid for time before that start date. So the practical answer is: do not wait to claim in the hope that earlier months will be paid later.

The six months of needs

This is where people often get confused. GOV.UK says you must have needed help for at least 6 months. The DWP’s guidance for decision makers (the Decision Makers’ Guide, chapter 61) calls this the qualifying period and says there is a 6 month qualifying period before Attendance Allowance is payable. Those six months are a condition you have to meet, not a period that is paid for.

That does not mean you must wait until the six months are over before you apply. The same guidance says a claim, or an award, can be made during the six months, provided the person is expected to meet the conditions. The AA1 notes say that if you claim straight away, the DWP will deal with the claim as soon as possible. Payment still cannot begin until the six months have passed.

Illustrative example, made up: a woman has needed help washing and dressing since a fall in early January. By early July she has needed that help for six months. If she claims in May, the claim can be looked at, but the money cannot start before the six months are complete.

The form asks when your needs began, which is how the DWP works this out. Our eligibility check covers the six-month rule in more detail.

If someone is nearing the end of life

Under what GOV.UK calls the special rules for end of life, there is no six-month wait. The decision makers’ guidance says there is no qualifying period when the claim is made because the person is terminally ill, and that the conditions for the higher rate are treated as met from the date of claim, or from the first date the person is terminally ill if that is later.

The AA1 notes say that a special rules claim means the higher rate, being paid straight away, and the claim being dealt with more quickly. GOV.UK says you will be contacted by phone or sent a letter within 3 weeks, and that there is no face-to-face assessment. It helps to send form SR1, from a doctor or other medical professional, with the claim; if you do not have it yet, the notes say to send the claim form straight away and the SR1 when you can. Our page on cancer and the special rules goes through this.

When the money starts, and how it is paid

GOV.UK says that if you are awarded Attendance Allowance, the decision letter will tell you when you will get your first payment. That letter is the only reliable answer for any one claim.

After that:

• It is paid into a bank, building society or credit union account. GOV.UK says you can only be paid another way if you have problems opening or managing an account.
• GOV.UK lists Attendance Allowance as paid usually every 4 weeks, even though the rates are set as weekly amounts. Our page on Attendance Allowance rates explains the two rates.
• If a payment date falls on a weekend or bank holiday, GOV.UK says you will usually be paid on the working day before.

The decision letter also says how long the award lasts. The decision makers’ guidance says an award can be for a fixed period or for an indefinite period, depending on whether the person’s needs are expected to change.

While you are waiting

• Keep a copy of the form. A photocopy or clear phone photos of every page. If you later need to ask for the decision to be looked at again, you will want to see exactly what was said.
• Keep the date you posted it, or submitted it online, and the text or letter you receive within 3 weeks.
• Keep a simple diary of care. The AA1 notes suggest keeping a record of the help needed over a day or two, including a good day and a bad day, from getting up one morning to getting up the next. Carrying on while you wait helps if there is an assessment or a disappointing decision.
• Watch the post and the phone. The first contact may be a text. If a son or daughter is helping, agree who will look out for it.

If you are helping a parent, our page on claiming for a parent explains who the letters go to and who can deal with the DWP.

Changes to tell the DWP about

GOV.UK lists changes that someone getting Attendance Allowance must report straight away. Several of them can also happen during the wait, and some are worth telling the DWP about then, because they affect the decision or the payment:

• the help you need, or your condition, changes;
• you go into hospital or a care home;
• a medical professional says you might have 12 months or less to live, which can mean the higher rate under the special rules;
• you plan to leave the country for more than 4 weeks;
• you change your name, address or bank details, or your doctor’s details change.

GOV.UK also says you could have to pay a penalty, or be taken to court, if you give wrong information or do not report a change. A friend or relative can report a hospital stay for you.

Hospital and care home stays

The AA1 notes say that if you are awarded Attendance Allowance while you are in hospital, a care home or a similar place, the DWP cannot pay you until you come out. The exception is if you are a private patient or resident paying for your stay without help from public funds. The notes add that someone claiming under the special rules may still be paid while in a hospice.

For people already getting it, the decision makers’ guidance says Attendance Allowance continues for the first 28 days of an NHS hospital stay, or for stays adding up to 28 days. For care homes, GOV.UK says most benefits usually stop within 28 days if the stay is funded by the NHS or the local council, while someone paying all their own care home fees can keep getting Attendance Allowance.

If you hear nothing

If three weeks have passed with no text or letter, a few things are worth checking first:

• check any texts on the phone number given on the form, and any post that may have gone to a different address, such as a parent’s;
• check it was sent to the right place: GOV.UK says the envelope should say only Freepost DWP Attendance Allowance, with nothing else written on it, and no stamp or postcode;
• have to hand the National Insurance number, the full name and address on the claim, and the date the form was posted or submitted online.

If you are unhappy with the service rather than the decision, GOV.UK says you can make a complaint to the DWP.

If the decision letter arrives and you disagree with it, that is a different process, called mandatory reconsideration. Our page on what to do after a refusal explains the steps and the time limits.

In Scotland: Pension Age Disability Payment

In Scotland, new claims are made to Social Security Scotland for Pension Age Disability Payment, not to the DWP. Mygov.scot says you can apply online, where you submit part 1 within 14 days and part 2 within 56 days (8 weeks), with more time available if you ask, or by phone and paper, returning the paper form within 8 weeks. Someone applying for a person who is terminally ill has only one part to complete.

If someone in Scotland sent an Attendance Allowance form by mistake, mygov.scot says the DWP will pass it on, Social Security Scotland will use it as the application, and, if successful, payments will be from the date of the Attendance Allowance application. If you move between Scotland and England or Wales while waiting for a decision, GOV.UK says to tell the DWP and apply to the new service as soon as possible.

Nothing on this page is legal advice, and we cannot say how long any particular claim will take or whether it will succeed; that is decided by the DWP or, in Scotland, Social Security Scotland.

If you would like a hand with it

We are a private company, Virix Ltd, not part of any government department. We go through the AA1 with you, or with the person you care for, over the telephone, write the answers up in your own words, then print the form and post it to you to read, sign and send. It costs £149, once. If the claim is refused, we help you ask for the decision to be looked at again at no extra cost, and if the answer is still no, we refund the full £149. Or you can pay £15 now for printing and posting, and £299 only if the claim is awarded (terms). Equally, the claim is free to make yourself, and Age UK and Citizens Advice help at no charge where they have capacity, as do some local services. How the options compare.