Seven weeks of silence after posting the form sends people to the helpline, and nothing on GOV.UK says whether seven weeks is normal. The DWP’s own figures, given to Parliament rather than published, say it is not: most new claims are cleared in three to four weeks. This page sets out those figures, the timescales at each later stage, and the routes when they slip.
A new claim
Three to four weeks, on the DWP’s own account. On 16 March 2026 its minister told Parliament the department is working to a target of clearing 90% of new claims within 30 days, and that current performance shows the majority cleared within around three to four weeks (written answer 118284, 16 March 2026, checked 1 November 2026).
GOV.UK’s own promise is vaguer, an update rather than a decision: it says that after you send your claim you will get a text or letter within three weeks that explains when you can expect a decision (GOV.UK, Attendance Allowance: how to claim, checked 13 September 2026). Earlier answers gave an average of 19 working days for April 2024 to January 2025 (written answer HL5581, 24 March 2025, checked 1 November 2026) and 23 working days for January 2025 (written answer 35530, 12 March 2025, checked 13 September 2026), each described as unpublished management information not assured to official statistics standard.
Nearing the end of life
The same answer said that for customers nearing the end of life, where a doctor has said they may have 12 months or less to live, the department operates a fast-track process under the special rules, with claims prioritised and typically cleared within eight days (written answer 118284, 16 March 2026, checked 1 November 2026).
GOV.UK says you may qualify for the special rules if your doctor or medical professional has said you might have 12 months or less to live, that no face-to-face assessment is needed, and that you will be contacted within three weeks about when to expect a decision (GOV.UK, Attendance Allowance: how to claim, checked 13 September 2026). Our eligibility page covers the form the doctor completes.
Payment runs from the claim date
A slow decision does not cost money, because the start date is fixed first. GOV.UK says an online claim starts on the date you make it, a printed form on the date the DWP receives it, and a form requested by phone on the date of the call if you return it within six weeks (GOV.UK, Attendance Allowance: how to claim, checked 13 September 2026).
An award made in week ten is paid back to that date. The six-week rule is the one to watch: a form requested by phone and returned in week seven starts from the day it arrives, not the call. Our claim diary is built for the two weeks before the form goes in, and the form page for filling it.
Documents you will not get back
The claim form says to send copies, because the DWP cannot return them, and its list of the documents it means includes a prescription list, a certificate of vision impairment, a medical report, a passport and a care plan (form AA1, edition 11/25 (PDF), checked 1 November 2026).
The exception is authority to sign for someone else. Where a power of attorney is sent, the form asks for the original or a certified copy and says it will send these back; deputyship papers are asked for the same way with no stated promise. An original passport that went in with the form is not covered by that promise; ring the helpline, ask for it to be traced, and follow up in writing so there is a record.
Chasing a claim
The Attendance Allowance helpline is 0800 731 0122, Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm, with Relay UK on 18001 then the same number (GOV.UK, Attendance Allowance: how to claim, checked 13 September 2026). Ask for the date the claim was received and what stage it is at.
There is no online tracker for a claim or a reconsideration; GOV.UK’s claim page offers none, and its only commitment is the three-week update (GOV.UK, Attendance Allowance: how to claim, checked 13 September 2026). An account for tracking progress exists only once an appeal is lodged (GOV.UK, Appeal a benefit decision: after you submit your appeal, checked 13 September 2026). Our contact page covers what each number is for.
Mandatory reconsideration
The deadline is short and the timescale is unpublished. GOV.UK says you usually need to ask for a mandatory reconsideration within one month of the date of the decision, and can ask later with a good reason such as a hospital stay or a bereavement (GOV.UK, Challenge a benefit decision (mandatory reconsideration): eligibility, checked 1 November 2026).
The regulations set the outer limit at 13 months from notification of the decision (Social Security and Child Support (Decisions and Appeals) Regulations 1999, regulation 4, checked 1 November 2026).
How long the DWP takes is not published for this benefit. A written answer on 8 September 2026 said reconsideration clearance times are published for PIP, and for the Work Capability Assessment on Stat-Xplore, and named no other benefit (written answer 25221, 8 September 2026, checked 1 November 2026). Our refused page covers what to send and the risk that the whole award is looked at again.
The tribunal
GOV.UK says it usually takes at least six months for an appeal to be heard by the tribunal, and that sending evidence as soon as you can and registering a representative promptly avoid delay (GOV.UK, Appeal a benefit decision: after you submit your appeal, checked 13 September 2026). The published statistics say longer than six months.
The tribunal’s statistics for April to June 2026 put the mean age of a social security case at disposal at 37 weeks, three weeks more than a year earlier. 129,000 cases were open at the end of June, up 63% (Tribunal Statistics Quarterly, April to June 2026, checked 1 November 2026). There is no separate figure for Attendance Allowance; PIP and Universal Credit make up most of the caseload. Of the cases decided at a hearing, 60% went in the claimant’s favour.
The DWP’s 28 days, and “priority”
Once an appeal is lodged the DWP has a deadline. The tribunal rules say the decision maker must send a response to the tribunal within 28 days after receiving the notice of appeal (Tribunal Procedure (First-tier Tribunal) (Social Entitlement Chamber) Rules 2008, rule 24, checked 1 November 2026).
When the DWP asks for more time it is asking under the tribunal’s general power to extend or shorten the time for complying with any rule (rule 5, checked 1 November 2026).
“Priority” has no definition in those rules. The tribunal rules set no expedited track for social security appeals. Their overriding objective includes avoiding delay, so far as compatible with proper consideration of the issues (rule 2, checked 1 November 2026), and the tribunal can shorten time limits in a case (rule 5, checked 1 November 2026). A promise to prioritise a case is an administrative one, with no number of weeks attached, and it is reasonable to ask what it means in practice.
When it has gone on too long
A complaint goes to the DWP first. Its complaints page says its usual timescale is 15 working days, and, as of the date on this page, that it is receiving a high number of complaints and cannot respond within it (GOV.UK, Complaints procedure, checked 1 November 2026).
After the DWP’s final response the Independent Case Examiner takes over, and asks not to be contacted before that response arrives (GOV.UK, How to bring a complaint to the Independent Case Examiner, checked 1 November 2026). Its published standards are to contact the complainant within 10 working days and to clear investigation reports within 20 weeks, each met in 99% of cases in the quarter to June 2026 (Independent Case Examiner service standards, checked 1 November 2026).
Scotland
Pension Age Disability Payment publishes what the DWP does not. Social Security Scotland’s statistics to 30 April 2026 give a median processing time of 7 working days for normal rules applications since launch, 9 in the latest quarter, and 2 working days under the special rules for terminal illness (Social Security Scotland, https: //www.socialsecurity.gov.scot/publications/2026/06/pension-age-disability-payment-statistics-to-30-april-2026, checked 1 November 2026).
The same publication says a re-determination must be requested within 42 days, that Social Security Scotland then has 56 days to decide, and that the median response took 46 working days with 98% closed within the limit. Our Scotland page covers the transfer from Attendance Allowance.