Attendance Allowance Award Letter: What It Says and What to Do Next

What Arrives in the Post

After you submit your AA1 form, the DWP's Attendance Allowance Unit in Wolverhampton sends a formal decision notice by post. Most decisions are made entirely on paper evidence — face-to-face assessments are rare for Attendance Allowance — so the letter is usually the first response you receive after returning your form.

The letter tells you one of three things: you have been awarded the Higher Rate (£114.60 per week in 2026/27), the Lower Rate (£76.70 per week), or your claim has been disallowed.

Breaking Down the Decision Notice

The letter follows a standard layout, though the wording can feel dense. Here is what to look for in each section.

The outcome paragraph states the rate you have been awarded and whether the decision maker found you met the day condition, the night condition, or both. Higher Rate means both day and night needs were accepted. Lower Rate means only one was accepted.

The effective date is the date your entitlement begins. This should match your protected claim date — the date you phoned the helpline or submitted online — not the date the decision was made. If you called the helpline and returned the stamped AA1 within six weeks, your effective date should be the date of that phone call.

The award period tells you whether the award is fixed-term (with an end date and a renewal process) or indefinite. Indefinite awards are still subject to periodic light-touch reviews, but you do not need to reapply.

Payment details confirm that Attendance Allowance is paid four-weekly in arrears into your nominated bank account. The first payment often includes arrears back to your effective date.

Checking the Letter Is Correct

Read the letter against what you told the DWP on the form. Three things to verify:

1. Rate versus what you described. If you described both day and night care needs but received the Lower Rate, the decision maker may not have accepted one set of needs. The letter should explain which condition was not met.

2. Effective date versus your claim date. If you phoned the helpline on 3 March but the letter shows an effective date of 15 April, something has gone wrong with date protection. Contact the Attendance Allowance helpline (0800 731 0122) and ask them to check.

3. Award duration. Fixed-term awards are common for conditions that may improve. If your condition is progressive or permanent, and the award is fixed-term, this may be worth challenging.

What to Do Once You Have an Award

An Attendance Allowance award is not just income — it acts as a key that unlocks other support across the benefits system.

Check your Pension Credit entitlement. If you live alone (or are treated as living alone) and nobody receives Carer's Allowance for looking after you, your Attendance Allowance award should trigger the Severe Disability Addition — worth an extra £86.05 per week on top of your Pension Credit guarantee. Contact the Pension Service (0800 731 0469) to report your award.

Tell your council. An Attendance Allowance award may increase your Housing Benefit and entitle you to a Council Tax reduction. Your council's benefits team needs to know.

Consider Carer's Allowance carefully. If an unpaid carer looks after you for 35 or more hours a week and earns £204 a week or less, they can claim Carer's Allowance (£86.45 per week). But if you currently receive the Severe Disability Addition within Pension Credit, a paid Carer's Allowance claim will cancel it — a net household gain of roughly 40p per week. Get a full benefit check from Citizens Advice or Age UK before anyone applies.

Keep the letter safe. You will need the reference number and award dates if you ever need to report a change of circumstances or request a reconsideration.

If Your Claim Was Disallowed

A refusal letter should explain which statutory conditions the decision maker found you did not meet. You have the right to request a Mandatory Reconsideration within one month of the date on the letter. If that is upheld, you can appeal to the independent First-tier Tribunal.

The Attendance Allowance Claim Guide walks through the decision notice section by section, including the linked benefits your award can unlock and what to do if the decision is wrong.

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