Attendance Allowance Checklist: What You Need Before You Claim

Starting an Attendance Allowance claim without the right information to hand means stopping and starting, chasing documents mid-form, and risking an incomplete submission. Gathering everything first makes the AA1 form dramatically easier to fill in — and more likely to succeed.

Here is what to have ready before you pick up the phone or start the form.

Personal Details and Identification

The AA1 form asks for the claimant's full name, date of birth, National Insurance number, address and contact details. If someone else is filling in the form on their behalf, the form also asks for the helper's details and their relationship to the claimant.

Have the claimant's National Insurance number to hand — it is on letters from the DWP, HMRC, or the State Pension. The claimant usually signs the declaration themselves. Another person can sign in the circumstances listed on the AA1, including if they are a benefit appointee, deputy or hold a Power of Attorney for Property and Finance (not Health and Welfare); if the claimant is too ill or disabled to claim or lacks mental capacity and the helper wishes to be appointed to deal with their benefits; or if the form is completed in the claimant's absence or without their knowledge. Follow the AA1 signing instructions.

Medical Information

The form asks for:

• All medical conditions and disabilities — not just the main one. Include physical conditions, mental health conditions, sensory impairments and cognitive issues like dementia or memory problems
• All medications — the full prescription list, including dosages and how often each is taken
• GP name, address and phone number
• Hospital consultants or specialists seen in the past year, with department and hospital name
• Other health professionals involved in care — community nurses, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, community psychiatric nurses, social workers

The DWP may contact these professionals directly for evidence, so accurate details matter.

A Record of Daily Care Needs

This is the most important part of the claim and the area where most people are underprepared. Before starting the form, spend a week observing and noting what help the claimant actually needs with:

• Washing and bathing — can they get in and out of the bath or shower safely? Do they need someone to wash parts of their body they cannot reach?
• Dressing — can they fasten buttons, reach to put on shoes, choose weather-appropriate clothing?
• Eating and drinking — do they need food cut up, reminding to eat, supervision while eating to avoid choking?
• Toileting — do they need help getting to the toilet, managing clothing, cleaning themselves afterwards?
• Medication — do they need reminding to take it, help opening bottles, supervision to take the right dose?
• Moving around indoors — do they need help getting out of a chair, navigating stairs, turning in bed?
• Safety — do they need someone present to prevent falls, stop them leaving the gas on, or watch over them because of confusion or wandering?

For each area, note what happens on a good day, what happens on a bad day, how many bad days there are in a typical week, and what risks exist if no help is available.

A daily care diary kept over seven to fourteen days gives you this information in a form you can transfer directly onto the AA1. It also serves as supporting evidence if submitted alongside the form.

Night-Time Needs

The form asks separately about what happens at night. Many families skip this section or give minimal answers because formal night care is not in place. But the test is whether the person needs help at night — not whether they currently receive it.

Note down:

• How often the person wakes during the night
• Whether they need help getting to the toilet
• Whether they are at risk of falling if they get up unassisted
• Whether someone needs to be awake or within earshot to respond to emergencies
• Any confusion, wandering or disorientation during the night

Night-time needs are the difference between the lower rate (£76.70 per week in 2026/27) and the higher rate (£114.60 per week). Getting this section right is worth over £1,970 a year.

Supporting Evidence

You do not need expensive private medical reports. Gather what already exists:

• GP summary printout — your surgery can print the patient's medical record summary
• Hospital discharge letters — from any recent admission
• Occupational therapy assessments — if the council or NHS has assessed the home for adaptations
• Care plans — if a care agency visits, their care plan describes what help is provided
• Specialist letters — from consultants, Parkinson's nurses, memory clinics, respiratory teams

Third-party statements from family members, neighbours or friends who see the person regularly are also useful. These should describe specific observations — what help they provide, what difficulties they have witnessed, what safety concerns they have noticed.

Decide How to Start the Claim

There are three routes, and the choice matters for your claim date. Attendance Allowance is not available in Scotland; if you live there, apply for Pension Age Disability Payment instead.

1. Request a paper claim pack by phone (0800 731 0122 in England and Wales; 0800 587 0912 in Northern Ireland) — if you return it within six weeks, the date of your request is treated as your claim date. In England and Wales, DWP handles the claim; in Northern Ireland, the Department for Communities' Disability and Carers Service handles it
2. Apply online through GOV.UK in England and Wales or nidirect in Northern Ireland — in England and Wales, your claim date is the day you make your claim
3. Download and post the AA1 form — in England and Wales, your claim date is the day DWP receives it. In Northern Ireland, send the form to the Department for Communities' Disability and Carers Service or hand it in at your local Jobs and Benefits office

The phone call route is almost always the best choice because it locks in the earliest possible claim date while giving you six weeks to fill in the form properly.

For the full step-by-step process, the Attendance Allowance Claim Guide covers eligibility, every section of the AA1 form, evidence strategy, and what to do once the decision arrives. See also How to Claim Attendance Allowance: Phone, Online and Paper Routes for a detailed comparison of each route.

See more United Kingdom guides →