What Evidence Do You Need for Attendance Allowance? GP Letters, Medical Proof and Care Diaries

The AA1 form carries your claim, but the evidence you attach alongside it can make the difference between an award and a refusal. DWP usually decides from the form and any supporting evidence. If it cannot get a clear picture of how your condition affects you, it may ask a healthcare professional to examine you. The evidence needs to do the work.

You Do Not Need Private Medical Reports

A common misconception is that you need to commission expensive reports from private consultants. You do not. DWP accepts existing NHS documentation, and they also have the power to request records directly from your named healthcare providers. The evidence you gather supplements what DWP can access — it does not replace it.

What to Include

GP Summary or Letter

Ask your GP surgery for a patient summary printout. Most practices produce these on request, usually within a few days. The summary shows your diagnosis list, current medications, recent consultations, and any referrals. Some GPs will also write a brief supporting letter describing how your conditions affect daily functioning — this is helpful but not required, and some surgeries charge a small fee for letters.

What matters is that the summary confirms your diagnoses and shows ongoing treatment. It gives the decision-maker medical plausibility — a reason to believe that the care needs you describe on the form are real.

Hospital and Specialist Letters

If you have been under a consultant — rheumatologist, neurologist, geriatrician, psychiatrist, memory clinic — include copies of their most recent clinic letters. These typically describe your condition, its progression, and any functional observations. A consultant letter saying "Mrs Smith has advanced osteoarthritis affecting both knees and both hands, significantly limiting her mobility and dexterity" directly supports what you describe on the form.

Hospital discharge summaries are valuable after an acute admission — especially one involving falls, delirium, or a condition that triggered new care needs.

Occupational Therapy Assessments

If an occupational therapist has assessed your home, their report is one of the strongest pieces of evidence you can attach. OT assessments describe what you can and cannot do in your own environment — whether you can get in and out of the bath safely, manage stairs, transfer from bed to standing, use kitchen equipment. They speak the same functional language DWP decision-makers use.

Social Care Assessments and Care Plans

If your local council has carried out a care needs assessment, or if you receive formal domiciliary care, include the assessment report or care plan. These documents detail the care interventions being provided, their frequency, and the risks identified — all of which maps directly onto the AA1 questions.

Care Diary

A 7-to-14-day diary kept by the claimant or their carer is one of the most effective pieces of evidence. Record what happens each day across the main personal care tasks: washing, dressing, eating, medication, toileting, indoor mobility, and any night-time disturbances.

For each entry, note:

• The time of day
• What help was needed
• How long it took
• What would have happened without help (a fall, a missed meal, a medication error)

A care diary turns abstract answers on the form into a concrete, dated, time-stamped pattern. Decision-makers can see the weekly rhythm of your care needs rather than relying on a single description.

Third-Party Statements

A factual statement from a family member, neighbour, or friend who sees your daily routine can supplement your own account. The statement should describe what they personally observe — what help they provide, what difficulties they witness, what risks they have seen — rather than offering medical opinions.

Keep it factual: "I visit my mother every morning at 8am to help her get dressed. She cannot fasten her bra or pull trousers over her feet because of the arthritis in her hands and hips. On Tuesday 14 October she fell trying to get out of bed before I arrived."

What NOT to Include

• Generic printouts from NHS websites about your condition. DWP already knows what arthritis or COPD is. They need to know how it affects you.
• Diagnostic test results (blood tests, X-rays) without context. A blood test showing high inflammatory markers does not explain why you cannot dress yourself.
• Evidence older than 12 months unless it documents a chronic baseline that has not improved.

How to Organise It

Attach evidence to the completed AA1 form when you post it back. Use a cover page listing every document enclosed, with your name and National Insurance number on each page. If you are submitting online, evidence can be uploaded or sent by post separately — include your claim reference number.

Keep copies of everything you send. If you later need to request a mandatory reconsideration or appeal, you will need to know exactly what DWP had when they made their decision.

Our Attendance Allowance Claim Guide includes a printable evidence inventory checklist and a care diary template designed to capture exactly the details decision-makers look for.

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