Challenging an Income Support decision - mandatory reconsideration

This advice applies to England. See advice for See advice for Northern Ireland, See advice for Scotland, See advice for Wales

You can tell the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) if you think a decision about your Income Support is wrong and should be changed.

You can also ask the DWP to change a decision about support for mortgage interest (SMI). SMI is a loan to help pay the interest on your mortgage if you get Income Support.

Asking the DWP to look at your claim again is called a ‘mandatory reconsideration’.

You can ask for a mandatory reconsideration to challenge an Income Support or SMI decision. For example, if:

  • you’ve been refused SMI

  • you think you’ve been paid the wrong amount

  • your Income Support has stopped - see reasons why it might have stopped

  • the DWP thinks you’ve been overpaid and you disagree

  • you don’t think you should pay back an Income Support overpayment - for example because you had a serious health problem

If you claim as a couple, the person who makes the claim for you both needs to ask for the mandatory reconsideration.

Before you ask for a mandatory reconsideration

You should check if you’re still entitled to Income Support.

If you're not sure you have a good chance of getting your Income Support decision changed in your favour visit your nearest Citizens Advice. Try to get in touch straightaway - you might have to wait for an appointment.

The DWP could decide to reduce your Income Support when they look at your claim again. If this happens, you'll have been overpaid since the date of the original decision – and will usually need to pay this money back.

You usually have 1 month from the date of the decision to ask for a mandatory reconsideration. You’ll find the date at the top of the letter that told you the decision.

If you've missed the deadline

You can still ask for a mandatory reconsideration, as long as it’s within 13 months of the decision. You'll need to explain your reasons for being late - for example if being ill or dealing with difficult personal circumstances meant you couldn't apply in time.

Call the DWP and explain why you missed the 1-month deadline. To help get them to accept your late mandatory reconsideration, say why it’s important they change the decision.

The DWP can refuse your application if it's late, but as long as you applied within 13 months you can still appeal the decision at a tribunal. If you think you’ve been treated unfairly you can make a complaint.

Department for Work and Pensions Benefit Enquiry Line

Telephone: 0800 169 0310

Textphone: 0800 169 0314

Welsh language: 0800 328 1744

Relay UK - if you can't hear or speak on the phone, you can type what you want to say: 18001 then 0800 169 0310

You can use Relay UK with an app or a textphone. There’s no extra charge to use it. Find out how to use Relay UK on the Relay UK website.

Video relay - if you use British Sign Language (BSL).  

You can find out how to use video relay on YouTube.

Monday to Friday, 8am to 5pm

Calls are free from mobiles and landlines.

If you got the decision letter more than 13 months ago, the DWP might change the decision if they made a mistake – known as an ‘official error’. This includes if the DWP:

  • made a mistake when calculating your Income Support 
or SMI

  • overlooked a piece of evidence you sent them


  • misunderstood some evidence you sent


You’ll need to write to the DWP to explain why you think they made an official error. Write ‘Request for official error revision’ at the top of your letter and include:

  • your full name

  • your National Insurance number, if you can

  • what the official error was

Send it to the address on the decision letter.

Finding evidence to support your challenge

The DWP will usually only change a decision if you have evidence to prove why it was wrong. It’s important to send copies of any evidence you have when you ask for a mandatory reconsideration.

If you reported a change in circumstances

You might have been paid the wrong amount of Income Support if the DWP missed a change you reported.

If you wrote to the DWP to report the change, send copies of the letter and proof of postage, if you have it. 

If you called the DWP to report the change, fill in this form on GOV.UK to ask for an audio or written copy of the call. This is known as a ‘subject access request’. 

Send the completed form to your nearest Jobcentre Plus. Write ‘For the attention of the DWP Data Protection Officer’ on the envelope.

It can take 6 to 8 weeks for a subject access request to come through, so don’t wait for it. Send the letter asking for the mandatory reconsideration within the 1-month deadline. Say in the letter that you’ve made a subject access request and will send the evidence to the DWP when you have it.

If you need to prove you live alone

Your Income Support decision can be wrong if the DWP thinks you live with a partner when you don’t - for example, if you’ve recently split up with someone. 

If you’re in touch with the person the DWP thinks you live with, ask them for a copy of a recent bill. A bill from another address will help prove that they don’t live with you. As well as household bills, this could be an entertainment subscription, like Sky or Netflix. 

You should also send copies of one or more of the following:

  • a letter from your landlord confirming only you live there

  • your tenancy agreement - to show it’s in just your name

  • bank statements for as long as the DWP thinks you’ve been living together - for security, use a pen to cover your account number and sort code

  • council tax and utility bills in just your name

If you need to prove you’re a carer

Your Income Support decision might be wrong if the DWP:

  • doesn’t believe you’re the one responsible for caring for someone with a disability or illness

  • wrongly thinks you should be getting Carer’s Allowance or Carer Support Payment to get Income Support

You don’t have to be getting Carer’s Allowance or Carer Support Payment to get Income Support, but if you are, you can use this to prove you’re a carer. Send a copy of your Carer’s Allowance or Carer Support Payment award notice with your request for a mandatory reconsideration.

If you don’t get Carer’s Allowance or Carer Support Payment, in your letter tell the DWP if you regularly care for someone who:

  • gets Attendance Allowance

  • gets Pension Age Disability Payment

  • gets the middle or highest rate of the care component of Disability Living Allowance (DLA)

  • gets the standard or enhanced rate of the daily living component of Personal Independence Payment (PIP)

  • gets the standard or enhanced rate of the daily living component of Adult Disability Payment

  • gets the middle or highest rate of the care component of Child Disability Payment

  • in the last 26 weeks has applied for Attendance Allowance, DLA, PIP, Adult Disability Payment, Child Disability Payment or Pension Age Disability Payment

Explain in your letter how you regularly care for someone - this is particularly important if they don’t get Attendance Allowance, DLA or PIP. The DWP might contact you to ask for more information about the type of care you give.

Asking for a mandatory reconsideration

You can call the DWP to ask for a mandatory reconsideration, but it’s better to use the CRMR1 mandatory reconsideration request form on GOV.UK or write a letter so you have everything in writing. If it’s close to the 1 month deadline, you should call the DWP. Make a note of the date and time of the phone call - you might need to refer to it later in your appeal. 

Department for Work and Pensions Benefit Enquiry Line

Telephone: 0800 169 0310

Textphone: 0800 169 0314

Welsh language: 0800 328 1744

Relay UK - if you can't hear or speak on the phone, you can type what you want to say: 18001 then 0800 169 0310

You can use Relay UK with an app or a textphone. There’s no extra charge to use it. Find out how to use Relay UK on the Relay UK website.

Video relay - if you use British Sign Language (BSL).  

You can find out how to use video relay on YouTube.

Monday to Friday, 8am to 5pm

Calls are free from mobiles and landlines.

In your form or letter, include any of the reasons in the DWP decision letter that you disagree with - and why. Give facts and examples to support what you’re saying. For example, if the DWP thinks you earn more than you do, send copies of your pay slips.

You can get help from your nearest Citizens Advice to fill in the form or write your letter. Tell them the date of the DWP decision letter and the 1 month deadline and they’ll try to give you an appointment in time.

When you send your form or letter, ask the Post Office for proof of postage - you might need to show when you sent it.

What happens next

Once the DWP get your request for a mandatory reconsideration, they’ll contact you if they need more information to support your challenge.

While you’re waiting for the mandatory reconsideration

You can get emergency expenses while waiting for a decision - for example to help pay for food or bigger items like a bed or cooker. Read more about food banks and other emergency expenses.

You can also talk to an adviser at your nearest Citizens Advice to see if there are any other benefits you could apply for.

You’ll be sent a ‘mandatory reconsideration notice’ when the DWP has looked at your claim and made a new decision. This letter will explain what they’ve decided and why.

You can make a complaint if your reconsideration is taking months to come through.

If the DWP change their decision, they'll pay you the money you're owed as a one-off payment. The payment will be backdated.

If the decision was about a new claim, they’ll backdate your Income Support or SMI to the date you made the claim. 

If the decision was about an ongoing claim, they’ll backdate your Income Support or SMI to the date it was stopped or reduced

If the DWP decide to reduce the amount of Income Support you get, the overpayment will be backdated to the date of the original decision. Read our advice on dealing with an Income Support overpayment. 

Appealing to an independent tribunal

If the DWP won’t change their decision you can take your challenge to an independent tribunal. The mandatory reconsideration notice will include information on how to appeal. 

Read more about appealing an Income Support decision at an independent tribunal.

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