We want to help you feel prepared and ready for your face-to-face assessment. We deliver hundreds of thousands of assessments every year, and we make sure to give you a sensitive and respectful service.
If you need any more help before your assessment, you can call us on 0800 072 0222.
Select one of the options below to go to the relevant section:
If you’re applying for Universal Credit (UC) you may be sent a capability for work questionnaire, also known as an UC50 form. It’s important that you complete the form as fully as possible, answering all the questions.
Please make sure you return the form by the date on the letter you are sent. We will use the information you provide on the form to decide if you need to come in for a face-to-face assessment or not.
You may also download the UC50 form to your computer. If you use the online form, fill it out, print it, sign it and then send it to DWP.
Need help filling in the form?
If you need help filling in the form, you can now speak to a dedicated advisor on our helpline by calling 0800 072 0222.
Appointment arrangements
We will send a letter with your assessment date. Your appointment letter will have a contact number and information about the assessment, including directions to your assessment centre. Please read this letter before your assessment.
Find out more about your assessment centre here.
If you need help before your assessment, call our customer enquiries team on 0800 072 0222. The customer enquiries line is open Monday to Friday from 8am to 8pm, and Saturdays 9am to 5pm.
What happens with your support before your assessment
Whilst you are waiting for your assessment to be completed you will receive the standard rate of Universal Credit and will need to continue attending the Jobcentre as agreed with your work coach.
Please note there are different factors taking into consideration which may impact your benefit entitlement. For more information go to gov.uk.
Watch this DWP Video on YouTube ’Starting your Universal Credit Claim’
What to bring to the assessment
- Proof of identity
- Any medication you may be taking
- Any information from your general practitioner (GP) or specialist which explains how your condition affects you
If you are claiming expenses, please bring details of your bank account if you have one.
Interpreters
Please let us know at least two days before your assessment if you need a language or BSL interpreter for your assessment. This will help to make sure that we can have an interpreter available for you.
Further evidence
We also need to see any medical evidence or other information you might already have, such as reports, care or treatment plans about you from GPs, hospital doctors, specialist nurses, community psychiatric nurses, occupational therapists, physiotherapists, social workers, support workers, learning disability support team, counsellors or carers.
Things Capita would like to see, if you already have them include: | Things Capita doesn’t need to see include general information about your medical conditions that are not about you personally such as: |
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You may be asked for details of the professionals or carers who know the most about your health conditions, illnesses and disabilities – expand the list below to see who this might be:
List of professionals and carers
- consultant or specialist doctor
- psychiatrist
- specialist nurse, such as a community psychiatric nurse
- physiotherapist
- occupational therapist
- social worker
- support worker or personal assistant
- carer
Remember – only send us copies of medical or other information if you already have them. Don’t ask or pay for new information or send us original documents. Please write your National Insurance number on each piece of information you send to us.
If you haven’t yet received a UC50 form, it might be easier for you if you start to gather some of your medical information in advance. The DWP may not be able to continue to pay you benefits if we don’t receive this form in time.
If you cannot return the form in time, let us know as soon as possible. There is also a box that allows you to explain why your form was late. If you have any concerns at all about the form, it’s important that you contact Capita as soon as you can or ask a representative to contact Capita.
The assessment interview
The healthcare professional will introduce themselves and explain the assessment to you. They will record information on a computer. Some questions may not relate directly to your medical condition, but to daily activities.
The assessment questions may include:
- When your illness or disability started
- How your condition changes from day-to-day
- How it affects your daily life
- How it affects your mood and the way you behave
- How you cope with things from day-to-day
The healthcare professional will record information about your pain, fatigue, and the medication you take. Depending on your illness or disability the assessment may include:
- a physical examination
- blood pressure, sight, hearing or other tests
- movements such as stretching, standing and bending
The healthcare professional will not ask you to make any movements that cause you discomfort. If you are worried that certain movements may cause you pain, please tell the healthcare professional.
We provide DWP with an assessment report which is impartial and gives justified medical advice about how you are currently affected by your medical condition. This is following government legislation and the processes agreed by DWP.
The healthcare professional
Our healthcare professionals are doctors, nurses, occupational therapists and physiotherapists registered with their governing body. They go through a specifically designed training course, approved by DWP.
Having a companion during your assessment
You are welcome to bring a relative, carer or friend with you. Although the assessment will focus on you, a companion can offer useful support to you.
Taking notes
You or your companion are welcome to take notes for your personal use. Your notes will not form part of the medical report that we send to the DWP.
Waiting time and length of assessment
We will make sure you are seen as soon as possible. The receptionist will tell you if you have to wait.
Other people who arrive after you may go to their assessment before you. This is because we do several types of assessments, and some take longer than others. There is no set time for assessments, but they are usually between 20 minutes and 1 hour.
After your assessment our healthcare professional completes a report using criteria laid out by the DWP. This is to provide the DWP decision maker with an impartial, justified medical opinion about how you are affected by your medical condition.
The assessment report will describe your medical conditions and the activities you undertake in a typical day. It will also have the healthcare professional’s observations, and the results of any physical examination undertaken.
The report is one piece of information DWP uses in deciding your entitlement. The healthcare professional who carries out your assessment does not make any decision about your allowance, benefit or credits.
You may request a copy of the full report from DWP office handling your claim.
Decisions on claims
DWP makes decisions on claims and will let you know of the outcome of your claim. Direct any questions or concerns about the outcome of your claim to the relevant DWP office. They will know what information they have used to decide your entitlement. Capita will not be aware of this. We have no decision-making role.
Claiming expenses
Capita pays expenses:
- for travel by public transport
- towards fuel costs for private cars
- the cost of parking when it is not available at the assessment centre.
We will also pay for fares of a companion, relative, carer or young children who would otherwise be alone. If you wish to claim for an authorised companion to travel with you, call us on 0800 072 0222 before the assessment and let us know.
To have your expenses paid, you will need to fill out and send an expense form. You may ask the receptionist at the assessment centre for help filling out the form. Please keep all your receipts. You should receive payment for your expenses approximately two weeks after you send the form.
Further information
If you have questions, contact the DWP office handling your claim. The office number will be on letters you have received about your claim.
For Universal Credit you should use your Journal to contact DWP.
