Some of our customers can complete their Universal Credit assessment by telephone.

If this is possible, you will receive a letter from Capita to invite you to attend a telephone appointment and to provide you with further details of the assessment.

Before your assessment During your assessment After your assessment FAQs

Before your assessment

If you’re applying for Universal Credit (UC) you will 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 of 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?

You can speak to a dedicated advisor on our helpline by calling 0800 072 0222.

Select option 1 for the English language service, then option 2 for our advisory team.

For the Welsh language service, please call our customer enquiry line and press option 2.

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.

Appointment arrangements

We’ll send a letter with your assessment date. Your appointment letter will have a contact number and information about the assessment. Please read this letter before your assessment.

If you need help before your assessment, call our customer enquiries team on 0800 072 0222. You can call us about specific requirements, interpreters, an authorised companion, audio recording requests, and more.

The customer enquiries line is open Monday to Friday from 8am to 8pm, and Saturdays 9am to 5pm.

Watch this DWP Video on YouTube ’Starting your Universal Credit Claim’

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.

You can find more information about Universal Credit on the DWP website.

Further evidence

Select the + sign for details.

    Further evidence

    You need to send 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 the Health Assessment Advisory Service would like to see, if you already have them include:

    Things the Health Assessment Advisory Service don’t need to see include general information about your medical conditions that are not about you personally such as:

    • your current prescription list
    • your statement of special educational needs
    • epilepsy seizure diary
    • your certificate of visual impairment
    • Hospital Passports. This is a written record kept by people with learning disabilities to provide hospital staff with important information about them and their health when they are admitted to hospital.
    • Education Health Plans
    • a diary of your symptoms if your disability, illness or health condition varies from day to day.
    • long-stay hospital information including date of admission, length of stay and the hospital name and address.
    • medical test results including:
      • scans
      • audiology
      • results of x-rays, but not the x-rays themselves
    • photographs
    • letters about other benefits
    • fact sheets about your medication
    • internet printouts
    • statement of Fitness for Work, otherwise known as fit notes
    • medical certificates
    • doctor’s statements or sick notes
    • appointment letters

    You may be asked for details of the professionals or carers who know the most about your health conditions, illnesses and disabilities.

      See the 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. This form allows us to decide if you will need a face-to-face assessment. The Department for Work and Pensions (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.

      During Your Assessment

      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.

      We provide DWP with an assessment report which is impartial and provides 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, and physiotherapists registered with their governing body. They go through a specifically designed training course, approved by DWP on behalf of the Secretary of State.

      A registered and qualified healthcare professional will carry out your telephone Work Capability Assessment. They will discuss your capability to do daily tasks with your disability, illness or health condition.

      The healthcare professional will ask you questions and note down your answers. The telephone assessment should last between 20 minutes and 1 hour but could take longer if necessary.

      Having a companion at 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. This would usually be the person who knows you best and understands you and your needs. For example, this may be a relative, support worker or friend but they must be 16 years old or over. If your support worker or friend cannot be with you in person we can add them to the telephone call. We will ask you for their number and they will need to be ready to answer the phone at the time of your appointment. 

      Be ready for the healthcare professional to call you 10 minutes before the time of your telephone appointment. Ensure your phone is fully charged. Find a quiet place with good signal and no background noise. Think about what will make the telephone call more comfortable, for example using headphones and having a drink of water available.

      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.

      What to have with you:

      • Any medication you may be taking
      • Any information from your general practitioner (GP) or specialist which explains how your condition affects 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.

      After Your Assessment

      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. The healthcare professional will not know the outcome of your claim.

      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 the outcome of your claim – please direct any questions or concerns about the outcome to the DWP office handling your claim. 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. 

      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.

      Health assessment advisory service provided on behalf of Department for work & pensions