Mandatory Reconsideration

Mandatory Reconsideration (MR) is a compulsory internal review stage before you can appeal a DWP decision to an independent tribunal. You must request MR within one month of the date on the decision letter, though late requests can sometimes be accepted with a good explanation. The DWP then issues a Mandatory Reconsideration Notice — only once you hold that notice can you submit an appeal to His Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS). During MR, benefit payments generally continue at the old rate.

What it means in practice. An MR request is not a formality to be got out of the way. It is your first and cheapest chance to put new evidence in front of a decision maker, and it is the stage at which the DWP is most willing to correct an obvious error. You can request it by phone, by letter, or on form CRMR1. What matters is that you say which parts of the decision are wrong and why, point by point, rather than simply stating that you disagree.

A worked example. Sam is refused Personal Independence Payment after scoring 4 points. Reading the assessment report, he sees the assessor recorded that he "manages medication independently", when in fact his partner sets out a weekly pill organiser and prompts him daily. He requests an MR quoting the exact descriptor, encloses a letter from his community psychiatric nurse confirming the prompting, and the DWP revises the award to standard-rate daily living without the case ever reaching a tribunal.

Common pitfalls. Missing the one-month deadline is the most damaging error — an absolute limit of 13 months applies to late requests, and after that the decision is final. Sending a bare "I disagree" letter is the second: without reasons and evidence, the DWP usually restates the original decision. The third is giving up after an unfavourable MR. Statistics show MR changes around 20% of decisions, while the independent tribunal changes a further 60–70%, so a refused reconsideration is often the beginning rather than the end.

How it relates to other terms. MR is the gateway to the tribunal route for decisions on Universal Credit, PIP, Attendance Allowance, benefit sanctions, the Work Capability Assessment, and the Habitual Residence Test. It is not the same as a complaint about how you were treated — that goes through the DWP complaints process and ultimately the Independent Case Examiner, which cannot change the decision itself.

What to do next. Follow the step-by-step in our Mandatory Reconsideration guide, and ask for a copy of the assessment report before you write so you can rebut it specifically. Strengthen the request using gathering disability evidence. If the notice goes against you, move straight on to appealing to the tribunal — you have one month from the Mandatory Reconsideration Notice.