The Short Answer
The required period condition splits into a backward test and a forward test: three months of difficulty already, and nine more expected. GOV.UK expresses the combined rule as expecting the difficulties "to last for at least 12 months from when they started". The clock runs from onset, not from the claim, so months already elapsed count toward it.
The Two Halves
The table below sets out the position, with each figure taken from the source named beneath it.
| Test | What it asks |
|---|---|
| Backward | Have the difficulties been present for the last 3 months? |
| Forward | Are they expected to continue for the next 9 months? |
Last checked: 7 August 2026
Both must be satisfied. A condition that has just begun fails the backward test; a condition expected to resolve shortly fails the forward one.
Where the Clock Starts
At onset, not at the claim. GOV.UK's wording is the one to work from: you must "expect the difficulties to last for at least 12 months from when they started".
That is favourable and frequently misread. Someone whose difficulties began nine months ago and are expected to continue satisfies the whole test today — the nine months already served count, and only three more need to be in prospect.
Claiming Before the Three Months Are Up
The claim date is worth fixing early. An award cannot normally begin before the backward test is met, but the claim date is what the award is measured from once entitlement arises.
Waiting to claim until the three months have passed therefore risks losing weeks that a claim already lodged would have captured. The queue is the other reason: the DWP's published median at January 2026 was 20 weeks end to end for a normal rules new claim. Where the condition is clearly long-term, claiming early is the safer sequence.
Last checked: 7 August 2026
The Exception
Claims under the special rules for end of life. GOV.UK sets the test as a doctor or other medical professional having said you might have 12 months or less to live. The claim is made on form SR1, there is no face-to-face assessment, and the higher daily living rate is automatic.
Last checked: 7 August 2026
What "Expected" Means
A reasonable expectation, not a certainty. Nobody can guarantee how a condition will develop, and the test does not ask for a guarantee. Evidence about prognosis — a clinic letter describing a chronic condition, a treatment plan running beyond the period, a waiting list — is what supports it.
The bar is 12 months from onset in total, not certainty about what month 12 will look like. Conversely, a scheduled operation expected to resolve the difficulty within a few months of onset points the other way, and a claim made on that basis is answered on the same rules as any other.
The Test That Runs Alongside
Frequency. GOV.UK requires difficulty "more than half of the days over a 12-month period" as well as the duration. A condition that meets the required period condition can still fail on frequency, and the two are assessed separately.
The Other Conditions of Entitlement
Age, residence and the functional test all apply alongside this one. PIP runs from 16 to State Pension age for a new claim, and GOV.UK requires that you have lived in England, Scotland or Wales for at least 2 of the last 3 years and are living in England or Wales when you apply.
Last checked: 7 August 2026
The full set is on check eligibility.