DLA mandatory reconsideration letter tool

Help for parents of disabled children to challenge a DLA decision. Our free tool more than doubles your chance of success. Written by benefits advisers to help you get the amount of benefit your child is entitled to.

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Welcome to the Advicenow DLA mandatory reconsideration letter tool. Created by experts to make it easier for you to challenge a decision about your child’s claim for Disability Living Allowance. This tool creates a letter that explains to the DWP why the decision they made was wrong, and contains lots of real-world examples to help you.

This information applies to England and Wales. It will also be helpful for claimants in Northern Ireland.

Last updated: January 2026

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Our research shows that using the Advicenow DLA mandatory reconsideration letter tool more than doubles your chance of getting the decision changed at this stage.

Don’t worry, it is not too late. You should still ask for a mandatory reconsideration if you got the decision less than 13 months ago. Use this tool and read the example explanations for why the letter is late.

How to use this tool

Whether your child is entitled to DLA is based on whether they need 'substantially more' help than other children of their age, as a result of their disability or illness. Explain what help they need that non-disabled children do not.

Describe the extra help your child needs on most days and on their worse days - and explain how frequently they have both.

If the child or young person can do any of the things below on their own but it takes them a very long time, causes them pain or tiredness, or makes their condition worse, or may put them (or somebody else) in danger, the law sees this as needing help. Explain the problems they have.

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Tips

Press 'Examples' to see what other people have said.
End your sentences with a full stop.

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FAQs about DLA mandatory reconsiderations for children

What is the best way to ask for a DLA mandatory reconsideration?

The best way is to use the Advicenow DLA Mandatory Reconsideration Letter Tool, which helps you explain how much more help your child needs with each activity compared to a child of the same age - the central legal test for DLA.

“

This website is really good and the letter tool is just brilliant. I can't recommend it enough. Made a complicated procedure seem manageable. We won and the money makes a massive difference to mine and my daughter's life.

Kate

Don't give up

If your mandatory reconsideration is not successful, appeal the decision. 90% of people who use Advicenow's free resources win! Remember we have help for you at every stage - asking for appeal, preparing for a hearing, what will happen on the day, and writing a statement for the tribunal setting out your child's case.

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