Day and night care diary
A week of daily pages for the help your child needs, by day and at night, with a summary that follows the form's care questions, 54 to 70.
Free for parents and carers
Free tools for your child's DLA claim
Printable sheets and simple tools to help you gather evidence, see the rate band your answers point towards and challenge a decision. They are all free. The printable PDFs ask for your email address so we can send you the link.
These tools follow the DLA form for a child under 16 used in England and Wales. In Scotland, new claims for children are Child Disability Payment, not DLA. In Northern Ireland, DLA for children is run by the Department for Communities (nidirect), with its own version of the form.
School or nursery statement
A template with clear prompts for a teacher, SENCO or nursery key worker, for questions 32, 37 and 38 of the form.
Evidence tracker
What the DWP booklet says to send and not to send, how to send copies, and a table to track every letter and report.
DLA rate checker
A few plain questions about the day, the night and getting about. See the likely rate band your answers point towards, or "Depends on your details". Never a promise: the DWP decides.
Mandatory reconsideration letter
Disagree with a DLA decision? You can ask the DWP to look at it again, usually within one month of the date of the decision. This tool helps you write the letter.
Try one area of the form free
Tell us about your child and we write one area of the DLA form for them, question by question, the way the form asks for it. No card needed.
Which tool, when?
- Before you fill in the formKeep the care diary for a week, give the school statement to someone who knows your child well and use the evidence tracker to ask for letters and reports.
- While you fill it inThe rate checker shows the likely band your answers point towards. Our guide on how to fill in the DLA form for a child goes through it section by section.
- After a decision you disagree withAsk for a mandatory reconsideration, usually within one month of the date of the decision. The MR letter tool helps you set out why.