The SR1 form is a short medical report that a doctor or nurse completes to confirm you have a terminal illness, which lets the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) fast-track your claim for certain benefits under the Special Rules for End of Life. It replaced the older DS1500, and the threshold changed with it: the DS1500 applied when life expectancy was six months or less, while the SR1 applies when a clinician judges you may have twelve months or less to live.1UK Parliament. Terminal Illness You do not fill it in yourself. Your clinician completes it and either hands it to you or sends it straight to the DWP.2GOV.UK. Send an SR1 Medical Evidence Form
How to Get an SR1
Ask your GP, hospital consultant, or specialist nurse (for example, a Macmillan nurse) to complete an SR1 for you. Only a registered medical practitioner or registered nurse involved in your care can do it; the form carries weight precisely because it records a clinician’s professional judgment about your prognosis.3GOV.UK. The Special Rules for End of Life: Information for Healthcare Professionals
You do not need to download or print anything. Clinicians hold paper copies or use an online DWP portal. A family member or carer can make the request on your behalf. There is no charge to you; the DWP pays the clinician a fee for completing the form.2GOV.UK. Send an SR1 Medical Evidence Form
You also do not have to wait for the SR1 before starting a benefit claim. You can apply and tell the DWP an SR1 is on the way; the two run in parallel, and the claim is flagged for fast-track handling once the form arrives.
What the Clinician Records
The clinician fills in your name, date of birth, and address; the primary diagnosis and any other relevant conditions; the date of diagnosis; whether you know your diagnosis and prognosis; the clinical features indicating a severe progressive condition; and any current or planned treatment.2GOV.UK. Send an SR1 Medical Evidence Form
One entry matters especially for your payments: the date you first met the Special Rules criteria. That might be the date of diagnosis, the date the form is being completed, or a date in between. The DWP uses it to work out when your benefit should start, so it is not necessarily the day the form is signed.3GOV.UK. The Special Rules for End of Life: Information for Healthcare Professionals
How the Form Reaches the DWP
Your clinician has three options for submitting it: a dedicated online service on GOV.UK, secure email using an NHS or government address, or post to the DWP’s Wolverhampton mail handling site.2GOV.UK. Send an SR1 Medical Evidence Form Online submission is the fastest and avoids postal delays. If the clinician hands you the completed form, they still need to send the fee form to the DWP themselves.
What Happens Once the DWP Has It
The SR1 takes your claim out of the standard route. There is no face-to-face medical examination by an independent assessor, and the DWP should not refer the case for a Work Capability Assessment unless there is a specific reason to doubt the information on the form.4Department for Work and Pensions. Terminal Illness: Guidance Claims that would normally take weeks or months are typically decided within days.
Benefits the SR1 Supports
The SR1 fast-tracks claims for five benefits. The common thread is faster processing, no medical assessment, and, in most cases, the highest payment rate. Rates below are for 2026/27.3GOV.UK. The Special Rules for End of Life: Information for Healthcare Professionals
Personal Independence Payment
If you are under State Pension age, you can claim PIP under the Special Rules. You automatically receive the enhanced daily living component at £114.60 per week, and the usual qualifying period is waived.5GOV.UK. Benefit and Pension Rates 2026 to 2027 The qualifying period is also waived for the mobility component, though you still need to meet the mobility criteria on their merits.6GOV.UK. Claiming PIP if You’re Nearing the End of Life
Attendance Allowance
If you have reached State Pension age, Attendance Allowance is the relevant benefit. Under the Special Rules you receive the higher rate of £114.60 per week without the usual qualifying period or care-needs assessment.7GOV.UK. Claiming Attendance Allowance if You’re Nearing the End of Life
Universal Credit
You are treated as having Limited Capability for Work and Work-Related Activity (LCWRA). On a new claim, the LCWRA additional amount applies from day one; on an existing claim, from the start of the assessment period in which the terminal illness notification is received.4Department for Work and Pensions. Terminal Illness: Guidance The LCWRA additional amount is £429.80 per month.8GOV.UK. Benefit and Pension Rates 2026 to 2027 (PDF) You do not have to look for work or attend work-focused interviews.
Employment and Support Allowance
You go straight into the support group without a Work Capability Assessment.9Department for Work and Pensions. ADM Chapter G3 – Limited Capability for Work and Work-Related Activity The support component is £50.35 per week on top of the basic ESA rate,5GOV.UK. Benefit and Pension Rates 2026 to 2027 and, as with Universal Credit, work-related conditions are removed.
Disability Living Allowance for Children
If your child under 16 has a terminal illness, you can claim DLA under the Special Rules. The child automatically qualifies for the highest rate of the care component without the usual assessment of care needs.10GOV.UK. Get Benefits if You’re Nearing the End of Life
Scotland Uses a Different Form
If you live in Scotland and are claiming Adult Disability Payment, Child Disability Payment, or Pension Age Disability Payment, the SR1 is not the primary form. The Scottish equivalent is the BASRiS, issued by Social Security Scotland and completed by your healthcare professional. Social Security Scotland also accepts a DS1500 or SR1 as equivalent evidence, so a clinician who is familiar with the SR1 can use it instead.11mygov.scot. How to Apply for Disability Benefits Under Special Rules for Terminal Illness
If You Live Longer Than the Prognosis
A terminal illness prognosis is a clinical judgment, not a countdown. If you outlive the twelve-month estimate, your benefits do not stop. Awards made under the Special Rules are normally granted for three years, after which the DWP reviews the claim, and you can continue receiving benefits under the Special Rules throughout.12Marie Curie. Special Benefit Rules for People With a Terminal Illness For the Scottish devolved benefits (Adult Disability Payment, Child Disability Payment, and Pension Age Disability Payment), there are no reviews of Special Rules awards.