A free printable checklist for the Capability for Work questionnaire. The deadline and what to gather, a tick-box for every section and all 17 activities, then the steps before you post it.
The WCA50 replaced the ESA50 and UC50, so it is now one questionnaire for Employment and Support Allowance and Universal Credit. GOV.UK says you must send it back within 28 days of receiving it, by the date on the letter that comes with it. Most of the form is a run of yes, no and it varies questions with a box underneath each one, and it is easy to miss a section, leave a box empty or post it without the right copies. This four-page checklist takes you through it in the form's own order.
What is inside
Before you startThe deadline, how to ask for more time before it passes, what to do if the form goes in late (question 102) and how to fill it in on paper or on a computer.
What to gather and what to leave outThe copies the form asks for (prescription list, letters, care plans, test results, a symptom diary) and what it says it does not need, including fit notes and appointment letters.
Every section, every activityOne tick-box per section in the form's order, with the question numbers and the official names of all 17 activities from the ESA and Universal Credit regulations.
The rules that decide pointsMost of the time, the reliability test in the form's own words and the substantial risk rule that has no tick-box of its own, then the checks before you post it.
Get the checklist free
Enter your email and the PDF downloads straight away. Four A4 pages: print it and tick as you go.
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Write the date on your letter on page 1 first, then tick each section as you finish it.
We have also emailed you the download link, with three tips for using it, so you can come back to it any time.
Next: see your own answer, free
The checklist makes sure nothing is missed. The points are scored on what you write in each box. See how one WCA activity of your own reads as an answer written the way decision makers score it, free, no card, about two minutes.
The WCA50 runs to 24 pages and 102 questions for you, plus two pages for a healthcare professional if you are having cancer treatment. Each activity starts with a tick-box question and then a box for the detail, and the detail is what the decision maker reads. The checklist keeps you in the form's own order, puts the official activity name next to each section so you can see what it is really testing, and reminds you of the three rules that decide most answers: what happens most of the time, whether you can do it reliably and whether being found fit for work would put anyone at substantial risk.
Every box ticked means nothing is missing. Whether the answers score depends on the words in each box. See free how a strong answer about your own conditions reads, before you decide anything.
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How long do I have to send the WCA50 back?+
GOV.UK says you must send it back within 28 days of the date you receive it, and the form says to return it by the date on the letter that came with it, so work to that date. If you need more time, ask before it passes: ring the number on the letter, or on Universal Credit write in your online journal. If it still goes in late, send it anyway and answer question 102, which asks why.
Should I send fit notes with the WCA50?+
No. The WCA50 lists fit notes among the things the Health Assessment Advisory Service does not need, along with appointment letters, letters about other benefits, photographs, internet printouts and fact sheets about your medication. Keep sending fit notes as your benefit asks: on Universal Credit, GOV.UK says you must keep getting them until you are sent your assessment decision.
Does the checklist work for Universal Credit as well as ESA?+
Yes. The WCA50 replaced both the ESA50 and the UC50, so it is the same form for both benefits, and the 17 activities are the same in the ESA Regulations 2008 (Schedule 2) and the Universal Credit Regulations 2013 (Schedule 6). Northern Ireland uses a different questionnaire.