A guide to help you understand your benefit letter
Once your benefit has been worked out, we'll send you a decision in writing about your benefit entitlement. This is called a 'benefit decision notice'.
Read your letter carefully to check that the information is correct.
Contact us straight away if any of the information is wrong or missing. You may be missing out on benefit that's due to you, or we may be paying more benefit than you're entitled to.
Example letters
Benefit decision notice
- pdf Benefit decision notice (1.14 MB)
- pdf Benefit decision notice (text version) (36 KB)
- pdf Back of housing benefit decision notice letter (63 KB)
- pdf Back of council tax reduction statement of reasons letter (278 KB)
Translation/special requirements
Our letters are available in another language, Braille, audiotape, large print, easy English, BSL video or computer disk. Contact us to request these other formats.
If you don’t understand or disagree with our decision
If you don’t understand your benefit decision notice you can ask us for a further explanation (called a ‘statement of reasons'). If you disagree with our decision, you can ask us to look at it again or make an appeal.
To find out more see appeal a benefit decision.