Disability Living Allowance is only available for new claims from children under 16, it has been abolished for all new claims from people aged between 16 and state pension age. Any new claim from this age groups should be for Personal Independence Payment instead.

What is Disability Living Allowance mobility component?

If you have care or mobility needs due to an illness or disability you may be able to claim Disability Living Allowance. Disability Living Allowance is made up of a care component (for help with personal care) and a mobility component (for help with getting around). Both the care component and the mobility component are paid at different rates depending on the level of support you need.

To get the mobility component of Disability Living Allowance, your disability must be severe enough for you to have any of the following walking difficulties, even when wearing or using an aid or equipment you normally use:

• because of a physical disability, you are unable or virtually unable to walk without severe discomfort, or at risk of endangering your life or causing deterioration in your health by making the effort to walk
• you have no feet or legs
• you are assessed to be both 100 per cent disabled because of loss of eyesight and not less than 80 per cent disabled because of deafness and you need someone with you when you are out of doors
• you are severely mentally impaired with severe behavioural problems and qualify for the highest rate of care component
• you need guidance or supervision most of the time from another person when walking out of doors in unfamiliar places
• you are certified as severely sight impaired by a consultant ophthalmologist, and you were aged between 3 and 64 on 11 April 2011; you must also have a best corrected visual acuity of less than 3/60, or you must have a best corrected visual acuity of 3/60 or more but less than 6/60 together with a complete loss of peripheral visual field and a central visual field of no more than ten degrees in total.

There are two rates of the mobility component depending on how your disability affects you:

Lower rate

If you need guidance or supervision out of doors.

Higher rate

If you have any of the other, more severe, walking difficulties.

Mobility component used to be called Mobility Allowance.

Can I get it?

If you have an illness or disability that affects your daily life then it is worth finding out whether you can claim additional benefits. Each claim is assessed individually to see whether you meet the eligibility rules and which rate is payable.

The rates for the mobility component of Disability Living Allowance in 2024/25 are:

• Low rate mobility: £28.70
• High rate mobility: £75.75

Disability Living Allowance is not means-tested so it does not matter what other income or savings you have. You must be aged under 16 to make a new claim - if you are aged between 16 and state pension age you should claim Personal Independence Payment, if you have reached state pension age then you should claim Attendance Allowance.

How do I claim?

Disability Living Allowance is administered by the Department for Work and Pensions and in Northern Ireland by the Disability and Carers Service. Contact details are on the Disability benefits helpline page and for Northern Ireland on the NIdirect website.