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Carer's assessment: your rights

If you look after someone, you have your own legal right to an assessment of your needs, separate from theirs. It is free, it is not means tested, and there is no minimum number of hours. Most carers never ask.

1. Do you look after someone?

Practical help, personal care, supervision, managing appointments or medication, emotional support.

2. How is caring affecting you?

Tick everything true. This is what the assessment is actually about.

3. Has the person you care for been assessed?

This does not affect your own right, we ask so we can point you at the right next step.

What this tool does not do

  • It does not make a decision. Only the DWP, your council or the NHS can do that.
  • England only. Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have equivalent but separate duties.
  • It cannot tell you what your council will offer. Support varies a lot between councils.
  • It is an estimate based on published rules and 2026/27 rates, not advice.

Common questions

Who can have a carer's assessment?

Any adult who provides, or intends to provide, care for another adult. It is a right under the Care Act 2014. You do not need to live with them, you do not need to be related, you do not need to provide a minimum number of hours, and it does not matter how much money you have.

Does the person I care for need an assessment first?

No. Your right to a carer’s assessment is entirely separate from theirs. You can have one even if they have refused an assessment, and even if they are not known to social services at all.

Is a carer's assessment means tested?

Getting the assessment is not means tested at all. If it results in support with a cost attached, the council can carry out a financial assessment for that, but many councils provide carer support without charge.

What can it actually get me?

A personal budget or direct payment in your own name, replacement care so you can have a break, help with transport or driving lessons, gym membership, training, counselling, or practical help with laundry and gardening where that sustains your caring role. Some councils make a one-off payment.

What is the difference between this and Carer's Allowance?

Carer’s Allowance is a DWP benefit paid to you weekly if you care 35+ hours and earn under the limit. A carer’s assessment is a council social care process that looks at your needs as a carer and can provide support in kind or a budget. They are unrelated, and you can have both.

Where these rules come from