Rights and LimitsSomeone at your doorDWP fraud investigators in Scotland — the same UK-wide Act
DWP fraud investigators in Scotland — the same UK-wide Act
What you must do, and what you can refuse
Every claim below links to the law it comes from, with the wording quoted so you can check it yourself.
You can refuse
No penalty for saying no.
DWP’s power to enter without a warrant extends only to premises connected to someone’s employment, a trade or business, a pension scheme, or a compensation claim — not to an ordinary home used solely as a residence.
Social Security Administration Act 1992, s.109C(4)
“the premises liable to inspection under this section are any premises (including premises consisting in the whole or a part of a dwelling house) which an authorised officer has reasonable grounds for suspecting are— premises which are a person's place of employment”
Read it at legislation.gov.ukquote checked 2026-08-31
Lawful to refuse — but it costs you
Not an offence, but it carries a penalty or an inference.
Ignoring a formal written notice requiring information is an offence, even though answering doorstep questions is not compulsory.
Social Security Administration Act 1992, s.111(1)(b) and (2)
“refuses or neglects to answer any question or to furnish any information or to produce any document when required to do so under this Act — he shall be guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 3 on the standard scale”
Read it at legislation.gov.ukquote checked 2026-08-31
Social security is reserved, and the Act does not exclude Scotland
Benefits and social security administration are reserved matters, run under the Social Security Administration Act 1992 across Great Britain. Its own extent clause lists provisions that extend additionally to Northern Ireland, without confining the rest of the Act to England and Wales — the standard signal that the Act already covers Scotland by default.
The entry and information powers below apply in Scotland exactly as they do south of the border.
Their entry power is narrower than it looks
Authorised DWP officers have a statutory power of entry, but it is defined by the type of premises, not by who lives there. It covers a person’s place of employment, premises where a trade or business is carried on, and similar work-connected premises — the definition notes this can include part of a dwelling house used for one of those purposes.
An ordinary home used only as somewhere to live, with no business or employment connection, is not among the premises this power describes.
The formal information notice is a separate power
Separately from entry, an authorised officer can serve a written notice requiring specific information relevant to a fraud investigation. Refusing or neglecting to answer, furnish information, or produce a document required by such a notice is itself a summary offence, carrying a fine of up to level 3 on the standard scale.
That duty is tied to a formal written requirement under the Act — it is not a general obligation to answer whatever a DWP investigator asks on the doorstep.
Last reviewed 2026-08-31. Next review due 2027-02-28. No solicitor has reviewed this page — see [email protected] if you think something here is wrong.