What the Order says
Under article 4(1), if the Secretary of State or the local planning authority is satisfied that it is expedient that development in any Part, Class or paragraph of Schedule 2 should go ahead only with a planning application, it may direct that the permission in article 3 does not apply to all or any development of that Part, Class or paragraph in a specified area, or to particular development specified in the direction (art 4(1)). The procedure for making, changing or cancelling a direction is in Schedule 3 (art 4(4)).
A direction does not affect development that the Order makes subject to prior approval where the prior approval date came before the direction came into force and the work is completed within 3 years of that date (art 4(2)(a)).
Many directions are not about extensions
A direction removes only the rights it names. Many target changes of use, for example turning a house into a small house in multiple occupation (Part 3 Class L) or turning commercial, business and service premises, such as offices, into homes (Part 3 Class MA). Those directions do not affect Part 1 householder rights. Others remove householder rights in Part 1 Classes A to H or Part 2 Class A, and some of these are made for conservation areas. A direction can also be limited to particular works, so read its wording.
Reading the recorded class codes
Some council records list the classes a direction removes as short codes: 1A means Part 1 Class A (extensions and other alterations), 1B is Class B (roof enlargements), 1D is Class D (porches), 1E is Class E (outbuildings), 1F is Class F (hard surfaces) and 2A is Part 2 Class A (gates, fences and walls). Many records give no codes at all, or describe the rights in words. Our check works like this:
- A direction covers your plot and its codes include the class for your project: we flag that it may remove this right and link to the direction to read.
- A direction covers your plot but its classes are not recorded in a form we can read: we flag it as open and ask you to read the direction or ask the council.
- A direction covers your plot but is recorded as removing other rights only: we say so, noting that records can be incomplete.
- The council publishes its directions and none covers your plot: we report none in the council's published data.
- The council does not publish its directions: we report "not published by the council". That means not checked. It never means there is no direction, and the free check then asks what you found on the council's own list.
We test your plot outline (the HM Land Registry title outline under your tap, which you confirm), not a postcode point, because a postcode point can sit on the wrong side of a boundary. See how we check.
How many councils publish Article 4 data
In our own sample of 300 random English postcodes on 18 October 2026, 118 (39.3%, plus or minus 5.5 percentage points at 95% confidence) were in a council area that publishes its Article 4 direction areas, and 109 (36.3%, plus or minus 5.4 points) in one that publishes the direction documents. 181 postcodes (60.3%, plus or minus 5.5 points) were in a council area that publishes neither Article 4 areas nor Tree Preservation Orders. Of the 310 planning authorities in our snapshot that day, 109 had a live Article 4 area feed, 7 had a failing feed and 194 had none.
When your council does not publish
- Look for the list of Article 4 directions on the council's website. Find your local council on GOV.UK if you are not sure which council it is.
- Ask the council's planning team whether any direction covers your address and which classes it removes.
- Take extra care in a conservation area: see our conservation area check.
A condition on an earlier planning permission can also remove rights for one house, and no national dataset holds those conditions (art 3(4)). Check the original permission for your house on the council's planning register.
What the free check tells you
The free check shows any Article 4 direction recorded over your plot, with its name, the classes it is recorded as removing and a link to the direction, or tells you that your council does not publish this data. Each project headline, such as a rear extension or porch, takes that into account.
For certainty: a Lawful Development Certificate
If an Article 4 direction may apply, apply to your council for a Lawful Development Certificate for proposed works (TCPA 1990 s192). The council must decide within 8 weeks of a valid application, unless you agree a longer period in writing. See Lawful Development Certificates and planning fees 2026.