Council planning fees from 1 April 2026
From 1 April 2026, every fee went up by 3.8% on its 1 April 2025 level (GOV.UK, planning fees annual indexation).
| Application | Council fee | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Householder application, one house | £548 (two or more houses: £1,083) | Fees table |
| Works within the curtilage of a house (outbuildings, hard surfaces), or gates, fences and walls | £272 | Fees table |
| Lawful Development Certificate, proposed extension | £274 (half of £548) | Fees table |
| Lawful Development Certificate, proposed outbuilding or fence | £136 (half of £272) | Fees table |
| Lawful Development Certificate, existing use or works | Same as the full application fee; £309 where the question is whether not complying with a condition or limitation is lawful | Fees table |
| Prior approval, larger rear extension (Part 1 Class A) | £249 | Fees table |
| Prior approval, adding storeys (Part 1 Class AA) | £249 | Planning Portal fee schedule |
The fees table sets a proposed-works certificate at "Half the Full Application fee", so £274 and £136 are that rule applied to £548 and £272.
Planning Portal service charges
If you apply online through the Planning Portal, it adds its own service charge to any application with a fee over £100 (Planning Portal, what it costs). It is not part of the council fee, and you can apply to the council direct instead.
| Band | Charge | Householder examples |
|---|---|---|
| Band 0 | £0 | Listed building consent; trees in conservation areas or under a TPO |
| Band 1 | £99 including VAT | Householder works within or along the boundary; householder prior approval; some certificates |
| Band 2 | £149 including VAT | Householder planning permission to enlarge or alter a house; some certificates |
Certificates fall in Band 1 or Band 2 depending on the type and scale of development.
Asking the council first: permitted development enquiries
Examples from councils' own fee pages in October 2026, with VAT exactly as each page states it. This is not a full list.
| Council | Service | Fee |
|---|---|---|
| Havant | Written advice for "do I need permission" (2026-27) | £50.04 including VAT |
| Coventry | Householder permitted development enquiry, written advice (from 1 May 2026) | £105 plus VAT (£126); £155 plus VAT (£186) with a site visit or meeting |
| Dorset | Householder permitted development enquiry | £130 including VAT |
| Central Bedfordshire | Permitted development rights check | £139.46 (VAT not stated on the page) |
| Hastings | Checking your self-assessment form, or a query where no form is available (the forms are free) | £160.82 including VAT |
| Westmorland and Furness | Householder planning enquiry, informal advice (2026/27) | £173.00 including VAT |
Pre-application advice on whether a scheme is likely to get permission is a different service. For a householder, Havant charges £75.07, Welwyn Hatfield £223 for detailed written advice and Huntingdonshire £300 for written advice, all including VAT.
Other advice
- Planning Portal Planning Guidance Service: £72 for a 30-minute call; VAT not stated (Planning Portal).
- Planning Portal Householder Insights: free, for up to three properties each month, with a Planning Portal account (Planning Portal blog, 30 July 2026).
Drawing firms' certificate packs
| Firm (published price list) | Lawful Development Certificate service |
|---|---|
| National online drawing service | £556 to £1,050 fixed fee, excluding VAT; council fee extra |
| Plans and drawings firm | From £595; VAT not stated |
| London and Essex drawing firm | From £645 including VAT; council fee extra |
Our Project Report: £14.99, coming soon
The Project Report will test your own measurements against the limits for your project, with the paragraph of the Order behind each one, and list what is still open. It is a screening of the rules and the data we hold, not a planning decision. See the sample report.
Proposed fees: not yet law
The 2026 draft fees regulations (Amendment and Transitional Provision, ISBN 9780348286625) were still a draft on legislation.gov.uk on 18 October 2026 (draft SI). If made, they would come into force on 8 December 2026 and set a householder application for one house at £575 (two or more: £1,130), works within the curtilage and boundary works at £285, and householder prior approval (Part 1 Classes A and AA) at £310. Until then, the fees above apply.
What the free check tells you
The free check costs nothing. It shows the designations on your plot and a headline for each common project, so you can see which route, and which fee, is likely to apply before you pay anyone.
For certainty: a Lawful Development Certificate
The council's Lawful Development Certificate is the certainty route: £274 for a proposed extension or £136 for an outbuilding or fence, with a decision due within 8 weeks of a valid application. See Lawful Development Certificates and the larger home extension route.