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What does a planning application cost in England?

£548 for a householder application from 1 April 2026. The figure comes from national regulations rather than from your council, and it pays for the decision only. Prior approval for a larger extension is £249, a certificate confirming that planned work needs no permission is half the fee of the equivalent application, and work inside the permitted development limits carries no fee.

Householder application

£548

Extending or altering one existing house, where the work falls outside permitted development.

Flats sit outside this category. A full application to enlarge or alter a single flat carries the same £548; two or more dwellings or flats in one application cost £1,083.

Works in the curtilage of a house

£272

An outbuilding, garden room, hardstanding, gates, fences or boundary walls at an existing house, outside permitted development.

Prior approval, larger home extension (Part 1, Class A)

£249

A single-storey rear extension deeper than the standard permitted development limit, through the neighbour consultation route.

Prior approval, additional storey (Part 1, Class AA)

£249

Adding a storey to a house under permitted development rights, which still needs the council to approve specific matters first.

Lawful development certificate, proposed work

Half the fee of the equivalent application

Written confirmation that work you have not started yet is lawful without planning permission.

Where the equivalent application is the £548 householder fee, that works out at £274.

Lawful development certificate, existing work

The same as the full application fee

Confirming that work already carried out, or an existing use, is lawful. Buyers and their conveyancers often ask for this.

A certificate that it is lawful not to comply with a condition or limitation is £309.

Change of use to one or more homes

£610 for each dwelling

Turning a building, or part of one, into a separate dwelling: a barn conversion, a flat above a shop, an annexe with its own front door.

That rate covers schemes of fewer than 10 dwellings. Other changes of use of a building or land are £610 flat.

Full application, new house

£610 for each house

Building a new house, including a self-contained house in a garden.

Rate for fewer than 10 houses; schemes of 10 or more step up to £659 each.

Removing or varying a condition

£89 householder, £608 other non-major development

Changing a condition on a permission you already hold, for example materials, drainage details or hours of work.

Discharging conditions

£89 householder, £309 other development

Sending in the details a condition asks for, so the council can confirm it has been met.

Non-material amendment

£46 householder, £309 other development

A minor change to an approved scheme, such as a window shifted slightly, without starting a fresh application.

Source: Planning Portal, Application Fees England, 1 April 2026 (V2026), checked 13 August 2026. These figures took effect on 1 April 2026, 3.8% above the previous table.

Which application do you need?

The route decides the fee, so start with the route. Most home projects land in one of these five.

  • Inside the permitted development limits: no application, no fee. The permitted development rules set out the depths, heights and volumes, and the free planning permission check walks your own project through them.
  • Inside those rights but past the standard depth, or adding a storey: prior approval at £249, with the neighbour consultation that goes with it.
  • Outside the limits, one existing house: a householder application at £548.
  • A new dwelling, or a change of use into one: a full application at £610 per dwelling.
  • Certainty in writing that no permission is needed: a lawful development certificate, half the fee of the equivalent application.

A listed building adds listed building consent, which carries no fee but is a legal requirement of its own, alongside any planning application the work needs.

No fee, or less than the full fee

The schedule lists application types that cost nothing at all:

  • Listed building consent, and a certificate of lawfulness of proposed works to a listed building.
  • Planning permission for relevant demolition in a conservation area.
  • Works to trees covered by a tree preservation order, and trees in a conservation area.
  • Hedgerow removal notice.
  • Work to an existing house, or in its curtilage, solely to provide means of access to or within the house for a disabled person living there or about to move in, or facilities designed to secure that person greater safety, health or comfort.
  • Work solely to provide means of access for disabled people to or within a building the public are admitted to.

And cases where the fee drops:

  • Two alternative schemes for the same site, by the same applicant, on the same day: the cheaper application is charged at 50%.
  • Two or more applications for different proposals on the same site on the same day: the highest fee plus half the sum of the others.
  • Applications made on behalf of a parish or community council: 50%.
  • A prior approval application carries no fee where the same applicant submits a chargeable planning application for the same site, buildings or land on the same date.

Your council checks the fee when the application arrives, so a concession you claim is confirmed there rather than at the point of paying.

Wales and Scotland

Wales

Wales sets its own fees, and they run on their own timetable rather than the English April cycle. The Welsh schedule in force dates from 1 December 2025, and a typical householder application there costs £585.

Source: Planning Portal, Application Fees Wales, 1 December 2025 (V2025), checked 13 August 2026.

Scotland

Scottish fees come from the Town and Country Planning (Fees for Applications) (Scotland) Regulations 2022, as amended by the Town and Country Planning (Fees for Applications) (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2026 (SSI 2026/49), which came into force on 1 April 2026. Amounts differ from the English table, so check the Scottish schedule or ask your planning authority.

Source: Scottish Government, Planning circular 1/2026, and legislation.gov.uk SSI 2026/49, checked 13 August 2026.

What the fee does not cover

  • The online service charge: £75.83 plus VAT on applications with a fee over £100.
  • Drawings and design work, which run on their own scale; see architect fees.
  • Building control, a separate approval with separate charges. The difference is explained in planning permission versus building regulations.
  • A party wall award where the work touches a shared wall or a neighbouring foundation; that cost sits in party wall agreement cost.
  • The build itself. Price that first in the cost calculator, so you can see the fee for what it is: a small line next to the build budget.

Sources

Fees change on the annual uplift, so the figures here carry the date they were checked. If your council quotes something different, its own published schedule is the one that counts for your application.

Frequently asked questions

Why is the fee the same wherever I live in England?

Planning fees are set in national regulations, not by individual councils, so the same table applies across England. The current figures took effect on 1 April 2026, uplifted by 3.8% in line with the September 2025 Consumer Prices Index and rounded to the nearest whole pound.

Do I pay anything on top of the application fee?

Usually yes. Applying online through the Planning Portal adds a service charge of £75.83 plus VAT on applications where the fee is over £100. Drawings are a separate cost, and building control runs on its own track with its own charges. The fee in the table buys the planning decision, nothing else.

Is a lawful development certificate worth paying for?

There are two kinds. For work you have not started yet, a certificate for a proposed use costs half the fee of the equivalent application. For work that is already there, a certificate for an existing use costs the same as the full application fee, and that is the document buyers and their conveyancers tend to ask for years later. Cheapest route: get the proposed-work certificate before you build.

Do these fees apply in Wales and Scotland?

No. Planning is devolved. Wales runs its own schedule, in force since 1 December 2025, where a typical householder application costs £585. Scotland sets fees under its own 2022 regulations, amended with effect from 1 April 2026. Only the table on this page is the England schedule.