What Does Planning Permission Cost?
Quick Answer
Householder application £548 (England, from 1 April 2026)
The application fee is set nationally and now rises with CPI every April. Drawings and professional support usually cost several times more than the fee itself
Planning Application Fees (England, from 1 April 2026)
These are the statutory fees from the Planning Portal’s April 2026 schedule (Town and Country Planning Fees Regulations 2012 as amended, with MHCLG’s annual indexation). Since the Levelling-up and Regeneration Act 2023, England’s planning fees rise with CPI every 1 April, so always confirm the current figure on the Planning Portal before applying. Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland set different fees.
| Application type | Fee | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Householder application | £548 | Extensions, loft conversions and alterations to a single house (not flats) |
| Works within the garden (outbuildings, gates, fences, walls) | £272 | Ancillary operations within the boundary of an existing house |
| Prior approval: larger home extension | £249 | The 6m/8m deep rear extension route; additional storeys on a home cost the same £249 |
| Lawful development certificate (proposed) | £274 | Half the full application fee; confirms your project is permitted development before you build |
| Lawful development certificate (existing) | £548 | Same as the full application fee; used to certify work already done |
| Full application: new dwellings (fewer than 10) | £610 per dwelling | £659 per dwelling for 10–50; larger schemes are formula-based to a £427,537 cap |
| Change of use | £610 | Most other changes of use of a building or land |
| Removal or variation of a condition | £89 | Householder rate; £608 for other non-major development |
| Discharge of conditions | £89 | Householder rate per request; £309 for any other development |
| Non-material amendment | £46 | Householder rate; £309 in any other case |
| Listed building consent | No fee | No application fee, but drawings and heritage statements make it one of the dearer consents to prepare |
Professional Costs: the Bigger Share of the Bill
For most householder projects the council fee is the smallest line. Published 2026 guides put the professional side at several times the application fee:
| Item | Guide price | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Planning drawings, single storey extension | £1,000–£2,500 | Two storey extensions run £2,000–£3,500; a draughtsperson or technician sits at the lower end, an architect higher |
| Full architect service, householder project | £2,000–£6,000+ | Design through to submission (HomeOwners Alliance’s band); one 2026 guide prices a full extension package at £5,000–£10,000, so treat the top as open-ended. Simple concept drawings start from about £250 |
| Planning consultant | to ~£2,000 | Many straightforward applications need none; contested or appeal work starts around £2,500 |
| Typical total to permission, standard extension | £2,000–£5,000 | Council fee plus drawings and preparation, before any specialist surveys the council requests |
Do You Need to Apply at All?
Many domestic projects are permitted development and skip the application entirely: single storey rear extensions to 3m (attached houses) or 4m (detached), extendable to 6m and 8m under the £249 larger-home prior approval route; loft conversions adding up to 40m³ on a terrace or 50m³ on a semi or detached house; and most outbuildings within height and coverage limits. Check before you pay for drawings with the permitted development checker, the extension PD calculator or the loft PD volume calculator. Where it is borderline, a £274 lawful development certificate buys certainty for half the cost of a full application.
What Affects the Total
- Application route: prior approval (£249) and LDCs (£274) are cheaper than a full householder application (£548)
- Specialist surveys: councils can require ecology, tree, flood or heritage reports; each is a separate commission priced by the specialist
- Repeat submissions: a free-resubmission right no longer exists; a refused scheme normally means paying the fee again, so get the design right first time
- Exemptions: applications solely for disabled access or facilities for a resident disabled person are free
- Building regulations are separate: planning permission does not cover building control, which is priced by each council or approved inspector
Timescales
- Householder and other non-major applications: 8-week statutory determination period from validation
- Major applications: 13 weeks
- Extensions of time are common: councils ask applicants to agree them rather than refuse
- Appeals take months, so pre-application advice (priced by each council) is usually cheaper than an appeal
Important Notes
- Fees above are the England schedule effective 1 April 2026 (Planning Portal); they now rise with CPI each April, so confirm the live figure before submitting
- Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own fee schedules
- Professional costs are guide prices from published 2026 UK guides, not quotes: get itemised fee proposals
Fees verified against the Planning Portal April 2026 schedule; professional costs cross-checked against published UK guides July 2026. Last updated: July 2026