Lawful development certificates
If you want to be certain that the existing use of a building is lawful for planning purposes, or that your proposal is a permitted development, you can apply for a Lawful Development Certificate.
If you wish to clarify that the existing use of a building is permitted, you can apply for a Certificate of Existing Lawful use of Land. Alternatively, you can make an application for a Certificate of Proposed Lawful Use to obtain the council's formal decision on whether a proposed development or use can be carried out without the need for planning permission.
Applications for a certificate of lawfulness can be made online through the Planning Portal.
When applying for a Lawful Development Certificate, you will need to submit several pieces of information:
Please note a fee is payable for these types of application.