The six-month appeal deadline and what starts the clock
The six-month appeal period runs from the date printed on the decision notice, not from receipt. Householder and minor commercial appeals get 12 weeks, and non-determination appeals run from a different date entirely.
For most planning refusals in England the appeal has to reach the Planning Inspectorate within six months of the date on the decision notice. Not six months from when you read it, not six months from when your agent forwarded it, and not six months from the date the council published it online. The date printed on the notice is the date that counts, and the appeal has to be received by the deadline rather than merely posted before it.
The general six-month period
The period comes from the Town and Country Planning (Development Management Procedure) (England) Order 2015, which sets the time limits for appeals made under section 78 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990. Six months applies to the ordinary case: a refusal of full or outline planning permission, a refusal of reserved matters, and an appeal against conditions imposed on a grant.
Six months sounds generous and it disappears quickly on a self-build project. The scheme has to be reconsidered, a decision taken about whether to redesign or fight, an agent instructed, drawings updated and a statement written. Two months of that is usually spent deciding.
An appeal is made when the Planning Inspectorate receives it, which in practice means when the submission is completed on the appeals casework portal. Partial submissions do not count. If the drawings will not upload at four o'clock on the final afternoon, the appeal is late.
Shorter periods that catch people out
Not every appeal gets six months, and the exceptions are the ones that generate missed deadlines.
| Appeal type | Period | Runs from |
|---|---|---|
| Most planning appeals | Six months | Date of the decision notice |
| Householder appeals | 12 weeks | Date of the decision notice |
| Minor commercial appeals | 12 weeks | Date of the decision notice |
| Failure to determine | Six months | End of the statutory or agreed period |
| Enforcement notice appeals | Before the notice takes effect | Date stated on the notice |
Householder and minor commercial appeals run through fast-track services with compressed procedures, and their 12-week limit is applied strictly. Enforcement appeals are different again: the deadline is not a period after service but a point before the notice takes effect, and missing it means the notice bites and the right of appeal is gone entirely.
Listed building consent, advertisement consent and other regimes each have their own arrangements. Check the current position on the Planning Inspectorate's appeal service rather than assuming the six-month rule applies across the board.
What date the clock actually runs from
Three dates appear on or around a refusal, and only one starts the clock.
The date of the notice of the decision is the operative one. It is normally printed at the top or the foot of the decision notice and is often described as the decision date.
The date of the committee resolution is not it. Where a committee resolves to refuse, the notice is drafted afterwards, and the gap can be a fortnight or more. The date of receipt is not it either. Posted notices arrive days after they are dated, and an email forwarded by an agent may arrive later still.
Where the council's portal shows a different date from the notice, work to the notice and query the discrepancy in writing at once. Keep the reply.
For an appeal against non-determination, the clock starts at the end of the period the authority had to decide: eight weeks for most minor applications, 13 weeks for major development, 16 weeks where an environmental statement is required, or the end of any extension of time you agreed in writing. That last point matters. Agreeing an extension replaces the statutory period, so you cannot appeal non-determination while an agreed extension is running, and the six months then runs from the new date.
Once the council issues a decision, the right to appeal non-determination falls away and you are appealing the decision instead. In a race between a slow authority and a fast agent, that switch has caught out people who had already drafted the wrong form.
Whether the deadline can be extended
There is a discretion to accept a late appeal, and it is exercised rarely. Illness, bereavement or a demonstrable failure in the council's service might be considered. A busy agent, a client on holiday, or a misunderstanding about which date applied will not be.
Plan on the basis that there is no extension. Diarise the deadline twice: once at the four-month point as a decision date, and once two weeks before expiry as the submission date. Give the client the earlier of the two as their deadline.
Missing it, and what is left
A missed deadline is not the end of the site, though it does close one door.
The obvious route is a fresh application. Where the second application is of the same character and description, on the same site, by the same applicant, and submitted within 12 months of the earlier decision, the fees regulations allow one further application without a fee. That gives you a chance to respond to the officer's report properly and to talk the changes through before submitting.
A revised scheme with genuine changes is often the better answer anyway. The refusal reasons tell you exactly what the authority objected to, and a redesign that addresses them has a determination period of eight weeks rather than the many months an appeal takes.
Where the point at issue is one of principle that cannot be designed out, and the appeal window has gone, resubmitting and appealing the second refusal is the long way round to the same argument. Budget for it honestly rather than hoping the second officer sees it differently.
Diary points to set the day a refusal arrives
- Record the date of the decision notice and calculate the appeal deadline from it.
- Record whether the appeal falls into a fast-track category with a 12-week limit.
- Note the 12-month date for the fee concession on a further application.
- Note the expiry date of any extant permission on the site that the refusal does not affect.
- Book a decision meeting for four weeks' time, with the officer's report circulated beforehand.
- Ask the case officer for the reasons behind each refusal reason, which is a different conversation from the reasons as drafted.
Then decide. A Planning Statement prepared for the original application usually contains most of the argument you need for either route, and the Design and Access Statement carries the design reasoning that a redesign has to preserve. If the refusal turned on missing evidence rather than on planning merits, the full list of report types is the place to work out what was absent.
This is general guidance, not legal advice. Appeal periods are set by statutory instrument and can change, so check the current position with the Planning Inspectorate or a qualified professional before relying on it.
PlanScope provides AI-assisted draft reports for planning applications. Reports should be reviewed before submission. We do not guarantee planning approval.
Frequently asked questions
Does the six months run from when I received the refusal?
No. It runs from the date of the notice of the decision, which is printed on the refusal itself. Posted notices arrive days later and agents may forward them later still, but none of those dates matters. Where the council's website shows a different date from the notice, work to the notice and query the discrepancy in writing.
When can I appeal against non-determination?
Once the authority has failed to decide within the statutory period, normally eight weeks for minor development, 13 weeks for major development or 16 weeks where an environmental statement is required. If you agreed an extension of time in writing, that agreed date replaces the statutory period and the appeal right arises only after it passes.
Which appeals have a shorter deadline than six months?
Householder appeals and minor commercial appeals both run on a 12-week limit through fast-track services. Enforcement notice appeals work differently again: the appeal must be made before the notice takes effect, and missing that removes the right of appeal altogether. Check the current position for other consent regimes.
Can the Planning Inspectorate accept a late appeal?
There is a discretion, but it is exercised rarely and requires unusual circumstances such as serious illness or a demonstrable failure in the council's own service. Being busy, being away or misunderstanding which date applied will not qualify. Plan on the basis that no extension will be given, and diarise the deadline twice.
What are my options if the appeal deadline has passed?
Submit a fresh application. Where it is of the same character and description, on the same site, by the same applicant and made within 12 months of the earlier decision, the fees regulations allow one further application without a fee. A redesign responding to the refusal reasons is determined in weeks rather than the months an appeal takes.
Sources and further reading
This article is general guidance about the planning system in England and, where stated, the rest of the UK. It is not legal or professional advice. Check your local planning authority’s validation requirements and take professional advice for your specific site.