What to do when an application is made invalid
Invalidation is administrative, not a decision on merits. The six items that cause most returns, how to respond, and the pre-submission check that prevents them.
A planning application invalid notice is not a refusal and it is not a decision. It means the council has not registered the application, so the determination period has not started and nothing is being assessed. The fix is administrative and usually quick, provided you answer the specific items listed rather than sending a general email asking what the problem is.
Validation is normally handled by a support team working through a checklist, not by the case officer. That is worth knowing, because the two sometimes take different views of what is proportionate.
Who decides whether an application is valid
Article 11 of the Development Management Procedure Order 2015 sets out when an application is taken to have been received: when the authority has received the form, the fee, and the documents required by the national requirements and by the council's own published local list.
The authority has no discretion to waive the national items. It has considerable discretion over the local ones, which is where most arguments start and finish.
A validation officer working to a list has no incentive to take a view on whether a particular report matters to a particular scheme. Escalating to the case officer or the team leader, politely and in writing, is often the fastest route to a sensible answer.
The two lists an application is checked against
The national requirements apply everywhere: the correct form, the fee, a location plan with the site edged red, a site plan, the ownership certificate and, where relevant, the agricultural holdings certificate. A design and access statement is required for major development, for certain schemes in conservation areas and World Heritage Sites, and for listed building consent.
The local list is published by the authority and covers the technical documents it expects for particular types of development. A requirement on that list can only be enforced if the list was published within the two years before your application, and if the requirement is reasonable for the scale of the scheme and relevant to a material consideration. Find the list, note its publication date and keep a dated copy in the project folder before you build the submission schedule.
Why applications get returned
The same handful of items account for most invalidation notices.
- The fee is wrong, usually because the floorspace or the number of dwellings was miscalculated, or because a mixed use scheme attracts more than one component.
- The ownership certificate is incorrect. Certificate A is signed when the applicant does not own every part of the red line, commonly a verge, a shared driveway or a drainage easement.
- The red line excludes land needed for access, which it must include.
- Drawings carry no scale bar, no north point or a scale that is not a standard metric one, or the existing and proposed elevations do not cover every elevation affected.
- The wrong form has been used, typically a householder form for works that include a change of use or a new dwelling.
- A document on the local list is missing, or is present but does not meet the stated specification.
And notice how few of these concern the merits of the scheme. Almost all are checkable in half an hour before submission.
Responding to an invalidation notice
Read the notice line by line and answer each item in the same order, in one submission. Partial responses generate a second notice and another cycle.
Where an item is straightforward, supply it. Where an item is wrong, say why in a short covering note and attach the evidence: the fee calculation from the current regulations, the title plan showing ownership, the drawing that was in fact submitted and its reference.
Ask what happens to the submission in the meantime. Practice varies, and many councils hold an invalid application for a set period before returning it and refunding the fee less an administrative charge. If the deadline for a funding decision or an option is approaching, say so, because a validation team can prioritise where there is a reason.
Keep the exchange in writing and copy the case officer. Where the same council invalidates repeatedly on points that later prove unfounded, that correspondence is the evidence behind any complaint or, in extreme cases, any argument about the authority's performance.
Challenging a local requirement
Three grounds are available, and they should be used sparingly and precisely.
The list is out of date, because it was published more than two years before the application. The requirement is disproportionate to the nature and scale of the development, for example a full transport assessment on a two unit infill. Or the requirement relates to something that is not a material consideration for this application.
Set the challenge out in one paragraph with the article 11 wording, and offer a proportionate alternative. A short technical note from the relevant consultant, dealing with the point in two pages, resolves most of these disputes without anyone having to be right.
Where an authority is designated for poor performance, applications can in some circumstances be made directly to the Planning Inspectorate, which is a different route entirely and is explained in applying direct to the Planning Inspectorate under section 62A.
How the eight weeks are counted
The period runs from the date the application is valid. Two weeks spent resolving an invalidation notice is two weeks added to the programme, and nothing about the original submission date is preserved.
Where an application is returned and resubmitted, it is a new application with a new fee, a new validation check and a new determination period. The fee concession that allows one further application at no charge applies to a resubmission following a refusal or withdrawal of a registered application, not to a submission that was never valid.
Plan for the gap. Where a survey has a seasonal window or an option has a longstop date, treat validation as a stage with its own duration rather than as a formality.
A pre-submission routine that prevents it
A short internal check, done by someone who did not draw the scheme, catches nearly all of it.
Check the red line against the title plan, including the access and any land needed for visibility splays. Confirm the certificate that follows from that ownership position, and serve the notices if it is certificate B. Recalculate the fee from the current schedule rather than from the last similar job. Open every drawing and confirm it has a title, a reference, a revision, a scale bar and a north point. Then tick each item on the national and local lists against the file names in the submission.
Two documents repay the effort even where the local list does not demand them. A planning statement that sets out the policy case, and a design and access statement where the design rationale is not obvious from the drawings.
An illustrative example. A practice submits a rear extension and garage conversion on a Friday. The validation notice arrives on the Tuesday: the fee was calculated as a single householder application when the garage conversion includes a change of use, and the proposed side elevation drawing was omitted. Both are answered the same day and the application is registered on the Thursday. The equivalent case with no response for a fortnight loses three weeks and, on a seasonal scheme, a season.
Enter your postcode on PlanScope to see which of the 66 report types your site is likely to need, then build the submission schedule from that list and the council's own.
This is general guidance, not legal advice; check the position with your local planning authority 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 an invalid application mean my scheme has been refused?
No. The council has not registered the application, so nothing has been assessed and no decision exists. The determination period has not started either. Answer each item on the notice in one submission and the application is registered, usually within days, with the clock running from the date it becomes valid.
What is the most common reason an application is returned?
The fee and the ownership certificate between them account for most returns. Fees are miscalculated where floorspace or dwelling numbers are wrong or where a mixed scheme attracts more than one component. Certificate A is signed when part of the red line, often a verge, shared drive or easement, belongs to somebody else.
Can I refuse to supply a document on the local list?
You can challenge it on three grounds: the list was published more than two years before the application, the requirement is disproportionate to the scale of the development, or it does not relate to a material consideration. Set the challenge out briefly with the article 11 wording and offer a proportionate alternative such as a short technical note.
Do I get my fee back if the application is returned?
Practice varies. Many councils hold an invalid application for a set period and then return it, refunding the fee less an administrative charge. Ask the validation team what their policy is as soon as the notice arrives, particularly if a funding decision or an option deadline depends on the submission date.
Does a resubmission get a free application?
The concession allowing one further application at no charge applies after the refusal or withdrawal of an application that was registered. A submission that was never valid was never registered, so it does not qualify. A returned application comes back as a new application with a new fee and a new determination period.
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.