How can I pay for a planning application?

Planning Portal payment service

In 2018, the process for paying for online planning applications in England changed. In every case where a planning fee over £60 is due, the Planning Portal processes the fee before passing both the payment and the application together to the relevant local authority.
This means:

• A consistent set of payment options across all authorities – including online, telephone, bank transfer and cheque
• The option to nominate a third party (such as your client) to pay securely for the application
• The ability to pay for your application either online or via our payment centre
• A receipt for the payment emailed to you as standard

There is a service charge for submitting some online planning applications that attract a planning fee, the service charge is £58.33 +VAT. Applications with a planning fee below the threshold do not incur the service charge.

Find out more about the service¹.

Find out about planning application fees²

Paying for applications

You can find information below about how to make a payment for a planning application or more detailed information can be found in our walk through guide³.

Once you have completed your application in the usual way, you will be taken to the payment screen. 
The service includes a full range of payment options but you will only be presented with those that are available based on the amount which is due. You can select to pay for the application yourself or nominate another person to pay.⁴

• Online
• Telephone
• Bank transfer
• Cheque
• Nominate another person to pay

Online

We accept Maestro UK, Visa and Mastercard, all up to the limit of £1,000; we do not accept American Express.
To pay for your application online, you will need to provide:

• 16 digit card number
• Expiry date
• Security code (last three digits from back of card)
• Name on card

When successful payment has been made, you will be sent a receipt to the email address associated with the application.

Telephone

To make a telephone payment up to the value of £1,000 you will need to contact our payment team on 0333 3233 900⁵. Please have your payment reference number ready to quote when you call this number.

In order to process the payment, you will need to supply the following details to the operator:

• 16 digit card number
• Expiry date
• Security code (last three digits from back of card)
• Name on card

Once the operator has successfully taken payment, you will receive an email receipt confirming the transaction.

Payment by phone can be made from Monday – Friday (excluding bank holidays) from 9am – 5pm. Calls charged at standard UK-wide rate from a UK landline. Mobile charges may vary.

Bank transfer

After selecting the option to pay by bank transfer, you will be shown a screen with all the details of how to make a payment using your own bank transfer facility.

Please make sure you use your payment reference number as the reference for the transaction when making your transfer, otherwise we may not be able to match your payment to your application and this will slow down the release of your application.

Account Name: PortalPlanQuest Ltd
Account Number: 31076744
Sort Code: 40-11-60
Bank Name: HSBC
Bank Address: City-of-London, 60 Queen Victoria Street, London, EC4N 4TR

Cheque

Please make cheques payable to 'Planning Portal' and post your completed and signed cheque to the following address:

Planning Portal
PO Box 17512
Birmingham
B2 2LR

Please ensure that you or your client writes the payment reference number clearly on the back of the cheque, in the top right hand corner. If you do not write the payment reference number on the cheque, we will not be able to match the payment to the application.

If you wish, you can also include a remittance slip with the cheque. To do this, click the blue ‘Print remittance slip’ button and include this with the completed and signed cheque when sending.

When we receive your cheque, you will be sent an email confirmation.

Nominate another person to pay

You can use our payment notification service for your client to make a payment by selecting 'Nominate another person to pay'. After providing your client's email address, a notification by email will be sent to your client to request that they make payment. Reminders will be sent for seven days.

Nominated payments can be made online or by phone (up to £1,000) or by bank transfer or cheque.

Find out more about nominating another person to pay for an application⁶.

Useful information

Please be aware that until payment has cleared, your application remain under the 'Draft' status tab. The application will moved to the 'Submitted' status tab once payment has cleared and the application has been submitted to the local authority.

• Making a payment: a walk-through guide⁷
• How to apply - What it costs⁸
• What is Nominate⁹?
• How long does it take for my payment to reach the LPA¹⁰?

1. https://www.planningportal.co.uk/financial-transaction-service-and-payment-nomination
2. https://www.planningportal.co.uk/planning/planning-applications/how-to-apply/what-it-costs
3. http://ecab.planningportal.co.uk/Uploads/PPQ_Agent_Walk-through.pdf
4. https://www.planningportal.co.uk/services/help/faq/building-control/how-do-i-nominate-someone-to-pay
5. tel:03333233900
6. https://www.planningportal.co.uk/services/help/faq/building-control/how-do-i-nominate-someone-to-pay
7. http://ecab.planningportal.co.uk/Uploads/PPQ_Agent_Walk-through.pdf
8. https://www.planningportal.co.uk/planning/planning-applications/how-to-apply/what-it-costs
9. https://www.planningportal.co.uk/services/help/faq/applications/planning-applications/what-is-nominate
10. https://www.planningportal.co.uk/services/help/faq/applications/payment/how-long-does-it-take-for-my-payment-to-reach-the-lpa