Most valid planning applications in England have an 8-week determination period: the time allowed for the authority to decide the application. The period is 13 weeks for major development and 16 weeks where an Environmental Impact Assessment is required. These are calendar periods, so weekends and bank holidays count.
To calculate the ordinary date, identify the application category and the date on which the local planning authority received a valid application. The period starts on the following day. A written extension can set a later agreed date.
This guide covers England. Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have different planning systems and appeal routes. The official material linked below was checked on 7 October 2026.
Choose the determination period
Article 34 of the Development Management Procedure (England) Order 2015 sets the main periods:
| Application category | Period | Calendar days |
|---|---|---|
| Standard application, including householder and minor commercial | 8 weeks | 56 |
| Major development | 13 weeks | 91 |
| Development requiring an Environmental Impact Assessment | 16 weeks | 112 |
| Public service infrastructure development, without an Environmental Impact Assessment | 10 weeks | 70 |
| Technical details consent, non-major | 5 weeks | 35 |
| Technical details consent, major | 10 weeks | 70 |
The first three rows cover the usual determination periods; the remaining rows have their own statutory periods. The calendar-day column gives the number to enter in the calculator. Select Calendar days under Counting method. The counting settings guide explains this option.
Other applications have their own rules. Advertisement consent, listed-building consent, approval of conditions and prior approval should not be treated as ordinary 8-week applications. Check the authority's acknowledgement or validation notice for the application type.
Check whether the development is major
The 13-week category is based on the definition of major development in article 2 of the 2015 Order. It includes mineral working and waste development, 10 or more dwellings, housing on a site of at least 0.5 hectares where the number of dwellings is not known, buildings creating at least 1,000 square metres of floor space, and development on a site of at least 1 hectare.
If an Environmental Impact Assessment is required, the 16-week period applies. Public service infrastructure development has a separate 10-week period where no such assessment is required. Check the definition in article 2 and the application classification before choosing a period.
Count from valid receipt, not submission
The Planning Inspectorate's current guidance treats the day after the authority receives the valid application as the first day of the period. That may differ from the day an application was uploaded or from the date of a later email.
| Record | What it shows |
|---|---|
| Submission or upload date | When material was sent, not necessarily the statutory start date |
| Valid-receipt or validation date | The date from which the determination period is calculated |
| Following day | Day 1 of the applicable determination period |
If the authority disputes whether the application was valid, the date may need to be resolved through the article 12 validation process. Keep the authority's acknowledgement and any request for further information with your date record.
Example: an ordinary 8-week application
Assume that the authority recorded a standard application as validly received on Tuesday 2 June 2026. There is no written extension and no specialist regime.
The count starts on Wednesday 3 June, which is day 1. Day 56 is Tuesday 28 July 2026.
The same valid-receipt date would give Tuesday 1 September 2026 for a 13-week period and Tuesday 22 September 2026 for a 16-week period. Only one of those periods applies to the application; the other dates show how the application category changes the calculation.
| Setting | Selection |
|---|---|
| Start date | 2 June 2026 |
| Direction | Forward |
| Counting method | Calendar days |
| Number | 56 |
| Include the start date | No |
| Include the deadline date | Yes |
Open the 56-calendar-day example in the calculator.
Keeping the calendar-day settings with the result makes the assumed timetable easier to explain to the applicant or project team. The calculator shows the date on those assumptions. It cannot resolve a dispute about validity or decide whether the proposal is major development or requires an Environmental Impact Assessment.
What does an agreed expiry date mean in planning?
Some planning records use agreed expiry date for the revised date by which a decision is expected. The authority and applicant can agree this longer decision period in writing. The agreement should state the timescale, and the parties can vary it by a further written agreement.
| Date to keep | How it is set |
|---|---|
| Statutory end date | Application category and valid-receipt date |
| Agreed end date | Written extension or planning performance agreement |
Keep both dates and the written agreement. The end of the statutory or agreed period is relevant to a non-determination appeal: an appeal because the authority has not decided the application. A longer agreed period also affects the planning-guarantee fee-refund conditions below. Check the written agreement and applicable requirements before relying on an extension.
The planning guarantee does not replace the statutory period
The government's planning guarantee uses longer periods: 26 weeks for major applications and 16 weeks for non-major applications where no extension has been agreed. These do not replace the statutory determination periods.
They concern a possible fee refund when an application remains undecided, no appeal has been made and no longer period was agreed. See the official planning-guarantee guidance for the conditions. Use the statutory or agreed determination date when checking whether a non-determination appeal is available.
What happens if the planning determination deadline has passed?
If the applicable deadline passes without a decision, the applicant may have a right to appeal against non-determination. This does not grant planning permission automatically. The applicable deadline is the end of the statutory period or a later period agreed in writing. GOV.UK recommends first contacting the authority to establish when it expects to decide before choosing whether to appeal.
The determination date is the starting point for a non-determination appeal, but it is not the appeal deadline. Time limits differ by application type, and the period runs from the end of the statutory or agreed determination period rather than from a decision notice. A separate and much shorter limit can apply where an enforcement notice concerns the same or substantially similar development. Take the applicable limit from the Planning Inspectorate procedural guide for the date of the application.
For a prior-approval application, use the relevant part and class of the General Permitted Development Order. Those provisions determine both the period and what happens if no decision is made. An ordinary planning determination date cannot answer that question.
Sources
- GOV.UK: determining a planning application: written extensions, planning guarantee and fee-refund conditions
- Development Management Procedure (England) Order 2015, article 34: statutory determination periods
- Planning appeals procedural guide for applications dated on or after 1 April 2026: determination periods, valid-receipt start dates and appeal tables checked 7 October 2026
- GOV.UK: appeals planning practice guidance: non-determination rights and performance targets
- GOV.UK: making an application: validation and article 12 dispute process
- GOV.UK: when is permission required?: prior-approval periods and non-determination consequences
