An application for a lawful development certificate form should be used to establish whether an existing use of land, or some operational development, or some activity in breach of a planning conditions, is lawful.

The burden of proof in a lawful development certificate lies firmly with the applicant. To do this, sufficient and precise information must be provided before the application is registered.

The following items are needed for all applications

• Application form
• Fee
• Location plan (scale 1:2500 or 1:1250) with site outlined in red
• Block plan (scale 1:500) or Site Plan (scale 1:200) – if the proposal has altered an existing building footprint or created a new building footprint
• Floor plans – before and after (scale 1:50 or 1:100) – if the existing use has created, altered or added to a floor
• Elevation drawings – before and after (scale 1:50 or 1:100) – if the existing use has created, altered or added to a building
• Sworn statement(s) (affidavit) from people with personal knowledge of the existing use, operation, activity or works carried out
• Supporting documentation that provides evidence of an existing use eg. utility bills, council tax statements, rental history etc
• In the case of a breach of condition, details of the relevant application

Further information about this type of application is available on the Planning Portal.