Article 4checker

How the Article 4 checker works

1. 01

   Enter a postcode or address

   Any address in England. We find the property and test it against the Article 4 direction boundaries councils publish to the national planning data service.

2. 02

   See if a direction covers it

   You get each direction’s name and a link to the council’s documents, which list the rights it removes. If a boundary runs close to the house, we say so rather than guess.

3. 03

   See what you can still build

   Conservation areas, listed buildings and National Landscapes are checked at the same time, and the result shows which projects still go ahead without planning permission.

What an Article 4 direction means

A council order that withdraws named permitted development rights from a named area. Work it lists needs planning permission there; everything it doesn’t list still applies as normal.

Full guide to Article 4 directions →

Article 4 directions by council

Every Article 4 direction published by 113 councils, with the date it was made and a link to the council’s documents. The other 195 haven’t published theirs to the national dataset yet — for those, check the council’s own website.

Common questions

How do I check if a property is in an Article 4 area?

Enter the postcode or address in the checker above. It tests the property against every Article 4 direction boundary published to the national planning data service, and names any direction that covers it. Your council’s website lists its directions too, and they should appear in the local authority search (CON29) when you buy.

How do I know if my house has an Article 4 direction?

Run the free check above, then open the council documents linked from the result — the direction lists exactly which permitted development classes it removes. For a definite answer on a boundary, ask the council’s planning department or apply for a Lawful Development Certificate.

How do I check if permitted development rights have been removed?

Rights can be removed in two ways: by an Article 4 direction covering an area, which this checker finds, or by a condition on a past planning permission for the house itself, which it can’t. For the second, look up the property’s planning history on the council’s website and read the conditions on each decision.

Is the Article 4 check free?

Yes — free, with no sign-up. If you want the detail for your house, the optional paid report goes through every common project and says which still need no planning permission there, with the limits for each.

Is there a fee for a planning application because of Article 4?

No. Where permission is only needed because an Article 4 direction removed the right, the council can’t charge the usual householder application fee.

How accurate is the Article 4 checker?

It uses the boundaries councils publish to planning.data.gov.uk. 195 of 308 planning authorities haven’t published any Article 4 directions there, and some publish only part of theirs, so a clear result isn’t proof there’s none. It’s guidance, not an official council search — confirm with your council before you rely on it.

Does it cover Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland?

No — England only. Article 4 directions are part of England’s General Permitted Development Order.