Start with the correct authority and address
The government's register-search service directs you to the relevant local planning authority. Search by address and, where available, application reference or map. If a property has been renamed, subdivided or renumbered, try earlier descriptions as well as its present address. [1][2]
Keep a list of possible matches rather than opening only the newest result. An older permission may explain the original development, while later applications deal with alterations or individual conditions.
Build the approval history
For each relevant application, collect the decision notice, the plans referred to by that decision and any officer report. Then look for related amendments, condition approvals and appeals. Development must follow the applicable permission and conditions, so these documents need to be read as a connected record. [3][4]
A practical history schedule can record the reference, decision date, description, outcome, approved drawings and relationship to earlier applications. Label refused and withdrawn proposals clearly so they are not accidentally treated as authorised work.
Find the approved version, not merely a drawing
Planning portals can contain original, amended and superseded documents. Check drawing numbers and revision letters against the permission. A sheet uploaded later is not automatically the approved version, and the most attractive drawing in the file may belong to a refused scheme. [3][4]
If the decision's references are unclear or the approved sheet is missing, request the relevant record from the council. For a live design project, resolve the uncertainty before using that drawing as the baseline for new work.
Understand the limits of online records
Havering explains the periods covered by its online planning history and document holdings. Redbridge likewise warns about the limitations of its online planning search. Coverage differs between authorities and older material may need a separate enquiry. [2][5]
An empty search result is therefore not a certificate that there are no permissions, conditions or enforcement issues. Nor is an informal online search a replacement for the formal enquiries needed in a property transaction. [5]
Compare the documents with the property
Use the records to ask focused questions: does the existing layout and external form match what was approved; were later changes authorised; and are condition approvals present? A grant of permission alone does not establish that work was built in accordance with it. [4]
Where the legal status of existing development remains uncertain, a lawful development certificate is a separate evidence-based process. Assemble the history first, then identify the specific fact or legal question needing confirmation rather than assuming age or a planning-search screenshot settles it. [6]