Guidance

Nationally significant infrastructure projects: application fees charges from 1 April 2026/27

Updated 26 February 2026

Applies to England and Wales

1. Applicants are charged for:

• pre-application services
• applications for authorisation under sections 52 and 53 of the Planning Act 2008, obtaining information about interests in land and rights of entry
• venue costs, where the Applicant does not provide a venue for a hearing
• a fee to accompany the application (the ‘Acceptance fee’)
• a Pre-examination fee following the appointment of the Inspector(s) initially chosen to examine the application
• an initial payment in respect of the handling of an application (payable at the beginning of the Examination stage, following the Preliminary Meeting)
• a final payment in respect of the handling of an application (payable on completion of the Examination stage)

2.  Fee Charges from 1 April 2026

2.1 Fee in respect of pre-application services

Following notification from an Applicant of a proposed application requesting pre-application services and the agreement of the service tier

The table below shows the fees payable from 1 April 2026 for existing and new applications in the pre-application stage of the process.

The Standard and Enhanced service tiers are subject to VAT above the cost of the Basic service tier fee.

TIER 1: BASIC	£65,820 per year of service
TIER 2: STANDARD	£133,064 per year of service + VAT £13,448.80
TIER 3: ENHANCED	£220,471 per year of service + VAT £30,930.20

3. Fee Charges from 1 April 2026

The table below shows the fees payable from 1 April 2026 for existing and new applications. The Infrastructure Planning (Fees) Regulations 2010 and subsequent amendments can be viewed at legislation.gov.uk

Fee in respect of applications for authorisation under sections 52 and 53
A request for authorisation under section 52(2) (information about interests in land).	£2,067
A request for authorisation under section 53(1) (rights of entry).	£2,067

Fee to accompany application
The Planning Inspectorate must charge the Applicant a fee in respect of the decision by the Secretary of State under section 55 (Acceptance of applications) whether or not to accept the application. The fee must accompany the application.	£9,286

Pre-examination fee
Following a decision under section 61 (Initial choice of Panel or single Inspector) the Planning Inspectorate must notify the Applicant in writing of the Pre-examination fee. The Pre-examination fee is:-
Single Inspector	£26,879
Panel of two Inspectors	£44,451
Panel of three Inspectors	£62,024
Panel of more than three Inspectors	£88,901

Initial payment in respect of the handling of an application
Where an examination is handled by a single Inspector	£1,272 per estimated relevant day
Where an examination is handled by a panel of two Inspectors	£2,022 per estimated relevant day
Where an examination is handled by a panel of three Inspectors	£2,771 per estimated relevant day
Where an examination is handled by a panel of more than three Inspectors	£4,219 per estimated relevant day

Final payment in respect of the handling of an application
Following notification of the completion of the Examination stage under section 99. The final payment is dependent on the number of days actually required for the examination:-
Where a single Inspector has examined the application	£2,543 per relevant day
Where a panel of two Inspectors has examined the application	£4,044 per relevant day
Where a panel of three Inspectors has examined the application	£5,541 per relevant day
Where a panel of more than three Inspectors has examined the application	£8,437 per relevant day

The initial payment in respect of handling an application is deducted from the final payment.