Appeals casework portal: Frequently Asked Questions
Creating and Managing Accounts on the Appeals casework portal
Applies to Northern Ireland and Scotland
Creating and Managing Accounts
Guest log-in
The best way to comment on an existing case is to register with us first as that makes it easier to track cases and submit comments. However, if you do wish to submit comments without creating an account, then you can do so using our guest log-in facility. Simply search for your case and click on the ‘Make Representation’ button.
Why do I need to create an account?
Users must create an account with us in order to submit appeals or any representations. Registering with us will enable you to access our full range of services, including a personal homepage.
If I do create an account, will my personal information be safe?
If you are an appellant/agent submitting an appeal/representations: With the exception of the Local Planning Authority (LPA), we will not reveal your email address or phone number to any other party. The LPA will be aware of your personal details when you send them a copy of your appeal form and all its content.
However, please be aware that your details submitted to the LPA within the original application are a public document which can be viewed by anyone, at the LPA offices or on their website.
If you are an interested party submitting representations: We will not reveal your email address or phone number to any other party. It is important for you to protect against unauthorised access to your password and to your computer. We recommend that you log out when you finish using a shared computer. For more information on regarding your personal details, please visit our Privacy and Cookies Statement.
I’ve forgotten my username for my account. What do I do?
From the home screen, click on the link ‘Forgotten your password or username?’ You will be taken to a ‘Forgotten Account Details’ screen. Enter the email address you registered to your account within the box provided. Click ‘Submit’ and you will be sent an email with a reminder of your username. If you receive an error message within the ‘Forgotten Account Details’ screen, it is likely you have entered your email address incorrectly. Please ensure you have entered it correctly.
I’ve forgotten my password for my account. What do I do?
From the home screen, click on the link ‘Forgotten your password or username?’
You will be taken to a ‘Forgotten Account Details’ screen. Enter the username you selected when creating your account within the box provided. Click ‘Submit’ and you will be sent an email with a temporary password. If you receive an error message within the ‘Forgotten Account Details’ screen, it is likely you have entered the username incorrectly. Please ensure you have entered it correctly.
Once you have received the temporary password, enter your username and temporary password into the ‘Log in or Register’ section. You will then be taken to a ‘Change Password’ screen. Within that screen, you will be asked to enter your current password (which is the temporary password you received via email). You will then be asked to enter your new password (this is where you select your own password) and then confirm your new password.
How do I change my password for my account?
You must log into your account using your current password. Select the ‘My Details’ link which is in the black banner across the top of the page. Select the ‘Change Password’ button at the bottom of the My Details screen. You can change your password from the screen you are then presented with.
Please note that after changing your password, you will be logged out. Please log back in using your new password.
If you receive an error message when attempting to change your password, it may be that you haven’t adhered to the rules: - new passwords are required to be 8-20 characters in length, and contain at least 1 upper case character and 1 lower case character.
How do I change my personal details on my account?
You must log into your account. Select the ‘My Details’ link which is in the black banner across the top of the screen. Amend the necessary details and select the ‘Save Changes’ button at the bottom of the screen. If you are changing your email address you will need to re-verify your account via the email received to the new email address.
I am unable to change my name/surname/title. Why is this and how do I get it changed?
Due to the way we store our data against appeals which have not yet been decided, customers are unable to amend their name or title. A request can be submitted to our Customer Support Team with the details of the change required.
Please note that any changes you make to your Appeals Casework Portal account are updated on that account only. You will need to contact the Planning Inspectorate separately to make any/the same changes to your personal information on our internal system.
I am locked out of my account. What do I do?
If a user is trying to log in using an incorrect password, then they have 5 attempts to log in before their account is automatically locked.
You are able to unlock the account yourself by re-setting your password. To do this, please follow the instructions on what to do if you have forgotten your password.
If you are entering a correct password but an incorrect username, then you are not limited to the amount of attempts you have to log in. We can send you a reminder of your username. For this, please follow the instructions on what to do if you have forgotten your username.
Making an appeal
What’s the appeals procedure?
The way an appeal is dealt with can depend on the issues involved. For further guidance, please refer to the appeals guidance page. Select the relevant appeal type, click on the hyperlink and navigate to the guidance.
How do I appeal?
You will need to create and log in to your account. You can make your appeal from your account by clicking the ‘Make A New Appeal’ button.
What sort of form do I use?
The type of appeal form you use will depend on the type of application that was submitted to the local planning authority or whether it is an appeal against an enforcement notice or discontinuance notice.
The Appeals Casework Portal is designed to help guide you towards the correct form. The user will be taken through several screens where the information they enter/select will take them to the appeal form that the system deems appropriate.
I need some guidance when completing my appeal form. Where can I find this?
For guidance on how to complete the appeal form, please refer to our ‘How To Guides’. Once you are in the correct appeal form, there is a link to the applicable appeal guide in the top right hand corner underneath the ‘Sections’ drop-down. The guidance will open in a new tab/window.
Has my appeal been received?
Upon successful submission of an appeal, you will receive two emails (sent to the email address you have registered on your account). The first email is an acknowledgement email, the second is an email which details your appeal reference number and contains a PDF copy of your appeal form(s).
Appeals by post
If your appeal was sent by Special or Recorded Delivery and you notify us of the reference number, we can track it. Other post may take a short period of time to be scanned into our system to enable us to confirm receipt.
How long are appeals taking?
For each appeal type, there are estimated handling times from when an appeal is started to when the decision is issued. For more information, please refer to the appeal handling times page.
For a Householder appeal, we will try to issue a decision within 8 weeks of the start date of the appeal in the majority of cases.
For a Planning appeal, we will try to issue a decision within 14 weeks of the start date of the appeal in the majority of cases.
Can I appeal if I am an interested party and the local planning authority has approved an application?
No. There is no right of appeal for an interested party if an application has been approved.
Commenting on a Case
How do I comment on a case? I am an interested/third party.
To comment on an appeal it must be valid, have started, permit representations at appeal stage and the deadline for the submission of representations must not have passed. Comments submitted after the deadline may be considered invalid and returned to the sender.
Please note that for Householder and Commercial appeals, interested parties are unable to make representations at appeal stage but any representations you submitted at application stage will be considered by the Inspector.
To comment on a case, you can either create an account or use our guest log-in facility (perhaps if you are submitting one off representations). You need to search for the case within the search facility – we recommend searching using the 7 digit appeal reference which will begin with a ‘3’.
Once you have located the case, on the Case Summary screen there should be an option to select ‘Make Representations’. Once selected, the user will be shown an overview screen where they can see an overview of the appeal details. Click on the ‘Save and Continue’ button and you are taken into a new screen and it is from there that you can start to make your representations.
Appeal Decisions
When will the decision be issued?
The guidance provided on how long appeals are taking is from start date to decision date.
Can I appeal an appeal decision?
No. You cannot make an appeal against an appeal decision. You can make a legal challenge to the decision or a complaint about it. This is explained in the procedural guidance.
Does the Planning Inspectorate keep copies of decision letters?
The majority of decision letters from 5 years ago to date can be located on the Appeals Casework Portal free of charge.
If you require a decision letter which dates back further than 5 years, please consult with the relevant Local Planning Authority as they may have retained a copy.
Can the Planning Inspectorate find a copy of a decision letter when I only have limited information, e.g. site address, Local Planning Authority reference, decision date etc?
To help us locate your required decision letter, we recommend using the last 7 digits of the Planning Inspectorate’s reference number to carry out a search for the appeal. If you do not have this reference, you can search using other criteria (such as site address or appellant/applicant name) via our advanced search facility.
On completion of the search you will be informed of the search results. If more than one result is returned, you will need to see if the appeal you require is within the list of results. If the appeal you require isn’t displayed, then you may need to narrow/amend your search criteria.
If you are unable to locate the desired appeal, then you can contact our Customer Support Team or the relevant Local Planning Authority to obtain further information.
System Requirements
What are the system requirements for Appeals Casework Portal?
Before you start, you should ensure that you have all of the following system requirements:
- An active email account;
- Adobe Acrobat (Version 9 or higher recommended); and
- A modern internet browser – Google Chrome or Internet Explorer 11 (or higher) recommended. Please note that we no longer support older versions of Internet Explorer (IE10 and earlier). If you choose to use an older version, we cannot guarantee that the Appeals Casework Portal will work as intended, or that any new features added in the future will work fully.
What are the size limits for documents when submitting an appeal or an e-mail?
Documents must be no larger than 15mb each.
For documents that are larger than 15mb you can try the following:
- Break long documents into several files, but note the document naming conventions below.
- Try and use black and white wherever possible (unless submitting photographs).
- If submitting images, your software may have file/image compression facilities to make them smaller.
- Note scanned documents are usually bigger than non-scanned versions.
- Provided you are using the acceptable file types above, you can use ZIP files to compress documents.
What file types are permitted?
Our acceptable file formats are:
PDF .pdf
Microsoft Word .doc, .docx, .docm
TIF .tif or .tiff
JPEG .jpg or .jpeg
ZIP .zip
PNG .png