What can happen while my application is ‘Payment pending’?

When an application is complete (all questions answered, necessary files uploaded, and fee calculated) then it is ready to proceed to payment and/or submission. 

• Where no fee is due, the application can be submitted directly to the local planning authority. 
• Where a fee is due, payment will need to be made, and confirmed by us before submission takes place.

What is the ‘Payment pending’ status? 

Once the payment process is started, the application will be placed in a ‘Payment pending’ status, which will ‘lock’ the application to stop any further changes being made to it. 

You can cancel the payment process to ‘unlock’ the application and return it to ‘Draft’ status if further changes are required. 

Depending on who is making the payment and the method they choose, applications may stay in this state for minutes (e.g. if a direct online card payment is made) or days/weeks (e.g. if someone else is nominated to pay and takes a while to do so; and/or if we need to wait to receive and process a bank transfer or cheque). 

Once payment is confirmed, the system will automatically submit the application and move it from ‘Payment pending’ to the ‘Submitted’ status. You will be notified of this via email. 

Can things change while my application is ‘Payment pending’? 

Although your application is locked, there may be system wide changes that affect it. 

Because your application is locked whilst ‘pending payment’, and then automatically submitted, there may not be a chance for you to take account of any such changes prior to submission. 

We always look to minimise the impact of such changes, and provide sufficient communications and warnings, but we also know that some users may remain unaware of them. 

The following are examples of such changes: 

• Application questions – New questions could be added, or current ones updated with new fields or options. 
• Information requirements – New mandatory details may be required in questions or via the need to provide additional supporting documentation. 
• Fees – The values used to calculate your fee or the available concession options may change. 
• Local authority – Local authorities may change their boundaries or be restructured, meaning that your application needs to be submitted to a different local authority. 

What happens if such a change occurs? 

While these changes are relatively uncommon, they do occur periodically. 

Where we can, we will attempt to minimise the impact by identifying any affected applications and taking appropriate action. 

For example, we may cancel the payment process if an updated fee needs to be calculated, or we may reassign an application to the correct local authority before it is submitted. 

However, this is not always possible and affected applications may be submitted to the local authority. They, in turn, may notice that further action is required to make the application valid. 

How can I address any such issues? 

If the application is still ‘Payment pending’, then the payment process can be cancelled, which will unlock the application and allow you to make the required changes to it. 

If the application has already been ‘Submitted’, but not ‘Received’, it can be retracted, which will also unlock the application and allow changes to be made. 

In both cases, the application will then still need to be submitted to the local authority. 

If the application has been ‘Received’ by the local authority, then there are a couple of options available. 

Generally, making an amendment using our built-in functions will allow you to resolve any such issues (e.g. adding required information, or recalculating a fee). The amended application can then be resubmitted to the local authority who can confirm its validity. 

Equally, a local authority may request that you resolve the matter directly with them. 

If you are aware a change has occurred that may affect an application that has already been received, we would always advise that you discuss the matter with the local authority to determine the best course of action. 

Our support team can also be contacted to help you with any such issues but may need to defer to the local authority and its preferred course of action.