Dublin City Council planning applications: how to search, apply and track

Dublin City Council keeps its planning files on its own Citizen Portal, maps them on MapZone and publishes weekly lists for each of its five electoral areas. One thing to know first: national map tools stopped showing new Dublin City applications after 30 July 2026, so use the council's own portal for anything recent.

How to search Dublin City Council planning applications

Search on the DCC Citizen Portal by reference, location, name, proposal or date. Documents are online for applications received from 1 January 2005.

The council's view or search planning applications page links to the Citizen Portal. Leave out apostrophes and commas when you search, or no results come back. Use Chrome or Edge.

• MapZone shows granted, pending, refused or invalid, and withdrawn applications on a map.
• Planning alerts email you about planning activity in your area.
• If a document is not online, you can ask for an appointment to view it at the planning counter in the Civic Offices, Wood Quay, Dublin 8.
• National map tools stopped receiving Dublin City applications after 30 July 2026; the council's own portal is current.

Dublin City Council weekly planning lists by area

One list a week for each of the five electoral areas, as a Word file, newest first.

The weekly planning applications and decisions page has a list for each area: South East, South Central, Central, North West and North Central. Each list has separate sections for applications received, decisions, appeals notified and appeals decided. On the Citizen Portal you can also search by registration or decision date to make your own list for any period.

Making a planning application to Dublin City Council

Online through the Local Government planning portal, or on paper with 6 copies of the documents to the Civic Offices, Wood Quay.

• Online: create an account on the Local Government online planning system. Files must be PDFs under 20 MB each, and payment is by card or EFT. See the council's apply for planning permission page.
• Paper: the application form, the newspaper notice, the site notice, 6 copies of the checklist documents and the fee, by post or in person to Civic Offices, Wood Quay, Dublin 8, D08 RF3F.
• The same page has the Applicant's Guidance Checklist, the application form, a letter of consent template and a site notice template.
• The council's planning FAQ was written before the July 2026 exemption changes, so check its figures against the current rules.

Pre planning advice from Dublin City Council

Dublin City Council does not publish a pre planning service for householders. Its formal pre application consultation is aimed at significant applications.

The council's planning FAQ offers an appointment at the Civic Offices to speak to a member of the planning department. For a house extension, your designer is usually the person to check the design against the development plan before you lodge.

Dublin City Development Plan: extensions and dormers in Clontarf, Drumcondra, Rathmines and Crumlin

The Dublin City Development Plan 2022 to 2028 came into effect on 14 December 2022. Appendix 18 sets the guidance for extensions, attics and dormers.

All eleven variations of the development plan have been adopted. Appendix 18, Ancillary Residential Accommodation, covers front, rear and side extensions, porches, attic conversions and dormer windows, with a table of good and poor dormer examples. It says:

• Ground floor rear extensions will be considered in terms of their length, height, proximity to mutual boundaries and the usable rear private open space left.
• There will be a general presumption against rear balconies and roof terraces.
• Dormer windows may be provided to the front, side or rear of a house; the appendix sets out how they should look.

Two local area plans apply: Ballymun, active until October 2027, and Park West and Cherry Orchard, active until November 2029. Elsewhere in the city, the development plan applies.

Protected structures and conservation areas in Dublin city

The Record of Protected Structures is Volume 4 of the development plan. Dublin city has 25 architectural conservation areas.

Check the Record of Protected Structures and the list of conservation areas, which each have their own document; the newest, Iveagh Gardens and Environs in Crumlin, was adopted on 1 December 2025. The Conservation Section is on 01 222 6488. The council also runs free conservation clinics for owners of historic houses in conservation areas, covering repairs rather than extensions.

Making an observation and contacting Dublin City Council planning

Observations cost €20, within 5 weeks of the application being received, online after registering on the Citizen Portal.

• See the council's make an observation page. By post, send to the Planning Registry Section, Civic Offices.
• Phone: 01 222 2149 or 01 222 2288
• Email: planning@dublincity.ie
• Civic Offices, Wood Quay, Dublin 8, D08 RF3F. The council's appointments page says its public counters are by appointment.

Dublin City Council's weekly lists remind anyone using applicants' personal details for direct marketing that they must be satisfied they can do so lawfully. We never collect or use them.

Kitchen, window and wardrobe fit out for extensions in Clontarf, Drumcondra, Rathmines, Crumlin and Ballymun

Once the extension is built, we design, supply and fit the kitchen, windows, wardrobes and fitted furniture, made to measure and fitted by our own team. See fitted kitchens in Dublin.

Photos of our own work are kitchens Stephen's team fitted in Dublin, and every caption says so; anything else is labelled a design visual; we will not describe them as Dublin City jobs. Rated 5.0 on Google, 7 reviews. If your drawings are ready, the free plan check gets the fit out priced from them by our team.

For the rules that apply everywhere, see when an extension needs planning permission, the planning process step by step and what an extension costs.

Dublin City planning questions

How long does Dublin City take to decide a planning application?

The law gives every council, Dublin City Council included, 8 weeks from receiving a valid application to decide, unless it asks for further information. Add 4 weeks after the decision for the appeal period before permission is granted.

How do I see a neighbour's planning application in Dublin City?

Search the DCC Citizen Portal by location words, or find the application on MapZone, and open the documents on the file. For anything lodged after 30 July 2026, use the council's portal rather than national map tools. You have 5 weeks from the day the council receives the application to make an observation, for €20.

Can I get pre planning advice from Dublin City Council?

Not as a published service for householders. Dublin City Council's formal pre application consultation is for significant applications, but its planning FAQ offers an appointment at the Civic Offices to speak to the planning department.

How much does a planning application cost in Dublin City?

The fee for a house extension is €34, set nationally, so it is the same in every county. A submission on someone else's application is €20, and an appeal to An Coimisiún Pleanála is €220. The drawings and professional time cost far more than the fees.

Do you fit kitchens, windows and wardrobes in Dublin City?

Yes, across Dublin city. Send the drawings for a free plan check and you get a free 3D design and itemised quote for the kitchen, windows, wardrobes and anything else you tick.