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Lateral extents

What is a lateral extent search?

The search is used to determine the highway boundary area of an adopted road which is a road maintainable at public expense.

Confirmation of the boundary is often requested during the house purchasing or conveyancing process. For example to establish whether a property is connected to a public road without the need to cross land owned by a third party.

It is also useful for planning applications, identifying the boundary of the highway, and to confirm responsibility for verge areas.

In order to qualify as one search, the length requested must be either continual or each unconnected section of highway requested must be less than 50m apart.

Application restrictions

Before applying it is important to note the following restrictions:

  • We only hold information on adopted roads You can check if a road is adopted by using our online gazetter.
  • We do not hold information on roads we do not maintain (unadopted or private roads). For further information please consult your house deeds and/or the Land Registry.

How do I apply?

We have made the application process as simple as possible. The form should take around 5-10 minutes to complete.

You will need the following before you can submit your application:

  • search location road names
  • plan of the intended search location clearly identifying the lengths of adopted highway you require extent information for.
  • contact details
Apply

How much does it cost?

Searches are calculated based on the total length of the sections of the road being searched. It is important to mark on your plan only the road sections you require.

What happens next?

Once you have completed your application, a quote will be produced based on your submitted plans and sent to you by email within 10 working days. We will be in contact with you if anything is missing. Your quote will include a link to our secure payments system, payment instructions and the cost.

Your quote is valid for 28 days. If we do not receive the payment within 28 days, your quote will become invalid and you will need to submit a new application.

When we have received your payment, a response will be sent to you by email within 20 working days. This will include a map illustrating the boundaries and a supporting letter.