Guide
Scaffold licence cost: when you need a pavement permit (UK)
Updated
If the scaffold stands on, or overhangs, the public highway, someone needs a council licence first. On your own land, nobody does. Here is how it works and who pays.
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How this calculator works
- Base rate of £40–60 per linear metre of elevation at single-storey working height, typical 2026 UK quotes. This is a market rate, not a regulated price: it varies by region and access, and London and city-centre jobs commonly price above the range.
- Height uplift: two-storey work multiplies the base by 1.5, three-storey by 2, reflecting the extra lifts, labour and ties on taller scaffolds.
- 6 weeks' hire included, matching the 6–8 weeks most quotes cover. Each extra week adds £100–200, the typical 2026 extended-hire rate.
- Chimney access adds £500–800, the typical 2026 price of a chimney scaffold. A corner or return adds £150–300 for the extra lift and boards.
- Excluded: pavement licence fees where the scaffold stands on the public highway (set by each council, see the licence guide). Also excluded: temporary roofs, debris netting or wrap, and design work on engineered scaffolds.
- These are typical quote ranges, not a price list. No scaffolder prices a job from a calculator: they look at ties, access and ground conditions first.
When a scaffold pavement licence is needed
Under section 169 of the Highways Act 1980, erecting scaffolding on a highway needs a licence from the local council. The highway includes the pavement and verge, not just the road. Scaffold wholly on your own drive, garden or forecourt needs no licence.
The application is normally made by the scaffolding firm, not the homeowner. Check the quote says the licence is included and who is applying, because the offence sits with whoever put the scaffold up.
How much is a pavement licence for scaffolding?
Fees are set by each council and vary widely; some are charged by the size of the scaffold rather than as a flat fee. There is no national rate. The published 2026 fees we read include:
- £93 for 28 days (Dorset);
- £260 for four weeks (Suffolk);
- £274 for the first month (Solihull);
- a residential permit at £6.20 a square metre per 28 days with a £62 minimum (Salford);
- £149.16 a linear metre with a minimum site cost of £895 (Havering).
Each charges a further fee for every renewal or extension if the job overruns. Salford and Havering were read on the councils' own pages on 24 October 2026. gov.uk routes you to your own council from apply for a scaffolding licence. Treat any licence figure a scaffolder quotes as a pass-through of the council's published fee.
Conditions, and what happens without one
- Licences carry conditions: lighting the scaffold at night, guarding standards at pedestrian level, keeping a minimum footway width, and displaying the licence details.
- Unlicensed scaffold on the highway is an offence under section 169, with fines and the council able to require immediate removal, mid-project.
- The licence does not replace safety law: the 7-day inspection duty under the Work at Height Regulations applies to every scaffold, licensed or not.
Licence fees sit outside the calculator's range because each council sets its own. Ask the scaffolder to show the council fee as its own line on the quote.