A certificate of lawfulness for proposed or existing use is a statutory document confirming that the use, operation or activity named on it is lawful for planning control purposes on the date specified in the document. It enables The Department, where sufficient evidence exists and all the conditions are satisfied, to grant a certificate in relation to:

• An existing use of land, some operational development or an activity in breach of a planning condition which has become lawful or
• A proposed use of land or buildings or some operational development to be carried out which would need to be lawful