DCO drafting will not switch wholesale to Lawmaker on 1st January 2027. Infrastructure lawyers can keep using the familiar statutory instrument template during the first phase of the transition.
The National Archives will withdraw the existing SI, SSI and SR templates at the end of December. For most secondary legislation, Lawmaker becomes the route for drafting and submission from the start of 2027.
DCOs are different.
DCO applicants keep the SI template during the first phase
The National Archives says it is working with the Planning Inspectorate and consenting departments on bespoke transitional arrangements.
“In the initial phase of transition, applicants for a DCO will continue to draft and submit DCOs on the SI template.”
The order will then be transferred into Lawmaker before it is made and registered through The National Archives’ publishing system.
That is the practical point for NSIP teams. The 31st December retirement of the ordinary template does not mean every promoter or external law firm must suddenly draft a DCO directly in Lawmaker from New Year’s Day.
External law firms are the next step
At present, Lawmaker is generally available to staff and contractors of public sector bodies rather than private external drafters. The longer-term objective is to extend access to applicants and their legal teams so DCOs and Transport and Work Act Orders can be drafted in Lawmaker from the outset.
No firm date has yet been published for that wider access. The 25th September guidance says Lawmaker will be introduced for DCOs and TWAOs over the coming months, with most orders expected to be registered through the software before summer 2027.
There is nothing applicants or drafting teams need to do at this stage. The Planning Inspectorate and relevant consenting teams will manage the initial move, and applicants should continue using the SI template and current validation process unless told otherwise.
The Government also says it is unlikely that a DCO would be moved from the SI template into Lawmaker in the middle of an examination. Contingency planning is under way for applications due for decision close to the year-end cut-off.
External legal firms are being invited to help with trials and testing while The National Archives works on applicant access. Explanatory Memorandums and other associated documents are not affected by withdrawal of the SI template and should continue to be prepared and submitted in the existing way.
Transport and Work Act Orders are moving too
The Government’s 25th September guidance applies the same broad transition to Transport and Work Act Orders. It does not set a separate implementation date for TWAOs: both DCOs and TWAOs are due to move over during the coming months, with most orders expected to be registered on Lawmaker before summer 2027.
The promised gains are administrative rather than a change to the consenting tests: real-time error reporting, better tracked changes, easier importing and exporting, simultaneous editing and removal of the separate validation process.
For practitioners, the immediate instruction is unusually simple: keep drafting as you do now until the Planning Inspectorate or relevant consenting team tells you otherwise.
Further reading: The National Archives Lawmaker template-retirement FAQs and Government transition announcement.
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