How much does CAD drawing conversion cost in London?

Turning an old paper plan, a council scan or a PDF of a London house into editable CAD costs our fixed £195, with no VAT charged. We redraw it at true scale, check it against the building where we can, and tell you which parts cannot be trusted without a site measure, so you can build on it.

By the DrawingsDirect drawing team · 26 October 2026 · 3 min read

The short answer: one fixed fee, and an honest note on accuracy

Our CAD conversion costs £195. We redraw your plans, sections and elevations as clean, layered CAD at a stated metric scale, with wall thicknesses, openings and stairs set out as built shapes rather than traced as blurred lines. You get DWG and PDF files to share with your builder, engineer or council.

A list of discrepancies between sheets comes with them, and a note of anything that needs a site measure before it can be relied on. That note is the honest part: a conversion can make an old drawing neat, but it cannot make it correct.

How a plan becomes CAD

Receive the plan
Paper, scan or PDF, plus anything you know about later changes.
Redraw at scale
The plan is rebuilt in layered CAD at a stated metric scale, not traced.
Cross-check the sheets
Plans, sections and elevations are compared and discrepancies listed.
Flag what to measure
Anything that needs a site measure before it can be relied on is noted.

What a council or builder needs from a drawing

Government guidance on making an application says that any plans or drawings must be drawn to an identified scale, and that in the case of plans they must show the direction of north. The Development Management Procedure Order adds that an application must be accompanied by any other plans, drawings and information necessary to describe the development.

A scan of a hand drawing often has neither a reliable scale nor a north point, and a photocopy that has been enlarged will not be to the scale printed on it. Redrawing fixes the format, which is a real saving for the next stage of drawings.

Victorian terrace street with bay windows — On an older terrace the house as it stands and the original plan may no longer agree.

Whose drawing is it?

Under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 an artistic work includes a graphic work, and a graphic work includes any painting, drawing, diagram, map, chart or plan. Government guidance says you get copyright protection automatically, and that it prevents people making an adaptation of your work.

That matters when you ask a firm to convert a plan someone else drew. A previous owner's builder or another drawing firm may hold copyright in the original, and converting it into CAD is an adaptation. We ask where the plan came from and tell you if permission is likely to be needed.

When a new survey is the better buy

If the plan is old, hand-drawn, or from before alterations, a redrawn version of it is only a neater copy of something that may be wrong. A measured building survey gives you what is really there, and for a project that will need planning or building regulations drawings it is usually the right base.

We say honestly which side of that line your plan sits on. A recent, accurate plan is worth converting; one that predates a rear extension is not. Our CAD drawing conversion page shows the service.

Sources

Every figure in this article, where it comes from and a link to the original.

identified scale: PPG Making an application, para 023: (source wording: "Any plans or drawings must be drawn to an identified scale"). www.gov.uk
direction of north: PPG Making an application, para 023: (source wording: "in the case of plans, must show the direction of north"). www.gov.uk
any other plans, drawings and information necessary to describe the development: DMPO 2015 art 7(1)(c)(ii): (source wording: "any other plans, drawings and information necessary to describe the development"). www.legislation.gov.uk
a graphic work includes any painting, drawing, diagram, map, chart or plan: Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 s4(2)(a): graphic work includes (source wording: "any painting, drawing, diagram, map, chart or plan"). www.legislation.gov.uk
copyright protection automatically: GOV.UK How copyright protects your work: (source wording: "You get copyright protection automatically"; copyright prevents "making an adaptation of your work"). www.gov.uk

Questions people ask

Can you convert any plan?

We can redraw most plans. We ask where it came from first, because copyright in the original may need permission.

Do I pay VAT on your fee?

No. The fee shown is the total you pay; no VAT is charged.

Will the CAD be accurate?

It will be as accurate as the source. We flag what needs a site measure before you rely on it.

Is the council happy with CAD drawings?

A council needs plans drawn to an identified scale with north shown. We draw to those requirements.

Can you add the proposed changes?

Yes, as a separate priced service. The conversion gives you the existing base to design on.

Photographs: Daniil Korbut (Unsplash License); Martin Sepion (Unsplash License).

CAD Drawing Conversion: a fixed fee from £195

Read more on the cad drawing conversion service page, or send your address below and we reply within one working day.

CAD Drawing Conversion

from £195

Every price is the full fixed fee you pay. No VAT is charged. Council application fees are paid to the council separately.

Get a fixed quote Call 020 7864 7245

What you get

Your plans, sections and elevations redrawn as clean, layered CAD
Drawn to a stated metric scale, with a scale bar and north point where relevant
Wall thicknesses, openings and stairs set out, not traced as blurred lines
A list of discrepancies we found between sheets
DWG and PDF files you can share with your builder, engineer or council