The council is cutting the red tape involved in making a planning application.
Brighton and Hove City Council said that it now required only two copies of each application submitted by post.
National guidelines suggest four copies and the council had already reduced this to three.
Now the council will accept one application for planning staff to assess and a second to be available for public inspection – as the law requires.
Inspection copies for Brighton and Hove can be seen at the City Direct office at Hove Town Hall in Norton Road.
The council said that the change would “cut bureaucracy and help cut the cost of making planning applications”.
It added: “The reduction will also make a contribution to reducing the carbon footprint of the service.”
It comes at a time when the number of planning applications is rising again.
The council said: “The numbers of planning applications in Brighton and Hove are back to the high levels seen in 2007-08.
“Although the majority are submitted online, some applicants prefer to send in paper applications through the post.”
To submit applications online, visit www.brighton-hove.gov.uk/planning.