Planar organic photodetectors represent a simple, cheap, and versatile alternative to devices built in sandwich configuration. The nonuniform electric field distribution in these structures has significant consequences on the extent of the device active region, because photogeneration of free carriers in organic semiconductors is a field-assisted phenomenon. By means of microscopy mapping of the photocurrent in a poly_p-phenylene vinylene_ based planar device, we show that due to the deep trapping of photogenerated electrons leading to negative space charge accumulation, exciton dissociation occurs only close to the positively biased electrode. The effect of large leakage currents in defining the device active region is also analyzed and discussed.