You went to your trial

You can appeal against your conviction or sentence or both if you pleaded not guilty.

You can appeal your sentence but not your conviction if you pleaded guilty.

You should appeal within 21 days of the date you were sentenced. If you don’t then you’ll have to ask the Crown Court for permission before you can appeal. The magistrates’ court where you had your trial will tell you how to do this.

Get an appeal application form

The appeal form comes with guidance notes - including when you must appeal by.

Download 'Magistrates' court appeal notice form' (PDF, 17KB)

Send the form to the magistrates’ court where the original trial took place. You won’t be asked to pay any fines until after the appeal has been heard.

The court hearing

A few weeks before the hearing you’ll get a letter telling you where and when it is. This is normally your nearest Crown Court.

Appeal hearings usually last between 1 and 3 days.

The appeal decision

If you win your appeal against your conviction, your sentence will no longer apply and you may be able to get compensation.

If you win your appeal against your sentence it will be reduced.

Legal costs

The court may decide that you can get any legal costs paid back (eg a solicitor’s fee).

If you lose your appeal, your original conviction will stay the same, but you may be able to appeal again. You may be ordered to pay extra costs.

You didn’t go to your trial

You should contact the magistrates’ court that passed the sentence or convicted you. This applies if:

• you didn’t realise you had been convicted for an offence (eg speeding fine)
• you were unable to enter a plea or mitigation at the time
• you sent mitigation evidence documents to the court but don’t think they’ve been considered in your conviction

They’ll be able to let you know whether the case can be reopened.

You pleaded guilty

You can appeal against your sentence. You may also be able to appeal against your conviction.

You pleaded not guilty

You can appeal against your conviction or your sentence, or both.

You can normally only appeal if:

• something went 'wrong' at the trial - eg if an important court procedure wasn’t followed properly
• there’s new evidence - like a witness who wasn’t at the original trial (this is for appeals against a conviction only)

You may want to get legal advice when appealing a Crown Court verdict.

The appeal process

You need to apply to the Criminal Appeal Office to get permission to appeal. They will put your application before a judge.

You should complete Form NG (Notice and Grounds). It comes with guidance notes.

Download 'Form NG (Notice and Grounds' (PDF, 129KB)

Deadline for your appeal

For a conviction, you must appeal within 28 days of the date of your conviction - even if you were sentenced at a later date.

If you only want to appeal against your sentence, the 28-day period starts from the date you were sentenced.

If you get permission to appeal

If permission is granted, your appeal will be heard by the Court of Appeal.

A few weeks before the hearing you’ll get a letter telling you where and when it is.

If you don’t get permission to appeal

You'll get a letter to say that you haven't been granted permission to appeal.

You have the right to renew your application and ask a ‘full court’ of 2 or 3 judges to give you permission. The letter tells you how to do this.

If you're not given permission to appeal by the full court, you can contact the Criminal Cases Review Commission.

The appeal decision

If you win your appeal, your conviction and sentence will no longer stand, and you may be able to get compensation.

If you lose your appeal, your original conviction will stay the same. You won't be able to appeal again unless the Criminal Cases Review Commission refers your case back to the Court of Appeal.

Stopping your appeal

You can stop your appeal at any time - download and use the form below.

Download 'Form A - Notice of abandonment of proceedings' - with guidance (PDF, 22KB)