Summary offence vs indictable offence

Summary offence versus Indictable offence

The classification of a criminal offence determines where it will be tried and which police powers apply during investigation. Summary offences are tried in the magistrates' court; indictable offences are tried in the Crown Court.

Side by side

	Summary offence	Indictable offence
Trial venue	Magistrates' court only	Crown Court (with judge and jury) for indictable-only; either venue for triable-either-way offences
Examples	Common assault, criminal damage under £5,000, most road traffic offences, drunk and disorderly	Indictable-only: murder, rape, robbery. Triable-either-way: theft, ABH, possession of Class A drugs
Maximum sentence	Generally six months per offence (or 12 months where two or more specified offences are consecutive from magistrates)	Up to life imprisonment for the most serious offences; Crown Court can impose any lawful sentence
PACE extended detention	Cannot attract a superintendent extension beyond 24 hours or a magistrates' warrant of further detention	Superintendent extension to 36 hours and warrant of further detention up to 96 hours are available
Section 18 PACE search	No power to search the arrested person's premises under section 18 PACE	Power to search premises occupied or controlled by the arrested person under section 18 PACE
Time limit for prosecution	Generally six months from the date of the offence unless statute provides otherwise	No general time limit; the Crown may prosecute at any time before the limitation period (if any) expires
Jury trial	No right to jury trial; decided by magistrates or a district judge	Right to jury trial in the Crown Court for triable-either-way and indictable-only offences

Which applies

For custody purposes, triable-either-way offences are treated as indictable offences, which means that extended detention powers (superintendent authorisation and magistrates' warrant) and section 18 search powers are available even before mode of trial has been determined. Correctly classifying the offence at the outset determines which investigative tools are available.

Last updated 24 September 2026