Failure to Surrender to Bail (Section 6 Bail Act 1976)

Bail Act 1976, s.6

Summary only
12 months' custody or a fine (where committed to the Crown Court for sentence or dealt with as a criminal contempt of court); 3 months' custody or a Level 5 fine on summary conviction

Definition

If a person who has been released on bail in criminal proceedings fails without reasonable cause to surrender to custody he shall be guilty of an offence. (Bail Act 1976, s.6(1)) If a person who (a) has been released on bail in criminal proceedings, and (b) having reasonable cause therefor, has failed to surrender to custody, fails to surrender to custody at the appointed place as soon after the appointed time as is reasonably practicable he shall be guilty of an offence. (Bail Act 1976, s.6(2))

Points to prove

A person
who has been released on bail in criminal proceedings
fails to surrender to custody
without reasonable cause (s.6(1)), the burden of proving reasonable cause being on the accused (s.6(3))
or, having reasonable cause for the failure, fails to surrender at the appointed place as soon after the appointed time as is reasonably practicable (s.6(2))

Failure to Surrender to Bail is an offence under s.6 Bail Act 1976. A person who has been released on bail in criminal proceedings and fails without reasonable cause to surrender to custody is guilty of an offence (s.6(1)); a person who, having reasonable cause for failing to surrender, fails to surrender to custody at the appointed place as soon after the appointed time as is reasonably practicable is also guilty of an offence (s.6(2)). It is for the accused to prove that he had reasonable cause (s.6(3)), and a failure to give the person a copy of the record of the bail decision is not a reasonable cause (s.6(4)). The offence is punishable either on summary conviction or as if it were a criminal contempt of court (s.6(5)). Maximum sentence: a person convicted summarily and not committed to the Crown Court for sentence is liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 months or a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale or both; a person committed to the Crown Court for sentence under s.6(6) or dealt with as for a criminal contempt is liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or a fine or both (s.6(7)). Section 127 of the Magistrates' Courts Act 1980 does not apply (s.6(10)); where the bail was granted by a constable, a magistrates' court may try the offence only if an information is laid within the periods in s.6(12) and (13).

In practice

Summary-only when the person was on magistrates' court bail. Dealt with by the Crown Court when the person was on Crown Court bail (but as a contempt-like power of the court, not as a standard either-way offence). The suspect must be cautioned in accordance with Code C PACE 1984 before any questions about the offence are put to them. Interviews must be audio-recorded (Code E).

Last updated 20 October 2026. Reviewed 20 October 2026

Mode of trial: Summary only
Maximum sentence: 12 months' custody or a fine (where committed to the Crown Court for sentence or dealt with as a criminal contempt of court); 3 months' custody or a Level 5 fine on summary conviction
Act and section: Bail Act 1976, s.6
Power of arrest: If a person who has been released on bail in criminal proceedings and is under a duty to surrender into the custody of a court fails to surrender to custody at the time appointed for him to do so the court may issue a warrant for his arrest (Bail Act 1976, s.7(1)). A person who has been released on bail in criminal proceedings and is under a duty to surrender into the custody of a court may be arrested without warrant by a constable (a) if the constable has reasonable grounds for believing that that person is not likely to surrender to custody; (b) if the constable has reasonable grounds for believing that that person is likely to break any of the conditions of his bail or has reasonable grounds for suspecting that that person has broken any of those conditions; or (c) in a case where that person was released on bail with one or more surety or sureties, if a surety notifies a constable in writing that that person is unlikely to surrender to custody and that for that reason the surety wishes to be relieved of his obligations as a surety (Bail Act 1976, s.7(3)). A constable may also arrest without a warrant anyone who is about to commit an offence, anyone who is in the act of committing an offence, anyone whom he has reasonable grounds for suspecting to be about to commit an offence and anyone whom he has reasonable grounds for suspecting to be committing an offence (s.24(1)); if a constable has reasonable grounds for suspecting that an offence has been committed, he may arrest without a warrant anyone whom he has reasonable grounds to suspect of being guilty of it (s.24(2)); if an offence has been committed, he may arrest without a warrant anyone who is guilty of the offence or whom he has reasonable grounds for suspecting to be guilty of it (s.24(3)). The power is exercisable only if the constable has reasonable grounds for believing that for any of the reasons mentioned in s.24(5) it is necessary to arrest the person in question (s.24(4)) (Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984, s.24).
Search on arrest: Where a person has been arrested at a place other than a police station, a constable may search the arrested person if the constable has reasonable grounds for believing that the arrested person may present a danger to himself or others (s.32(1)), and may search the arrested person for anything which he might use to assist him to escape from lawful custody or which might be evidence relating to an offence (s.32(2)(a)), to the extent reasonably required for the purpose of discovering any such thing (s.32(3)) (Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984, s.32). The powers to enter and search premises under s.32(2)(b) and s.18(1) apply only where the offence for which the person has been arrested is an indictable offence; s.6 provides for trial on summary conviction or punishment as if for a criminal contempt of court and not for trial on indictment (Bail Act 1976, s.6(5); Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984, ss.18 and 32; Interpretation Act 1978, Schedule 1).
Detention clock: A person arrested without warrant under s.7(3) shall, except where he was arrested within 24 hours of the time appointed for him to surrender to custody, be brought as soon as practicable and in any event within 24 hours after his arrest before a justice of the peace, and in the excepted case shall be brought before the court at which he was to have surrendered to custody (Bail Act 1976, s.7(4)); in reckoning any period of 24 hours no account is taken of Christmas Day, Good Friday or any Sunday (s.7(7)). A person arrested for the s.6 offence shall not be kept in police detention for more than 24 hours without being charged, calculated from the relevant time (Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984, s.41(1) and (2)). The extensions under ss.42 to 44 do not apply: continued detention under s.42(1)(b) and a warrant of further detention under s.43(4)(b) each require that an offence for which the person is under arrest is an indictable offence, and s.6 provides no trial on indictment (Bail Act 1976, s.6(5); Interpretation Act 1978, Schedule 1).
Source: www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1976/63/section/6