Rights and LimitsArrested and in custodyYour rights in police custody
Your rights in police custody
There is a short and simple version of this page. One idea per sentence, no legal words.
What you must do, and what you can refuse
Every claim below links to the law it comes from, with the wording quoted so you can check it yourself.
You can refuse
No penalty for saying no.
You do not have to answer the questions put to you, though there can be consequences if you do not.
GOV.UK, Being arrested: your rights — your rights in custody
“You do not have to answer the questions but there could be consequences if you do not.”
Read it at legislation.gov.ukquote checked 2026-08-25
You are entitled to consult a solicitor privately at any time.
Which is why the two rights are worth using together rather than one instead of the other.
Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984, s.58(1)
“A person arrested and held in custody in a police station or other premises shall be entitled, if he so requests, to consult a solicitor privately at any time.”
Read it at legislation.gov.ukquote checked 2026-08-25
Lawful to refuse — but it costs you
Not an offence, but it carries a penalty or an inference.
You are entitled to consult a solicitor privately at any time, and declining that is a choice, not a formality.
Advice is free and the custody clock runs either way, so the trade-off people imagine does not exist.
Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984, s.58(1)
“A person arrested and held in custody in a police station or other premises shall be entitled, if he so requests, to consult a solicitor privately at any time.”
Read it at legislation.gov.ukquote checked 2026-08-25
The three things to ask for immediately
- A solicitor. Free, at any hour, whatever you earn. There is no means test for legal advice at the police station.
- Someone told where you are. One friend, relative or other person likely to take an interest in your welfare.
- The Codes of Practice. You are entitled to consult them; asking signals you know the rules apply.
Ask for all three at the custody desk, and ask for your request to be written in the custody record. The record is a contemporaneous document your solicitor can later obtain.
The duty solicitor is not the police’s solicitor
The most common reason people decline a solicitor is a belief that the duty solicitor is somehow part of the police station furniture, or that asking makes you look guilty. Neither is true.
The duty solicitor is independent, is paid whether or not you are charged, and owes their duties to you. Declining advice to “get it over with” is how people talk their way into charges that disclosure would have avoided.
You can also name your own solicitor rather than take the duty one.
If you are under 18 or vulnerable
An appropriate adult must be involved. They are not a legal adviser and cannot give legal advice — they are there to make sure you understand what is happening and are treated fairly. Their presence does not replace a solicitor, and you should have both.
The attending officers cannot act as the appropriate adult.
Last reviewed 2026-08-25. Next review due 2027-02-25. No solicitor has reviewed this page — see [email protected] if you think something here is wrong.