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Rights and LimitsDoes PACE apply in Scotland?

Does PACE apply in Scotland?

Applies to: Scotland.
This site has no England & Wales page on this topic.

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 must

Refusing is a criminal offence.

  • Give your name, address, date of birth, place of birth and nationality if you are in police custody and a constable asks, even though you do not have to answer other questions.

    Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 2016, s.34(4)
    “The person is under no obligation to answer any question, other than to give the following information— the person's name— the person's address— the person's date of birth— the person's place of birth— the person's nationality”

    Read it at legislation.gov.ukquote checked 2026-08-25

You can refuse

No penalty for saying no.

  • Scotland has no equivalent to the adverse-inference rule in section 34 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 — the Act’s own extent clause makes it England and Wales only apart from a listed set of sections that also extend to Scotland, and section 34 is not on that list.

    Do not assume the English caution, or advice built around it, applies here. It is a different statutory position, not the same rule in different words. The extent clause opens with a narrow exception for provisions applied to armed-forces proceedings under section 39, which is not the ordinary criminal position in Scotland.

    Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994, s.172(7)-(8)
    “Except as regards any provisions applied under section 39 and subject to the following provisions, this Act extends to England and Wales only.— Sections 47(3), 49, 60 to 67 , 70, 71, 81, 82, 146(4), 157(1), 163, 169 and 170 also extend to Scotland.”

    Read it at legislation.gov.ukquote checked 2026-09-14

  • You do not have to answer any question beyond your name, address, date of birth, place of birth and nationality once you are in police custody.

    Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 2016, s.34(4)
    “The person is under no obligation to answer any question, other than to give the following information— the person's name— the person's address— the person's date of birth— the person's place of birth— the person's nationality”

    Read it at legislation.gov.ukquote checked 2026-08-25

  • The power to search you does not exist unless it is either conferred in express terms by an Act of Parliament, or authorised by a warrant expressly conferring a power of search.

    This is a direct statutory prohibition, not a guideline — a search without one of those two things is unlawful.

    Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 2016, s.65(2)
    “It is unlawful for a constable to search the person otherwise than— in accordance with a power of search conferred in express terms by an enactment”

    Read it at legislation.gov.ukquote checked 2026-08-25

How the power works

What the law says the power is, who can use it and when, quoted from the provision. The columns above say what you must do and what you can refuse.

  • The Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 extends to England and Wales only, by its own extent clause, subject to the exceptions that section 120 itself sets out.

    Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984, s.120(1)
    “Subject to the following provisions of this section, this Act extends to England and Wales only.”

    Read it at legislation.gov.ukquote checked 2026-10-16

The short answer

Not in general. The Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 says of itself that, subject to the provisions of its own section 120, it extends to England and Wales only.

Section 120 itself sets out exceptions to that rule.

What governs it in Scotland instead

Scotland is covered by its own pages on this site, each written for Scots law rather than translated from the English position:

Duties that also apply in Scotland

Several duties that apply in Scotland whatever you would rather say are set out, with what refusing them costs, on When you actually have to answer the police in Scotland.

If you are reading English advice

Advice about PACE, or built around the English caution, is in general advice about England and Wales. For Scotland, start with Police questioning in Scotland — and why the English caution does not carry across.

Related pages

Last reviewed 2026-10-16. Next review due 2027-04-16. No solicitor has reviewed this page — see [email protected] if you think something here is wrong.