Rights and LimitsWhen you actually have to answer the police
When you actually have to answer the police
There is a short and simple version of this page. One idea per sentence, no legal words.
What you must do, what you can refuse, what refusing costs you and what you are entitled to
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 the examining officer any information they request if you are examined under Schedule 7.
This is the biggest exception and the least known. The duty is to give information, and refusing is an offence in its own right.
Terrorism Act 2000, Schedule 7, paragraph 5
“A person who is questioned under paragraph 2 or 3 must— give the examining officer any information in his possession which the officer requests”
Read it at legislation.gov.ukquote checked 2026-08-25
Wilfully failing to comply with a duty under Schedule 7 is itself a criminal offence.
Terrorism Act 2000, Schedule 7, paragraph 18(1)
“A person commits an offence if he— wilfully fails to comply with a duty imposed under or by virtue of this Schedule”
Read it at legislation.gov.ukquote checked 2026-08-25
Say who was driving, if you are the registered keeper and a driving offence is alleged.
The duty falls on the registered keeper. The penalty for refusing is set out separately — see the third column.
Road Traffic Act 1988, s.172(2)(a)
“the person keeping the vehicle shall give such information as to the identity of the driver as he may be required to give by or on behalf of a chief officer of police”
Read it at legislation.gov.ukquote checked 2026-08-25
Give your name and address if a uniformed officer reasonably believes you have been behaving anti-socially.
Note the trigger is “reason to believe”, not mere suspicion, and the officer must be in uniform.
Police Reform Act 2002, s.50(1)
“If a constable in uniform has reason to believe that a person has engaged, or is engaging, in anti-social behaviour ..., he may require that person to give his name and address to the constable.”
Read it at legislation.gov.ukquote checked 2026-09-11
Stop your vehicle when a constable in uniform or a traffic officer requires you to.
Road Traffic Act 1988, s.163(1)
“A person driving a mechanically propelled vehicle on a road must stop the vehicle on being required to do so by a constable in uniform or a traffic officer”
Read it at legislation.gov.ukquote checked 2026-10-16
Knowingly failing to comply with a s.49 notice is a criminal offence.
An officer simply asking for your PIN is not a s.49 notice. A notice is a formal written requirement — get legal advice the moment one is served.
Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000, s.53(1)
“A person to whom a section 49 notice has been given is guilty of an offence if he knowingly fails, in accordance with the notice, to make the disclosure required by virtue of the giving of the notice.”
Read it at legislation.gov.ukquote checked 2026-08-25
You can refuse
Saying no is lawful and is not an offence, but it is not always free of consequences: read each item in full.
You do not have to answer questions in a police interview, whether or not you have been arrested.
Subject to the adverse-inference warning in the third column.
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 gov.ukquote checked 2026-08-25
Refusing costs you
Refusing may carry a penalty, allow an inference to be drawn against you, or be an offence in itself.
Staying silent about something you later rely on in court can be held against you.
Lawful, and often the right call on legal advice — but not consequence-free. This is what the caution is warning you about.
Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994, s.34(1)
“being a fact which in the circumstances existing at the time the accused could reasonably have been expected to mention when so questioned, charged or informed”
Read it at legislation.gov.ukquote checked 2026-08-25
Refusing to name the driver carries a fine and an obligatory licence endorsement.
Endorsement is obligatory rather than discretionary, which is why refusing is routinely a worse outcome than the offence being investigated.
Road Traffic Offenders Act 1988, Schedule 2, Part I — RTA s.172
“Failure of person keeping vehicle and others to give police information as to identity of driver, etc. , in the case of certain offences. Summarily. Level 3 on the standard scale. Discretionary, if committed otherwise than by virtue of subsection (5) or (11). Obligatory, if committed otherwise than by virtue of subsection”
Read it at legislation.gov.ukquote checked 2026-08-25
Refusing to give your name once that requirement is properly made — or giving a false or inaccurate name or address — is an offence punishable by a fine up to level 3.
Police Reform Act 2002, s.50(2)
“fails to give his name and address when required to do so under subsection (1) — gives a false or inaccurate name or address in response to a requirement under that subsection — is guilty of an offence and shall be liable, on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding level 3 on the standard scale”
Read it at legislation.gov.ukquote checked 2026-09-14
A person guilty of an offence under paragraph 18 of Schedule 7 is liable on summary conviction to up to three months’ imprisonment, a fine not exceeding level 4 on the standard scale, or both.
Terrorism Act 2000, Schedule 7, paragraph 18(2)
“A person guilty of an offence under this paragraph shall be liable on summary conviction to— imprisonment for a term not exceeding three months,— a fine not exceeding level 4 on the standard scale, or— both.”
Read it at legislation.gov.ukquote checked 2026-10-17
You are entitled to
Safeguards the law gives you: what you can ask for, and what is to be done for you. Some apply only if you ask, and some have limits or can be delayed.
No police officer should try to talk you out of getting legal advice, whether or not you have already been arrested.
PACE Code C (2023), paragraph 6.4
“No police officer should, at any time, do or say anything with the intention of dissuading any person who is entitled to legal advice in accordance with this Code, whether or not they have been arrested and are detained, from obtaining legal advice.”
Read it at gov.ukquote checked 2026-09-14
What the law says
What the law provides — the power, who can use it and when, and what follows — quoted from its source. The sections above say what you must do, what you can refuse, what refusing costs you and what you are entitled to.
A s.1 PACE search is not permitted at all unless the officer has reasonable grounds for suspecting they will find something.
A s.1 PACE search needs grounds. Some other search powers do not need grounds on the occasion — ask which power is being used.
Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984, s.1(3)
“This section does not give a constable power to search a person or vehicle or anything in or on a vehicle unless he has reasonable grounds for suspecting that he will find stolen or prohibited articles”
Read it at legislation.gov.ukquote checked 2026-08-25
The short version
There is no general legal duty to answer police questions in England and Wales, and no general duty to give your name and address. That is the rule most advice stops at.
But there are specific situations where the law reverses that, and refusing becomes a criminal offence in itself. If you have only heard “never tell them anything”, these are the cases where that advice will get you prosecuted:
- Stopped at a port or airport under Schedule 7 of the Terrorism Act 2000 — you have no right to silence at all.
- Asked who was driving a vehicle under s.172 Road Traffic Act 1988.
- Asked for your name and address when an officer reasonably believes you have been behaving anti-socially (s.50 Police Reform Act 2002).
- Served a formal notice requiring a password or key under s.49 RIPA 2000.
- Told to stop your vehicle by a constable in uniform or a traffic officer (s.163 Road Traffic Act 1988).
Separately, staying silent in a police interview is lawful, but it is not free of consequence — see the caution below.
Why “no comment” is not a universal answer
The police caution used in England and Wales is not a formality. It warns you that silence can be used against you:
“You do not have to say anything. But it may harm your defence if you do not mention when questioned something which you later rely on in court.”
That second sentence is s.34 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994. If you stay silent and later give an explanation at trial, the court may be invited to conclude you made it up in the meantime.
This is the single biggest difference from the American advice people absorb from films and television. In the United States silence carries no such penalty. In England and Wales it can. This page is England and Wales only — if you are in Scotland, the position on silence works differently: see this site’s Scotland page on what you must answer rather than rely on anything above.
None of this means you should talk. It means the decision is a tactical one that depends on facts you may not know yet, which is exactly why the free solicitor exists.
The one thing worth doing in every case
In England and Wales, if you are arrested you are entitled to free independent legal advice at the police station. In a narrow set of defined cases the police can delay your access to it, but the entitlement itself stands. The solicitor works for you, not the police.
No police officer should try to talk you out of asking, and a solicitor can find out what the police actually have before you answer anything. A prepared written statement is also an option your solicitor can explain: it puts your account on record while avoiding a live question-and-answer interview.
Related pages
- Stopped and searched in the streetEngland & Wales
- Stopped while driving: when you must stop and name the driverEngland & Wales
- Schedule 7: stopped at a port or airportEngland & Wales · Scotland
- Your rights in police custodyEngland & Wales
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.