Rights and LimitsProtest and public orderConditions on a march or a static protest
Conditions on a march or a static protest
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 written notice of a procession — the date, start time, proposed route, and an organiser's name and address — at least six clear days beforehand, if it is intended to demonstrate support or opposition, publicise a cause, or mark or commemorate an event.
If six clear days is genuinely not practicable, notice must still be delivered as soon as delivery becomes practicable. There is no duty at all if it is not reasonably practicable to give any advance notice.
Public Order Act 1986, s.11(1), (3), (6) — advance written notice of a procession
“Written notice shall be given in accordance with this section of any proposal to hold a public procession intended— to demonstrate support for or opposition to the views or actions of any person or body of persons— to publicise a cause or campaign— to mark or commemorate an event, unless it is not reasonably practicable to give any advance notice of the procession— The notice must specify the date when it is intended to hold the procession, the time when it is intended to start it, its proposed route, and the name and address of the person (or of one of the persons) proposing to organise it— If not delivered in accordance with subsection (5), the notice must be delivered by hand not less than 6 clear days before the date when the procession is intended to be held or, if that is not reasonably practicable, as soon as delivery is reasonably practicable”
Read it at legislation.gov.ukquote checked 2026-09-02
Holding a procession without having satisfied the notice requirement is an offence for every one of its organisers.
Punishable by a fine of up to level 3 on the standard scale.
Public Order Act 1986, s.11(7), (10) — offence of holding a procession without valid notice
“Where a public procession is held, each of the persons organising it is guilty of an offence if— the requirements of this section as to notice have not been satisfied— A person guilty of an offence under subsection (7) is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 3 on the standard scale”
Read it at legislation.gov.ukquote checked 2026-09-02
Comply with a condition validly imposed on a procession you are organising or taking part in, once you know or ought to know it has been imposed.
An organiser who fails to comply risks up to 51 weeks’ imprisonment, a fine, or both. Someone who merely takes part and fails to comply faces a fine only. Circumstances beyond your control are a defence either way.
Public Order Act 1986, s.12(4), (5), (5A), (8), (9) — failing to comply with a condition
“a person who organises a public procession— fails to comply with a condition imposed under this section is guilty of an offence, but it is a defence for him to prove that the failure arose from circumstances beyond his control— a person who takes part in a public procession— fails to comply with a condition imposed under this section is guilty of an offence, but it is a defence for him to prove that the failure arose from circumstances beyond his control— at the time the person fails to comply with the condition the person knows or ought to know that the condition has been imposed— A person guilty of an offence under subsection (4) is liable on summary conviction— in the case of a public procession in England and Wales, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 51 weeks or a fine not exceeding level 4 on the standard scale or both— A person guilty of an offence under subsection (5) is liable on summary conviction— in the case of a public procession in England and Wales, to a fine not exceeding level 4 on the standard scale”
Read it at legislation.gov.ukquote checked 2026-09-02
Comply with a condition validly imposed on a static assembly you are organising or taking part in, once you know or ought to know it has been imposed.
The same penalty structure as a procession applies: imprisonment and/or a fine for an organiser, a fine only for a participant.
Public Order Act 1986, s.14(4), (5), (5A), (8), (9) — failing to comply with a condition
“a person who organises a public assembly— fails to comply with a condition imposed under this section is guilty of an offence, but it is a defence for him to prove that the failure arose from circumstances beyond his control— a person who takes part in a public assembly— fails to comply with a condition imposed under this section is guilty of an offence, but it is a defence for him to prove that the failure arose from circumstances beyond his control— at the time the person fails to comply with the condition the person knows or ought to know that the condition has been imposed— A person guilty of an offence under subsection (4) is liable on summary conviction— in the case of a public assembly in England and Wales, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 51 weeks or a fine not exceeding level 4 on the standard scale or both— A person guilty of an offence under subsection (5) is liable on summary conviction— in the case of a public assembly in England and Wales, to a fine not exceeding level 4 on the standard scale”
Read it at legislation.gov.ukquote checked 2026-09-02
You can refuse
No penalty for saying no.
Skip the advance notice altogether if the procession is one commonly or customarily held in that police area, or is a funeral procession organised by a funeral director in the ordinary course of business.
Public Order Act 1986, s.11(2) — processions exempt from the notice requirement
“Subsection (1) does not apply where the procession is one commonly or customarily held in the police area (or areas) in which it is proposed to be held or is a funeral procession organised by a funeral director acting in the normal course of his business”
Read it at legislation.gov.ukquote checked 2026-09-02
Organise or take part in a procession with no condition attached at all, unless the senior officer reasonably believes one of the statutory triggers — serious disorder, serious damage, serious disruption to the life of the community, or intimidation — applies to it.
Later amendments added narrower triggers relating to noise and to processions near a place of worship, but the same rule holds: no reasonable belief in a listed trigger, no power to impose a condition.
Public Order Act 1986, s.12(1) — conditions on a public procession
“If a senior police officer, having regard to the time or place at which and the circumstances in which any public procession is being held or is intended to be held and to its route or proposed route, reasonably believes that— it may result in serious public disorder, serious damage to property or serious disruption to the life of the community— the purpose of the persons organising it is the intimidation of others with a view to compelling them not to do an act they have a right to do, or to do an act they have a right not to do— he may give directions imposing on the persons organising or taking part in the procession such conditions as appear to him necessary to prevent such disorder, damage, disruption”
Read it at legislation.gov.ukquote checked 2026-09-02
Gather at, or organise, a static assembly with no condition attached at all, unless the senior officer reasonably believes one of the same statutory triggers applies to it.
Public Order Act 1986, s.14(1), (1A) — conditions on a public assembly
“Subsection (1A) applies if a senior police officer, having regard to the time or place at which and the circumstances in which any public assembly is being held or is intended to be held, reasonably believes that— it may result in serious public disorder, serious damage to property or serious disruption to the life of the community— the purpose of the persons organising it is the intimidation of others with a view to compelling them not to do an act they have a right to do, or to do an act they have a right not to do— the senior police officer may give directions imposing on the persons organising or taking part in the assembly— in the case of an assembly in England and Wales, such conditions as appear to the officer necessary to prevent the disorder, damage, disruption, impact or intimidation mentioned in subsection (1)”
Read it at legislation.gov.ukquote checked 2026-09-02
A march and a static protest are governed by different sections
The Public Order Act 1986 treats a moving procession and a static assembly as legally distinct things, with separate powers attached to each. A public procession is defined simply as a procession in a public place. A public assembly is a gathering of people in a public place that is wholly or partly in the open air, or in certain transport locations.
Conditions on a procession are imposed under s.12 of the Act. Conditions on a static assembly are imposed under s.14. The two powers are worded in a closely parallel way, and both were amended in the same places by later Acts — but they are separate powers, and a condition validly imposed under one is not automatically a condition imposed under the other.
What has to be true before a condition can be imposed at all
A condition on a procession or an assembly is not available on request. It can only be imposed where the senior police officer reasonably believes it may result in serious public disorder, serious damage to property, or serious disruption to the life of the community — or that the purpose of the people organising it is to intimidate others out of doing something they have a right to do, or into doing something they have a right not to do.
Both s.12 and s.14 were later amended to add further, narrower triggers — relating to noise generated by a procession or assembly that seriously disrupts a nearby organisation’s activities, and to a procession or assembly in the vicinity of a place of worship that may intimidate worshippers. Where none of the statutory triggers is reasonably believed to apply, the power to impose a condition simply is not available.
Who can impose a condition, and how
Once a procession or assembly is actually under way, or people are gathering with a view to holding it, the “senior police officer” who can give directions is the most senior in rank of the officers actually present at the scene — an on-the-spot decision, not something that has to be planned in advance.
Before that point — for a procession or assembly that is intended to be held but where people are not yet assembling — only the chief officer of police can decide to impose conditions, and that direction has to be given in writing. A verbal condition improvised by a junior officer before anyone has begun to gather is not how this power works; the written route is the only route until the event has actually started forming.
Ignoring a condition is an offence — but the mental element matters
An organiser, or someone taking part, who fails to comply with a condition validly imposed under s.12 or s.14 commits an offence — unless they can show the failure arose from circumstances beyond their control. Organisers who fail to comply face up to 51 weeks’ imprisonment, a fine, or both; someone merely taking part who fails to comply faces a fine only.
The point most protest guidance gets wrong is the mental element. Since 2022, the offence is not limited to someone who knowingly defied a condition. In England and Wales you are only guilty if, at the time you failed to comply, you knew or ought to have known that the condition had been imposed. “Nobody told me” is a much narrower defence than it used to be — it has to be genuinely reasonable that you did not know, not simply that no one happened to tell you personally.
Advance notice for a march, separate from any condition
Before a procession intended to demonstrate support or opposition, publicise a cause, or mark or commemorate an event is held, written notice has to be given — specifying the date, start time, proposed route, and the name and address of an organiser. It has to reach a police station at least six clear days beforehand (by recorded delivery post, or by hand), unless that genuinely is not practicable, in which case it must be delivered as soon as it becomes practicable.
This notice duty does not apply to a procession that is commonly or customarily held in that police area, or to a funeral procession organised by a funeral director in the ordinary course of business. Where neither exception applies, holding the procession without having satisfied the notice requirement is itself an offence for every one of its organisers, carrying a fine of up to level 3 on the standard scale — separate from, and regardless of, whether any condition under s.12 is ever imposed on it.
Last reviewed 2026-09-02. Next review due 2027-03-02. No solicitor has reviewed this page — see [email protected] if you think something here is wrong.