Rights and LimitsWhen you actually have to answer the police in Scotland
When you actually have to answer the police in Scotland
What you must do, what you can refuse and what refusing costs you
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 at a port or airport.
Refusing is an offence in its own right, and this applies the same way in Scotland as anywhere else in the UK.
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
As the person keeping the vehicle, give the information as to the identity of the driver if a driving offence is alleged.
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
Stop your vehicle when a constable in uniform requires you to.
Road Traffic Act 1988, s.163(1) (as it applies in Scotland)
“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”
Read it at legislation.gov.ukquote checked 2026-10-16
Comply with a formal notice under section 49 of RIPA requiring you to disclose a key or password.
An officer simply asking for your PIN is not a section 49 notice — that is a formal written requirement. Get legal advice the moment one is served.
Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000, s.49(2)
“the person with that permission may, by notice to the person whom he believes to have possession of the key, impose a disclosure requirement in respect of the protected information”
Read it at legislation.gov.ukquote checked 2026-08-25
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
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 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
Refusing costs you
Refusing may carry a penalty, allow an inference to be drawn against you, or be an offence in itself.
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
Refusing to name the driver carries a fine and an obligatory licence endorsement.
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
Knowingly failing to comply with a section 49 notice is a criminal offence.
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
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
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 and what refusing costs you.
The section 172 duty is limited to identifying the driver — it does not require you to answer wider questions about your speed or your journey.
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
The short version
Scotland has its own criminal justice system, but it is not immune from the cross-border powers that make “never say anything” bad advice in Scotland as well as England and Wales. Several of the exceptions on this site’s England & Wales hero page apply in Scotland too, because the statutes creating them extend to Scotland:
- Stopped at a port or airport under Schedule 7 of the Terrorism Act 2000 — no right to silence within it, and this applies across the whole UK.
- Asked who was driving under section 172 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 — a duty on the registered keeper that applies in Scotland as well as England and Wales.
- Told to stop your vehicle by a constable in uniform, under section 163 of the same Act. (In England and Wales the same section also covers traffic officers; those words were added for England and Wales only.)
- Served a formal notice requiring a password or key under section 49 of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000.
- Asked for your name and other identifying details while in police custody — a Scotland-specific duty, covered below.
The one exception that is different here
If you are in police custody in Scotland and have not yet been officially accused, the general rule is that you are under no obligation to answer any question — with one narrow exception. You are required to give your name, address, date of birth, place of birth and nationality if a constable asks. Beyond that specific list, answering is your choice.
This is a genuinely different position from England and Wales, where the wider “no general duty to answer” rule is qualified by the adverse-inference warning in the caution. That warning comes from a statute that does not extend to Scotland. See this site’s dedicated page on police questioning in Scotland for the detail — it matters enough not to summarise in one line here.
The one thing worth doing in every case
Whichever of the above applies, you are entitled to a private consultation with a solicitor at any time you are in police custody. A solicitor can find out what is actually being investigated before you decide how to respond to anything beyond a statutory requirement.
Related pages
- Schedule 7: stopped at a port or airportEngland & Wales · Scotland
- Do you have to give police your phone password?England & Wales · Scotland
- Police questioning in Scotland — and why the English caution does not carry acrossScotland
Last reviewed 2026-09-14. Next review due 2027-02-25. No solicitor has reviewed this page — see [email protected] if you think something here is wrong.