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, 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 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)
“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 2026-08-25
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
No penalty for saying no.
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 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
Lawful to refuse — but it costs you
Not an offence, but it carries a penalty or an inference.
Refusing to answer a Schedule 7 examination is itself an offence, punishable on summary conviction by up to three months’ imprisonment.
Terrorism Act 2000, Schedule 7, paragraph 18(2)(a)
“imprisonment for a term not exceeding three months”
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
The short version
Scotland has its own criminal justice system, but it is not immune from the UK-wide powers that make “never say anything” bad advice everywhere in the UK. Several of the exceptions on this site’s England & Wales hero page apply in Scotland in identical terms, because the statutes creating them are UK-wide:
- 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 UK-wide duty on the registered keeper.
- Told to stop your vehicle by a constable in uniform, under section 163 of the same Act.
- 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, and it costs nothing regardless of your income. Asking for one is never held against you, and a solicitor can find out what is actually being investigated before you decide how to respond to anything beyond a statutory requirement.
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.