Pre-charge bail (police bail)

Release from the police station without charge but with a date to return, sometimes with conditions such as not contacting a witness.

Pre-charge bail, often called police bail, means you are released while police investigate or wait for a charging decision, but you must return to the police station on a set date and may have to follow conditions, such as living at an address, not contacting named people or keeping away from a place. The first bail period can last up to three months. An inspector can extend it to six months and a superintendent to nine months; after that only a magistrates' court can extend it. Failing to answer bail without a reasonable excuse is an offence under the Bail Act 1976. Breaking a condition is not a separate offence, but you can be arrested and then charged, re-bailed or released. Police may cancel the return date if they no longer need you. You can ask the custody officer, and then a magistrates' court, to change the conditions.

Checked as at 25 September 2026. General information only, not legal advice.