Admonition

An admonition is a formal warning from the court after a guilty plea or verdict, with no other penalty imposed.

Under section 246 of the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995, a court can dismiss a person convicted of any offence with an admonition if it considers this meets the justice of the case. The judge formally warns the person not to offend again, and no fine, community sentence or prison sentence is imposed. An admonition is often used for minor offences, or at the end of a period of deferred sentence where the person has behaved well. Although it is the lightest sentence after an absolute discharge, it is still a conviction and appears on the person's criminal record. For disclosure purposes it is spent immediately, so it does not appear on a Level 1 disclosure, although it may appear on some higher-level checks.

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