Appealing against sentence to the Court of Appeal

All Contents > Appeal against Sentence > Appealing a magistrates’ court sentence > Appealing a Crown Court sentence > Appeal against Conviction

“If you have a good reason to feel unhappy about the sentence you received at the Crown Court you can seek permission to appeal (which is often referred to as seeking ‘leave’ to appeal) against sentence to the Court of Appeal (Criminal Division). This is done by serving an Application for Permission to Appeal and grounds of appeal within 28 days of your sentence. ”

On this page …

Your appeal against a Crown Court sentence
Do I have an automatic right to appeal against my Crown Court sentence?
What happens at the appeal against sentence hearing at the Court of Appeal?
What can the Court of Appeal do after hearing my appeal against sentence?
How do I appeal against sentence from the Crown Court to the Court of Appeal?
Bail pending appeal
Can I appeal out of time?
Can I appeal against both my sentence and conviction?
Are there any appeal risks? The 'Loss of time' order
Can I abandon my appeal against sentence?
Can I get new legal representation for my appeal? Due Diligence Requirements
Re-opening a Crown Court Sentencing Hearing - the ‘slip rule’
Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC)
Attorney-General’s References of Unduly Lenient sentences
Further Information (Forms, Guidance, Rules and Practice Directions)
More about sentencing

Your appeal against a Crown Court sentence

If you have a good reason to feel unhappy about the sentence you received at the Crown Court you can seek permission to appeal (which is often referred to as seeking ‘leave' to appeal) against sentence to the Court of Appeal (Criminal Division). This is done by serving an Application for Permission to Appeal and grounds of appeal within 28 days of your sentence.

If you are granted permission to appeal, the case will go to the full Court of Appeal who will reduce the conviction where it is considered to be wrong in law, manifestly excessive or wrong in principle.

You may feel, for example, that the sentence passed was far too long in the circumstances, or that the wrong type of sentence was imposed, such as an immediate prison sentence rather than a suspended sentence or community order.

Both the defence and the prosecution can appeal against a Crown Court sentence to the Court of Appeal, although the circumstances where the prosecution can appeal (which is carried out by an Attorney-General’s reference) are limted to a defined category of cases where it must be demonstrated that the sentence passed was unduly lenient (see more below).

On this page you will find what you need to know about appealing against your Crown Court sentence and at the bottom of the page you will find links to further detailed information.

This section concerns appealing against sentences in the Crown Court. If you were sentenced in the magistrates' court and want to appeal, the procedure is far more straightforward. For more information, go to Appealing Against Your Magistrates’ Court Sentence >>

Do I have an automatic right to appeal against my Crown Court sentence?

There is no automatic right of appeal against a Crown Court sentence. Permission (also known as leave) is required to enable the appeal to be heard. Once permission is granted, the case will then be heard by the Court of Appeal (Criminal Division).

When you apply for permission you are known as the Applicant. Once permission is granted you become known as the Appellant. The prosecution are referred to as the Respondent.

The application for permission to appeal is initially sent by the Registrar of Criminal Appeals to be considered by a single judge. The application will be granted where the judge considers that any of the grounds of appeal relied upon are properly arguable, i.e. that there is sufficient merit in them for the case to proceed to the full court.

A Crown Court judge can also grant permission to appeal by issuing a certificate that the case is fit for appeal, but this is rare and would only happen in exceptional circumstances - usually permission is requested in a written application to a single judge as set out in the 'How do I appeal against conviction?' section below.

Generally, appeals against sentence are based on the sentence being:

'wrong in law' (there was no legal power to pass the sentence), or
‘wrong in principle’ (you are arguing that the wrong type of sentence was passed, such as when a prison sentence was imposed when the offence only deserved a community order) or
‘manifestly excessive’ (far too long, taking into account the circumstances of the offence and the offender, and any relevant sentencing guidelines).

Your specific arguments about what is wrong with the Crown Court sentence are set out in your Grounds of Appeal.

If you were legally represented in the Crown Court, following your sentence you should receive advice on the merits of an appeal and can ask for that advice to be given in writing. If the advice is positive (i.e. that there are arguable grounds), then your Barrister or Solicitor-Advocate will also draft those grounds of appeal setting out the individual arguments it is intended to advance in your favour.

If you are receiving legal aid, this work will be provided at no additional cost to you. If you are paying privately for your representation, the cost of any written advice on appeal/grounds of appeal will depend on the terms of the agreement between you.

Your Barrister or Solicitor-Advocate must make an independent decision about the merits of an appeal. Their professional duty requires that they can only advise that an application for permission to appeal is made where there are grounds which are properly arguable.