Magistrate Court record

Name

Magistrate Court record

Issued by

The Magistrate Court that you were convicted and/or sentenced at

Use

For official details of the outcome of a case that you were involved in. It is particularly useful if you have only ever been to court once.

What it contains

Written or oral information about certain material in a case file, or copies of any documents served to the court by you or served to you by the court, or information about any direction or order directed to you, or made on an application by you, or information about the outcome of the case.

If the court permits, any further information that the court holds may be supplied, but this additional information must be specifically requested.  See Criminal Procedure Rules 2012, Part 5, here

How to apply

By making an application directly to the court officer of the issuing court, specifying the information or document required, and paying any prescribed fee. You should make the application in writing, and explain why you want the information. In certain instances, a request may be made orally and information also given orally by the court to the applicant.

Who can apply for it

A person who is, or was a party to a particular court case

Contact details

The convicting/sentencing court. Click here to use the HM Courts & Tribunals Services Court Finder

Cost

Free of charge currently

How long it takes

Between 5 to 10 working days from the time of the application being received by the court

Where it is sent

To you only

Link to anonymous example

Not available

How to correct inaccurate information

You would need to write to the court of sentence, outlining the areas you wish to have amended, and providing as much information as possible in order that this can be checked against the court register or file

Other information

• This will only contain case-specific information from the convicting court, and so does not necessarily reflect your entire criminal record.
• A Memorandum of Conviction may be more appropriate for certain categories of applicants and may be issued to a specified person for a specified purpose. It will usually contain key details of a conviction. Subject to any legislative requirements, a person who wants such a certificate must apply in writing to the court officer, specify the certificate or extract that is required, explain under what legislation and for what purpose it is required, and pay any prescribed fee (this is currently £60). A certificate will only contain information held by the convicting court. See Criminal Procedure Rules 2012, Part 5, here.
• The supply of court records may also be subject to varying legislative provisions and these will be considered before the court agrees to release any information to an applicant.