Receiving a criminal conviction can make the next steps feel urgent and confusing, especially when you believe something went wrong at trial or the sentence is unfair. If you want to appeal a criminal conviction, UK procedures are not identical across every jurisdiction. This guide focuses on England and Wales, where the route depends on which court dealt with the case and what you want to challenge. Scotland and Northern Ireland have separate criminal appeal procedures. Deadlines can be short, so specialist advice should be sought quickly.
Start by identifying which court convicted you
If a magistrates’ court convicted you, an appeal against conviction or sentence will usually go to the Crown Court. An appeal against conviction is generally heard as a fresh hearing before a Crown Court judge and magistrates, rather than simply reviewing the original decision. Current court guidance says an appeal to the Crown Court usually needs to be made within 15 working days of sentence. A late appeal may still be considered, but you must explain the delay and provide supporting evidence.
If you were convicted in the Crown Court, the route is different. You normally need permission to appeal to the Court of Appeal Criminal Division. For a conviction appeal, the application should generally be made within 28 days of the conviction date. If you need to appeal a sentence, UK guidance for Crown Court cases gives a separate 28-day period running from the date of sentence.
What are valid grounds for appeal?
Wanting a second opinion on the verdict is not enough on its own. For a Crown Court conviction, the central legal question is whether the conviction is unsafe. The grounds for appeal UK applicants rely on therefore need to identify a real problem capable of affecting the safety of the result.
Legal or procedural errors
An appeal may raise a material error of law, a serious mistake in the judge’s directions to the jury, or a procedural irregularity that made the trial unfair. The point is not merely that an error occurred, but that it may have affected the safety of the conviction.
Fresh evidence
New evidence can sometimes support an appeal when it was not presented at trial. The Court of Appeal can receive fresh evidence and will consider matters such as whether it is credible, relevant to a ground of appeal, potentially capable of affecting the outcome, and whether there is a reasonable explanation for why it was not used earlier.
Serious problems with the defence
Poor representation does not automatically make a conviction unsafe. However, a serious defence failure may become relevant if it caused genuine unfairness or left the trial process unreliable. The trial papers and decisions taken by the defence usually need careful review before this type of argument is advanced.
How to begin a Crown Court conviction appeal
The practical first step is to obtain the case papers and speak to a solicitor or barrister experienced in criminal appeals. An application for permission should set out the proposed legal grounds clearly rather than simply retelling the trial. GOV.UK provides the relevant forms for appealing a conviction or sentence, including forms for people applying without legal representation.
Consider someone convicted in the Crown Court but sentenced several weeks later. If they want to challenge the conviction, they should not assume they can wait until sentencing before acting. The 28-day conviction deadline runs from the conviction date, while the sentence appeal deadline runs from the sentencing date. Treating those as two separate clocks can prevent an avoidable late application.
If the application is late, an extension can be requested, but the delay must be explained. Missing the deadline should therefore be treated as a problem to address immediately, not as a reason to abandon the possibility of an appeal without advice.
What happens after you apply for permission?
A judge first considers whether permission to appeal should be granted. If permission is given, the appeal proceeds before the Court of Appeal Criminal Division. If permission is refused on the papers, the applicant can usually renew the application for consideration by a full court. A renewed application should be approached carefully because an entirely unmeritorious application can carry risks, including a possible loss-of-time order for someone in custody.
If a conviction appeal succeeds, the conviction may be quashed and, depending on the circumstances, the court can order a retrial. A successful sentence appeal may result in a reduced or otherwise changed sentence. The result depends on the legal basis of the appeal, not simply on dissatisfaction with the outcome.
Appeals from the magistrates’ court are different
For a magistrates’ court case, the Crown Court appeal route is usually more direct and an appeal against conviction can involve a fresh hearing. However, it should still be considered carefully. On a sentence appeal from the magistrates’ court, the Crown Court can impose a sentence that is less severe, the same, or more severe. There is also a separate case-stated route to the High Court for certain alleged errors of law or jurisdiction, with its own technical rules and deadlines.
What if the normal appeal has already failed?
If the ordinary appeal process has been exhausted and you still believe there has been a miscarriage of justice, the Criminal Cases Review Commission may be relevant. The CCRC investigates potential wrongful convictions and sentences in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. It can refer a case back for a fresh appeal where the legal test is met, often because there is important new evidence or a significant new argument. It is generally not a substitute for using the normal appeal process first.
FAQ
Can you appeal just because you disagree with the verdict?
No. In a Crown Court case, there must be arguable legal grounds showing that the conviction may be unsafe. Simply repeating the defence case or disagreeing with the jury is unlikely to be enough.
How long do you have to appeal a Crown Court conviction?
You generally have 28 days from the conviction date to apply for permission to appeal against conviction. A sentence appeal generally has a separate 28-day period from the date of sentence. Late applications require an explanation and may need an extension of time.
Do you need a solicitor to appeal?
You can apply without a legal representative, but criminal appeals can involve complex questions about evidence, procedure and legal tests. Specialist advice can help identify realistic grounds and present them properly.
Can new evidence be used?
Potentially. The Court of Appeal can receive fresh evidence, but it considers factors including credibility, relevance, admissibility and why the evidence was not presented at trial.
Act quickly and focus on the legal issue
The strongest starting point after an unfavourable criminal outcome is to identify the correct appeal route, protect the deadline and obtain the records needed to assess what went wrong. An appeal is not simply a repeat of the original case: the court needs a legally relevant reason to intervene. Prompt specialist advice can help separate a genuine appeal point from dissatisfaction with the outcome and ensure any application is made in the correct form and within the applicable time limit.
