Indictable-only offence
The most serious offences, such as murder and rape, which must go to the Crown Court.
An indictable-only offence can only be tried at the Crown Court, in front of a judge and usually a jury.
The magistrates’ court still holds the first hearing. It deals with bail and reporting restrictions, then sends the case to the Crown Court.
In the law, “indictable offence” covers both indictable-only and either-way offences. MoJ statistics often group them together as “indictable” offences, which is how Court Day UK uses the word on police force pages.
Official sources
- A guide to criminal court statistics (Ministry of Justice)
- Interpretation Act 1978, Schedule 1 (legislation.gov.uk)
- Crown Court (GOV.UK)
This is a plain-English summary, not legal advice. The official sources above are the authority.
See also
Forces · How a case moves from charge to sentence · All explainers
