Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

Related legal acts

Key definition

Indictment definition

What does Indictment mean? An indictment is the formal document that sets out the offences for which a defendant will be tried in the higher criminal courts (trial on indictment), and it defines the basis for arraignment, the conduct of the trial and the verdict. It contains one or more counts (England & Wales and Northern Ireland) or charges (Scotland and Ireland), each stating the offence and the particulars of the alleged conduct. It may join multiple defendants and offences where the rules on joinder are met. After a case is sent or committed for trial, the prosecution prepares the indictment and it is...

Indictments in the Crown Court (England and Wales): form and content, counts, duplicity, joinder, specimen and multiple counts, electronic indictments, defects and amendments—principles, procedure and recent case law

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Practice notes

For guidance on what an indictment is, when one is needed, and details on electronically generating draft indictments and preferring an indictment, refer to Practice Note: The indictment.

Contents of an indictment

The principal rules governing indictments are contained in rule 10.2 of the criminal procedure rules 2025, SI 2025/909 (CrimPR 2025) and in sections 3–5 of the Indictments Act 1915 (IA 1915). The key requirements are:

the indictment must be set out in writing
it should follow one of the prescribed forms unless the Crown Court directs otherwise, or the draft is produced electronically in accordance with CrimPR 2020, r 10.3
at the head of the document, include the document date and a statement identifying it as, where applicable:
- the first indictment in the case
- a proposed amended indictment
- a substituted indictment
- an additional indictment
- a trial indictment, or
- an indictment required by CrimPR 2025, SI 2025/909, r 25.16(3)(e) (substituted indictment for sentencing purposes)
each alleged offence must be particularised in separate paragraphs called ‘counts’; if there is more than one, each count should be numbered...

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Web page updated on 21/05/2026

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