Consent of the Attorney General to prosecute: process guidance
Published 14 August 2025
Applies to England and Wales
© Crown copyright 2025
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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/consent-of-the-attorney-general-to-prosecute-process-guidance/consent-of-the-attorney-general-to-prosecute-process-guidance
1. Background
Some criminal offences, as set out in legislation, require the Attorney General’s consent or permission for the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) to consent before legal proceedings can begin.
Any function of the Attorney General, including granting consent for prosecution, can also be exercised by the Solicitor General.
In these cases, the Law Officers are asked to decide whether they consent to the prosecution of an individual, or grant permission for the DPP to consent to a prosecution.
The full list of offences that require the Law Officers’ consent, including the circumstances in which this applies to offences under Terrorism legislation, is available on CPS website.
2. How the Process Works
Applications come from public prosecutors (usually the Crown Prosecution Service or Service Prosecuting Authority) or private prosecutors, after a suspect has been arrested, interviewed and a charging decision has been made applying the evidential and public interest tests.
Around 100–150 applications are usually received each year.
Applications are reviewed by a criminal law team in the Attorney General’s Office (AGO), which also handles other criminal casework such as the Unduly Lenient Sentence scheme.
Officials assess whether more information is needed before passing the case to the Law Officers for decision.
Complex or sensitive cases may involve more detailed discussion with the CPS.
3. Decision Principles
The Law Officers act independently from government.
They apply standard prosecution tests: evidential sufficiency and public interest.
Their role is to decide whether offences can properly be pursued against an individual and, if so, which ones.
When providing consent, the Law Officers must be satisfied that the evidential test and the public interest test of the Code for Crown Prosecutors are met in respect of each proposed defendant on each proposed charge.
It is for the CPS to confirm the final charges as the responsible body for prosecuting these offences
4. Timelines
Times can vary. However, urgent cases can be decided within hours.
Time may vary due to complexity, need for follow-up, or competing workload.
5. Conflict of interest
In cases of a conflict of interest, the Attorney General can delegate cases to the Solicitor General and vice-versa.
6. Large volume of cases
All cases will be dealt with in a timely manner once received form CPS.
7. Protests
We do not speculate on what applications are referred to the Attorney General from the CPS. The CPS is an independent prosecutorial authority.
All files where Attorney General consent or permission for the DPP to consent is required, whatever the charge or individuals they relate to, will follow the above process.