The Police
Caution Wording

Code C contains three English cautions. Which one an officer uses depends on the stage of the investigation and whether the law allows an inference from silence at that point.

People often hear two versions of the caution and wonder which is correct. Both are. They are given at different moments:

Paragraph 10.1 sets the main rule: a person whom there are grounds to suspect of an offence must be cautioned before any questions about the offence are put to them, if their answers or silence may be given in evidence to a court. The same applies to further questions if earlier answers raise suspicion. Note 10A says the grounds must be reasonable and objective.

Breaks and later interviews

Paragraph 10.8 says that after any break in questioning under caution, the person must be made aware they remain under caution. If there is any doubt, the caution should be given again in full when the interview resumes. Note 10E suggests the interviewer summarises the reason for the break and confirms it with the suspect. Paragraph 3 of Annex C adds a separate rule: if the restriction on inferences starts or stops applying after a caution, the person must be cautioned again in the right terms.

Minor slips in the words

Paragraph 10.7 says minor deviations from the words of any caution do not breach the Code, provided the sense of the relevant caution is preserved. An officer who says "you don't have to say anything" or reorders a clause has not made the caution invalid. Leaving out a whole idea is a different matter, because the sense would change.

Records

Paragraph 10.13 requires a record to be made when a caution is given under section 10, either in the interviewer's report book or in the interview record.

There is no single script, but the law sets out what you must be told. Section 28 of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 says an arrest is not lawful unless the person is told they are under arrest and the ground for it, at the time or as soon as practicable afterwards, even if it is obvious. Code C paragraph 10.3 repeats this and adds the reasons why the arrest is necessary; paragraph 10.4 then requires the caution. Note 10B says the person must be given enough information to understand they have been deprived of their liberty and why, including the nature of the suspected offence and when and where it was committed, avoiding vague or technical language.

Annex C of Code C deals with situations where the law does not allow an inference from silence. In those situations it would be misleading to warn someone that silence "may harm your defence", so a shorter caution is used:

You do not have to say anything, but anything you do say may be given in evidence.

Annex C paragraph 1 says the restriction applies:

• (a) to a detainee at a police station who, before being interviewed or charged, asked for legal advice, has not yet been allowed to consult a solicitor and has not changed their mind about wanting advice. This links to section 34(2A) of the 1994 Act. It does not apply if the detainee declines the duty solicitor.
• (b) to a person who has been charged or told they may be prosecuted and is then shown another person's statement or interview about the offence, is interviewed about it, or makes a written statement about it.

Note C1 says the restriction does not apply to someone who is not detained, because nothing stops them seeking legal advice. Note C2 suggests the words to use when switching between versions, for example telling the person that the earlier caution no longer applies and that their defence will not be harmed by choosing to say nothing.

The middle sentence of the caution exists because of Part III of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994. Section 172(7) says the Act extends to England and Wales only, apart from provisions it lists. Sections 34 to 38 are not among them. The four sections that matter:

The special warning (sections 36 and 37)

Code C paragraph 10.11 lists what a suspect must be told in ordinary language before an inference can be drawn under section 36 or 37: what offence is being investigated; what fact they are being asked to account for; that the officer believes this fact may be due to their taking part in the offence; that a court may draw a proper inference if they fail or refuse to account for it; and that a record is being made of the interview which may be given in evidence. Note 10F says these warnings apply only to arrested suspects. Paragraph 10.11A says a juvenile or vulnerable person must not be given this information unless the appropriate adult is present.

"No comment" interviews

Answering "no comment" is lawful; it is how many suspects use the right to silence. Whether it is wise in a particular case depends on the evidence and on legal advice, which is why the Code gives detainees the right to free advice before the interview. We do not give advice on whether to answer questions; a solicitor will.

If you were not cautioned

Note 10G says no inference under section 34 can be drawn if the person was not cautioned. More generally, section 78 of PACE lets a court refuse to admit prosecution evidence if, having regard to all the circumstances including how it was obtained, admitting it would have such an adverse effect on the fairness of the proceedings that it ought not to be admitted. A missing caution is the kind of thing a defence lawyer may raise. See our section 78 explainer.

If you attend a police station voluntarily, you are cautioned in the same standard words as an arrested suspect. Paragraph 10.2 adds that a person who is not under arrest must also be told they are not under arrest. They must also be told about their rights as a voluntary attendee, including how to get free legal advice. Under paragraph 3.21 you may leave at will unless you are arrested.

Two differences follow from not being detained. The restricted caution in Annex C does not apply to you (Notes 10C and C1), because nothing prevents you getting legal advice. And the special warnings under sections 36 and 37 apply only to arrested suspects (Note 10F). The full process is in our voluntary interview explainer.

The words of the caution do not change for a child or a vulnerable adult. What changes is who must be there and how carefully it is explained.

• Who counts. Anyone who appears to be under 18 is treated as a juvenile unless there is clear evidence they are older (para 1.5). Anyone an officer suspects may be vulnerable, for example because a mental health condition may affect their understanding or communication, is treated as vulnerable unless that suspicion is clearly dispelled (paras 1.4 and 1.13(d)). Note 1G says the lack of a diagnosis does not mean a person is not vulnerable.
• The appropriate adult. For a juvenile: a parent or guardian, a social worker or, failing them, another responsible adult aged 18 or over. For a vulnerable person: a relative, guardian or carer, someone experienced with vulnerable people or, failing them, another responsible adult (para 1.7). Police officers and staff cannot act. The role is to safeguard the person's rights and welfare, support and advise them and check police act properly (para 1.7A).
• Repeating the caution. If a juvenile or vulnerable person is cautioned without the appropriate adult present, the caution must be repeated in the appropriate adult's presence (para 10.12; Annex E para 7).
• Interviews. A juvenile or vulnerable person must not be interviewed without the appropriate adult present (para 11.15), except in an urgent case authorised by a superintendent or above under paragraph 11.18. In the interview the adult is not just an observer (para 11.17).
• Why. Note 11C explains that juveniles and vulnerable people can give information that is unreliable, misleading or self-incriminating without meaning to, so special care is needed.

The same word is used for two unrelated things, which causes a lot of worry. Being cautioned under Code C is not the same as "getting a caution".

Everything above is the law of England and Wales. Code C applies to England and Wales. The 1994 Act's silence provisions do not extend beyond them.

Scotland has its own statute. Section 3 of the Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 2016, in force since 25 January 2018, requires a constable to tell an arrested person that they are under arrest, the general nature of the offence and the reason for the arrest. The constable must also say that they are "under no obligation to say anything" other than the information in section 34(4): name, address, date of birth, place of birth and nationality. The person must also be told of their rights to have someone informed and to a solicitor. Section 32 gives a right to have a solicitor present during police questioning, including for people attending voluntarily. The Act's arrest wording contains no warning that silence may harm your defence. The exact words Police Scotland officers use in practice are not set out in the Act. We have not quoted them.

Northern Ireland has its own PACE Order and codes. We have not checked its caution wording for this page.

A simple way to remember it

1. Right: "You do not have to say anything."
2. Risk: "But it may harm your defence if you do not mention when questioned something which you later rely on in Court."
3. Record: "Anything you do say may be given in evidence."

Right, risk, record. The restricted caution drops the risk; the on-charge caution swaps "when questioned" for "now". This memory aid is ours, not an official one.

For officers and trainee detectives

The College of Policing's 2026 NIE syllabus lists Code C section 10 (cautions) at 1.9.2, Annex C at 1.9.5 and Annex D (written statements under caution) at 1.9.6, all in Part 1 of the Blackstone's Police Investigators' Manual. It also lists "cautions as a means of disposal" separately at 1.7.20, the out-of-court kind. The PACE Codes for the exam are covered in our NIE PACE Codes guide.