Police Misconduct
Appeal Process (UK)
If you have received a misconduct finding or dismissal, you may have the right to appeal. This guide explains who can appeal, what grounds are required, and the strict deadlines involved.
Trust Notice: Based on the Police (Conduct) Regulations 2020, the Police Appeals Tribunals Rules 2020 and the Police Act 1996, as amended. Not legal advice. Updated: 30 September 2026.
What Is a Police Misconduct Appeal?
A police misconduct appeal is a formal request for a misconduct finding or sanction to be reviewed: internally after a misconduct meeting, or by a Police Appeals Tribunal after a misconduct hearing or accelerated hearing. Appeals are not rehearings of the entire case. They are limited reviews based on specific grounds.
Who Can Appeal?
An officer may appeal where:
- A misconduct finding is made
- A gross misconduct finding is made
- A written warning or final written warning is issued
- Dismissal is imposed
You cannot appeal a finding you accepted, but you can still appeal the outcome (regulation 45(1); Police Appeals Tribunals Rules 2020, rule 4(3)). Former officers found at a hearing to have committed misconduct or gross misconduct, including a "would have been dismissed" finding, can also appeal to the tribunal (rule 6). Police staff are not covered and follow their force's employment procedures.
New from 29 September 2026: section 204 of the Crime and Policing Act 2026 lets the Home Secretary make rules allowing chief officers, police and crime commissioners (for chief officer cases) and the IOPC (where it presented the case) to appeal to the tribunal (Police Act 1996, section 85(1A) to (1C)). When we checked on 30 September 2026, the Police Appeals Tribunals Rules 2020 had not been amended to create those appeals.
The Appeal Deadline
The deadline depends on where your case was decided:
10 working days to appeal to the Police Appeals Tribunal. 7 working days to appeal a misconduct meeting outcome.
A late tribunal appeal is accepted only if the chair decides it was not reasonably practicable to meet the deadline and you gave notice within a reasonable time afterwards; otherwise it must be dismissed (rule 10). For a meeting appeal, the appropriate authority can extend the 7 days only for exceptional circumstances (regulation 45(3)).
How the Days Count
- After a hearing or accelerated hearing: written notice to the local policing body (usually the police and crime commissioner) before the end of 10 working days, beginning with the first working day after you are first supplied with the written decision (Police Appeals Tribunals Rules 2020, rule 9).
- After a misconduct meeting: written notice to the appropriate authority, stating your grounds and whether you want an appeal meeting, before the end of 7 working days beginning with the first working day after the report is given to you (Police (Conduct) Regulations 2020, regulation 45(3)). Senior officers appeal meeting outcomes to the tribunal instead.
- Working days exclude Saturdays, Sundays, Christmas Day, Good Friday and bank holidays in England and Wales (regulation 2(1)).
Confirm your exact date with your Federation representative or lawyer as soon as you receive the decision.
Grounds for Appeal
Appeals are not based on disagreement. There are three grounds only (regulation 45(2) for meeting appeals; Police Appeals Tribunals Rules 2020, rule 4(4) for the tribunal):
Unreasonable Decision
The finding, or the decision to impose the disciplinary action, was unreasonable.
Procedural Breach or Unfairness
A breach of the procedures, or other unfairness, which could have materially affected the finding or outcome. For a meeting appeal the breach must be "serious"; the tribunal ground has no such word.
New Evidence
Evidence that could not reasonably have been considered at the original meeting or hearing and which could have materially affected the finding or outcome.
A Sanction That Was Too Severe
This is not a separate ground. A challenge to the outcome as too severe is argued under the "unreasonable" ground above.
What Happens Next?
Tribunal appeals. You send your full grounds and supporting documents within 20 working days of receiving the transcript, or 35 working days after your notice if you did not ask for one (rule 13(7)). The tribunal chair then reviews the appeal and must dismiss it, or any ground, that has no real prospect of success unless there is a compelling reason to proceed, after giving you 10 working days to respond (rule 15). An appeal that survives is decided at a hearing unless you consent to it being dealt with on the papers (rule 16).
Meeting appeals. The person deciding the appeal first decides whether your notice sets out arguable grounds and must dismiss it if not (regulation 45(14)). If there are arguable grounds and you asked for one, an appeal meeting is held, normally within 5 working days (regulation 46).
Who Hears The Appeal?
After a misconduct meeting (officers up to chief superintendent), the appeal is decided internally by an officer at least one rank above the person who held the meeting, or by a more senior police staff member unless the case substantially involves operational policing (regulation 45(4)). After a misconduct hearing or accelerated hearing, and after any meeting for a senior officer, the appeal goes to the Police Appeals Tribunal (PAT) (rule 4(2)).
For officers below senior rank, the Police Appeals Tribunal has three members: a legally qualified chair, a senior officer and a lay person (Police Act 1996, Schedule 6, paragraph 2). It hears appeals against findings and any outcome from a hearing or accelerated hearing, not only dismissal.
Can You Work While Appealing?
- Dismissed You are not reinstated pending appeal. Dismissal takes effect from the date it is notified to you (regulation 42(4)), so pay stops then. If the tribunal reinstates you, you are treated as having served continuously for pension purposes, and for pay to the extent its order says (Police Act 1996, Schedule 6, paragraph 7(2)).
- Warning The warning remains live unless and until it is overturned by the appeal body.
Appeal Outcomes
An appeal body may:
A tribunal can make any order dealing with you that the original panel could have made (Police Act 1996, section 85(2)). Where it finds the new evidence or procedural ground made out, it can instead set the decision aside and send the case to a fresh panel (rule 26(2) and (3)). A meeting appeal can confirm or reverse the decision, or deal with you in any way the meeting could have (regulation 47(1)).
⚠️ We found no rule that stops an appeal body imposing a more severe outcome. Ask your representative before you appeal.
Barred List
What About the Barred List?
Dismissal means the force must report you to the College of Policing within 5 working days, and the College must list you. Appealing does not delay this. If the dismissal is overturned on appeal, you must be removed from the list (Police Act 1996, sections 88A, 88B and 88F).
Read Guide →Finance
What About Pension?
Dismissal does not by itself remove pension you have already built up. If a tribunal reinstates you, the time in between counts as continuous service for pension purposes (Schedule 6, paragraph 7(2)).
Read Guide →Timing & Mistakes
How Long Does it Take?
- • No overall time limit is set for a tribunal appeal
- • Meeting appeals: an appeal meeting normally within 5 working days of the arguable grounds decision, and written notice of the result within 3 working days (regulations 46 and 47)
- • Tribunal: written notice of the decision within 3 working days of it being made (rule 26(8))
- Home Office figures for the year to 31 March 2025: 55 appeals to the tribunal; 23 dismissed by the chair, 28 heard and 6 of those upheld.
Common Mistakes
- • Missing the 10 (tribunal) or 7 (meeting) working day deadline
- • Appealing based on emotion rather than grounds
- • Failing to submit structured written argument
- • Not referencing regulations
Common Questions
How long do I have to appeal a misconduct finding?
It depends on where your case was decided. After a misconduct hearing or accelerated misconduct hearing, you must give written notice of appeal to the local policing body before the end of 10 working days, beginning with the first working day after you are first supplied with the written decision (Police Appeals Tribunals Rules 2020, rule 9). After a misconduct meeting, officers up to chief superintendent appeal internally: written notice to the appropriate authority within 7 working days of being given the meeting report (Police (Conduct) Regulations 2020, regulation 45(3)). There is no 21-day rule.
Can I appeal gross misconduct dismissal?
Yes. A finding of gross misconduct at a misconduct hearing or accelerated misconduct hearing, and the disciplinary action imposed, can be appealed to the Police Appeals Tribunal (rule 4). If you accepted that your conduct was gross misconduct, you can appeal the outcome but not the finding (rule 4(3)).
Can the appeal increase my sanction?
It is not ruled out. Section 85(2) of the Police Act 1996 lets the tribunal make any order dealing with you that the original decision maker could have made, and regulation 47(1)(b) of the Conduct Regulations gives the person deciding a meeting appeal the same power. We found no rule that expressly stops a more severe outcome on an officer's own appeal. Ask your representative before you appeal.
Does appealing stop barred list placement?
No. If you are dismissed, the force must report you to the College of Policing within 5 working days and the College must include you on the police barred list, whether or not you appeal (Police Act 1996, sections 88A and 88B; Police Barred List and Police Advisory List Regulations 2017, regulation 3). If the dismissal is overturned on appeal, you must be removed from the list (section 88F).
Do I need a lawyer?
It is not compulsory. At the Police Appeals Tribunal you can be represented by a relevant lawyer or a police friend, and the appeal can go ahead if you choose not to be represented (rule 19). At an appeal meeting after a misconduct meeting, you can be represented only by a police friend (Conduct Regulations, regulation 8(4)).