Perverting the Course of Justice Sentencing Guidelines: Starting Points and Ranges

If you have been charged with perverting the course of justice, one of the most important questions you’re likely to have is what sentence it carries.

The perverting the course of justice sentencing guidelines have applied since 1 October 2023, and they set out nine sentence brackets depending on how the court grades your culpability and the harm caused. Below are all nine, the starting point and range for each, and when a custodial term can now be suspended.

This page covers England and Wales. Scotland has a separate offence, attempting to defeat the ends of justice, and different sentencing practice.

The short answer: Perverting the course of justice is a common law offence tried only in the Crown Court. The maximum sentence is life imprisonment, but the sentencing guidelines' offence range runs from a community order to 7 years' custody.

Starting points run from 6 months' custody in the least serious cases (category 3C) up to 4 years' custody in the most serious (category 1A). Every one of the nine categories carries a custodial starting point. Only the lowest category range reaches down to a high-level community order, although shorter terms may now have to be suspended.

The guideline at a glance

The guideline applies to everyone aged 18 or over sentenced on or after 1 October 2023, whatever date the offence was committed.

The gap between the life maximum and the 7-year offence range causes unnecessary alarm. Life is theoretically available because the offence is uncapped at common law, but the guideline range is where ordinary cases are sentenced.

Step 1: how the court grades your culpability

The judge places your conduct in one of three culpability categories.

A - High culpability

• Conduct over a sustained period of time
• Sophisticated and/or planned nature of conduct
• Underlying offence very serious
• Breach of trust or abuse of position or office

B - Medium culpability

• Cases falling between A and C, either because factors from both are present and balance each other out, and/or because your culpability sits between the two

C - Lower culpability

• Unplanned and/or limited in scope and duration
• Unsophisticated nature of conduct
• Underlying offence was not serious
• Involved through coercion, intimidation or exploitation, or as a result of domestic abuse
• Responsibility substantially reduced by mental disorder or learning disability

The "underlying offence" factor does a great deal of work here. Lying to protect someone from a speeding prosecution and lying to protect someone from a murder investigation are the same offence in law, but they sit at opposite ends of this scale.

Step 1: how the court grades the harm

Category 1

• Serious consequences for an innocent party, for example time spent in custody or under arrest
• Serious distress caused to an innocent party, for example loss of reputation
• Serious impact on the administration of justice
• Substantial delay caused to the course of justice

Category 2

• Suspicion cast upon an innocent party
• Some distress caused to an innocent party
• Some impact on the administration of justice
• Some delay caused to the course of justice

Category 3

• Limited distress caused to an innocent party
• Limited impact on the administration of justice
• Limited delay caused to the course of justice

Harm is assessed on what your conduct did, not on whether it worked. A failed attempt that still caused an innocent person to be arrested can sit in category 1.

Step 2: the sentencing table, starting points and category ranges

Your culpability letter and harm number combine to give one of nine categories. This is the table the judge works from.

The starting point applies whatever your plea and whatever your previous convictions. Those are dealt with later in the process.

Can a sentence for perverting the course of justice be suspended?

Often, yes, and the rules changed recently.

For anyone convicted on or after 22 March 2026, where the shortest term matching the seriousness of the offending is 12 months or less, the court must suspend it under a statutory presumption of suspension unless exceptional circumstances apply.

That presumption falls away if you are already in custody, if you are being resentenced for a breach, if the offence was committed while subject to a community or suspended sentence order, if it was a breach of or closely connected with a breach of a court order, or if there is a significant risk of physical or psychological harm to an individual.

For anyone convicted before 22 March 2026, the older rule applies: where the shortest appropriate term is 2 years or less, the court should consider suspending it.

Aggravating and mitigating factors

Once the judge has a starting point, various factors move the sentence up or down, and can move it outside the category range altogether.

Increasing seriousness: The statutory factors are previous convictions and offending while on bail. Additional factors include involving others in the conduct and concealing or destroying evidence. The guideline also lists a domestic abuse context, a vulnerable victim, offending under the influence of alcohol or drugs, and offending while subject to a court order.

Reducing seriousness: These include no previous convictions, remorse, positive character, playing a lesser or subordinate role under someone else's direction, mental disorder or learning disability not already counted at step one, lack of maturity in those aged 18 to 25, being the sole carer for dependants, and a difficult or deprived background.

The subordinate role factor is the one most often overlooked. It is frequently available to someone who was asked to lie by a partner or family member and did so under pressure.

Credit for a guilty plea

A guilty plea indicated at the first stage of proceedings attracts a reduction of up to one-third. That falls to one quarter after the first stage and to one tenth on the first day of trial. The reduction is applied after the judge has settled on a sentence, so a third off a 9-month starting point is what takes a case towards the suspension threshold. More details are on our page about reductions in sentence for a guilty plea.

Conspiracy to pervert the course of justice

Where two or more people agree to carry out conduct that would pervert the course of justice, the charge is usually conspiracy under the Criminal Law Act 1977.

A statutory conspiracy carries the same maximum as the offence agreed upon, so conspiracy to pervert the course of justice also carries a maximum of life imprisonment, and the same guideline is applied. Being part of a group is not itself neutral: involving others in the conduct is an express aggravating factor. If you are facing a group allegation, see our conspiracy solicitors.

Sentences above the guideline range

The 7-year figure is the top of the offence range, not a cap. In exceptional cases, the courts have gone well beyond it, and sentences of 10 and 15 years have been upheld where false allegations or interference with murder investigations were involved. A judge can sentence above the range provided that reasons are given.

What to do if you are accused

The categorisation decisions above are made at sentence level, but they are shaped much earlier, in the police interview and in what the prosecution accepts about your role. Representation before the interview is where the most is available.

For what conduct counts and the defences available, see our guide to perverting the course of justice or our page on Crown Court representation  if your case is heading to trial.

Frequently asked questions

What is the minimum sentence for perverting the course of justice?

There is no statutory minimum. The lowest point of the offence range is a high-level community order, in category 3C. Every other category has a custodial starting point.

What is the maximum sentence for perverting the course of justice?

The maximum is life imprisonment, because this is a common law offence with no statutory cap. The guideline's offence range tops out at 7 years' custody, and sentences above that are reserved for exceptional cases.

Will I go to prison for a first offence of perverting the course of justice?

Not necessarily. No previous convictions is an express mitigating factor, and where the term is 12 months or less, there is now a statutory presumption of suspension for those convicted on or after 22 March 2026. A first offence in category 3C can realistically end in a community order.

How is perverting the course of justice proven?

The prosecution must prove an act that had a tendency to pervert the course of justice, done with the intention of perverting it. The case need not have been affected, and the plan need not have succeeded. Intention is usually the contested issue.

Is conspiracy to pervert the course of justice sentenced differently?

No. The same guideline applies, and the maximum is the same. In practice, a group allegation can attract more, because involving others is a listed aggravating factor.

Speak to our criminal lawyers today

If you are due to attend the police station in relation to perverting the course of justice, require any urgent specialist advice, or immediate representation, please do not hesitate to get in touch.

Contact us today:

• London Central - Head Office: 020 7624 7771
• West Hampstead Office: 020 7624 7771 
• Manchester Office: 0161 835 1638
• Birmingham Office: 0121 614 3333

Or email: solicitors@jdspicer.co.uk

Alternatively, you can fill out our quick online enquiry form and we will get back to you as soon as possible.

This page explains how sentences are calculated and is not legal advice about your case. For advice on your own circumstances, speak to a qualified criminal defence solicitor.

Written by Lisa Nicol, Managing Partner and Head of Crime and Serious Cases, JD Spicer Zeb Solicitors, regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority, SRA no. 55671. Last reviewed 05/10/26.