The Magistrates’ Court Sentencing Guidelines (MCSG) cover most of the offences that regularly come before a magistrates’ court that require decisions on allocation or sentence.

All offence specific and overarching sentencing guidelines for use in the magistrates’ courts, along with explanatory materials, are available in a digital format on this website or via the Sentencing Council app, which is available for iPads only via the App Store. The app is made available automatically on the HMCTS iPads used in the magistrates’ courts.

Upgrades to the website introduced in December 2018 mean that users are now able to make temporary print or pdf copies of all offence specific and overarching guidelines via the dedicated print icon on each page.

The Council is no longer providing the single pdf version of the Magistrates’ Court Sentencing Guidelines.