How to deal with a Single Justice Procedure Notice (SJPN)

Summary

If you have received a Single Justice Procedure Notice (SJPN) it can be hard to know what to do. It is rarely possible to get free legal advice to help you decide. This guide will help you understand the most crucial things to know about the Single Justice Procedure and what you need to do. If you have received a Single Justice Procedure Notice (SJPN), you have been charged with a minor criminal offence. Examples of minor criminal offences that may have led you to receive a SJPN are watching TV with no TV licence, failing to ensure your child attended school, most motoring offences, cycling on a footpath, and travelling without a valid ticket. The information in this guide applies to England and Wales. There are different rules about cases in Scotland or Northern Ireland. 1 Do not miss the deadline to respond to an SJPN 2 Are you guilty or innocent? 3 How to respond if you are guilty 4 If you think you are innocent 5 If the case has already been dealt with without you knowing about it 6 SJPNs and DBS checks 7 About this guide It’s really important to respond to the SJPN before the deadline. You have only 21 days from the date shown on the notice (this is the date it was issued or.

Key information

• •If you have received a Single Justice Procedure Notice (SJPN) it can be hard to know what to do. It is rarely possible to get free legal advice to help you decide. This guide will help you understand the most crucial things to know about the Single Justice Procedure and what you need to do.
• •If you have received a Single Justice Procedure Notice (SJPN), you have been charged with a minor criminal offence. Examples of minor criminal offences that may have led you to receive a SJPN are watching TV with no TV licence, failing to ensure your child attended school, most motoring offences, cycling on a footpath, and travelling without a valid ticket.
• •The information in this guide applies to England and Wales. There are different rules about cases in Scotland or Northern Ireland.
• •1 Do not miss the deadline to respond to an SJPN 2 Are you guilty or innocent? 3 How to respond if you are guilty 4 If you think you are innocent 5 If the case has already been dealt with without you knowing about it 6 SJPNs and DBS checks 7 About this guide
• •It’s really important to respond to the SJPN before the deadline. You have only 21 days from the date shown on the notice (this is the date it was issued or sent to you).
• •When you respond, you will have the option to say whether you are pleading guilty or not guilty.
• •If you don’t respond, you will automatically be assumed to be ‘guilty’ of the minor offence – even if you are not. (For more details about who is ‘guilty’ or not, see Are you guilty or innocent?"))
• •If you need to plead guilty, responding before the deadline will enable you to receive a reduced fine. It will also give you the opportunity to explain any reason you committed the offence or anything the magistrate should know when deciding on your punishment (usually a fine).
• •If you don’t respond in time, you may be asked to pay the fine in a lump sum that you cannot afford, or you may be given a higher number of penalty points.
• •Responding in time can also allow you to explain any difficult personal circumstances you may have that the magistrate should take into account. For example, if you are/were suffering from serious ill health, a mental health problem, are a victim of abuse, or are already experiencing severe financial hardship so would be pushed further into destitution by receiving a fine.
• •This additional information might mean the prosecuting authority (e.g. TV licensing, the police, the local authority, Transport for London etc) agrees not to prosecute you. That is because prosecuting you has to be 'in the public interest' – in other words, it has to be in the best interest of society to take legal action against you.
• •Similarly, if the offence was committed due to a genuine mistake, you should explain that as they may agree to not prosecute you. (See the section on when pleading guilty").)

Practical guidance

• •Source: [How to deal with a Single Justice Procedure Notice (SJPN)](https://www.advicenow.org.uk/get-help/going-court/how-deal-single-justice-procedure-notice-sjpn)

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