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Criminal Procedure Act 2011

Commencement of proceedings and preliminary steps - Filing a charging document

25: Time for filing charging document

You could also call this:

"How long police have to charge you with a crime"

Illustration for Criminal Procedure Act 2011

When you break the law, the police or someone else can file a charging document against you. This document says what you are accused of doing wrong. You can be charged with a category 4 offence at any time.

If you are accused of a category 3 offence, you can be charged within 5 years of doing something wrong, but only if the punishment is 3 years or less in prison, unless the Solicitor-General says it is okay to charge you after that. In other cases, you can be charged at any time. For category 1 or 2 offences, the time you can be charged depends on how serious the offence is and what the punishment could be.

If the punishment is a short time in prison or a small fine, you can be charged within 6 months of doing something wrong. If the punishment is a bit longer in prison or a bigger fine, you can be charged within 12 months. In other cases, you can be charged within 5 years, unless the Solicitor-General says it is okay to charge you after that. If you are a company and you break the law, you can be charged in the same way as a person.

There may be other laws that say something different about when you can be charged, and those laws would apply instead. You can look at the Criminal Procedure Act 2011 and other laws like the 1957 No 87 s 14 and the 1961 No 43 s 10B to learn more.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM3360067.

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Crime and justice > Criminal lawCrime and justice > Courts and legal help
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Part 2Commencement of proceedings and preliminary steps
Filing a charging document

25Time for filing charging document

  1. A charging document may be filed at any time in respect of a category 4 offence.

  2. A charging document in respect of a category 3 offence—

  3. must be filed within 5 years after the date on which the offence was committed, if an enactment specifies that the penalty for the offence includes a term of imprisonment not exceeding 3 years, unless the prior consent of the Solicitor-General is obtained to file a charging document after that date; or
    1. may be filed at any time in any other case.

      1. A charging document in respect of a category 1 or 2 offence must be filed—

      2. within 6 months after the date on which the offence was committed if an enactment specifies that the penalty for the offence—
        1. includes a term of imprisonment not exceeding 3 months; or
          1. does not include a term of imprisonment, but includes a fine not exceeding $7,500; or
          2. within 12 months after the date on which the offence was committed if an enactment specifies that the penalty for the offence—
            1. includes a term of imprisonment greater than 3 months but not exceeding 6 months; or
              1. does not include a term of imprisonment, but includes a fine greater than $7,500 but not exceeding $20,000; or
              2. within 5 years after the date on which the offence was committed in any other case, unless the prior consent of the Solicitor-General is obtained to file a charging document after that date.

                1. In the case of a category 1 or 2 offence that is a continuing offence, the time for filing a charging document must be determined under subsection (3) by reference to the maximum fine that may be imposed for the initial offending (or, if there is no separate fine prescribed for the initial offending, the fine prescribed for each day or each instance of offending) without taking into account the amount of any further fines that may be imposed as a result of the offence continuing.

                2. If a body corporate is charged with an offence, the limitation period within which a charging document must be filed is the period that would apply to a natural person charged with the same offence, irrespective of the penalty that may be imposed against the body corporate.

                3. This section is subject to any provision in any other enactment that provides a different limitation period for filing a charging document in relation to an offence.

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