Can a Sentence Be Increased After Sentencing?

Yes, a Crown Court sentence can be increased after it has been passed, but only in a narrow group of cases and only if someone asks for it in time.

This is the unduly lenient sentence scheme. It works in the opposite direction to an appeal. Instead of the person who was sentenced asking for less, someone else asks the Court of Appeal to look at whether the sentence was too low.

If you or someone in your family has just been sentenced, this is often the question that keeps people awake at night. Here is how it actually works.

Who can ask for a sentence to be reviewed

Anyone. Government guidance puts it plainly: "Anyone can ask for a sentence to be reviewed. You do not have to be involved in the case or have legal knowledge."

In practice the requests tend to come from victims, bereaved families, or members of the public who have read about a case in the news. The request goes to the Attorney General's Office, not to the court that passed the sentence.

Which sentences can be reviewed

Only sentences passed in the Crown Court, and only for certain types of case. Government guidance gives these examples:

• murder and manslaughter
• rape and sexual offences
• robbery
• child sex offences and child cruelty
• drug distribution offences
• terror-related offences

If the offence is not covered by the scheme, the sentence cannot be referred at all, however strongly anyone feels about it. A great many ordinary Crown Court sentences fall outside it.

The deadline is 28 days

A request has to reach the Attorney General's Office by 11:59pm on the 28th day after the sentence was passed. Weekends and bank holidays are counted inside those 28 days.

That is a short, strict window, and it is the single most useful date for a family waiting to know whether a sentence is settled.

What changed on 29 June 2026

The Victims and Courts Act 2026 changed the timing, and that part of it is in force.

Since 29 June 2026, if the Attorney General receives a request during the final 14 days of the 28-day period, the Attorney General has extra time to act: up to 14 days from the day the request came in, to give notice of a reference to the Court of Appeal.

In plain terms, the person asking still has to get their request in within 28 days, but a late request no longer has to be processed inside the original 28 days. That means notice of a reference can arrive a little after day 28.

The six-month change that has not started yet

The same Act contains a larger change. It creates a route for a victim in the case to ask the Court of Appeal to allow a late application, up to six months after the sentence was passed.

That part of the Act, section 13(2)(d), is not yet in force. It comes into force on a day to be appointed by regulations, and the Act says the change will apply only to cases where the sentence was passed after it came into force. Government guidance on asking for a sentence review still sets out the 28-day deadline.

So as things stand today, 28 days is the figure that matters. If and when the six-month route begins, it will not reach back to sentences passed before that date.

What the Attorney General's Office does with a request

It reviews the request and decides whether to send the case to the Court of Appeal. Not every request becomes a reference. A sentence being lower than someone hoped for is not the test. The question is whether it was unreasonably low.

What the Court of Appeal can and cannot do

If a case is referred, the Court of Appeal may decide that the sentence should stay the same, or that it was unreasonably low, described in law as "unduly lenient", and increase it. The court may also refuse to hear the case at all.

Two limits are worth knowing. The Court of Appeal cannot look at new evidence about the case, and it cannot change the offence the person was sentenced for. A reference under this scheme is about the sentence, not about whether the conviction was right.

What this means for you

• If the offence is not one the scheme covers, the sentence cannot be increased by this route.
• The 28 days run from the day sentence was passed, and weekends and bank holidays are included.
• Because of the June 2026 change, notice of a reference can land slightly after day 28 where the request itself came in late in the period. Silence on day 29 is reassuring, but it is not an absolute guarantee.
• A reference is not a prediction. The Court of Appeal can decide the sentence should stay exactly as it is.
• The six-month victim route is in the Act but not in force, and when it starts it will only apply to sentences passed after that point.
• If your worry runs the other way, that the sentence was too long or the conviction is wrong, that is a separate process with its own time limits, and the paperwork is worth having looked at properly.

Nobody can tell you what the Attorney General's Office or the Court of Appeal will do in a particular case. Be careful of anyone who says they can.

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This article is general information about the law in England and Wales. It is not legal advice on any individual case, and a case review is not a substitute for a solicitor.