Protests and marches: letting the police know

By law you must tell the police in writing 6 days before a public march if you’re the organiser.

Tell the police the:

  • date and time of the march
  • route
  • the names and addresses of the organisers

The police have the power to:

  • limit or change the route of your march
  • set any other condition of your march

If you arrange a march at short notice, you must still tell the police as soon as you can.

The police can also:

  • change the location
  • limit how long a rally lasts
  • limit the amount of people who attend
  • stop a sit-down protest if it blocks road traffic or public walkways

If there’s no march involved

If there’s no march organised as part of your protest, you do not have to tell the police.

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