How do I appeal against being sectioned?
Short answer
Apply to the First-tier Tribunal (Mental Health). On Section 2 you have 14 days from admission and the hearing must be held within seven days. On Section 3 you can apply once in each detention period. Legal aid is automatic, with no means test, so representation costs you nothing.
The main route is an application to the First-tier Tribunal (Mental Health) — an independent panel that can order your discharge whatever your treating team thinks. If the tribunal finds the statutory criteria for detention are not met, discharge is mandatory rather than discretionary, and the hospital must comply.
When you can apply
- Section 2: within the first 14 days of detention. There is only one application, because Section 2 lasts a maximum of 28 days. Hearings must take place within seven days of the application.
- Section 3: once during the first six-month period, and once during each renewal period after that. Section 3 hearings have an eight-week target.
- Community Treatment Order: once during the first six-month period and once in each period after that.
- Automatic referrals: if you have not used your right to apply within a specified period, the hospital managers must refer your case to the tribunal anyway.
Do not assume you have left it too late. If you are on day 10 of a Section 2, you still have four days — ask ward staff for a tribunal application form and submit it immediately.
Getting represented, and what the hearing is like
Legal aid for tribunal proceedings is automatic and not means-tested, whatever your income or savings, and you pay nothing for the solicitor. Ask for a solicitor from the Law Society's mental health panel — search solicitors.lawsociety.org.uk, ask your Independent Mental Health Advocate to find one for you, or ask Rethink Mental Illness (0808 801 0525) for a referral. Your solicitor reviews the case papers, meets you before the hearing and represents you on the day.
The panel is a legally qualified judge, a medical member who is a psychiatrist, and a specialist lay member. The medical member examines you before the hearing. The panel reads your responsible clinician's report, a social circumstances report and any nursing report; the hearing is held in private, usually in the hospital; witnesses give evidence and your solicitor can question them; and you can give evidence yourself. You can put in your own written statement, letters from family, evidence of your progress on the ward, or a report from an independent psychiatrist. The tribunal can discharge you, defer discharge while aftercare is arranged, or make non-binding recommendations such as leave of absence. Alongside the tribunal, you can ask the hospital managers to consider discharge, and your nearest relative can give 72 hours' written notice to discharge you unless your responsible clinician bars it.
Related guides
Mental Health Tribunal Appeals
The First-tier Tribunal (Mental Health) — commonly called the Mental Health Tribunal — is the independent body that hears appeals from patients detained under the Mental Health Act 1983 in England. It has the power to discharge a patient from detention or a Community Treatment Order. Legal aid is automatically available for patients appealing to a Mental Health Tribunal.
6 min
Independent Mental Health Advocates (IMHAs)
Every patient who is "qualifying" under the Mental Health Act 1983 has a statutory right to the support of an Independent Mental Health Advocate (IMHA). IMHAs are specialist advocates who help patients understand their rights, navigate the MHA system, and have their views represented — completely independently of the treating team.
6 min
Section 2: Admission for Assessment
Section 2 of the Mental Health Act 1983 allows a person to be admitted to hospital and detained for up to 28 days for assessment of their mental disorder (or assessment followed by treatment). It is used when clinicians need to assess the nature and degree of a person's disorder before deciding on a longer-term plan. It requires an application by an AMHP and two medical recommendations.
6 min
Section 3: Admission for Treatment
Section 3 of the Mental Health Act 1983 allows a person with a mental disorder to be admitted to hospital and treated without their consent for an initial period of up to 6 months, renewable thereafter. It is used when the diagnosis and appropriate treatment are already established. Section 3 carries significant safeguards, including the nearest relative's power to block the application.
6 min
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