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Section 63PA: Retention of further sets of fingerprints

Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 · 1984 c. 60View on legislation.gov.uk

Part V: Questioning and Treatment of Persons by Police

This section applies where section 63D material is or includes a person's fingerprints ("the original fingerprints").

A constable may make a determination under this section in respect of any further fingerprints taken from the same person ("the further fingerprints") if any of conditions 1 to 3 are met.

Condition 1 is met if—

the further fingerprints are section 63D material, and
the further fingerprints or the original fingerprints were taken in connection with a terrorist investigation.

Condition 2 is met if the further fingerprints were taken from the person in England or Wales under—

paragraph 10 of Schedule 8 to the Terrorism Act 2000,
paragraph 1 of Schedule 6 to the Terrorism Prevention and Investigation Measures Act 2011, ...
paragraph 34 of Schedule 3 to the Counter-Terrorism and Border Security Act 2019,
paragraph 10 of Schedule 6 to the National Security Act 2023, or
paragraph 1 of Schedule 12 to that Act.

Condition 3 is met if the further fingerprints—

are material to which section 18 of the Counter-Terrorism Act 2008 applies, and
are held under the law of England and Wales.

Where a determination under this section is made in respect of the further fingerprints—

the further fingerprints may be retained for as long as the original fingerprints are retained under a power conferred by sections 63E to 63O (including those sections as applied by section 63P), and
a requirement under any enactment to destroy the further fingerprints does not apply for as long as their retention is authorised by paragraph (a).

Subsection (6)(a) does not prevent the further fingerprints being retained after the original fingerprints fall to be destroyed if the continued retention of the further fingerprints is authorised under any enactment.

A written record must be made of a determination under this section.

About this text

This legislation text comes from legislation.gov.uk. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. These source and reuse terms cover the legislation text, not Remedy's commentary.

Reuse reviewed 21 August 2026 under Open Government Licence v3.0.