Youth Court Bench Book
The Youth Court Bench Book (YCBB) provides guidance for magistrates who sit in the youth court dealing with children (ie those under the age of 18). It is used for reference at court and to support training.
The YCBB is supplemented by national sentencing guidelines, checklists and pronouncements, available via the Pronouncement Builder. These help magistrates undertake the task of decision-making in a fair and structured manner. The Youth Court Pronouncement Builder assists magistrates to explain their decisions fully and clearly.
Latest edition
The latest edition of the YCBB (dated September 2025) includes the following amendments:
- In line with the Crown Court Compendium and Child Defendants in the Crown Court, the YCBB now refers to all defendants under the age of 18 as “child” or “children”.
- Guidance on granting adjournments for consideration of out-of-court disposals for a child who has indicated that they will now make admissions in a case (refer to Section 3).
Please note: The PDF format of the YCPCs was discontinued. From 15 May 2023, pronouncement wording became available only via the Pronouncement Builder (external link) on the Sentencing Council website.