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This section is about detention under the Mental Health Act 1983. This is sometimes called ‘sectioning’. We explain why you may be detained, and what rights you have. This information is for adults in England who are affected by mental illness and their loved ones and carers. It's also for anyone interested in the subject.
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The Mental Health Act says when you can be taken to hospital, kept there, and treated against your wishes. This can only happen if you have a mental disorder that puts you, or others, at risk.
You should only be detained under the Mental Health Act if there are no other ways to keep you, or others, safe.
Being detained under the Mental Health Act is sometimes called being ‘sectioned’, because the law has different sections.
Your rights under the Mental Health Act depend on which section you are detained under.
This page does not cover criminal law sections. You can find more information about:
You can only be detained if you have a ‘mental disorder’. The Mental Health Act does not say exactly what can be classed as a ‘mental disorder’. So, when they’re using the Mental Health Act, health professionals will decide if someone’s mental health meets this definition.
You cannot be detained for drug or alcohol addiction. But you can be detained if alcohol or drugs cause mental health problems. For example, if you have used cannabis and this has made you experience dangerous delusions. This is known as drug-induced psychosis.
You can find more information about:
Usually, 3 professionals will assess you. And they have to agree that you need to be detained. But this may not be the case if the situation is urgent.
The 3 people are normally:
If possible, at least 1 of the doctors should have met you before.
The AHMP can only agree for you to be detained if they have seen you in the past 14 days.
The doctors must either have seen you at the same time, or within 5 days of each other.
If all 3 people agree that you need to be detained, the AMHP will apply to a local hospital for a bed.
Your nearest relative can also apply for you to be detained, but this is rare. You can find out more about nearest relatives below.
AMHPs are mental health professionals who carry out certain duties under the Mental Health Act. They are given specialist training to do this.
An AMHP might be a:
A doctor cannot be an AMHP.
This depends on where you are. The assessment might take place where you live, in a public place, in a police station, or in hospital.
The AMHP should introduce themselves, and the doctors, to you. They should explain why they have come to see you.
The AMHP can apply to court for a warrant if you refuse to let them in. Or if they think it’s necessary for another reason. A warrant lets the police enter your home to take you somewhere safe. This is called a ‘section 135’. If the place that you live can be considered a safe place, you may be kept there whilst an assessment is arranged.
If you are in a public place, the police can take you to a safe place under ‘section 136’. A safe place might be:
You can find more information about:
When you are in a safe place, the professionals will decide if you need to be detained. They will ask you questions and think about all your circumstances. They may ask you:
Professionals will assess the risk you are to yourself. And to other people. To assess the risk professionals may ask questions like:
If you are not already in hospital, the AMHP will arrange for you to go there as soon as possible. Sometimes the police will go with you.
But you should not be taken to hospital until a bed has been found for you. And it has been agreed with the hospital that they can accept you. So sometimes you may remain in the community with supervision until this happens.
It is likely that you will be taken to a specialist ward for people with mental health problems. This may be called an ‘acute inpatient ward’ or a ‘psychiatric intensive care unit’ (PICU). In most hospitals, the door to the ward will be locked.
Sometimes the hospital might be far away from where you live. But guidance says that the AMHP should try to find you a hospital bed as close as is ‘reasonably possible’ to where you would like to be.
In hospital, you will be introduced to your ‘responsible clinician’. This is the person who is in charge of your care and treatment. They are usually a psychiatrist, but they can be other professionals too.
The ‘nearest relative’ is a legal term used in the Mental Health Act. It is not the same as your next of kin.
Your nearest relative has certain rights if:
The nearest relative can ask an AMHP to arrange a Mental Health Act assessment. If the AMHP decides not to detain you, the nearest relative has a right to have their reasons in writing.
You can find more information about ‘Nearest Relative’ by clicking here.
When you’re detained you must be told which section you’re under, and what your rights are.
You should also be given information on:
Your team should think about your needs when telling you of your rights. You may need the information to be written in an simpler way. Or in a language you understand better. Or explained in a way that makes sense to you.
Your responsible clinician may give you “section 17 leave”. This allows you to leave the hospital for a brief period of time, if your responsible clinician agrees. This might be for a specific occasion, such as attending a family wedding. If there are concerns whilst you are out in the community, you may be taken back to hospital. This is also known as ‘recall’.
Restraint means that staff can use force against you. Restraint can be used by hospital staff when they are trying to stop you, or someone else, from getting hurt.
When you are in hospital you must be told your rights about being restrained.
Staff must be trained in how they can restrain you safely. The hospital must keep a detailed record of when they have used restraint on you. Unless the restraint was ‘negligible’. ’Negligible’ means smaller uses of force. However, the Secretary of State has not yet published what may be considered as ‘negligible’.
If a police officer is going to a mental health unit to help staff in an emergency, the officer must take a body camera and keep it recording at all times if ‘reasonably practicable’. ‘Reasonably practicable’ means that they should always do this, unless there is a good reason why they cant.
Every year the Secretary of State has to look at the recordings and examine them. They will then write a report about the use of restraint in hospitals. They also make sure that statistics are published about the use of force by staff who work in mental health units.
People often get detained because their mental health is putting them or others at risk, and they won’t accept treatment. Taking steps to improve your mental health can reduce the chance of being detained.
If it is likely you will be assessed soon, think about the possibility of accepting treatment, and reducing risky behaviour. During the assessment, you may want to explain how things are going for you, and what support you already have.
If the professionals think you are at risk, talk to them about other options for reducing these risks.
The professionals should listen to what you have to say, and consider all alternatives to detaining you. These alternatives might be receiving treatment from your local crisis team in the community. Or you agreeing to go to hospital as an informal patient. Being an informal patient is sometimes called ‘being a voluntary patient’.
If you want a friend or family member with you during a Mental Health Act assessment, let the approved mental health professional (AMHP) know.
Being taken to hospital against your will can be stressful and upsetting. You may feel that you need a lot of support.
Your friends and family can visit you in hospital if you want. There may be set visiting times.
There may be situations when doctors can stop someone visiting you. But they would need to show that this is necessary for safety or security reasons. And they should explain these reasons to you. If a doctor stops someone visiting you, when it’s not necessary, it could be a breach of your rights.
While you’re in hospital, you should be able to keep in touch with your family by telephone, email, or social media.
You may want to talk to someone about the way you feel. Ask the ward staff if you can use a phone to call a listening service, like Samaritans. Their number is in the Useful Contacts section at the end of this page.
You can get help from an IMHA if you are under sections 2 or 3 of the Mental Health Act.
IMHAs help you to tell staff about your concerns and help you understand what your rights are. They can also help you to understand your treatment. They are independent of the hospital staff.
Hospital staff should tell you about how to get help from an IMHA as soon as possible after you are detained.
If you think you would find it helpful to speak to an IMHA, ask staff about how to get in touch with one. You may have to ring a number to make an appointment. IMHAs can meet with you in private, if you would like them to.
You can’t get help from an IMHA if you are:
If you are under sections 2 or 3, and you think you should not have been detained, you can appeal to a tribunal. A solicitor can help you do this. This help should be free under legal aid.
Civil Legal Advice can tell you more about legal aid and help you to find a solicitor. Their number is in the ‘Useful Contacts’ section at the bottom of this page.
There may also be a list of solicitors on the ward. You can ask the staff on your ward if they have a list available.
You can find more information about:
Under section 2, you can be kept in hospital for up to 28 days. This section gives doctors time to:
An approved mental health professional (AMHP) is more likely to use section 2 than section 3 if:
A psychiatrist may offer you treatment. If you refuse treatment, the staff may be able to give it to you without your permission.
For more information on how you will be detained please see the previous section above.
You can be detained if:
Under section 2, you can be kept in hospital up to 28 days. But this doesn’t mean you will be in hospital for that long. Your doctor should discharge you from section 2 if you don’t meet the criteria for detention anymore.
Hospital staff cannot extend a section 2. If you need treatment in hospital for longer, you will need to go on to a section 3.
You can stay on a section 2 longer than 28 days if the county court is thinking about changing your nearest relative.
You have the following rights when you are under section 2.
You can find more information about:
Yes. But the staff should ask you to accept treatment first. If you are unhappy about your treatment, talk to the person in charge of your care (your responsible clinician). An independent mental health advocate (IMHA) may also be able to help.
Staff can only give you some treatments, like electro-convulsive therapy (ECT), if certain criteria are met. However, this is rare.
You can find more information about ‘Electro-convulsive therapy’ by clicking here.
You can be discharged by:
If your doctor thinks you should stay in hospital longer than 28 days, and you won’t agree to this, they may put you on a section 3. Or you may be discharged to the care of your local community mental health team. Your doctor will discuss this with you.
Under section 3, you can be detained in hospital for treatment for up to 6 months. But it can be extended for longer.
For more information on how you will be detained please see the previous section above.
You can be detained if:
To start with, you can be detained for up to 6 months. But this does not mean that you will be kept for this long. Your doctor can discharge you earlier, if they think you are well enough.
If your doctor thinks you need to stay in hospital at the end of the first 6 months, they can renew your section for another 6 months. After that, they can renew it for 1 year at a time.
If your responsible clinician thinks your section should be renewed, professionals have to assess you in the 2 months before it ends. They will then write a report for the hospital managers, who have to agree that you should remain detained.
You have the following rights when you’re under section 3.
You can be treated against your will for 3 months. After 3 months, staff can only treat you without your consent if a ‘second opinion approved doctor’ (SOAD) approves the treatment.
If you are unhappy about your treatment, you should talk to your responsible clinician. An independent mental health advocate (IMHA) may be able to help.
Staff can only give you some treatments, like electro-convulsive therapy (ECT), if certain criteria are met. This is rare.
You can find more information about ‘Electro-convulsive therapy’ by clicking here.
You can be discharged by:
When you leave hospital, you will get free aftercare. This is known as section 117 aftercare. It is likely that mental health services will plan your care under the ‘Care Programme Approach’.
You can find more information about:
Section 4 is used in emergencies, where only 1 doctor is available at short notice. Unlike a section 2 or 3, you can be detained with a recommendation from only 1 doctor. You must have been seen by a doctor in the last 24 hours. The doctor will write a report that says you should be detained.
You can be kept for up to 72 hours. This gives the hospital time to arrange a full assessment.
For more information on how you will be detained please see the previous section above.
You can be detained under section 4 if:
You can be detained for up to 72 hours. But this does not mean that you will be kept for this long. A second doctor should assess you as soon as possible. They will decide if the section 4 should be changed to a section 2. The AMHP does not need to make another application to change the section 4 to a section 2.
You can refuse treatment. Staff can only treat you without your consent if:
You can find more information about ‘Mental capacity and mental illness’ by clicking here.
You can be discharged by the professional in charge of your care in hospital. They are called your responsible clinician.
Section 5 allows a doctor or nurse to stop you from leaving hospital. They may do this if you are in hospital voluntarily, and you want to leave. But they think you are too unwell to leave.
If you are in hospital voluntarily, and you are on a locked ward, staff either have to:
If they stop you from leaving without using section 5, this is against the law.
Staff should only use section 5 when it is not possible or safe to use sections 2, 3, or 4.
A doctor can hold you in hospital for up to 72 hours. The doctor should write a report explaining why you need to be detained and send this to the hospital managers.
A mental health or learning disability nurse can keep you in hospital for up to 6 hours if:
Under section 5(2)
You can be held for up to 72 hours. The doctor cannot renew or extend it. An approved mental health professional (AMHP) and doctors must assess you as soon as possible to see if you should be detained under section 2 or 3.
Under section 5(4)
A nurse can keep you in hospital for up to 6 hours. This is not renewable. The holding power ends as soon as a doctor arrives.
The doctor may transfer you onto a section 2, 3, or 5(2). Or you may continue as a voluntary patient.
You can refuse treatment. Staff can only treat you without your consent if:
If you have the capacity to make your own decisions, staff cannot treat you without your consent, unless they move you to a section 2 or 3.
You can find more information about ‘Mental capacity and mental illness’ by clicking here.
Section 5 ends when:
If the time runs out, and the staff have not detained you under another section, you should be able to leave.
You must be discharged from the Mental Health Act when you don’t meet the criteria to be detained anymore. For example, if you are in hospital because your health puts you at risk, you can be discharged when this risk is low enough.
You can choose to stay in hospital voluntarily, if hospital staff agree that you need to be there.
Most people will not have completely recovered from their illness when they leave hospital. If staff think you are ready to leave, they should plan what will happen next. This is called ‘discharge planning’.
Your doctors should start planning your discharge as soon as possible, and you should be involved. Discharge planning should be part of your care plan. Your care plan depends on what staff think will be best for you, and what you want. It might say:
You can find more information about ‘Discharge from the Mental Health Act’ by clicking here.
When you leave hospital, professionals should plan your care under the ‘Care Programme Approach’ (CPA), if there’s a high risk that your mental health will get worse without ongoing care.
If you have been in hospital under section 3, you are entitled to free aftercare under section 117.
You can find more information about:
A CTO means that you can leave hospital, but you stay under the Mental Health Act. You have to meet conditions to stay in the community. You may be taken back to hospital if you don’t meet the conditions in the CTO, or you become unwell. A CTO can sometimes be called ‘supervised community treatment’.
You might be put on a CTO if you are discharged from section 3. You can’t be put on a CTO if you are under section 2, or if you are not detained.
Samaritans
This is a national helpline that gives confidential emotional support for people who are distressed. Local branches offer telephone support and, sometimes, face-to-face support.
Telephone: 116 123. Open 24 hours per day, 7 days a week.
Email: jo@samaritans.org
Website: www.samaritans.org
Civil Legal Advice
Civil Legal Advice can help you to find a solicitor who works under legal aid.
Telephone: 0345 345 4 345. Open Monday-Friday 9am-8pm, and Saturday 9am-12.30pm.
Website: www.gov.uk/check-legal-aid
The Equality Humans Right Commission (EHRC) has many useful guides on their website. You can find more information about your rights when detained under the Mental Health Act in England on their website.
Mental Health Act - Code of Practice
This is a document written by the government, working with an Expert Reference Group of service users and carers. It explains how healthcare professionals should apply the Mental Health Act.
You can find more information about:
We are a trusted information creator as we are accredited by the Patient Information Forum https://pifonline.org.uk/about-us
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© Rethink Mental Illness 2024
Last updated January 2021
Next update March 2025
