Criminal and Extradition Bundle Requirements (Criminal Practice Directions 2023, Part 12)
Criminal Practice Directions 2023 Part 12 does not restate the format rules. For extradition appeals it routes you straight to the Administrative Court guidance, and adds a 20mb ceiling with a core bundle above it. The 2021 general guidance on electronic court bundles also still applies to criminal proceedings.
Governing document
Criminal Practice Directions 2023, Part 12
Lord Chief Justice · as amended 16 March 2026
Criminal Practice Directions 2023, Part 12 (as amended 16 March 2026)
Also relevant: Administrative Court — Information for Court Users (Section A: Electronic bundles) (effective 4 October 2023 (binding via CPR PD 54A paras 4.5 and 15, PD 54B para 1.3))
Also relevant: General guidance on electronic court bundles (29 November 2021)
Criminal Practice Directions 2023, Part 12 (as amended 16 March 2026)
Also relevant: Administrative Court — Information for Court Users (Section A: Electronic bundles) (effective 4 October 2023 (binding via CPR PD 54A paras 4.5 and 15, PD 54B para 1.3))
Also relevant: General guidance on electronic court bundles (29 November 2021)
Checked against the published source on 15 August 2026.
The numbers, in one place
| Page limit | None No page cap. Over 20mb, prepare a core bundle plus further bundles, none exceeding 20mb. |
| File size | 20MB |
| Resolution | not greater than 300 dpi A ceiling only. |
| Pagination | Arabic, continuous from page 1 The pagination of any hard copy must be the same as the pagination of the electronic bundle (CrimPD 12.6.13). |
| Filename must contain | case reference, short case name, content indication |
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Every rule, in the source's own words
Quotations below are verbatim. Where a rule is best practice carried from another regime rather than a requirement of the governing document, it says so in the row.
| Requirement | What the rule actually says | Where it comes from |
|---|---|---|
| Prepared per the Administrative Court guidance check yourself |
“The hearing bundle must be prepared in electronic form in accordance with the Guidance on the Administrative Court website.” This is why the Administrative Court rules are applied below. |
CrimPD 2023 para 12.6.10 Criminal Practice Directions 2023, Part 12 (as amended 16 March 2026) |
| PDF format must |
“E-bundles must be provided in pdf format.” | General guidance (29 Nov 2021) General guidance on electronic court bundles (29 November 2021) |
| Paginated and indexed must |
“The hearing bundle must be paginated and indexed. It should only contain relevant documents and must not include duplicate documents.” | CrimPD 2023 para 12.6.11 Criminal Practice Directions 2023, Part 12 (as amended 16 March 2026) |
| 20mb ceiling should |
“Hearing bundles should not exceed 20mb. If the documents required for the hearing exceed this size, the parties should prepare a core bundle … and a further bundle (or bundles, none to exceed 20mb) containing the remaining documents.” | CrimPD 2023 para 12.6.13 Criminal Practice Directions 2023, Part 12 (as amended 16 March 2026) |
| No duplicate documents must |
“It should only contain relevant documents and must not include duplicate documents.” | CrimPD 2023 para 12.6.11 Criminal Practice Directions 2023, Part 12 (as amended 16 March 2026) |
| Hyperlinked index must |
“The index page must be hyperlinked to the pages or documents it refers to.” | Administrative Court Section A para 6, applied by CrimPD 12.6.10 Administrative Court — Information for Court Users (Section A: Electronic bundles) (effective 4 October 2023 (binding via CPR PD 54A paras 4.5 and 15, PD 54B para 1.3)) |
| Sidebar bookmarks by date and description must |
“Each document within the bundle must be identified in the sidebar list of contents/bookmarks, by date and description” | Administrative Court Section A para 7, applied by CrimPD 12.6.10 Administrative Court — Information for Court Users (Section A: Electronic bundles) (effective 4 October 2023 (binding via CPR PD 54A paras 4.5 and 15, PD 54B para 1.3)) |
| Bookmarks show the page number should |
“The sidebar list must also show the bundle page number of the document.” | Administrative Court Section A para 7 Administrative Court — Information for Court Users (Section A: Electronic bundles) (effective 4 October 2023 (binding via CPR PD 54A paras 4.5 and 15, PD 54B para 1.3)) |
| Text based, not a scan must |
“All bundles must be text based, not a scan of a hard copy bundle.” | Administrative Court Section A para 8, applied by CrimPD 12.6.10 Administrative Court — Information for Court Users (Section A: Electronic bundles) (effective 4 October 2023 (binding via CPR PD 54A paras 4.5 and 15, PD 54B para 1.3)) |
| Landscape rotated to read left to right must |
“Any document in landscape format must be rotated so that it can be read from left to right.” | Administrative Court Section A para 9 Administrative Court — Information for Court Users (Section A: Electronic bundles) (effective 4 October 2023 (binding via CPR PD 54A paras 4.5 and 15, PD 54B para 1.3)) |
| Default display view 100% must |
“The default display view size of all pages must always be 100%.” | Administrative Court Section A para 10 Administrative Court — Information for Court Users (Section A: Electronic bundles) (effective 4 October 2023 (binding via CPR PD 54A paras 4.5 and 15, PD 54B para 1.3)) |
| Not greater than 300 dpi should |
“The resolution of the bundle should not be greater than 300 dpi, in order to avoid slow scrolling or rendering. The bundle should be electronically optimised so as to ensure that the file size is not larger than necessary.” | General guidance (29 Nov 2021) General guidance on electronic court bundles (29 November 2021) |
Where this court differs from the others
This is the part that causes wasted work: a bundle built correctly for one court can breach the rules of another. Applying the wrong court's rulebook is the most common way a compliant bundle gets called non-compliant.
Index links
| Family (PD27A) | Index entries must be "added to" the indexed document. Hyperlinking is best practice carried from other regimes, not an express PD27A requirement. |
| Administrative Court, King's Bench (10.21) | Hyperlinked index is mandatory. |
| Court of Appeal | Hyperlinks OR bookmarks, "as appropriate". |
| Chancery, Commercial | Hyperlinked "if possible". |
| SEND Tribunal | Hyperlinks "ideally". |
| Employment Tribunal | Index hyperlinked at the front, OR supplied as a separate PDF. |
Pagination
| Financial remedy | Arabic, continuous, and the computer numbering must match the PDF page labels. |
| Family, not financial remedy | Bates numbering: A1, A2 … B1, B2 … by section. |
| Employment Tribunal, SEND Tribunal | Sequential Arabic from 1. Sections must NOT be separately numbered. |
| Chancery, Commercial | Where a bundle is split across files, pagination begins afresh in each file. |
| Administrative Court, King's Bench | First page of the PDF is page 1, index pages included. |
Bookmark density
| Everywhere except the Employment Tribunal | All significant documents and all sections. |
| Employment Tribunal | Significant documents only — "Do not bookmark every single document". |
Resolution
| Nearly all of the regimes on this page | Not greater than 300 dpi — a ceiling only. |
| Administrative Court, King's Bench (10.21) | About 200 to 300 dpi — a floor as well as a ceiling. |
Page and size caps
| Family, financial remedy | 350 pages, court permission to exceed. In financial remedy, position statements and composite documents do not count towards it. |
| Court of Appeal | 350 pages on the supplementary bundle; 50MB split threshold. |
| Administrative Court, criminal | 20mb, with a core bundle above it. Core bundle required over 400 pages (PD 54A 16). |
| SEND Tribunal | Core bundle 100 pages; EHC plan part 150; further caps by appeal type. |
| Chancery, Commercial, King's Bench | No page cap. |
What actually happened when bundles went wrong
Go Capital Ltd v Phull [2020] EWHC 1235 (Ch) — Judicial criticism of the bundle
The defect list that still gets cited: no selectable text, no bookmarks, multiple competing page numbers, missing pages, and two indexes that were not hyperlinked.
Being straight about this: No reported case imposes wasted costs solely for bundle defects. The only money outcome we can point to is Y v X (Costs) [2026] EWFC 35 (B), where bundle preparation fees were disallowed. None of these outcomes is a fine. Courts do not fine parties for bundle format. Every case above pre-dates the Practice Direction 27A that came into force on 2 March 2026. As at 15 August 2026 there is no reported judgment under the new PD27A. The underlying duties are materially similar, but nobody can yet cite a decision on the new wording.
What we cannot tell you
- No Civil Procedure Rule anywhere mandates bookmarks, OCR or hyperlinks in an electronic civil bundle. Those requirements come from judicial guidance and court guides, which a judge may vary in your case.
- The enacted PD27A says index entries must be "added to" the indexed document, not "hyperlinked to". We treat hyperlinking as best practice for family bundles and label it as such. Published commentary usually says "hyperlinked" because it is quoting the 2021 guidance, which no longer applies to family proceedings.
- PD27A 4.8 promises further HMCTS guidance on bundles. As at 15 August 2026 it has not been published.
- The 50MB figure in the Court of Appeal and King's Bench guides descends from the revoked PD 51O. Treat it as guide-level practice, not law. CPR PD 5C sets a 100MB electronic filing cap and carves bundles out of the pilot.
- Employment Tribunal Presidential Guidance is something a tribunal must have regard to. It does not bind in the way a practice direction does.
- This tool checks the format of a PDF. It cannot tell you whether a document belongs in the bundle, whether a bookmark description is good enough, or whether your case is ready. Those are judgement calls and we report them as such.
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Other courts
FamilyFPR Practice Direction 27AFinancial remedyFPR Practice Direction 27AAdministrative CourtAdministrative CourtCourt of AppealCourt of Appeal (Civil Division) Guide 2025Chancery / CommercialChancery Guide 2022 (Business and Property Courts)King's BenchThe King's Bench Guide 2025Employment TribunalPresidential GuidanceSEND TribunalPractice Direction No 1 of 2025General civilGeneral guidance on electronic court bundles
This is a format check against published court rules. It is not legal advice, it does not tell you whether your case is ready, and no outcome is guaranteed. The rules are subject to any direction a judge gives in your own case. Rules and guides are updated by the courts without notice; this page records the position as at 15 August 2026 and links to every source so you can check it yourself.