In English law, applicable to England and Wales, a criminal charge is allowed to lie on file when the presiding judge agrees that there is enough evidence for a case to be made, but that it is not in the public interest for prosecution to proceed, usually because the defendant has admitted other, often more serious, charges.^[1] No admission to the charge is made by the defendant,^[1] and no verdict is recorded against them.^[2]

Charges which have lain on file may be reinstated at a later date, but only with the permission of the trial judge or the Court of Appeal.^[1]

Charges which have been laid on file have on occasions been taken into account in actions under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002, to confiscate the gains of criminal activity.^[2] The legal commentator David Winch has argued that this is in breach of the presumption of innocence.^[2]