Before you plead guilty it is suggested you obtain legal advice. If you plead guilty, you are agreeing that you committed the offence that you have been charged with. For a summary offence not punishable by imprisonment or detention, a plea of guilty can be made on a Form 51 in writing without appearing at the Court. You or your lawyer, if you are represented, can provide the Court with any facts that you want the Court to consider when deciding the penalty you will be given.

Completed, signed, and scanned Form 51 (Written Guilty Plea)

There are no fees for entering into a guilty plea.

Steps:

  1. Log into CourtSA
  2. Click “My Cases” in the top menu and find the case you wish to enter a guilty plea for and click “View Case”
  3. Click on the “Actions” button in blue
  4. Click on “Lodge a Document”
  5. Click on “Add Secondary Document”
  6. Tick the box at the bottom to proceed
  7. To the question “What Type of Document are you Lodging” select ‘Guilty Plea’ in the drop-down menu. Then select ‘Form 51 Written Guilty Plea’
  8. Fill out the form and tick the checkbox next to your name
  9. If the application refers to more than one person tick the checkbox next to the other parties
  10. Upload the document in a PDF format
  11. Upload any supporting information
  12. Tick the checkbox at the bottom to proceed
  13. The submission has been lodged

You will receive an email from CourtSA letting you know that your Guilty Plea has been received for review by the Court.

If it is accepted for filing:

CourtSA will generate a sealed Form 51 Guilty Plea using the information you provided. You will receive a notification from the Registry to let you know that it has been approved.

If it is rejected

You will receive a notification to let you know why your guilty plea was rejected.