Determination on proper form of petitions
To be read alongside the Parliament’s rules on public petitions, the Public Petitions Committee has made the following determination under Rule 15.4.3 on proper form of petitions.
- Petitions should be submitted using the Scottish Parliament’s online petitions site. All sections should be completed.
- If an individual has no access to or difficulty in using the online petitions site, or if the site is unavailable, a petition may be submitted in paper form using the word template.
- A petition may be brought in any language. Where a language other than English is used, the Parliament will provide a translation.
- No supplementary information (such as correspondence, legal information, photographs, or copies of Freedom of Information requests) will be accepted as part of a petition.
- Petitions must relate to national policy or practice as opposed to a local or individual matter.
- Petition titles should be a short factual description that explains what is sought but not a slogan or campaign name. For example, “changes to the law about fatal accident inquiries” would be an appropriate title. “Betty’s Law” or “Justice for Betty” would not be.
- Previous action taken on a petition must include asking the Scottish Government (including asking a relevant Scottish Minister) or an MSP to bring about the change you are calling for.
The petitions system is one of many ways you can engage with the Scottish Parliament. We ask that you take previous action to address the issue you are concerned about because the response you receive could help you decide whether further action is needed on the issue you have raised and how you want to proceed. This may be by submitting a petition or the response from the Scottish Government or your MSP might identify a different route that you feel would be a better way of achieving your aim. Please allow a reasonable amount of time (roughly 4 weeks) for a response.
- A petition will not be considered by the Public Petitions Committee if the same (or substantially similar) petition, submitted by the same petitioner, has previously been considered by the Committee and closed at its first consideration on three consecutive occasions.
- Petitions should not:
- Name individuals or otherwise contain information that could lead to the identification of any individual. This excludes elected representatives and senior managers of public bodies, senior academics and other high-profile individuals.
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Contain information about a private individual. This includes their personal circumstances, information that could cause direct personal distress or loss and information that could intrude on personal grief or shock without consent.
- Contain any false statements. It is the responsibility of the petitioner to ensure that statements are accurate.
- Refer to any matter that is the subject of continuing court proceedings.
- Seek an adjudication or decision on an individual or commercial matter.
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Call for the Scottish Parliament or Government to interfere with the independence or operational decisions of organisations (for example individual decisions made by the Scottish courts, day-to-day operational decisions at a local primary school or local authority expenditure decisions).
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Seek to involve the Committee in a decision that is more properly made by another organisation (for example planning decisions, complaints or court appeals).
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Ask for someone to be given a job, to lose their job or to be formally recognised. This includes petitions calling for someone to resign, for a vote of no confidence in an individual Minister or the Scottish Government, and for individuals to be recognised by naming something in their honour.
- Include language or wording that is defamatory, offensive, or inappropriate, for example swear words, insults, sarcasm or other language that could reasonably be considered offensive by a reader.
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Endorse or advertise a specific product.
Approved: January 2026