Preventive measures in 2026: the types, bail amounts, deadlines and appeals

The Criminal Procedure Code provides five preventive measures: a personal undertaking, personal surety, bail, house arrest and detention (Article 176). The investigating judge chooses among them, and detention is permitted only where the prosecutor has shown that milder measures will not work. Bail in 2026 runs from 3,328 to 998,400 UAH, and a detention order lasts up to 60 days.

The subsistence minimum for working-age people in 2026 is 3,328 UAH, and it is from that figure that the Criminal Procedure Code calculates bail: the floor is one minimum, and the ceiling for an especially grave offence reaches three hundred, that is 998,400 UAH. The preventive measure is decided by the investigating judge on the prosecutor’s application, and the judge must consider that application no later than 72 hours after the actual detention (Article 186).

Prosecutors traditionally ask for detention, even though Article 183 calls it exceptional. For a suspect the first hearing effectively decides where the next two months will be spent, and there is almost no time to prepare: the defence receives the application and its materials no later than three hours before the hearing begins (Article 184).

The measures under Article 176

Article 176 lists five preventive measures from the mildest to the most severe: a personal undertaking, personal surety, bail, house arrest and detention. The code separately treats detaining a person as a temporary preventive measure, limited to 72 hours and ending either in release or in an order of the investigating judge. For minors the code adds placement under the supervision of parents or guardians, and for service personnel under the supervision of the unit command.

The investigating judge cannot impose a harsher measure than the prosecutor asks for, but is free to choose a milder one. With any measure the court imposes duties under part 5 of Article 194: periodic attendance before the investigator, surrendering travel documents, a ban on contacting named people, wearing an electronic monitoring device. Those duties last no more than two months under a single order.

Grounds and risks: what the prosecutor must prove under Article 177

Article 177 defines the purpose of a preventive measure through five risks. The suspect may abscond from the investigation or the court, destroy or alter items and documents, unlawfully influence a victim, witness or expert, otherwise obstruct the proceedings, or commit a further offence. The prosecutor must establish both that the suspicion is well founded and that at least one risk exists — with evidence, not with speculation about how the person might behave.

Article 178 adds the circumstances the court weighs separately: the strength of the evidence, the likely sentence, age and health, the strength of social ties, steady work and a home, means, reputation, previous convictions. Every document the defence files closes one item on that list, so the bundle for the hearing is assembled against Article 178, and it is put together by the lawyer running the defence at the pre-trial stage.

Bail in 2026: from 3,328 to 998,400 UAH

Part 5 of Article 182 ties bail to the subsistence minimum for working-age people. For a criminal misdemeanour or a less grave offence the court sets one to twenty minimums, that is 3,328–66,560 UAH. For a grave offence the range is twenty to eighty minimums, 66,560–266,240 UAH. For an especially grave offence, eighty to three hundred, that is 266,240–998,400 UAH. In exceptional cases involving grave and especially grave offences the court may go above the ceiling, giving its reasons in the order.

Bail is paid by the suspect or a third party, in hryvnia into a special account. If the person breaches their duties or fails to attend without good reason, the bail goes to the state. When ordering detention the investigating judge also sets bail, but part 4 of Article 183 lists the cases where no bail is set at all: a violent offence or a threat of violence, a death, a breach of bail previously granted to the same person, and certain offences the code names. That is why the wording of the suspicion is sometimes worth fighting before the hearing at all, and there is a challenge to the notice of suspicion for that.

Detention and the time limits in Articles 183 and 197

Part 2 of Article 183 allows detention only for six categories of person. Without further conditions it applies to someone with no previous convictions facing more than five years, and to someone previously convicted facing more than three. Otherwise the prosecutor must also show that the person failed to comply with an earlier measure or absconded.

An order for detention or for its extension lasts no more than sixty days (Article 197). The total period of pre-trial detention is capped at six months for misdemeanours and less grave offences and at twelve months for grave and especially grave ones. Extensions are possible only within the period of the pre-trial investigation itself, so its expiry is often the ground for release.

One development of 2026 concerns service personnel. By decision No. 4-r(II)/2026 of 24 June 2026 the Constitutional Court held unconstitutional part 8 of Article 176, which required detention and nothing else for service personnel suspected under Articles 402–405, 407, 408 and 429 of the Criminal Code. The provision’s loss of effect was deferred by three months, so from late September 2026 the court again chooses the measure to fit the case. That bears directly on the proceedings run by our lawyer for unauthorised absence and desertion.

Changing or lifting a preventive measure

The code offers three routes. Under Article 200 the prosecutor applies to make the measure harsher, under Article 201 the suspect, accused or defence counsel applies, and Article 202 provides for the measure to end without any application — on closure of the proceedings or an acquittal, for instance.

1. Record the new circumstances the court has not assessed: deteriorating health, the birth of a child, a change of classification, the completion of investigative actions. Without them the court may decline to consider an application filed less than thirty days after the previous order.
2. Gather the proof: medical reports, certificates on household composition and income, a reference from work, documents showing a surety is ready to pay.
3. File the application with the local court within the territorial jurisdiction of the investigation, or, in cases within the High Anti-Corruption Court’s remit, directly with that court.
4. Be ready for a hearing within three days: that is the period Article 201 sets from the court receiving the application.
5. If it is refused, appeal within five days of the order being announced, and keep track of the total period of detention at the same time.
6. Where bail is involved, agree the sum and the account details with the payer in advance: after the order the money must be paid and evidenced, or the person will not be released.

This work is covered by our service for lifting or changing a preventive measure in court, and everything that follows by representation in criminal cases.

Appealing the investigating judge’s order: five days

Article 309 lists the investigating judge’s orders open to appeal: among them orders applying detention or house arrest, extending detention, and refusing to change a preventive measure. The appeal must be filed within five days of the order being announced (paragraph 2 of part 2 of Article 395), and the appellate court hears it no later than three days after it arrives. Filing the appeal suspends the order taking legal effect but not its execution, so the person stays in detention until the appeal is decided. For that reason an appeal and an Article 201 application are often run in parallel.

Typical mistakes

• Giving explanations before counsel arrives. What is said during detention goes into the application and works as evidence of risk, which is why defence on detention begins with declining to explain anything without a lawyer.
• Arriving at the hearing with no documents about work, family and health. The court weighs the circumstances under Article 178, and an empty file argues the prosecutor’s case for them.
• Agreeing to any bail figure without working out what is realistic. If the money is not paid and evidenced, an order granting bail does not get anyone out of detention.
• Missing the five-day appeal window, since once it passes only an application to change the measure remains, and that is decided under different rules.
• Breaching the imposed duties over small things: missing a summons, leaving the city, forgetting to report a change of address. Each episode becomes a ready-made argument for a harsher measure and for forfeiting the bail to the state.

When you do not need a lawyer

If the proceedings concern a criminal misdemeanour, the person was not detained and the prosecutor asks for a personal undertaking, the hearing can be attended alone: bring the documents about work and residence and confirm you will attend when summoned. A routine extension of the duties where nothing in the case has changed needs no lawyer either. A lawyer becomes essential where the prosecutor asks for detention or house arrest, where a grave or especially grave offence is alleged, where bail has been set and must be reduced, and where the detention period is approaching the limit in Article 197.

Questions and answers

How many preventive measures does the code provide?

Article 176 names five: a personal undertaking, personal surety, bail, house arrest and detention. Detaining a person is treated as a temporary preventive measure and limited to 72 hours.

What is bail in 2026?

For a criminal misdemeanour or a less grave offence, 3,328–66,560 UAH; for a grave offence, 66,560–266,240 UAH; for an especially grave one, 266,240–998,400 UAH. The calculation rests on the 3,328 UAH subsistence minimum for working-age people.

Can bail exceed the maximum?

Yes; Article 182 allows it in exceptional cases involving grave and especially grave offences, where bail within the ordinary range could not secure compliance. The court gives its reasons in the order.

How long does a detention order last?

A single order lasts no more than sixty days, and in total detention may not exceed six months for misdemeanours and less grave offences or twelve months for grave and especially grave ones. Extensions are possible only within the period of the pre-trial investigation.

What is the deadline for appealing the investigating judge’s order?

Five days from the order being announced, under paragraph 2 of part 2 of Article 395. The appellate court hears the appeal no later than three days after it arrives, and filing it does not suspend execution of the order.

How soon can a change of measure be sought again?

An application under Article 201 can be filed at any time, but the court may decline to consider one filed less than thirty days after the previous order that raises nothing new. An application that is accepted is heard within three days.

What happens to bail if the suspect fails to attend?

The money goes to the state and the measure is replaced with a harsher one. The person must show the reason for non-attendance was valid, so documents about illness or other circumstances are filed before the hearing.

Is detention applied to service personnel automatically?

No longer: by decision No. 4-r(II)/2026 of 24 June 2026 the Constitutional Court held part 8 of Article 176, requiring detention with no alternative, unconstitutional and deferred its loss of effect by three months. The court now chooses the measure on the facts of the case.

Can the court impose a harsher measure than the prosecutor asks for?

No; the investigating judge is confined to the measure stated in the application and may choose only that or a milder one. That is why the defence reads the prayer for relief closely before the hearing.

What does a lawyer cost at this stage?

At Svarog a consultation costs from 1,500 UAH, attending investigative actions from 15,000 UAH, preparing procedural documents from 5,000 UAH, appearing at one hearing from 3,000 UAH, and full handling of a criminal case from 60,000 UAH. The list is on the page of legal service prices.

Sources

• Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine, Arts. 176–202, 309, 395, 422 — zakon.rada.gov.ua
• Criminal Code of Ukraine, Art. 12 on the classification of offences — zakon.rada.gov.ua
• Constitutional Court of Ukraine decision No. 4-r(II)/2026 of 24.06.2026 on part 8 of Article 176 — ccu.gov.ua
• Unified State Register of Court Decisions — reyestr.court.gov.ua
• The free legal aid system — legalaid.gov.ua

Preventive measure hearings with Svarog

We attend detentions, prepare the response to the prosecutor’s application, assemble the documents against Article 178 and run the appeal within the five-day window. If someone close to you has been served with a notice of suspicion or already taken to court, call at once: there are usually only hours left before the hearing. A consultation costs from 1,500 UAH, attending investigative actions from 15,000 UAH, and full handling of a criminal case from 60,000 UAH.

+38 095 554-54-24 · Kyiv, 7 Khoriva Street (Podil) · Mon–Fri 9.00–18.00