Rape is a statutory offence in England and Wales. The offence is created by section 1 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003, and occurs when a perpetrator "intentionally penetrates the vagina, anus or mouth of another person with his penis" without consent, and without reasonable belief that the victim consents. The maximum penalty for a guilty verdict is imprisonment for life.

This definition is notably narrower than some colloquial definitions of the word rape, some of which are covered by other offences under the same act. For example, if a victim is forcefully penetrated with an object other than a penis, this is classed as "Assault by Penetration", and if the victim is made to penetrate another, this can be prosecuted as "Causing a person to engage in sexual activity without consent".

The Sexual Offences (Scotland) Act 2009 and the Sexual Offences (Northern Ireland) Order 2008 include equivalent constructions for the offence of rape.

Rape is considered an indictable-only offence in England and anyone assisting in such an act can be prosecuted for the crime as an accessory. Under section 1 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003, the use of the phrase "his penis" means that a female can only commit this offence as an 'accomplice'.

The term "rape by deception" covers cases where sexual activity was procured by deceit, and the question of when deceit is substantial enough to mitigate consent. In English law, the basis for such claims is "very narrow", as ruled by the Court of Appeal in R v Linekar [1995] 3 All ER 69 73. Cases demonstrating the law on consent as set out in the 2003 Sexual Offences Act include R v Assange (aka Assange v Swedish Prosecution Authority) (if consent was conditional on the use of the condom during intercourse, and the condition was deliberately disregarded, that was capable of amounting to rape), R(F) v DPP (the sexual act was performed in a way that broke a condition agreed previously), and R v McNally (deceit as to sex). The Sexual Offences Act 1956 contained a ground of "procuring intercourse by false pretences".

A paper on website The Student Lawyer examined the basis for fraud as grounds for negating consent. It concluded that the issues which might arise if this was a legal basis to negate consent, could be far wider than might be first appreciated. Examples given by the author included sex in the following circumstances: "Andrew is secretly having an affair but denies this to his wife... Barney exaggerates his financial success and pretends to like the same music and films as his date in order to impress her... Charlie dyes his hair and pretends to be in his mid-30s on a dating website when he is really in his 50s... Derek is unhappy in his marriage and is considering whether to leave his wife; he does not mention his misgivings..." In these examples, the sexual partner in each case would not have consented had all matters likely to be relevant to their decision been fully disclosed, and a reasonable person might be expected to realise this.

A high profile and unusual case where this issue arose, was the 2011 UK undercover policing relationships scandal in which police officers obtained sex by deceiving as to their identity, as part of their duties. Crown Prosecutors declined to prosecute on the basis that legally, the actions would not constitute rape as consent to the act itself was informed and the grounds for rape by deceit as to identity was extremely limited.

A person guilty of rape is liable on conviction to imprisonment for life or for any shorter term.