Declaration closes an innings already under way
Except in the final innings of the match, the batting captain can declare while the ball is dead at any time during that innings. The law treats the declared innings as completed. A scorecard can consequently show a total with fewer than ten wickets lost and still legitimately move to the next innings.
Declaration is not a dismissal of the batters at the crease. When reading an archive, retain the declaration notation with the total rather than interpreting the remaining wickets as a missing segment of video. A complete innings and an all-out innings answer different statistical questions.
Forfeiture happens before that innings begins
Forfeiture is the separate option to give up one of the side’s innings before it starts, again excluding the match’s final innings. The code also considers that innings completed. There need not be footage of deliveries from an innings that was forfeited, because no deliveries from that innings were required.
The captain must notify the opposing captain and the umpires of either decision. Once notified, the decision cannot be changed. That makes an official announcement more meaningful than speculation about what a captain might do while players wait for weather or an interval to end.
Do not use the final-innings option from an older explanation
The MCC 2026 text explicitly begins both provisions with the final-innings exception. A viewer using an older general description such as a captain can declare at any time should check the edition before applying that shorthand. The exception belongs to the match’s final innings, not merely the last innings a particular side has already played.
This explanation uses the code effective from 1 October 2026 and checked on 4 November. Competition result rules, minimum-play requirements and playing conditions still need to be consulted for a particular event. A declaration or forfeiture alone does not establish which team wins the match or whether the event’s separate conditions have been satisfied.