David Duckenfield and Norman Bettison are among six people charged over the Hillsborough disaster.
Families of the 96 Liverpool fans killed in the 1989 tragedy were informed of the Crown Prosecution Service’s decision at a private hearing in Warrington.
The ruling follows the cross-examination of 23 files pertaining to individuals and bodies linked to Hillsborough as part of Operation Resolve, a specialist operation.
Duckenfield has been charged with gross manslaughter of 95 of the victims in his role as South Yorkshire Police’s match commander at the time of Hillsborough.
Head of Special Crime and Counter Terrorism Division for the CPS, Sue Hemming said: “I have found that there is sufficient evidence to charge former Chief Superintendent David Duckenfield, who was the Match Commander on the day of the disaster, with the manslaughter by gross negligence of 95 men, women and children.”
Bettison will face four charges of misconduct while in office over the aftermath of April 15 in which Liverpool fans were falsely accused of causing the disaster.
Ms Hemming said: “Given his role as a senior police officer, we will ask the jury to find that this was misconduct of such a degree as to amount to an abuse of the public’s trust in the office holder.”
Also facing charges is Graham Mackrell, Sheffield Wednesday’s secretary in 1989, over a negligence of care and contravening the stadium’s safety certificate.
Peter Metcalfe, SYP’s lawyer at the Taylor inquiry, stands accused of perverting the course of justice over the statements of the force’s officers at Hillsborough.
Two of the force’s former policemen Donald Denton and Alan Foster are also charged with involvement in adjusting officer statements.
Six other police officers have faced no charges due to “insufficient evidence for a realistic prospect of conviction” while Sheffield Wednesday itself will not stand trial.
Sheffield Wednesday also face no charges due to only existing as a legal entity on paper and are a different company to Sheffield Wednesday Football Club with no affiliation.
Sue’s statement about Sheffield Wednesday said: “Operation Resolve took action to preserve the paper company at the outset of the investigation so that a full investigation could take place.
“There are no longer any directors or other individuals who form the company and therefore no-one who could represent it in the dock, give instructions to answer any criminal charge or enter a plea.
“Even if the company were to be found guilty in those circumstances, there could be no penalty as it does not have any assets with which to pay a fine and no-one else liable to pay it. As a consequence, whilst I have concluded that there is sufficient evidence for a health and safety offence, it is not in the public interest to prosecute now.”
The three ambulance service employees between Trent Regional Health Authority (TRHA) and South Yorkshire Metropolitan Ambulance Services (SYMAS) have escaped charges as the CPS statement explains: “We have considered the actions of three ambulance service employees. We examined the records of the TR