What is jury service?
Jury service is one of the ways individuals participate in the justice system. If you are called to serve, you will sit in court and help decide the outcome of a trial. It is a legal obligation.
In England and Wales, you can be summoned if you are between 18 and 75 years old and registered to vote. In Scotland, the upper age limit is 71. Names are selected at random from the electoral register. When a summons arrives, you must attend unless you have been granted permission to defer or are excused.
In England and Wales, a jury has 12 members. Scottish criminal trials use 15 jurors. Coroner's inquests that require a jury will have between 7 and 11 members, depending on the type of case.

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Most jury trials take place in Crown Courts and involve serious criminal charges. These include:
- Murder and manslaughter
- Serious assault
- Rape and sexual offences
- Robbery and burglary
- Fraud
- Drug trafficking
As a juror, you will evaluate evidence alongside your fellow jurors to reach a verdict of guilty or not guilty. The judge will provide legal instructions, but the decision of verdict remains with the jury.
Coroner's juries serve a different purpose. Rather than deciding guilt, you will help establish the facts about a death: who the person was, when and where they died, and the cause of death. These inquests may be held when someone dies in custody, at work, or in circumstances that need public examination.
Your situation may be slightly different. ask a question below ↓ and our editorial team will reply with our advice.
Receiving your summons
Your jury summons will arrive by post. You will need to return part of it to the Jury Central Summoning Bureau (in England and Wales) within seven days. Keep the remaining pages with you, as you will need them when you attend court.
The summons will tell you which court to go to and when to arrive. Most jury service lasts around two weeks, though some trials run longer. If you are selected for a lengthy case, you will usually be told at the start.
If you cannot attend on the dates given, you can ask to defer your service to a more suitable time. Deferral is not guaranteed, and typically only one deferral is permitted. You will need a genuine reason, such as a pre-booked holiday, medical treatment, or exams. Requests should be made promptly.
Some people can be excused from jury service altogether. This may apply if you have a serious illness or disability that would make serving very difficult. Members of the armed forces on active duty can also apply, though their commanding officer must support the application. The decision is made on a case by case basis. Failing to attend without a valid excuse can result in a fine.
What to expect when you attend
On your first day, you will go through security and be shown to a waiting area with other potential jurors. Court staff will explain what happens next. You may be selected for a trial that day, or you may wait to be called.
Before being assigned to a case, you must inform the court of any conflicts of interest or prior knowledge that could affect your impartiality. Once assigned, you must not discuss the case with anyone outside the jury room. This includes family, friends, and anyone online. You must also avoid media coverage of the trial and not conduct your own research. Breaking these rules is a criminal offence.
Reasonable adjustments are available for jurors with disabilities. Your employer must give you time off for jury service. You can claim for loss of earnings up to a capped amount, as well as travel costs and meals. Claim forms are available at court, and current rates are listed on GOV.UK.
Although l was not chosen on that occasion.is there a timescale before you can be cited again?
.
I have received a letter to attend a jury service in the end of September. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find the letter.
Could you please send me an email with the starting date of my jury service as I need to inform my manager.
Thank you for your cooperation and understanding.
Kind regards
Suhair Alwaqqadi
The one thing that kept me sane during the waiting was the lady who was looking after us, Donna. She tried her best to keep us informed and keep us relaxed. She did a very good job and shouls be proud of herself
So started on Monday, wasn't selected, and sent home on call. Giving a phone number to ring after 4pm to see if I was needed next day. I wasn't, but still on call and told to phone Tuesday to see if I was needed wed, still not needed. Phoned again wed and this time it said my jury service was completed. Do I have actually spent less than four hours in court, the rest of time on call. I can't go back to work till end of next week... This is made clear on the loss of expenses form.
Will I be able to claim full days for being on call and for the rest of the time that I've lost from work.
All this and I didn't even get to see a trial.
What time does jury service start?
I'm due to be on it next week
Anyone help?
Thank you
Please advise.
My employer is arranging cover for the full 10 days that I may have to attend court for jury duty, so I am unable to return to work for those 10 days.
The company does not pay me for my time in court.
Will the court have to pay loss of earnings for 10 full days @ £64.95 per day even if i'm not in court for a full day or finished earlier than expected?
Kind regards
David
Thanks
Thank you
I have been selected for Jury Service and have been told that I will not be paid by my employee. I am worried that the amount that I could be likely to claim is considerably less than my wage and not sufficient to cover my mortgage payment. Where do I stand? I'm guessing that I cannot ask for more money other than the set amount on the gov website? It's not a good reason to defer as I would still have the same problem whenever it may be re-arranged for!
Regards,
Geoff
this seems rather late in the day to me, is this right? Can I be called in that late, or did I mishear what they said. I don't want to get there late. They said we only have an hour slot to phone up and find out and that hour is up.
I have jury service on the 9th of August, as well as two University exams in August. At the time of having to confirm whether or not I could participate in the jury service and sending off my confirmation the dates of the exams had not been released so I felt like I didn't really have choice but to confirm and hope they wouldn't clash.
I now know my first of the two exams is on the 18th of August - is this likely to be a problem, is it common for cases to last more than a week?
Any advice would be appreciated!
I work 2 days a week. The week of my jury service I am rota'd to work the weekend.
Would I still need to work this?
As it would obviously mean working 7 days/possibly 14 in a row, to which I have to find childcare.
also my employer has stated that i need to claim the loss of earnings and they will pay me the difference. in essence doing jury service means that i am performing over time and i have been told that i will only get what my employer has filled in on the loss of earning forms which is only for 5 hrs and have been doing 8 hr days so far
I am a full time student, and at the moment on placement. I have been called for Jury Duty. This means I have to have a week of placement in which I have to make up. To make this up I will have to take time from my actual job. How does this work?
Thanks
Stuart
Thanks
I have lost the form completely carrying it around with me at work trying to find time to reply, & I am due to fly out 3 August -17 August
Pls advice as I have no clue where to start, didn't even read it pass the heading.
I have been called up for jury service starting on a Monday. This means I will be finishing work on the Sunday at 5.00pm then going to the court Monday morning. Can I ask my employer for special leave on the Sunday or because there is more then an 11 hour gap will I be expected to work Sunday?
If chosen on the Monday by the court it means i will be attending court on my 4 off days and will then be returning straight back to work without any rest days. Can I ask my employer to give me an allowance for the rest days i will have missed from work? If not i am going to be very tired.
i have heard of people only being in court for a few hours then being sent home and told come back tomorrow for it to continue
I was a defendant years ago and was rightfully acquitted. I feel that my experience would bias my ability to serve as a juror as I think that I would be likely to find everyone innocent as I have no faith in the legal system. What should I do?
Thanks,
Thanks
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