Yes, the UK does have jury duty, though it is called jury service. If you are aged between 18 and 75, registered on the electoral roll, and have lived in the UK, Channel Islands, or Isle of Man for at least five years since you turned 13, you can be summoned at random to sit on a trial. In England and Wales, the Jury Central Summoning Bureau picks names from the electoral register and posts out summonses, and you must respond within seven days.1GOV.UK. Jury Service – Respond to the Summons Service usually runs up to ten working days, but a long or complex trial can keep you far longer.
Where Juries Sit
The main venue for jury trials is the Crown Court in England and Wales, which handles serious criminal cases such as murder, robbery, and rape. Almost every Crown Court trial is decided by a jury of twelve.2GOV.UK. Criminal Courts – Crown Court Less serious criminal cases are dealt with in magistrates’ courts, where there is no jury; a bench of magistrates or a district judge decides the outcome.
Juries also appear, less often, in two other places. The High Court can empanel one for certain civil claims, including defamation, false imprisonment, malicious prosecution, and fraud. Coroner’s courts must use a jury of seven to eleven for inquests where the death happened in state custody, resulted from police actions in the line of duty, or was caused by a notifiable accident.3Courts and Tribunals Judiciary. Chapter 11 – Jury Inquests
Who Qualifies
Three things have to be true. You must be at least 18 and under 76. You must be registered as a parliamentary or local government elector. And you must have lived in the UK, Channel Islands, or Isle of Man for five continuous years since your 13th birthday.4The House of Commons Library – UK Parliament. Jury Service The upper age limit in England and Wales was raised from 70 to 75 to widen the pool.5GOV.UK. Jury Age Limit to Be Raised to 75 in England and Wales
Some people are disqualified. Anyone ever sentenced to imprisonment or detention of five years or more is permanently barred. A ten-year disqualification applies if, in the last decade, you have served any part of a custodial sentence, received a suspended sentence, or been subject to a community order. Anyone currently on bail in criminal proceedings is also disqualified for as long as that bail lasts.4The House of Commons Library – UK Parliament. Jury Service
If You Are Summoned
Reply within seven days. Ignoring the summons or failing to turn up without a valid reason is a criminal offence and can lead to a fine of up to £1,000.1GOV.UK. Jury Service – Respond to the Summons
If the date genuinely does not work, you can apply to the Jury Central Summoning Bureau to defer to a later date or, in rare cases, to be excused entirely. Valid reasons include serious illness, a pre-booked holiday, or a scheduled medical procedure, and you will usually need to provide evidence. Full excusal is uncommon; if you can attend at some point in the following twelve months, expect a deferral instead.4The House of Commons Library – UK Parliament. Jury Service
On your first day, you join a larger panel of summoned jurors at the court. The court clerk randomly allocates people to individual courtrooms and then draws twelve names for the trial jury. Each selected juror takes a religious oath or a non-religious affirmation, which carry equal legal weight, and from that moment you are committed to hearing the case through to a verdict.
What the Job Involves
Jury service typically lasts up to ten working days. Court staff will tell you in advance if the trial is expected to run longer.6GOV.UK. Jury Service – How Jury Service Works Complex fraud or multi-defendant cases occasionally stretch to weeks or months, though that is unusual.
Your role is to be a finder of fact. You listen to the evidence, follow the judge’s directions on the law, and decide what actually happened. The judge tells you what the law requires; you decide whether the facts meet that requirement. Expect witness testimony, physical and documentary evidence, closing arguments from both sides, and then the judge’s summing up before you go into the deliberation room.
Not every day is spent in court. You may sit in the jury assembly area while cases are settled or adjourned. Some waiting comes with the territory, especially in the first few days.
Reaching a Verdict
The judge will always ask for a unanimous verdict first, meaning all twelve agree. If that proves impossible after what the judge considers a reasonable period of deliberation, a majority verdict may be accepted. The minimum deliberation time before a majority verdict is allowed is two hours, though judges routinely give longer.7Legislation.gov.uk. Juries Act 1974 – Section 17 The acceptable majority depends on how many jurors remain:
- With eleven or twelve jurors, at least ten must agree.
- With ten jurors, at least nine must agree.
If the jury cannot even reach a majority, the judge discharges it. This is a hung jury: no conviction, no acquittal. The Crown Prosecution Service then decides whether to seek a retrial, and if a second jury also fails to agree, there is a strong presumption against a third attempt.8Crown Prosecution Service. Re-Trials
Pay, Expenses, and Your Job
Jurors are not paid a salary, but you can claim back certain costs from the court, including travel and a daily food allowance based on how long you spend at the courthouse.6GOV.UK. Jury Service – How Jury Service Works
If you lose income, you can claim a loss of earnings allowance. The daily cap depends on how long you have been serving and how many hours you spend at court that day:
- First ten days, four or more hours at court: up to £64.95 per day.
- First ten days, under four hours: up to £32.47 per day.
- After ten days, four or more hours: up to £129.91 per day.
- After ten days, under four hours: up to £64.95 per day.
Employees claim by asking their employer to complete a certificate of loss of earnings. Self-employed jurors provide their most recent tax return, a letter from their accountant confirming average daily earnings, or proof of work turned down because of jury service.
Your employer must let you take the time off. That part is not negotiable. But employers are not legally required to pay your wages while you serve.9GOV.UK. Paying Staff on Jury Service Many still do, and some top up the court’s allowance to match your normal take-home pay. If your employer does not pay, the loss of earnings allowance is your fallback.
An employer can ask you to defer service if your absence would seriously impact the business, but they cannot simply refuse to release you. If they do refuse, you can complain to an employment tribunal, and dismissal for performing jury service is likely to be an unfair dismissal.10GOV.UK. Jury Service – What You Can Claim if You Are an Employee
Rules You Must Follow
Two prohibitions carry serious criminal penalties, and both catch jurors out more often than people expect.
Once sworn in, you must not research anything about the case. No internet searches, no looking up the defendant or witnesses on social media, no visits to the crime scene, and no asking anyone else to look things up for you. The Criminal Justice and Courts Act 2015 made this a specific criminal offence, punishable by up to two years in prison or an unlimited fine, or both.11Legislation.gov.uk. Criminal Justice and Courts Act 2015 – Section 71 The reason is that a fair trial depends on every juror deciding on the evidence tested in court, not on material neither side has had a chance to challenge.
What happens in the jury room is confidential for life. It is a criminal offence to disclose the statements, opinions, arguments, or votes of your fellow jurors, whether to a journalist, a friend, or on social media, and it is also an offence for anyone to try to get that information out of you. The maximum penalty is two years’ imprisonment or a fine, or both.12Legislation.gov.uk. Criminal Justice and Courts Act 2015 – Section 74 Judges may also require jurors to hand in their phones during deliberations.
Scotland and Northern Ireland
The system described above is for England and Wales. The UK’s other jurisdictions have their own rules, and the differences matter.
Scottish criminal juries have fifteen members, not twelve.13Scottish Parliament. Victims, Witnesses, and Justice Reform (Scotland) Bill From 1 January 2026, the uniquely Scottish “not proven” verdict was abolished for all new criminal trials, leaving only guilty and not guilty. The majority needed for a conviction also changed: previously eight out of fifteen was enough, but now at least ten out of fifteen jurors must agree on guilt.14The Scottish Government. Abolition of Not Proven Verdict
Northern Ireland largely mirrors England and Wales for standard criminal cases, with twelve-member juries and the same majority rules. The main difference is that Northern Ireland retains a system of non-jury trials for exceptional cases linked to terrorism or paramilitary activity. Under the Justice and Security (Northern Ireland) Act 2007, the Director of Public Prosecutions for Northern Ireland can direct that a trial proceed without a jury where there is a genuine risk that the administration of justice would be impaired. In 2023, only about 0.8 percent of Crown Court cases in Northern Ireland were tried without a jury.15GOV.UK. Northern Ireland Office Launches Consultation on the Use of Non-Jury Trials in Northern Ireland
Support After a Difficult Trial
Sitting through weeks of evidence about murder, abuse, or serious violence can take a toll that jurors do not always see coming. For a long time, the standard advice for distressed jurors was to visit their GP or call the Samaritans. In late 2024, the Ministry of Justice launched a pilot across fourteen Crown Courts offering jurors on the most traumatic cases a 24/7 support helpline and six free counselling sessions. Jurors can self-refer after the trial ends using leaflets provided by court staff.16GOV.UK. Extra Support for Jurors Thanks to Launch of Pioneering Scheme The pilot was initially planned for six months, so availability may depend on when and where you serve.