Yes, the UK has jury duty. If you’re on the electoral roll and aged between 18 and 75, you can be randomly summoned to sit on a jury, hear evidence, and decide whether a defendant is guilty. Almost all jury trials take place in the Crown Court in England and Wales, in the High Court of Justiciary and sheriff courts in Scotland, and in the Crown Court in Northern Ireland. Service usually lasts up to 10 working days, and ignoring a summons can cost you up to £1,000.
Who Can Be Called
Three things decide whether you’re eligible in England and Wales:
- You’re at least 18 and under 76. The upper limit was raised from 70 to 75 in 2016.1Legislation.gov.uk. Criminal Justice and Courts Act 2015 – Section 68
- You’re registered to vote.2GOV.UK. Jury Age Limit to Be Raised to 75 in England and Wales
- You’ve lived in the UK, the Channel Islands, or the Isle of Man for at least five continuous years since you turned 13.
Some people are disqualified outright. Anyone currently on bail can’t serve. Anyone who has received a prison sentence of five years or more is permanently barred. If you’ve served any part of a prison sentence, been on probation, or been subject to a community order in the last ten years, you’re excluded during that window. People who lack the mental capacity to follow proceedings are also ineligible.
Profession no longer gets you out. Police officers, barristers, solicitors, judges, and clergy can all be called in England and Wales and are expected to serve like anyone else. Northern Ireland is different: people working in the justice system, the police, and the armed forces on full pay remain ineligible or can apply to be excused, and doctors, teachers, and nurses can apply for excusal too.3nidirect government services. Exemptions From Jury Service
How Selection Works
The Jury Central Summoning Bureau picks names at random from the electoral register. If yours comes up, a jury summons arrives in the post, and you have seven days to reply.4GOV.UK. Jury Service: Respond to the Summons
When you turn up at court, you join a larger panel of summoned jurors. For each trial, court staff draw names at random from that panel in open court until they have 12. Either side’s lawyers can challenge a juror “for cause” if they have a specific legal reason that person shouldn’t sit, but there’s no lengthy questioning of individual jurors by advocates. The process is quick.
What the Job Actually Involves
The judge handles the law. You handle the facts. The judge explains which legal tests apply, what the prosecution has to prove, and which evidence you’re allowed to consider. Your role is to listen, decide what happened, and return a verdict.5Independent Office for Police Conduct. Factsheet – The Role of a Jury in a Criminal Trial
After both sides have closed their cases, you go to the jury room to deliberate. The court starts by asking for a unanimous verdict from all 12. If you’ve deliberated for what the judge considers a reasonable time (usually at least two hours) without reaching unanimity, the judge can accept a majority verdict, meaning at least 10 of the 12 must agree. If even that threshold can’t be met, the judge declares a hung jury and the prosecution decides whether to retry.5Independent Office for Police Conduct. Factsheet – The Role of a Jury in a Criminal Trial
What’s said in the jury room is confidential, and this isn’t a soft rule. Disclosing details of jury deliberations is a criminal offence under the Criminal Justice and Courts Act 2015, punishable by up to two years in prison.6Legislation.gov.uk. Criminal Justice and Courts Act 2015 – Section 74 Researching the case online, looking at the defendant’s social media, or visiting the scene are equally off-limits and can trigger contempt of court proceedings.
How Long It Takes and What You’re Paid
Jury service in England and Wales normally lasts up to 10 working days. If your trial finishes early, you may be placed on another within that window. If the case is expected to run longer, court staff will tell you in advance.7GOV.UK. Jury Service: How Jury Service Works
You don’t earn a wage for serving, but you can claim allowances for expenses and lost income:8GOV.UK. Jury Service: What You Can Claim if You’re an Employee
- Loss of earnings for the first 10 days: up to £64.95 per day if you’re at court more than four hours, or £32.47 for four hours or less.
- Loss of earnings after 10 days: up to £129.91 per day for more than four hours, or £64.95 for four hours or less.
- Food and drink: up to £5.71 per day (up to 10 hours at court) or £12.17 for over 10 hours.
- Travel: mileage for private vehicles (31.4p per mile for a car) or ticket cost for public transport.
- Childcare and other care costs: within the same daily caps as loss of earnings.
Those caps are modest. If you earn more than £64.95 a day, you’ll feel the shortfall unless your employer tops up your pay.
Your Job Is Protected
Your employer must give you time off to attend, but the law doesn’t force them to keep paying your salary while you’re away. Many do anyway, either as company policy or by topping up the court allowance. If yours doesn’t, you claim loss of earnings from the court.9GOV.UK. Paying Staff on Jury Service
What your employer can’t do is dismiss you for going. Under the Employment Rights Act 1996, dismissal for answering a jury summons is automatically unfair, and you don’t need any minimum length of service to bring a claim.10Legislation.gov.uk. Employment Rights Act 1996, Part X There’s one narrow exception, where absence would cause substantial harm to the business and the employer asked you to seek a deferral that you refused without good reason. Employers rarely succeed on it because they have to prove every part.
If You Can’t Attend
A summons doesn’t have to lock in the dates you were given. If you have a genuine conflict such as a pre-booked holiday, an upcoming exam, planned surgery, or a new baby, you can ask to defer. You propose three dates within the next 12 months that work for you, and the court picks one. You can only defer once.11GOV.UK. Jury Service: Ask to Change the Date or Be Excused
Full excusal is harder. Courts grant it only in exceptional circumstances, most obviously serious illness or a disability that prevents you from doing the role. You’ll need to explain in detail when you reply to the summons, and the court may ask for supporting evidence such as a letter from your GP.11GOV.UK. Jury Service: Ask to Change the Date or Be Excused
Simply ignoring the summons is the worst option. If you don’t return the reply form or don’t show up, the court can fine you up to £1,000 and can also hold you in contempt.4GOV.UK. Jury Service: Respond to the Summons Reply to the summons and ask for a deferral or excusal rather than hoping the letter goes away.
Scotland and Northern Ireland Work Differently
Most of what’s above applies to England and Wales. Scotland and Northern Ireland run their own systems.
Scottish criminal juries have 15 members, not 12. Scotland also had a third possible verdict, “not proven,” alongside guilty and not guilty. That verdict was abolished for all new criminal trials starting 1 January 2026 under the Victims, Witnesses, and Justice Reform (Scotland) Act 2025.12The Scottish Government. Abolition of Not Proven Verdict The majority needed to convict has also shifted: at least two-thirds of the jury, meaning at least 10 of the 15, must now agree.
Northern Ireland uses 12-member juries like England and Wales, but it kept the professional exemptions that England and Wales removed. Justice-system workers, police officers, and armed forces personnel on full pay remain ineligible, and certain professionals can apply to be excused.3nidirect government services. Exemptions From Jury Service