You know you have jury duty when a summons arrives in the mail from a court. Courts send these notices by first-class, certified, or registered U.S. mail to your home or business address, and the document is a court order telling you to appear on a specific date at a specific place.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 28 U.S. Code 1866 – Selection and Summoning of Jury Panels If a phone call, email, or text is the first you’re hearing about jury duty, it isn’t jury duty. It’s a scam.
Why Your Name Came Up
Courts don’t pick jurors out of thin air. Every federal court builds its jury pool from voter registration lists, and most add driver’s license records so the pool reflects a fair cross-section of the community.2United States Courts. Juror Selection Process State courts use similar sources and may also pull from tax rolls, utility records, or state ID databases. Federal law requires random selection from those lists, so there’s no way to predict when your turn will come.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 28 USC 1861 – Declaration of Policy
If you’ve registered to vote or held a driver’s license in your state, your name is already in the pool. Being drawn from that pool doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll serve on a trial; it means you have to show up when the court tells you to.
What a Real Jury Summons Looks Like
The envelope carries a court seal or an official government return address, which sets it apart from junk mail at a glance. Inside, expect to find:
- The name and address of the issuing court
- Your reporting date and time
- A unique juror identification or badge number
- Instructions for checking your reporting status by phone or online
- Often, a qualification questionnaire you must complete and return, typically within 10 days, on paper or through the court’s online portal using your participant ID and date of birth
The questionnaire asks about citizenship, age, residency, English proficiency, and criminal history. It’s how the court decides whether you’re legally eligible to serve before you set foot in a courtroom.
Federal law also allows a U.S. Marshal to hand-deliver a summons in person, though that’s rare.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 28 U.S. Code 1866 – Selection and Summoning of Jury Panels Some courts now send text or email reminders in the days leading up to your service date, but those are supplements. The first, official notice always comes on paper.
How to Tell a Summons From a Scam
Scammers regularly impersonate court officials, calling or emailing people to claim they’ve missed jury duty and will be arrested unless they pay a fine right away. This is always a scam. Real courts don’t work this way.4United States Courts. Juror Scams A few reliable signs:
- Legitimate summonses come by mail. Courts do not notify you of jury duty by phone, email, or text.
- Courts never demand payment over the phone, and no government agency accepts gift cards, cryptocurrency, or wire transfers for fines.5Federal Trade Commission. That Call or Email Saying You Missed Jury Duty and Need to Pay? Its a Scam
- Courts never ask for your Social Security number, credit card number, or bank details by phone or email.5Federal Trade Commission. That Call or Email Saying You Missed Jury Duty and Need to Pay? Its a Scam
If you get a suspicious call, hang up. Then look up the clerk of court’s number from the court’s official website, not from any number the caller gave you, and call to verify. Federal and state court sites use the .gov domain, so check for that before trusting a web address. Report suspected scams to the clerk of court and to the Federal Trade Commission.4United States Courts. Juror Scams
If you think a real summons might have gone to an old address after a move, call the clerk of court in the jurisdiction where you used to live. Reaching out first is far better than waiting for a follow-up notice to catch up with you.
What to Do Once You’ve Confirmed It’s Real
Read everything. Note the reporting date and any deadline for returning the questionnaire. Fill the questionnaire out and send it back well before that deadline; delay here can trigger follow-up letters or make it look like you’re ignoring the summons.
The night before or morning of your reporting date, check the court’s phone line or website for updated instructions. Courts frequently change juror reporting status because cases settle, get continued, or need fewer jurors than expected. Your group may be told to report later, on a different day, or not at all. Skip this step and you might show up unnecessarily, or miss an earlier call time.
If you need a disability accommodation, such as wheelchair access, a sign language interpreter, or assistive listening devices, contact the court’s ADA coordinator as early as possible. Most courts ask for at least 10 business days’ notice.
If the Date Doesn’t Work
A deferral moves your service to a later date, and courts are generally accommodating about vacations, work deadlines, or school exams. This is the easiest request to get approved and the one to reach for first.
An excuse removes you from service for that term entirely. Courts grant excuses for serious situations: a medical condition that prevents you from serving, sole caregiving responsibilities with no backup, or genuine financial hardship that would threaten your ability to support yourself or your dependents. You’ll usually need documentation, such as a doctor’s note, a letter from your employer, or a sworn statement explaining the hardship. The bar is higher than many people expect. Being busy at work won’t clear it. Being the only person who can care for a disabled spouse very well might.
Certain groups are automatically exempt from federal jury service: active-duty military members, full-time police officers and firefighters, and public officials actively performing their duties.6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 28 U.S. Code 1863 – Plan for Random Jury Selection If you fall into one of these categories, indicate it on your questionnaire. State exemptions vary but often cover similar groups.
What Happens If You Ignore It
Ignoring a real jury summons can land you in front of a judge explaining yourself. In federal court, a judge can order you to appear and show good cause for failing to comply. If you can’t, you face a fine of up to $1,000, up to three days in jail, community service, or a combination.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 28 U.S. Code 1866 – Selection and Summoning of Jury Panels State penalties vary but follow a similar pattern.
In practice, courts rarely jump to punishment. The usual escalation is a follow-up notice, then a warning letter, then a show-cause order requiring you to appear before a judge. Each step gives you a chance to respond, and each step also makes the situation harder to fix. The people who end up with actual penalties are almost always the ones who ignored every notice along the way.
If you truly never received your summons because mail didn’t forward after a move, call the court as soon as you find out. Courts understand that mail goes astray, and reaching out first shows good faith. They’ll typically reschedule you rather than pursue penalties.