Court usher and HMCTS jobs

A court usher keeps a courtroom running: preparing the room, calling cases, swearing in witnesses, looking after jurors and making sure everyone is where they need to be when the judge or magistrates sit. In England and Wales ushers work for HM Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS), an executive agency of the Ministry of Justice, so the job is a Civil Service post advertised on Civil Service Jobs. No legal qualification is needed, and it is one of the more common ways into court work.

A day as an usher

The day starts before the court sits. The usher checks the courtroom, sets out papers and equipment, and makes sure the video link or recording system works. As people arrive, the usher finds out who is who, checks names against the court list, and tells parties, witnesses and lawyers where to wait.

Once the hearing begins, the usher calls each case, administers the oath or affirmation to witnesses, hands exhibits to the bench and keeps order in the public gallery. In the Crown Court an usher also looks after the jury: escorting jurors, keeping them apart from anyone involved in the case, and passing notes to the judge. Jurors can claim certain expenses from the court, and ushers often field their questions about it, though finance staff deal with the claims.

Much of the work is with people who are anxious, upset or angry. Defendants, victims and families can all be in the same building. Ushers are not security staff, but they are the first person many people speak to, and the job relies on tact.

Other jobs in HMCTS

Ushering is one of several entry-level routes. Courts and tribunals also employ:

• administrative officers who process applications, update case records and handle correspondence
• listing officers who schedule hearings and manage the court diary
• legal advisers in the magistrates’ court, who advise magistrates on law and procedure
• tribunal caseworkers who carry out some case management work under delegated powers
• staff in the national service centres that handle phone and online enquiries for several jurisdictions
• county court bailiffs and enforcement staff
• delivery managers who run a court building or area

Many of these roles are at administrative assistant (AA) or administrative officer (AO) grade. Administrative officer (AO) in the Civil Service covers the AO grade in general. Legal adviser posts have their own requirements and training, set out in legal adviser in the magistrates’ court.

Applying to HMCTS

Vacancies appear on Civil Service Jobs at civilservicejobs.service.gov.uk. Search by court or town, since roles are tied to a specific building or group of buildings. HMCTS assesses applications using Success Profiles, the Civil Service framework with five elements: Behaviours, Strengths, Ability, Experience and Technical. For usher roles the advert usually asks for behaviour examples such as Communicating and Influencing, Managing a Quality Service and Working Together, followed by an interview. How to get into the Civil Service walks through the stages from application to offer.

The Civil Service nationality rules apply. UK nationals, including dual nationals, can apply for any post, and about 75% of posts are also open to Commonwealth citizens and EEA nationals. Reserved posts are for UK nationals only.

Before you start, the employer checks your identity, right to work and references, and carries out security clearance at the level the job needs. Court roles involve access to sensitive case information, so expect the checks to take some weeks.

Pay and hours

HMCTS sets pay ranges for each grade, and the vacancy advert gives the starting salary and any London or national pay zone. National HMCTS pay ranges are not in the sources we have checked, so we have not printed figures here. All workers aged 21 and over must be paid at least the National Living Wage of £12.71 an hour from 1 April 2026. For 2026/27, Civil Service pay remit guidance allowed a headline increase of up to 3.5% across each department’s paybill, and that figure is not a promise about any individual’s pay. Civil Service grades and pay explains how grade ranges work.

Court hours follow sitting times, so most usher posts are daytime, Monday to Friday, with no routine nights or weekends. Some magistrates’ courts sit on Saturdays or bank holidays for remand hearings, and staff cover these on a rota. Part-time and fixed-term posts are common, especially for ushers.

HMCTS staff join the Civil Service pension scheme, alpha. Member contributions in 2026/27 are 4.6% on pay up to £36,199.

Where it can lead

Ushers who want to progress usually move up a grade first, often into an administrative officer post in the court office, where the work is processing cases, preparing lists and dealing with court users by phone and email. From there, case progression and listing roles are the next step, and supervisory posts in court administration follow.

Usher experience is useful for moving into listing, case progression or court administration, and some staff go on to train as legal advisers after gaining a law qualification. Because HMCTS is part of the Civil Service, you can also apply for internal vacancies elsewhere in the Ministry of Justice and across departments once you are in post.