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This page provides details about those people who are not qualified for jury service, disqualified from jury service, or ineligible for jury service, as well as those entitled to apply for excusal as of right.
This guide provides details about those people who are not qualified for jury service, disqualified from jury service, or ineligible for jury service, as well as those entitled to apply for excusal as of right.
If you feel your particular circumstances may merit excusal from service for other reasons than those covered in Lists A, B and C below, the court can still consider an application for excusal.
Please refer to the information in the sections on excusal on the grounds of ill health or disability and excusal due to other special reasons before applying.
Subject to the information included in lists A and B below, you are qualified for jury service if:
You are not qualified for jury service if you do not meet all of these criteria, or if anything in list A applies to you, and you should email the address provided on your citation as soon as possible.
You are ineligible if anything in list B applies to you, and you should email the address provided on your citation as soon as possible, providing information as to why you are ineligible.
You may apply for excusal as of right if you are aged 71 or over or if the information in list C applies to you. If you wish to apply you should email the address provided on your citation as soon as possible, including supporting documentation as to why you are seeking excusal. Photos from your phone or scanned documents will be accepted.
Please include your name, address, date of birth and personal ID number (this can be found at the top of your citation, below your address)
WARNING: It is an offence to serve on a jury knowing that you are not qualified for jury service or are ineligible or disqualified from jury service.
and a period of 12 months has not passed from the date of conviction (or 6 months if you were under 18 on the date of conviction) or if any requirement of the order is still in force
in the last 12 months (or 6 months if you were under 18 on the date of conviction) or where any requirement of the order is still in place
People who fall into a category below, or are aged 71 or over, can apply to the court to be excused as of right. This can only be done if you apply within 7 days of receiving your citation. If you apply after this period, your application will be considered under requests for other special reasons. This does not apply if you are 71 or over- you can apply for excusal until the day you attend court.
Please note: If your commanding officer certifies that it would be prejudicial to the efficiency of the force of which you are a member if you were required to attend for jury service, you may apply for excusal as of right up until the day you are cited to attend court.
If you wish to apply for excusal on the basis of ill health or disability then you must include a medical certificate along with your response. This can normally be obtained free of charge from your GP, in terms of Article 4 of Schedule 4 and regulation 25 of The National Health Service (General Medical Services Contracts) (Scotland) Regulations 2018 (2018/66).
If your doctor considers your condition is long term or unlikely to change, please ask your doctor to include this information in your medical certificate.
There may be other reasons why you want to apply for excusal from jury service. This may be related to commitments at work, previously booked holidays, study and exams or family commitments. To do this, please email the address on your citation as soon as possible, attaching evidence such as a booking form or letter from your employer. Photographs from your phone or scanned documents are acceptable.
We will carefully consider all applications for excusal, however we are not always able to excuse everybody who applies. Rules of court state that there must be a minimum number of jurors available for a trial to start, which means that it may not be possible for court staff to excuse jurors in all cases. We appreciate that jury duty can be inconvenient, and appreciate the vital contribution to justice made by those who do attend.
If you wish to apply for excusal due to another special reason, for example commitments at work, cancellation of which would cause abnormal inconvenience either to yourself or others, or holiday plans which would be difficult or expensive to rearrange, you should complete the relevant sections of the application.
You must also provide evidence to support your request, for example a holiday booking confirmation or letter from your employer.
Applications for excusals are dealt with sympathetically by the courts, however, it must be understood that in some circumstances, the court may not be able to excuse individuals.
For more information, please make contact through the telephone number provided with your citation.
Please provide a supporting document as to why you are seeking excusal, some examples are: a doctor’s letter, holiday booking confirmation or a letter from your work.
Please also include your full name, personal ID and the date you are cited to attend court, all of this information is found on the front page of your jury citation.
Photographs from your phone or scanned documents will be accepted as evidence for excusal through our email.