Court administrative assistant
Court administrative assistants help with the day-to-day running of courts and court offices.
- Starter salary£24,000 a year
- Experienced£27,000 a year
- Typical hours37 to 39 a week
What you'll do
As a court administrative assistant, you could:
- respond to routine enquiries from the public and staff
- book courtrooms for hearings
- prepare lists of the day's court sessions and inform ushers
- make sure that judges, magistrates and lawyers have the right paperwork
- follow up the court's decisions and issue court orders
- take notes in court for legal advisers
- manage attendance rotas for court staff
- update records and handle general admin tasks, like document scanning and filing
Working environment
You could work in an office or in a court.
Skills and knowledge you'll need
You'll need:
- administration skills
- to be thorough and pay attention to detail
- legal knowledge including court procedures and government regulations
- excellent verbal communication skills
- the ability to organise your time and workload
- excellent written communication skills
- the ability to work well with others
- to be flexible and open to change
- to be able to use a computer and the main software packages confidently
How to become a court administrative assistant
You can get into this job through:
- a college course
- an apprenticeship
- applying directly
College
You could take a college course before you apply for work.
Courses include:
- business administration
- law and legal work
- T Level in Management and Administration
Entry requirements
Entry requirements for these courses vary.
- 4 or 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), or equivalent, including English and maths for a T Level
Apprenticeship
You could apply to do an apprenticeship, such as:
- Administration Assistant Level 2 Intermediate Apprenticeship
- Business Administrator Level 3 Advanced Apprenticeship
- Public Service Operational Delivery Officer Level 3 Advanced Apprenticeship
These take between 1 and 2 years to complete and combine on-the-job training with study.
Entry requirements
You'll usually need:
- some GCSEs, usually including English and maths, or equivalent, for an intermediate apprenticeship
- 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), or equivalent, including English and maths, for an advanced apprenticeship
Direct application
You can apply directly for jobs. You'll usually need 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C) including English.
Experience in similar work like office administration can be useful. Employers will also be interested in your personal qualities and life experience.
Restrictions and requirements
You'll need to:
- pass enhanced background checks
Career path and progression
With experience, you could become an administrative officer or team manager.
You could also use your admin skills to work in other parts of the justice system, like probation admin, or in local and central government departments.
Career tips
Court administrators can support the work of different types of court in the justice system, for example:
- criminal
- civil
- appeals
- tribunals
Guides for this industry
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Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0