Accessing HMCTS data

HM Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) enables legal and safe access to data for purposes such as supporting academic research, or the development or evaluation of policy and services.

The steps you need to take to access HMCTS data will depend on the type of data you are looking to access and the purposes you want to use the data for. The page sections below set out the access route for different types of data.

Data on workloads of criminal, civil and family courts and tribunals

This Management Information published by HMCTS includes routine updates on workload and timeliness information across jurisdictions, and ad-hoc publications.

Statistics at HMCTS

Ministry of Justice official statistics

Ministry of Justice publishes a range of statistics relating to the operation of the criminal and civil justice systems, on aspects of criminal justice policy, and on other areas of the department’s responsibility.

De-identified administrative data for research in the public interest

The Data First programme unlocks the potential of the wealth of administrative data collected by the Ministry of Justice (MOJ) by making linked, de-identified datasets from across the justice system available for research.

Aggregate case information

This includes aggregate management information derived from the administrative systems that HMCTS uses to manage cases in the courts and tribunals. Applications can be made to the HMCTS Data Access Panel to access this data.

Qualitative and quantitative data

This includes data derived from surveys of court and tribunal users for research in the public interest. Applications can be made to the HMCTS Data Access Panel to access this data.

Research at HMCTS

An overview of research undertaken by HM Courts and Tribunals Service.

We conduct evaluations at HMCTS to better understand the needs and expectations of our users regarding the justice system.

Court and tribunal decisions

Some decisions made in courts can be accessed online.

• Employment tribunal decisions
• Tax and chancery tribunal decisions
• Upper Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber) decisions
• First Tier Tribunal (Tax Chamber) decisions
• Supreme Court decisions
• Criminal judgments and sentencing remarks

Court and tribunal transcripts

All proceedings held in open court are recorded, except for Magistrates’ courts.

You can request a court transcript for hearings. You will need to pay a fee for this.

Court listings

TheseHMCTS publishes court and tribunals lists via the Court and Tribunal Hearings Service (CaTH) which can be accessedviewed at Court and Tribunal Hearings - GOV.UK.  

Apply for a Third-Party Courts and Tribunals Data Licence to re-use and perform computational analysis of information published via CaTH.

Court listings can also be accessed via CourtServe daily court listings. This is a free sign-up service.

External publication of court judgments

The National Archives has adopted responsibility for the external publication of court judgments, and maintains a publicly available government database of judgments. These are available via the ‘Find Case Law’ service.

Broadcasting of sentencing remarks

Since July 2022, some sentencing remarks have been broadcast. These are the sentencing remarks of judges in the Crown Court.

The recorded sentencing remarks are hosted by Sky News on a dedicated YouTube channel.

Individual court and tribunal records retained by the court

You’ll need to apply to the relevant court or tribunal to access court or tribunal records. This is the procedure to follow if you were party to a case and wish to access information about that case.

You can find the procedural rules for accessing these records in under Criminal Procedure Rules 2020 and Criminal Practice Directions 2023

Research involving the judiciary

You can apply to the judiciary to participate in your research project.

Research on prisons or probation services

Read HMPPS’ guidance on conducting research on prisons or probation services.

Freedom of Information (FOI) requests

More information on how to make a freedom of information (FOI) request is available on GOV.UK.

Subject Access Requests (SAR)

More information and guidance is available via the MoJ personal information charter. This explains more about the data held on individuals and how to make an access request.

Read more about how to access information an organisation holds about you.