Ministry of Justice Witness Intermediary Scheme
Information about Registered Intermediaries as part of the Ministry of Justice Witness Intermediary Scheme.
What is a Registered Intermediary?
A Registered Intermediary is an impartial, self-employed, communication specialist who enables vulnerable witnesses and complainants to give evidence to the police and to the court in criminal trials.
A witness might be vulnerable due to their age, or a learning, mental or physical disability or disorder.
Registered Intermediaries aim to facilitate two-way communication with the witness and enable them to give their best evidence. They can often be the difference between a witness being able to give evidence or not.
Registered Intermediaries conduct an assessment and outline orally and in writing, the communication needs of the vulnerable witness and the adjustments necessary to meet those needs.
Registered Intermediaries come from a variety of professional backgrounds such as speech & language therapy, teaching and social work. They have been recruited and selected by the Ministry of Justice and have successfully completed training and assessment.
Registered Intermediaries are provided through the Ministry of Justice Witness Intermediary Scheme, which facilitates communication with around 700 victims and witnesses every month. This scheme allows police officers and crown prosecutors to access high quality professional support when needed.
Requesting a Registered Intermediary
The National Crime Agency manage the scheme on behalf of the Ministry of Justice.
Registered intermediaries are approved by the Ministry of Justice and are arranged and paid for by individual customers (typically police forces and the Crown Prosecution Service).
If you are a police officer or prosecutor you can request a Registered Intermediary by contacting the MajorWitness CrimeIntermediary InvestigationTeam Supportvia team on 0345 000 5463.ri.requests@nca.gov.uk
Defendants in criminal cases and parties in family, civil and tribunal cases who need intermediary assistance to participate in a hearing, must use HMCTS intermediary services.
We have published . This includes instructions on when and how to request the assistance of a deaf Registered Intermediary. Please refer to this if you are a police officer or prosecutor assisting a deaf person.
Becoming a Registered Intermediary
The Ministry of Justice is investing to increase the number of Registered Intermediaries.
To register your interest in becoming a Registered Intermediary or for further information contact RI.co-ord@nca.gov.uk
Annual reports
Procedural Guidance
Updates to this page
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Added Welsh translation of Witness Intermediary Scheme Annual Report 2024.
Update history
2026-07-21 15:10
Witness Intermediary Scheme Annual Report 2025 published.
2025-07-24 11:52
Added Welsh translation of Witness Intermediary Scheme Annual Report 2024.
2025-07-17 12:00
Witness Intermediary Scheme Annual Report 2024 published.
2024-10-25 13:49
Replaced ‘Ministry of Justice Registered Intermediary Procedural Guidance’ and Welsh language file with updated versions.
2024-09-16 09:48
Ministry of Justice Registered Intermediary Procedural Guidance 2024 (Cymraeg) published.
2024-09-09 09:23
Registered Intermediary Procedural Guidance Manual 2024 published.
2024-05-15 09:34
Added Witness Intermediary Scheme Annual Report 2023 and Welsh language version.
2024-03-14 17:01
What is a Registered Intermediary? section updated
2023-08-22 10:57
Registered Intermediary Procedural Guidance Manual updated and Welsh version of the annual report 2022 published.
2023-05-19 09:30
Witness Intermediary Scheme Annual Report 2021 to 2022 published.
2022-04-04 10:00
Witness Intermediary Scheme Annual Report 2020 to 2021 published.
2022-03-24 16:17
Link to covid-19 guidance removed.