Is a Juror Qualification Questionnaire Legit or a Scam?

If a juror qualification questionnaire arrived in your mailbox, it is almost certainly genuine. Federal and state courts use these forms to decide whether you meet the legal requirements for jury service, and federal law gives you ten days to complete and return the one you received.¹ Jury-related scams exist, but they look very different from a real questionnaire, and the differences are easy to spot.

Is It Real or a Scam

Courts draw names at random from voter rolls and other public records, then mail questionnaires to the people selected. A real one arrives by U.S. mail. Most contact between a federal court and a prospective juror happens through the Postal Service, not by phone, email, or text.²

The document itself carries official court letterhead and a court seal, lists a return address tied to the courthouse, and gives you direct contact information for the clerk’s office. You can confirm those details by looking up your local federal court at uscourts.gov or your state court’s website. The questions are limited to things like your age, citizenship, residency, and occupation. A real questionnaire never asks for bank account numbers, credit card information, or payment of any kind.

Scams tend to come from the opposite direction. Someone calls, emails, or texts claiming you missed jury duty and owes a fine. They push for immediate payment by gift card, wire transfer, or prepaid debit card, and they want your Social Security number or financial details on the spot.² Courts do not operate that way. A real court will not call you to demand payment, and legitimate court staff will not ask for sensitive personal information by phone or email.

If a call or message feels off, hang up or stop replying. Then call the clerk’s office of the U.S. District Court in your area using the number listed on the court’s own website, and report the contact to the Federal Trade Commission.

What the Questionnaire Asks

The form gathers only what the court needs to decide whether you qualify. Under 28 U.S.C. § 1865, a qualified federal juror must:

Be a U.S. citizen at least 18 years old
Have lived in the judicial district for at least one year
Read, write, and speak English well enough to follow proceedings and complete the form
Be mentally and physically capable of serving, with reasonable accommodations if needed
Have no pending felony charges and no prior felony conviction unless civil rights have been restored³

Most forms also ask about your occupation and any connection to law enforcement or the legal profession. That information matters later, during selection for a specific trial.

If you have a disability and would need accommodations to serve, the questionnaire is the right place to say so. Many courts include a section to describe what you need, such as a sign language interpreter, wheelchair access, or assistive listening equipment. The jury administrator reviews those requests before deciding whether and how you can serve.

How and When to Return It

You have ten days from receipt to complete, sign, and return the form in the envelope provided. Your answers must be sworn.¹ If anything on the form is unclear or incomplete, the clerk will send it back with instructions and give you another ten days to fix it.

Many federal courts now offer the eJuror online portal, which lets you complete the questionnaire electronically. You will need the nine-digit participant number printed on your form, the first three letters of your last name, and your date of birth. The whole thing takes about ten minutes over an encrypted connection. One thing to watch: if you close the browser before finishing, your answers are not saved and you will have to start over.

If you cannot fill out the form yourself, someone else is allowed to complete it for you. That person should note on the form that they filled it out and explain why.

What Happens If You Ignore It

Nothing good. If you do not return the questionnaire, the clerk can summon you to appear in person at the courthouse to complete it.¹ Ignoring that in-person summons escalates matters further.

Under 28 U.S.C. § 1866(g), anyone summoned for federal jury service who fails to appear can be ordered to show cause. If you cannot show a good reason, the penalties include a fine of up to $1,000, up to three days in jail, community service, or any combination of the three.⁴ Courts generally send follow-up notices before applying penalties, but relying on that is a gamble.

Who Is Exempt and Who Can Be Excused

Receiving a questionnaire does not mean you will have to serve. Federal law permanently bars some people from federal jury service even if they want to serve:

Active-duty members of the armed forces and National Guard members on active duty
Full-time professional firefighters and police officers employed by a government agency
Public officers in any branch of government who are actively performing official duties full-time⁵

Beyond those permanent exemptions, most federal district courts grant excuses case-by-case for undue hardship or extreme inconvenience. Common grounds include being over 70, having served on a federal jury within the past two years, and volunteering as a firefighter or emergency responder.⁶ Courts also weigh caregiving obligations, serious medical conditions, and financial hardship that goes beyond simply missing work.

If the timing is bad but you are willing to serve, ask for a deferral instead of an excuse. A deferral pushes your service to a later date. Each federal district court handles those requests through its clerk’s office, and the decision rests with the court.⁶

What Happens After You Send It Back

Returning the form does not mean a trial is around the corner. Your name goes into a master jury wheel with everyone else who returned a valid questionnaire. Names are then drawn from that wheel at random as the court needs jurors for upcoming trials.⁶

If your name is drawn, you will receive a separate jury summons with a specific date and place to report. The summons is a different document from the qualification questionnaire, and it carries its own obligations. Many people return a questionnaire and never hear from the court again. Even being summoned does not guarantee a seat on a jury, because attorneys question prospective jurors during voir dire and many are sent home before a panel is seated.

Your Job and Your Pay

One worry worth putting to rest early: your job is protected. Under 28 U.S.C. § 1875, no employer may fire, threaten to fire, intimidate, or coerce a permanent employee because of federal jury service or scheduled federal jury service.⁷

An employer who violates that rule can be ordered to pay lost wages and benefits, reinstate you, and pay a civil penalty of up to $5,000 per violation per employee, along with community service in some cases. When you are reinstated, the law treats your jury service like a leave of absence, so you keep your seniority and remain eligible for insurance and other benefits as though you had not left.⁷ If retaliation happens, you can file a claim in the federal district court where your employer does business. The court will appoint an attorney for you if the claim has merit, and a prevailing employee can recover attorney’s fees. State laws add protections that vary by jurisdiction.

Federal jurors receive $50 for each day of attendance. If a trial runs longer than ten days, the judge can authorize up to an additional $10 per day. Grand jurors who serve beyond 45 days are eligible for the same increase. The court also reimburses mileage for driving or actual reasonable costs for public transportation, plus tolls and parking with a receipt. State court pay is set separately and varies widely, from a few dollars a day to amounts closer to the federal rate.

1
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 28 USC 1864 – Drawing of Names From the Master Jury Wheel
2
United States Courts. Juror Scams
3
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 28 US Code 1865 – Qualifications for Jury Service
4
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 28 USC 1866 – Selection and Summoning of Jury Panels
5
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 28 USC 1863 – Plan for Random Jury Selection
6
United States Courts. Juror Qualifications, Exemptions and Excuses
7
GovInfo. 28 USC 1875 – Protection of Jurors Employment