Juror Qualification Questionnaire: Legit or a Scam?

The juror qualification questionnaire is a real federal court document, and if one arrived in your mailbox you are legally required to complete and return it within ten days.¹ Courts use it to screen prospective jurors drawn from voter rolls and other public lists. It is not a summons, it is not a bill, and it will never ask for your Social Security number, bank information, or any payment.

How to Tell the Form Is Real

A genuine questionnaire arrives through the U.S. Postal Service. Federal courts have confirmed that first contact with prospective jurors happens by mail, and legitimate follow-up from court staff will never ask you for sensitive personal or financial information.² The envelope will carry the name and address of a specific federal court, a return envelope, and instructions for completing the form on paper or through the court’s eJuror portal.³

If you have any doubt, call the Clerk of Court’s office for your local U.S. District Court using a number you look up independently, not one printed on anything that arrived with the suspicious document.²

What the Questionnaire Asks

Federal law sets the categories the form can cover: your name, address, age, race, occupation, education, how long you’ve lived in the judicial district, how far you live from the courthouse, prior jury service, and citizenship. It also asks whether you have any pending felony charges, prior felony convictions, or a physical or mental condition that would impair your ability to serve.⁴

You sign a sworn statement that your answers are true. Notarization is not required. Federal law states that information about your religion, national origin, or economic status is not a prerequisite for qualification, and you may decline those items. The race question exists to enforce nondiscrimination in jury selection and has no effect on whether you qualify.⁴

How to Fill It Out and Send It Back

You have ten days from receipt to return the completed form.¹ Use the enclosed envelope, or complete it online through the court’s eJuror portal, which asks for a participant ID, your last name, and your date of birth.⁵

Answer every question that applies. Don’t volunteer extras. Even if you think you qualify for an exemption or excusal, you still have to fill out and return the form; that decision is the court’s to make. If the court finds something missing or inconsistent, it will send the form back with instructions, and you get another ten days.¹

Lost the mailing? Damaged? Call your local court’s jury office and ask for a replacement. They handle this routinely.

What Happens If You Ignore It or Lie

The form is not optional. If you don’t return it, the court can order you to appear in person and fill it out there. If you still don’t show up and can’t demonstrate a good reason, you face a fine of up to $1,000, up to three days in jail, community service, or any combination of those penalties.¹

Lying carries the same penalty. Willfully misrepresenting a material fact to avoid or secure jury service can bring a fine up to $1,000, up to three days of jail, community service, or any combination.¹ The sworn statement at the end of the form is the hook.

Who Qualifies for Federal Jury Service

The court compares your answers against a fixed checklist. To qualify, you must:

Be a U.S. citizen at least 18 years old
Have lived primarily in the judicial district for at least one year when you complete the questionnaire
Be able to read, write, understand, and speak English well enough to fill out the form and follow proceedings
Have no disqualifying physical or mental condition that cannot be accommodated
Not currently face felony charges punishable by more than one year of imprisonment
Have no prior felony conviction unless your civil rights have been legally restored

⁶

The felony point confuses people. A prior felony disqualifies you unless your civil rights were restored or were never lost in the jurisdiction where you were convicted.⁷ If you’re not sure where you stand, answer honestly and let the court make the call.

What Happens After You Submit

Returning the questionnaire does not mean you’ve been summoned. The form is a screening tool. The court decides whether you’re qualified, adds qualified names to a pool, and may later draw yours at random for an actual jury summons. Many names never come up.³

If and when you are summoned, a separate notice arrives by mail with a date, time, and courthouse. That is a different document from the questionnaire, and it will also come through the Postal Service.

Scams That Imitate Jury Paperwork

Scammers call, email, and text people pretending to be court officials. The pattern is consistent: they claim you missed jury duty, threaten arrest or a fine, and pressure you to hand over personal information or pay immediately, often by gift card or wire. The federal courts have warned that these contacts are fraudulent and have no connection to the court system.²

Three facts separate real from fake:

Courts initiate contact by mail, not by phone, text, or email.
No court collects fines over the phone. Real penalties go through formal proceedings.
Real deadlines are written on paper. Scammers manufacture urgency to short-circuit your thinking.

If you get a suspicious call or message, give nothing, hang up or delete it, and verify with the Clerk of Court’s office directly. Suspected fraud can also be reported to the Federal Trade Commission.²

1
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 28 U.S. Code 1864 – Drawing of Names From the Master Jury Wheel; Completion of Juror Qualification Form
2
United States Courts. Juror Scams
3
United States Courts. Juror Selection Process
4
Legal Information Institute. 28 U.S. Code 1869(h) – Juror Qualification Form Definition
5
United States Courts. Summoned for Federal Jury Service
6
United States Courts. Juror Qualifications, Exemptions and Excuses
7
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 28 U.S. Code 1865 – Qualifications for Jury Service