A jury questionnaire is a screening form a court mails to people whose names were pulled from public records, used to decide whether you meet the basic requirements for jury service. Getting one does not mean you have been called for jury duty. If you qualify, an actual summons with a date and place to report may come later, sometimes much later, and sometimes not at all.
Why Your Name Came Up
Federal courts build their jury pools mostly from voter registration lists. Federal law requires each district court to adopt a plan for random jury selection, and most courts supplement voter rolls with other public records so the pool reflects a fair cross-section of the community.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 28 U.S. Code 1863 – Plan for Random Jury Selection Driver’s license and state ID databases are the most common supplement. State courts work the same way, with the mix of records varying by jurisdiction.
The pick is random. It says nothing about your background, your politics, or anything in your history. A computer matched a name in a database.
How to Tell It’s Real and Not a Scam
Jury duty scams are common enough that the federal courts have put out direct warnings. Scammers call, email, or text claiming you missed jury duty and threaten fines or arrest unless you hand over personal information or a payment.2United States Courts. Juror Scams A few markers separate the real thing from the fake:
- Legitimate questionnaires arrive by U.S. mail. Most contact between a federal court and a prospective juror runs through the Postal Service. A phone call or email about missed jury duty is a scam.
- Courts never ask for a Social Security number, bank information, or credit card details by phone or email.3FTC. That Call or Email Saying You Missed Jury Duty and Need to Pay? It’s a Scam
- Courts never demand immediate payment to avoid arrest.
A real questionnaire comes on official court letterhead with a courthouse return address and directs you to a court website or mailing address. If you want to verify it, call the clerk’s office using a number you find yourself on the court’s official website, not a number printed on something you aren’t sure about.
Which Kind of Questionnaire You Got
There are two kinds, and the difference matters.
Qualification Questionnaire
This is the one most people receive out of nowhere. It asks the basics the court needs to decide whether you are legally eligible to serve: your citizenship, your age, how long you have lived in the area, whether you can read and write English, and whether you have any felony charges or convictions. Your answers sort eligible jurors from those who are disqualified or exempt.
Federal law sets five baseline requirements. You must be a U.S. citizen at least 18 years old, have lived in the judicial district for at least a year, be able to read, write, and speak English well enough to follow proceedings, be mentally and physically able to serve, and have no pending felony charge or felony conviction unless your civil rights have been restored.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 28 U.S. Code 1865 – Qualifications for Jury Service State courts use similar criteria with some local variation. If the court decides you don’t qualify, you’ll be removed from the pool and you won’t hear from them again.
Supplemental Questionnaire
A supplemental questionnaire is case-specific. It goes to people already identified as part of the pool for a particular trial, and it asks about attitudes, experiences, and any connection to the issues in that case. In a personal injury trial, it might probe your views on damages for pain and suffering. In a criminal case, it might ask about your experiences with law enforcement. Courts use these forms to shorten in-person jury selection.5United States District Court District of Nebraska. What Is a Supplemental Questionnaire?
Filling It Out and Sending It Back
Most federal courts give you two ways to respond. You can complete the form online through the eJuror portal, with the web address printed on your paperwork, or you can fill out the paper version and mail it back in the envelope provided.6United States Courts. Jury Service Online is faster and gives you immediate confirmation.
Federal courts typically require the form back within ten days. Answer every question honestly. Blanks and vague answers trigger follow-up correspondence that drags the process out.
What Happens If You Ignore It
Ignoring a jury questionnaire has real consequences. Under federal law, a person who fails to comply can be ordered to appear and explain the failure. If the court finds no good reason for it, the penalty can include a fine of up to $1,000, up to three days in jail, community service, or some combination.7Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 28 U.S. Code 1864 – Drawing of Names From the Master Jury Wheel; Completion of Juror Qualification Form The same penalties apply to lying on the form, either to avoid serving or to get onto a jury.
Courts rarely leap straight to those penalties. You’ll usually get sterner follow-up letters first, and eventually a judge may issue an order to show cause. But the authority to fine and jail is real and courts do use it. Returning the form is the simplest way out of that path.
When You Can Ask to Be Excused
Filling out the questionnaire doesn’t commit you to actually serving. If a summons comes later, most courts allow you to request either a deferral to a later date or a permanent excuse based on hardship. Federal courts recognize a few categories eligible for a permanent excuse, including people over 70, anyone who served on a federal jury within the past two years, and volunteer firefighters and members of rescue squads or ambulance crews.8United States Courts. Juror Qualifications, Exemptions and Excuses
Beyond those categories, courts can grant temporary excuses for genuine hardship: caring for a dependent with no alternative, a serious medical condition, or a trip booked and paid for that can’t be moved. Being busy is not an excuse that works.
The time to raise any of this is when a summons arrives, not now. The questionnaire only asks whether you are eligible.
What the Court Does With Your Answers
Once the court has enough qualified jurors for a case, selection moves to the next stage. Judges and attorneys read completed questionnaires before the in-person questioning, called voir dire. The written answers give both sides a starting point and a record. An attorney who sees that your spouse is a police officer will know to follow up on it in a criminal trial.
Those answers are treated as confidential. They go to the judge and the attorneys on the case for trial preparation, not to the public. Courts can issue protective orders limiting what the attorneys see and can redact details like your home address and phone number. The questionnaire sometimes touches on sensitive topics — whether you have been a crime victim, your mental health, your opinions on contentious issues — and the confidentiality exists so you will answer honestly instead of self-censoring. Answer the uncomfortable questions anyway. Your response reaches a small group of legal professionals, not the world.