Court Reporter Toolkit
If you cover UK courts — magistrates, crown, family, coroners or employment tribunal — this toolkit gives you the reference guides, interactive tools and template packs most relevant to your work. Court reporting in the UK carries unique legal obligations; getting the detail right matters.
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Court reporting in the UK is protected by the principle of open justice: the press has the right to attend and report on court proceedings as a surrogate for the public. But that right comes with legal obligations. Contempt of court — including publishing material that prejudices active proceedings — is a criminal offence. Reporting restrictions, automatic anonymity for certain categories of person, and the rules of attribution in crime reporting are not optional.
The Court Reporting hub has 20 in-depth sub-pages. The guides below are ordered to match the sequence in which most court reporters encounter these issues.
Core guides for you
Magistrates court daily practiceSitting times, register access, listing queries and daily court reporting workflow.Crown court reportingJury management, reporting restriction orders and pre-trial coverage rules.Sexual offences anonymityAutomatic anonymity, when it applies and the limited exceptions.Youth court and section 49What you can and cannot report from youth court proceedings.Family court transparency pilotHow the Family Court Reporting Pilot works and what journalists can now publish.Coroner court and PFD reportsInquest reporting, prevention of future deaths reports and public access.Contempt and active proceedingsWhen proceedings become active and what the Contempt of Court Act 1981 prohibits.Reporting restrictionsAll UK statutory reporting restrictions: what they prohibit and how to challenge.Tribunal reporting UKEmployment, First-tier and Upper Tribunal reporting: access, anonymity orders and judgment databases.Jigsaw identification guideHow combining individually innocuous details can breach anonymity protections and how to avoid it.
Recommended tools
Tools you'll use weekly
Pre-publication checks specifically designed for the legal complexity of UK court reporting.
Contempt Checker
Check whether proceedings are active and whether your intended publication risks contempt under the 1981 Act.
Reporting Restrictions Checklist
Interactive checklist of UK statutory reporting restrictions by court type — from youth court s.49 to family injunctions.
Source Verification Checklist
Verify sources behind court stories, particularly for pre-charge reporting where a single unnamed source creates contempt and defamation risk.
Blog posts you should read
Court Reporting Guide UKHow to cover crown, magistrates and civil courts: access, language and restrictions.Contempt of Court for UK ReportersWhen reporting risks contempt and how to avoid crossing the line.Inquest Reporting GuideCovering coroners' courts and inquests: rules, etiquette and primary sources.Defamation Law for UK JournalistsAbsolute privilege in court reports and the limits of fair and accurate reporting.
Templates that save you time
FAQs for court reporters
What is the difference between a section 4 and a section 11 order?
Under the Contempt of Court Act 1981, a section 4(2) order postpones the publication of a fair and accurate court report where there is a risk of substantial prejudice to proceedings. A section 11 order prohibits the publication of a name or other matter withheld from the public during proceedings. Section 4 is about timing; section 11 is about content. Both must be challenged through the court, ideally at the time they are made.
When can I name a sexual offence complainant?
Under the Sexual Offences (Amendment) Act 1992, the complainant in a sexual offence case is automatically entitled to lifelong anonymity from the moment an allegation is made. You cannot name them, publish identifying details, or share information that could lead to their identification. The defendant has no automatic anonymity and can be named once charged.
What can I report from a youth court?
Youth courts sit in private. Under section 49 of the Children and Young Persons Act 1933, you cannot publish the name, address, school or any other identifying particulars of any defendant or witness who is under 18. You may report the broad nature of the proceedings. The court can lift the section 49 restriction if it is in the public interest to do so.
Am I allowed to take notes in court?
Yes. Journalists have the right to take written notes in the public gallery. You may not use a recording device without the court's permission; the use of live text communications (live-tweeting) is now generally permitted in UK courts unless a specific order prohibits it. Check with court staff if you are uncertain about a particular courtroom's rules.
What does “fair and accurate report” mean in the context of contempt?
The Contempt of Court Act 1981 provides a defence for contemporary, fair and accurate reports of court proceedings held in public. A fair and accurate report must represent what was said or decided, not selectively quote to mislead, and must be published at the time of the proceedings rather than held for later strategic use. The defence does not cover material published with intent to impede or prejudice proceedings.
What can I report from an employment tribunal?
Employment tribunals are generally open to the press and public and their judgments are published on the Judiciary website. There are no automatic reporting restrictions equivalent to those in criminal courts, though individual orders can be made (for example, to anonymise a claimant in a sexual harassment case). Always check the case listing for any anonymity direction before publishing names. Preliminary hearings are also public unless the tribunal orders otherwise.
What is jigsaw identification and why does it matter?
Jigsaw identification occurs when combining individually innocuous pieces of information from multiple publications allows a reader to identify a person who is legally protected from identification — most commonly a sexual offence complainant. Even if your report does not name the complainant, it can breach the Sexual Offences (Amendment) Act 1992 if it contains details that, combined with other published material, allow identification. Court reporters must consider not just their own report but the wider reporting environment.
Common pitfalls for court reporters
- 1Jigsaw identification. A report that does not name a sexual offence complainant can still breach the 1992 Act if it contains enough contextual detail (location, relationship to defendant, occupation) that, combined with other published material, allows identification. Before filing, consider what else has already been published and whether the combination reveals identity.
- 2Lapsing on section 49 youth orders in complex cases. In multi-defendant cases where some defendants are adults and some are under 18, it is easy to inadvertently refer to the youth defendant in a way that identifies them. Section 49 applies to every reporting action, not just the headline. Review every paragraph of a mixed-age defendant report before publication.
- 3Publishing too late after restrictions are lifted. When a section 4(2) order is lifted at the conclusion of proceedings, that is the moment to publish — not days later. Delayed publication of previously restricted material loses the contemporaneous flavour that supports the fair and accurate defence and may leave you behind competing outlets who published immediately.
- 4Not challenging reporting restriction orders at the time. The right to challenge a reporting restriction order — including a section 4(2) or section 11 order — is most effectively exercised at the moment it is made, not after publication. If you believe an order is disproportionate, object immediately through legal representatives or contact your organisation's media lawyers before the hearing ends.
Where to next
The Court Reporting hub is your primary home with 20 sub-pages. For deeper legal context, the Media Law hub covers every relevant area including Scotland and Northern Ireland differences.
Go to Court Reporting hub →Primary sources
- National Union of Journalists— NUJ
- National Council for the Training of Journalists— NCTJ
- Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism— University of Oxford
- Society of Editors— Society of Editors
- IPSO Editors' Code of Practice— IPSO
- Press Gazette— Press Gazette
Related guides
Court ReportingMagistrates Court Daily PracticeRead →Court ReportingCrown Court Reporting in DetailRead →Media LawContempt & Active ProceedingsRead →Media LawReporting RestrictionsRead →Media LawSexual Offence AnonymityRead →TemplatesCourt Reporting PackRead →Media LawDefamation Risk ChecklistRead →