Ministry Of Justice
What is a Registered Intermediary?
A Registered Intermediary is a self-employed communication specialist who helps vulnerable witnesses and complainants to give evidence to the police and to the court in criminal trials.
A witness might need the help of a Registered Intermediary because of their age, or a learning, mental or physical disability or disorder. They can often be the difference between a witness being able to give evidence or not.
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 typically helps around 500 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 Major Crime Investigation Support team on 0345 000 5463.
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
Last updated 14 September 2023 +show all updates
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Registered Intermediary Procedural Guidance (2023) (Cymraeg) added
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Registered Intermediary Procedural Guidance Manual updated and Welsh version of the annual report 2022 published.