Sheriff officer

You would deliver official orders from the Scottish law courts to instruct a person to attend court, pay their debts or leave a property.

As a sheriff officer you would work on behalf of the sheriff courts in one of six regions of Scotland.

Once you have worked for some time as a sheriff officer you could becomes a messenger-at-arms. You would then be an officer of the Court of Session – the supreme civil court in Scotland – and would work throughout Scotland.

As a sheriff officer or messenger at arms you would personally deliver orders from the court to individuals, making sure that you hand the documents to the named person.

You could be dealing with people who may be upset and angry. You will need to be assertive to make sure they understand why the court has taken this action but make sure that the situation stays calm.

The court papers will instruct the person to do something, for example, to leave a house when they have not paid the rent for a long time.

You would:

• Deliver citations which order the person to attend court

• Deliver documents which order a person to pay their debts

• Talk to people about making arrangements to pay their debts

• Serve court orders related to family matters like adoption and divorce

• Remove someone from a property in cases of domestic violence

• Take a child from a property in custody disputes or cases of child abuse

• Take away goods and repossess property

At all times you would have to adhere to the law and follow strict guidelines on what you’re allowed to do.

• The Society of Messengers-at-Arms and Sheriff Officers - Professional body for people working in this field