What do I call the judge in the Family Court

The forms of address for judges vary from court to court, and some of them can seem quite archaic in the modern world. Standard family cases are heard in the County Court or a Magistrates Court, and will either be heard by a District Judge, Circuit Judge or Magistrates. Your case will be allocated by the court to a particular level of judge when your application is issued. You can read more about each kind of judge here.

We can advise you in each case which court you are likely to appear in and in front of what kind of judge, depending on your individual circumstances.

District judges are full-time judges who deal with the majority of cases in the county courts of England and Wales and so are heavily involved in family proceedings. Sometimes you will be heard by a Deputy District Judge, who sits for a number of days each year and works on a part time basis

Circuit judges are appointed to one of seven regions of England and Wales, and sit in the County Court within their particular region.

Magistrates will mostly deal with criminal work but they also decide many civil matters, particularly in relation to cases about children.

The High Court, Family Division, hears appeals from the Family Court as well as some more complex family law issues in the first instance, such as child abduction.

Appeals from the High Court are heard in the Court of Appeal, and ultimately in the Supreme Court.

District Judges

Address (in correspondence)	Dear…	In court
District Judge	Judge	Sir or Madam

Circuit judges

Address (in correspondence)	Dear…	In court
His Honour Judge	Judge	Your Honour
Her Honour Judge	Judge	Your Honour

Magistrates

Dear…	In court
[name], Esq JP	Your Worship, or Sir or Madam

High Court Masters & Registrars

Office/Position	Address (in correspondence)	Dear…	In court
Master	Master (whether male or female)	Master	Master
Registrar	Mr (or Mrs) Registrar	Registrar	Registrar

High Court Judges

Office/Position	Address (in correspondence)	Dear…	In court
High Court judge	The Honourable Mr Justice	Judge	My Lord
High Court judge	The Honourable Mrs/Ms Justice (whether married or single)	Judge	My Lady

Court of Appeal Judge

Judges who sit in the Court of Appeal (Lords Justices of Appeal) are Privy Councillors. They are known officially as Lord Justices. They should be addressed as follows:

Address (in Correspondence)	Dear…	In court
The Right Honourable Lord Justice	Lord Justice	My Lord
The Right Honourable Lady Justice	Lady Justice	My Lady

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Get Expert Advice

You can contact us for confidential family law advice. We offer free, no obligation, telephone consultations.

If you would like to book an initial phone consultation at no cost, please contact us today.