HMCTS Common Platform: registration for defence professionals

About Common Platform

Common Platform is a case management system for HMCTS, the judiciary, and professional court users, including defence solicitors and barristers.

Defence solicitors and barristers will need to register for an account before any hearings they attend where Common Platform is used.

With an account you can:

• link yourself to a case or defendant so the Legal Aid Agency is informed for payment purposes
• self-serve case materials, including the initial details of the prosecution case (IDPC) and the pre-trial readiness form (PET form) in the magistrates’ court
• serve documents on the court for magistrates’ Common Platform cases

View the list of courts where Common Platform is used.

How to register

To register for an account, your organisation must complete the registration form with the details of anyone who needs access.

The form should be completed by an account administrator. If you are the account administrator, you will be named as accountable for the platform in your organisation.

Download the registration form in Microsoft Excel (MS Excel Spreadsheet, 172 KB)

Download the registration form in CSV format (CSV, 1.84 KB)

Only complete the 2 input tabs:

• Organisation details – input
• User details – input

As part of completing the form, you will need accept the Common Platform terms and conditions.

Once complete, email the form to CPOnboarding@justice.gov.uk for validation.

If Common Platform is already being used in your area, we will then add your organisation and users to the system.

If you work in a court due to go live with the platform soon, your account set up will be prioritised. If otherwise, it may take longer.

What happens next

Once in the system, each user will receive an email from noreply@cjscp.org.uk with further details. Please check junk and spam filters for this notification.

As an individual user, you must then activate your account and complete the security set-up process.

Read our guide on how to activate your Common Platform account.

Access a case

Once your organisation has registered and you have activated your account, you can start accessing cases in Common Platform.

Get help and guidance

If you need help with registering, email CPonboarding@justice.gov.uk.

If you need help getting a unique reference number for a case, email ProfessionalContactCrime@justice.gov.uk or call 0330 808 4407.

See our guides on using Common Platform:

• How to use Common Platform: for defence professionals on activating an account and using Common Platform to manage cases
• Common Platform for defence administrators: creating user accounts, assigning roles and other admin functionality

If you need help getting a unique reference number for a case, or have a business related query on a Common Platform case, contact the courts and tribunals service centre (CTSC).

If you need further help or have questions that are not addressed in the guidance, you can contact us on our helpdesk or by email.helpdesk.

HelpdeskCTSC

If otheryou usersare –not a defence solicitor or administrator, email CJSCP-ServiceDesk@hmcts.net .

We aim to respond to emails within 5 working days.