UK Civil Service departments and agencies

How government organisations are grouped

On 2 October 2026, GOV.UK listed:

• 23 ministerial departments, led by a government minister, such as the Home Office or the Department for Education
• 20 non-ministerial departments, headed by senior civil servants rather than ministers. GOV.UK says they usually have a regulatory or inspection function, such as Ofsted or HM Revenue & Customs.
• 420 agencies and other public bodies. Executive agencies are part of departments and usually deliver services rather than decide policy, such as the DVLA or HM Prison and Probation Service. Other public bodies have varying independence from ministers.
• 3 devolved governments, plus public corporations and high-profile groups

Not everyone who works for these organisations is a civil servant. See who counts as a civil servant.

Recent changes to departments

Department names change when governments reorganise. In July 2026 the government announced "machinery of government" changes: the Department for Business and Trade was renamed the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, and the functions of the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology were redistributed. Lists published before then may be out of date, and some organisation pages are still being updated.

The 23 ministerial departments

1. Attorney General's Office
2. Cabinet Office
3. Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade
4. Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport
5. Department for Education
6. Department for Energy Security & Net Zero
7. Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs
8. Department for Transport
9. Department for Work & Pensions
10. Department of Health & Social Care
11. Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office
12. HM Treasury
13. Home Office
14. Ministry of Defence
15. Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government
16. Ministry of Justice
17. Northern Ireland Office
18. Office of the Advocate General for Scotland
19. Office of the Leader of the House of Commons
20. Office of the Leader of the House of Lords
21. Scotland Office
22. UK Export Finance
23. Wales Office

The Prime Minister's Office, 10 Downing Street, is listed under the Cabinet Office.

The 20 non-ministerial departments

1. Charity Commission
2. Competition and Markets Authority
3. Crown Prosecution Service
4. Food Standards Agency
5. Forestry Commission
6. Government Actuary's Department
7. Government Legal Department
8. HM Land Registry
9. HM Revenue & Customs
10. The National Archives
11. National Crime Agency
12. National Savings and Investments
13. Office of Rail and Road
14. Ofgem
15. Ofqual
16. Ofsted
17. Serious Fraud Office
18. Supreme Court of the United Kingdom
19. UK Statistics Authority
20. Ofwat (The Water Services Regulation Authority)

The largest employers of civil servants

By headcount on 31 March 2026, from official Civil Service Statistics. Figures are for whole departmental groups, including their agencies. The five largest employ over two-thirds of all civil servants.