What is a civil servant? UK examples, and who isn't one (council, police, NHS)

The short definition

The Civil Service Code sets out four core values for every civil servant: integrity, honesty, objectivity and impartiality. Impartiality means serving governments of different political parties equally well. The law that governs how the Civil Service is managed is Part 1 of the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010. Civil servants are servants of the Crown, and their duty of loyal service is owed to the government of the day.

There's no single legal definition of "civil servant" in that Act. A definition often quoted from the Tomlin Commission (1929–31) describes civil servants as servants of the Crown, other than political or judicial office-holders, employed in a civil capacity and paid from money voted by Parliament. It's useful background, but it isn't the law.

What do civil servants do?

GOV.UK says the Civil Service "does the practical and administrative work of government", and that around half of all civil servants provide services directly to the public, such as paying benefits and pensions, running employment services, staffing prisons and issuing driving licences. Others work on policy, analysis, law, economics, digital services, finance, project delivery and much more.

Examples of civil servants

• Prison officers and staff in HM Prison and Probation Service, an agency of the Ministry of Justice
• Work coaches in Jobcentres, run by the Department for Work and Pensions
• Tax and customer service staff at HM Revenue and Customs
• Staff at the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA)
• Court and tribunal staff in HM Courts and Tribunals Service
• Policy advisers, analysts, lawyers and economists in departments such as the Treasury or the Home Office

See types of Civil Service jobs for more.

How many civil servants are there?

Official Cabinet Office statistics put the Civil Service at 557,825 people (523,795 full-time equivalent) on 31 March 2026. The Office for National Statistics, which publishes figures every quarter, counted around 557,000 in June 2026. The two sources measure slightly differently, so their numbers don't always match exactly. The five largest departmental groups (Justice, Work and Pensions, HMRC, Defence and the Home Office) employ over two-thirds of all civil servants.

Who is not a civil servant?

Many people who work for the public aren't civil servants. The Civil Service's own description says it does not include government ministers, members of the armed forces, the police, local government officers, NHS employees, or staff of the Royal Household.

Are council workers civil servants?

No. People who work for local councils are local government employees, not civil servants. The Civil Service explicitly excludes officers of local government. That includes council staff such as bin collectors, social workers and council tax teams. People who work for the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, the department responsible for councils, are civil servants.

Are police officers civil servants?

No. Police officers hold the office of constable. They are servants of the Crown, but they aren't employees and aren't civil servants. However, people who work in the Home Office, the government department responsible for policing, are civil servants.

Are police staff civil servants?

No. Police staff, the people who work for a police force but aren't officers (such as call handlers, investigators and PCSOs), are employed by their force's chief constable or Police and Crime Commissioner, not by the Civil Service.

The National Crime Agency is different: it's a non-ministerial government department, and its officers are employed in the civil service. Its volunteer "NCA specials" are not civil servants.

Are NHS staff civil servants?

No. NHS employees aren't part of the Civil Service and aren't counted in Civil Service statistics. Staff of the Department of Health and Social Care and its agencies, such as the UK Health Security Agency, are civil servants.

Are teachers civil servants?

No. Teachers are public sector workers, but the Institute for Government lists them, along with police officers, NHS staff and the armed forces, as outside the Civil Service. Staff of the Department for Education are civil servants.

Are the armed forces or MPs civil servants?

No. Members of the armed forces aren't civil servants, though many civilians working for the Ministry of Defence are. MPs and ministers are politicians, not civil servants. In fact, the law disqualifies anyone employed in the civil service from sitting as an MP.

Crown servant or civil servant?

"Crown servant" is a wider term. In the Official Secrets Act 1989, for example, it includes ministers, anyone employed in the civil service of the Crown, members of the armed forces, and police officers and staff. So every civil servant is a Crown servant, but many Crown servants, such as soldiers and police officers, aren't civil servants.

Some grey areas, explained

• Special advisers are temporary civil servants appointed by ministers. Unlike other civil servants, they don't have to be politically impartial.
• Scottish Government and Welsh Government staff are part of the UK Home Civil Service, though they have their own versions of the Civil Service Code.
• The Northern Ireland Civil Service is separate from the UK Home Civil Service.
• Public bodies: staff of some public bodies ("Crown" non-departmental public bodies) are civil servants, but staff of most others are not. Check the organisation's own information if you're unsure.
• The Diplomatic Service is part of the civil service of the State but is managed separately, by the Foreign Secretary.
• MI5, MI6 and GCHQ are specifically excluded from the part of the 2010 Act that governs how the Civil Service is managed.