Inverness Sheriff Court: Family Cases, History & Visitor Guide

The Court Today

About Inverness Sheriff Court

Inverness Sheriff Court is the Highland capital’s court, hearing family cases from the city and the central Highlands — a catchment that grew when Dingwall’s court closed in 2015. As the hub court of the Highland region, its family work spans city divorces and cases drawn from some of the most remote communities in Britain.

Since 2020 the court has occupied a building unique in Scotland: the Inverness Justice Centre on Longman Road, the country’s first purpose-built justice centre, designed by Reiach and Hall with six courtrooms and a tribunals hearing room. The concept goes beyond courtrooms — the fiscal and a range of justice and support organisations share the building, with dedicated facilities for children and vulnerable witnesses and the video technology to spare them the courtroom altogether.

At a Glance

Address
Inverness Justice Centre, Longman Road, Inverness
Serves
Inverness & the central Highlands
Sheriffdom
Grampian, Highland and Islands
Building
Scotland’s first purpose-built Justice Centre; opened 30 March 2020; six courtrooms
Predecessor
Inverness Castle — the sheriff courthouse from 1835 to 2020

The Story of the Court

For nearly two centuries, going to court in Inverness meant going to the castle. The red sandstone Inverness Castle that crowns the city — successor to a medieval timber castle and a sixteenth-century stone tower on the same rock — was purpose-built in the 1830s as the sheriff courthouse and county hall, its main courthouse block completed in 1835. Justice, not defence, was always its job: one of Britain’s most castle-like courthouses rather than the reverse.

It served for 186 years. But a growing Highland caseload eventually outmatched even a castle, and in 2020 the courts moved down the hill to the new Justice Centre — opening on 30 March 2020, slightly ahead of schedule, as the pandemic lockdown made its modern, spacious courtrooms suddenly indispensable. That July, Sheriff Principal Derek Pyle formally handed the castle’s keys to Highland Council, closing the judicial chapter; the castle has since been transformed into a flagship visitor attraction for the Highlands.

The Justice Centre it left behind represents the other end of Scottish courthouse history: where the Victorian courts on these pages projected authority in stone, Inverness’s 2020 building was designed around victims, witnesses, children, and digital justice — the first of its kind in the country, and the template for what may follow elsewhere.

Family Cases at Inverness Sheriff Court

Highland family cases — divorce, children’s cases, financial provision, protective orders — run through the Justice Centre’s civil courts, with the building’s child-friendly and remote-evidence facilities particularly relevant to family work; our family hearings guide explains each stage. The distinctive character of Highland family law — distance, land, crofting, close communities — has its own guide in our Highlands family law article — and if your case reaches evidence, this building’s remote and supported options are covered in our guide to giving evidence.

Looking for representation here? Start with our Inverness solicitors guide, or filter every ranked firm in the all-firms directory.

Visiting the court: The Justice Centre is on Longman Road, about half a mile northeast of the city centre — a 15–20 minute walk from Inverness railway and bus stations, with city buses passing close by. Expect security screening on entry; hearing times and contacts are at scotcourts.gov.uk.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which areas does Inverness Sheriff Court serve?

Inverness and the central Highlands — including the Dingwall and Easter Ross communities whose court closed in 2015 (with some of that business shared with Tain). Lochaber is served by Fort William, Skye by Portree, and the far north by Wick; the court map shows the whole Highland network.

Is the court really not in the castle any more?

Correct — the castle’s 186 years as the sheriff courthouse ended in 2020, when the courts moved to the purpose-built Justice Centre on Longman Road and the keys were handed to Highland Council. Turn up at the castle today and you’ll find a visitor attraction; your hearing is at Longman Road.

What makes a “Justice Centre” different from a courthouse?

Integration: alongside six courtrooms and a tribunals room, the building houses the fiscal and a range of justice and support organisations, with dedicated facilities for children, victims, and vulnerable witnesses and technology for evidence by video link — designed so that children, in particular, need not appear in a courtroom at all. It was Scotland’s first, opened 30 March 2020.

Do I have to attend in person for my divorce?

Usually not — undefended divorces proceed on paperwork. Disputed children’s cases bring child welfare hearings requiring both parents’ attendance, though this building is better equipped than most for remote and supported participation; our hearings guide explains the options.

Which solicitors appear at Inverness Sheriff Court?

The firms in our independently researched Inverness guide are here daily, many acting across the whole Highland area. The directory filters by Legal Aid and accreditation — and Highland firms are notably strong on video consultation, for obvious geographic reasons.

Can I visit the old castle courthouse?

Yes — as a visitor attraction rather than a court. The castle’s transformation for tourism followed the 2020 handover to Highland Council, and its viewpoint over the city and the Ness was always the best in Inverness; the courtrooms’ successors are open for business down the hill.

Inverness Sheriff Court