How to become a records clerk or assistant
Official title: Records clerks and assistants
Also called: Law clerk, Hire clerk, Pool clerk, Ward clerk, Admin clerk, Pools clerk, Staff clerk, Tally clerk, Clerk-buyer, Charge clerk, Clinic clerk, Coding clerk
Records clerks and assistants maintain and update electronic and/or hard copy documents, correspondence and other records, and organise their storage.
Main tasks
- Examines and sorts incoming material
- Classifies, files, archives and locates documents and other records
- Copies or duplicates documents or other records
- Performs specialised clerical tasks in connection with conveyancing, litigation and the maintenance of medical records
How to become one
There are no minimum academic requirements, although entrants typically possess GCSEs/S grades or equivalent qualifications. Training is normally provided on-the-job. Apprenticeships and NVQs/SVQs in Administration at levels 1 and 2 are available.
Ways in
- University: Arts & Humanities degrees, Offered by 27 universities in the UK
- University: Business & Commerce degrees, Offered by 27 universities in the UK
Pay · Outlook
- Median full-time pay: £28,656 a year The middle half earn £25,500 to £33,159.
- About 128,500 people work in this job now, and about 122,000 are projected by 2035. (-5%)
Related jobs
- Pensions and insurance clerks and assistants
- Stock control clerks and assistants
- Transport and distribution clerks and assistants
- Library clerks and assistants
- Human resources administrative occupations
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Questions people ask
How do I become a records clerk or assistant?
There are no minimum academic requirements, although entrants typically possess GCSEs/S grades or equivalent qualifications. Training is normally provided on-the-job. Apprenticeships and NVQs/SVQs in Administration at levels 1 and 2 are available.
How much does a records clerk or assistant earn in the UK?
Median full-time pay is £28,656 a year (Office for National Statistics). The middle half earn £25,500 to £33,159.
Is a records clerk or assistant a growing career in the UK?
Employment is projected to fall 5% by 2035, from about 128,500 to about 122,000 people (Department for Education).
Do you need a degree to become a records clerk or assistant?
Not always. 37% of people in this job hold a bachelor's degree or higher. Ways in include: Arts & Humanities degrees; Business & Commerce degrees.
Sources
- Office for National Statistics: Annual Population Survey: employment by occupation (April 2025 to March 2026), OGL v3.0, retrieved 2026-10-03
- Office for National Statistics: SOC 2020 Volume 1: structure and descriptions (2026-08-27 edition), OGL v3.0, retrieved 2026-10-03
- Department for Education: Skills Imperative 2035: employment projections by occupation (2021 to 2035 (Warwick IER / Cambridge Econometrics)), OGL v3.0, retrieved 2026-10-03
- Office for National Statistics: Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, Table 14 (2025 provisional), OGL v3.0, retrieved 2026-10-03
Updated 2026-10-03
Graduate outcomes: Discover Uni dataset, HESA (www.hesa.ac.uk), licensed under CC BY 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0). Aggregated by subject and adapted by Peernovo.