[3] The Clerk of the House is the principal constitutional adviser to the house, and adviser on all its procedure and business, including parliamentary privilege, and frequently appears before select and joint committees examining constitutional and parliamentary matters.

As with all the members of the House Service, he is politically entirely impartial and is not a civil servant.

Until 1 January 2008, when the reforms to the house's governance proposed by the Tebbit Review of management and services of the house were implemented, the clerk was the head of the Clerk's Department.

The clerks at the table used to wear court dress with wing collar and white tie, a bob (barrister’s) wig and a silk gown.

[6] As of October 2023[update], the office is currently held by Tom Goldsmith, previously the Principal Clerk of the Table Office, who replaced Sir John Benger when he retired on 1 October 2023.