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The present Black Rod in the United Kingdom is Lieutenant-General Sir Michael Willcocks . His deputy is the Yeoman Usher of the Black Rod. The present Black Rod for Canada is Lieutenant-Commander Terrance Christopher. Each Canadian province has its own Black Rod, despite only having one chamber. The Black Rod is thus only used on visits from the Lieutenant Governors. The Australian Commonwealth Senate has Ms Andrea Griffiths as Usher of the Black Rod and Ms Helen Donaldson as Deputy Usher of the Black Rod.

In the United Kingdom the office was created in 1350 by royal letters patent, though the current title dates from 1522. The position was adopted by other members of the Commonwealth when they copied the British Westminster system. Black Rod is formally appointed by the Crown based on a recruitment search performed by the Clerk of the Parliaments , to whom he reports. In the United Kingdom Black Rod has a number of official duties: he is the personal attendant of the Sovereign in the Lords; as secretary to the Lord Great ChamberlainThe Lord Great Chamberlain of England is the sixth of the Great Officers of State, ranking beneath the Lord Privy Seal and above the Lord High Constable. The position is an hereditary one, and was originally held by Robert Malet, a son of one of the leadi is responsible as the usher and doorkeeper at meetings of the Order of the Gartergarter is one of the Order's most recognisable insignia. Diamonds spell out the motto of the Order on this seventeenth century garter. The Most Noble Order of the Garter is an English order of chivalry with a history stretching back to mediaeval times; to (stemming from the Garter Statute 1522 ); and, as the Serjeant-at-Arms and Keeper of the Doors of the House, he is responsible for maintaining order in the chamber, including the admission of strangers to the House, and for carrying the MaceThis article is about the personal weapon and its ceremonial derivative, for other meanings of mace please see mace (disambiguation An advance on the club, a mace is a wooden, metal-reinforced, or metal shaft, with a head made of stone, copper, bronze, ir into and out of the chamber for the Lord ChancellorThe Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain or Lord Chancellor and in former times Chancellor of England is one of the most senior and important functionaries in the government of the United Kingdom. He is a Great Officer of State, and is appointed by the S as Speaker of the House of Lords, though this last rôle is delegated to the Yeoman Usher and Deputy Serjeant-at-Arms. The Lord Chancellor's deputy, the Assistant Serjeant-at-Arms, carries the Mace on judicial occasions, however. Most of these duties are retained in Canada.

Black Rod further has the task of arresting any Lord or Senator guilty of breach of privilegeParliamentary privilege is a legal mechanism employed within the legislative bodies of countries whose constitutions are based on the Westminster system. It allows members of the House of Lords and House of Commons to speak freely without fear of legal ac or other Parliamentary offence, such as contempt or disorder, or the disturbance of the House's proceedings. In the United Kingdom he is also responsible, as the representative of the Administration and Works Committee , for maintaining the buildings, services, and security of the Palace of WestminsterClock Tower and New Palace Yard from the west The Palace of Westminster on the banks of the River Thames in Westminster, London, is the home of the House of Commons and the House of Lords, which, together with the Queen, form the Parliament of the United. Either Black Rod or his deputy, the Yeoman Usher, is required to be present when the House of Lords or Senate is in session. In the United Kingdom they play a rôle in the induction of all new Lords TemporalIn the British system of government, Lords Temporal are those members of the House of Lords who are members of that body due to their secular status. This differentiates them from the Lords Spiritual, who are members by virture of their status as bishops into the House (that is, they do not take part in the introduction of bishops as new Lords SpiritualThe Lords Spiritual of the United Kingdom, also called Spiritual Peers consist of the twenty-six clergymen of the established Church of England who serve in the House of Lords. The Church of Scotland, which is Presbyterian, is not represented by spiritual). In Canada they are present for the induction of all Senators.

Currently, Black Rod is most prominent for his part in the ceremonies surrounding the State Opening of Parliament and the Throne speech. He summons the Commons to attend the speech and leads them to the Lords or Senate. As part of the ritual, as Black Rod approaches the doors to the chamber of the House of Commons to make his summons, they are closed in his face. Black Rod then strikes three times with his staff, and in reply to the challenge "Who is there?" answers "Black Rod". He is then admitted and issues the summons of the monarch to attend. This ritual is derived from the attempt by Charles I of England to arrest five members in 1642, a breach of privilege; the doors were closed on him, and the House of Commons has continued to maintain its right to bar the monarch's representative.