Mr Tapp has lived in Dunedin since 2003.
He has worked for the Ministry of Justice for the past six and a-half years, and between June 2015 and May this year, he held a Wellington position as a chief adviser at the ministry, commuting from his Dunedin home.
In May, he became Dunedin justice services manager, and is the senior manager for the Dunedin district and high courts.
He is a registrar in the Dunedin District Court and High Court, as well as sheriff in the High Court.
Mr Tapp was sworn in at a ceremony attended by Justice Nick Davidson, of the High Court at Christchurch, and Dunedin District Court Judge Michael Crosbie.
Justice Davidson said the sheriff role was one of ''high distinction''.
He then read sections from the Senior Courts Act (2016), which outlined the role of the sheriff to enforce orders of the High Court, and to execute processes, including judgements, writs, and injunctions.
An explanatory section in the law noted the office of sheriff was of ''great antiquity, dating back ... at least to the Anglo-Saxon kings of the seventh century''.
