The 47-year-old journalist is accused of lying at the trial of Scottish socialist politician Tommy Sheridan at the High Court in Glasgow in 2010.
Mr Coulson, from Kent, has entered a plea of not guilty to the allegation.
He appeared at the High Court in Edinburgh on Tuesday. After hearing legal submissions, judge Lord Burns ordered the trial to begin on Friday.
The perjury trial of former News of the World editor Andy Coulson will begin in Scotland later this week.