Notary to justice of the peace
A notary already meets 36% of what the justice of the peace role asks for. The move turns on 9 required skills not yet in the profile.
61.1/ 100
1 How much of what a justice of the peace is expected to do is already part of a notary’s work. Directional: the figure for the reverse move differs, because moving into a speciality is not the same problem as moving out of one. 2 Every skill the justice of the peace role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A justice of the peace role treats 5 of its required skills as things a notary already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- civil law
- court procedures
- interpret law
- law of non-marital cohabitation
- private law
What stands in the way is 9 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.
Table 2 · What you already bring
Of the 10 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A justice of the peace role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a notary background worth leading with.
- already held authenticate documents assisting and caring
- already held officiate weddings communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held law of non-marital cohabitation business, administration and law
- already held private law business, administration and law
- already held interpret law communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held facilitate official agreement communication, collaboration and creativity
All 10 carried skills, including the 5 the justice of the peace role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 18 missing skills fall into 6 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, numbered in the order worth working in. Areas carrying the most required skills come first, and inside each one the required skills sit above the optional ones. Nothing here is a verdict on you: it is a list of what this particular job asks for that your current one does not.
- still to learn maintain court order required
- still to learn supervise court hearings required
- still to learn comply with legal regulations required
- optional, not held respond to enquiries optional
- still to learn hear legal arguments required
- still to learn supervise legal case procedures required
- optional, not held ensure sentence execution optional
- optional, not held support witnesses optional
- optional, not held apply knowledge of human behaviour optional
- optional, not held hear witness accounts optional
- optional, not held moderate in negotiations optional
- still to learn analyse legal evidence required
- still to learn compile legal documents required
- still to learn civil process order required
- optional, not held family law optional
- optional, not held legal case management optional
- still to learn make legal decisions required
- optional, not held law enforcement optional
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a justice of the peace role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 hear legal arguments practise this
- 02 maintain court order practise this
- 03 supervise court hearings practise this
Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.
Appendix · The rest of the record
All 10 skills that carry over
- already held civil law knowledge
- already held court procedures knowledge
- already held interpret law skill
- already held law of non-marital cohabitation knowledge
- already held private law knowledge
- already held authenticate documents skill
- already held contract law knowledge
- already held facilitate official agreement skill
- already held legal research knowledge
- already held officiate weddings skill
9 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held ensure sentence execution optional
- optional, not held support witnesses optional
- optional, not held apply knowledge of human behaviour optional
- optional, not held family law optional
- optional, not held hear witness accounts optional
- optional, not held law enforcement optional
- optional, not held legal case management optional
- optional, not held moderate in negotiations optional
- optional, not held respond to enquiries optional
33 held skills the justice of the peace role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role administer oaths skill
- not needed by the target role advise on legal services skill
- not needed by the target role apply technical communication skills skill
- not needed by the target role archive documentation related to work skill
- not needed by the target role check official documents skill
- not needed by the target role conclude business agreements skill
- not needed by the target role constitutional law knowledge
- not needed by the target role conveyancing knowledge
- not needed by the target role create import-export commercial documentation skill
- not needed by the target role examine mortgage loan documents skill
- not needed by the target role fix meetings skill
- not needed by the target role hand gestures knowledge
- not needed by the target role intellectual property law knowledge
- not needed by the target role international import export regulations knowledge
- not needed by the target role issue official documents skill
- not needed by the target role legal terminology knowledge
- not needed by the target role manage contracts skill
- not needed by the target role manage digital documents skill
- not needed by the target role manage staff skill
- not needed by the target role mortgage loans knowledge
- not needed by the target role perform clerical duties skill
- not needed by the target role perform powers of attorney skill
- not needed by the target role property law knowledge
- not needed by the target role provide legal advice skill
- not needed by the target role provide legal legitimacy to the transfer of assets skill
- not needed by the target role public law knowledge
- not needed by the target role real estate market knowledge
- not needed by the target role register deeds skill
- not needed by the target role revise legal documents skill
- not needed by the target role take affidavits skill
- not needed by the target role types of oaths knowledge
- not needed by the target role use word processing software skill
- not needed by the target role witness the signing of documents skill
4 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice
Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.
- still to learn civil process order required
- optional, not held family law optional
- optional, not held law enforcement optional
- optional, not held legal case management optional
Other moves recorded from notary
- conveyance clerk 64% covered · moderate
- legal assistant 37% covered · substantial
- legal consultant 34% covered · substantial
- legal administrative assistant 34% covered · substantial
- judge 30% covered · substantial
- intellectual property consultant 27% covered · substantial
- mediator 26% covered · substantial
- title closer 25% covered · substantial
Common questions about this move
Can a notary become a justice of the peace?
Yes, and it is a substantial move. A notary already covers 36% of what a justice of the peace is expected to do: 10 skills carry over, 5 of which the justice of the peace role treats as required.
What skills does a notary need to become a justice of the peace?
9 required skills are missing, plus 9 optional ones. They fall into 6 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by assisting and caring. The single most important is hear legal arguments.
How hard is the move from notary to justice of the peace?
Its learning distance is 61.1 out of 100, which is the substantial band. That accounts for both how much is missing and how specialised those skills are.
How this record was compiled
Both occupations are taken from ESCO, which lists the skills and knowledge each occupation is expected to have and marks every one required or optional. Nothing here is a prediction about hiring, and nothing here knows that a particular employer wants a particular certificate. Treat Table 3 as a starting point for your own research rather than a syllabus. The full method states what these figures can and cannot tell you.