NOC 41100: Judges
What judges do
Judges adjudicate civil and criminal cases and administer justice in courts of law. Judges preside over federal and provincial courts.
Main duties
This group performs some or all of the following duties:
- Preside over courts of law, interpret and enforce rules of procedure and make rulings regarding the admissibility of evidence
- Instruct the jury on laws that are applicable to the case
- Weigh and consider evidence in non-jury trials and decide legal guilt or innocence or degree of liability of the accused or defendant
- Pass sentence on persons convicted in criminal cases and determine damages or other appropriate remedy in civil cases
- Grant divorces and divide assets between spouses
- Determine custody of children between contesting parents and other guardians
- Enforce court orders for access or support
- Supervise other judges and court officers.
- Judges may specialize in particular areas of law such as civil, criminal or family law.
Job titles under NOC 41100
31 job titles are classified here, including chief justice, county court judge, Court of Queen's Bench justice.
- administrative judge
- appellate court judge
- associate chief justice
- chief justice
- county court judge
- county judge
- Court of Queen's Bench justice
- deputy justice
- district and surrogate court judge
- district court judge
- family court judge
- federal court justice
- federal court justice - trial division
- Federal Court of Appeal justice
- federal trial court justice
- judge - law
- justice
- juvenile court judge
- magistrate court judge
- probate court judge
- provincial court judge
- provincial court of appeal justice
- provincial supreme court justice
- puisne judge
Employment requirements
- Extensive experience as a lawyer or as a professor of law with continuous membership in the bar association is usually required.
- Membership in good standing with a provincial or territorial law society or bar association is required.
- Judges are appointed by federal or provincial cabinets.
- Those appointed to more senior positions in a court, such as chief justice, usually have experience as judges in that court.
Judges wages in Canada
Low, median and high annual salaries from Job Bank’s 2025 wage data.
| Where | Low | Median | High |
|---|---|---|---|
Canada | $310,000/yr | $387,006/yr | $414,900/yr |
Québec City Quebec region, QC | $264,030/yr | $310,000/yr | $414,900/yr |
| Where | Low | Median | High |
|---|---|---|---|
Newfoundland and Labrador | $311,400/yr | $426,900/yr | $426,900/yr |
Nova Scotia | $331,920/yr | $414,900/yr | $414,900/yr |
New Brunswick | $331,920/yr | $414,900/yr | $414,900/yr |
Quebec | $264,030/yr | $310,000/yr | $414,900/yr |
Ontario | $387,006/yr | $414,900/yr | $416,900/yr |
Manitoba | $354,017/yr | $354,017/yr | $455,000/yr |
Saskatchewan | $376,865/yr | $395,708/yr | $414,900/yr |
Alberta | $348,102/yr | $348,102/yr | $414,900/yr |
British Columbia | $369,360/yr | $369,360/yr | $414,900/yr |
Using NOC 41100 for your resume or Express Entry profile
- IRCC asks you to make sure the main duties listed for your NOC match what you actually did at your job. If they don’t, look for another unit group whose duties do.
- Describe your own work in your own words. Recruiters and ATS software look for concrete tools, results and scope, not text copied from the NOC.
- Applying from outside Canada? Run your resume through the Canadian resume format checker to catch things Canadian employers don’t expect, like a photo or date of birth.
- Use the job title the employer’s posting uses. The 31 titles above are how the same work is named across employers.
Not in this group
Similar jobs classified under a different NOC code:
- Administrative tribunal judge - government services (NOC 40010)
- Citizenship judge (NOC 42200)
- Justice of the peace (NOC 42200)
Frequently asked questions
What is the NOC code for judges?
Judges are NOC 2021 unit group 41100. Example job titles in this group include chief justice, county court judge, Court of Queen's Bench justice, district court judge.
What TEER is NOC 41100?
NOC 41100 is TEER 1 (University degree). Usually requires a university degree (bachelor’s, master’s or doctorate), or experience from a related TEER 2 occupation. TEER 0, 1, 2 and 3 work counts as skilled work experience for Express Entry’s Federal Skilled Worker and Canadian Experience Class programs.
How much do judges earn in Canada?
Job Bank's 2025 wage data puts the median at $387,006 a year, with a range of $310,000/yr to $414,900/yr.
Related occupations
Sources: Statistics Canada, National Occupational Classification (NOC) 2021 Version 1.0; Employment and Social Development Canada, Job Bank wages (2025). Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Canada. OfferJetAI is not affiliated with the Government of Canada. Check IRCC’s NOC guidance before you apply.