Hiring Administrative Law Judges, Adjudicators, and Hearing Officers
Employers across the 49 metro areas we have BLS OEWS wage data for pay administrative law judges, adjudicators, and hearing officers a median of $64,620 to $177,150 a year (BLS OEWS, May 2025). A search through recruitlocalpros runs Tier I to Tier VI, $6,240 to $54,340, set by seniority, never by location or salary. Our vetted recruiting partner handles sourcing, screening and placement end to end.
What do administrative law judges, adjudicators, and hearing officers do?
- Determine existence and amount of liability according to current laws, administrative and judicial precedents, and available evidence.
- Monitor and direct the activities of trials and hearings to ensure that they are conducted fairly and that courts administer justice while safeguarding the legal rights of all involved parties.
- Prepare written opinions and decisions.
- Authorize payment of valid claims and determine method of payment.
- Conduct hearings to review and decide claims regarding issues, such as social program eligibility, environmental protection, or enforcement of health and safety regulations.
- Research and analyze laws, regulations, policies, and precedent decisions to prepare for hearings and to determine conclusions.
Core tasks, O*NET OnLine, 23-1021.00.
What does it take to become one?
Most of these occupations require graduate school. For example, they may require a master's degree, and some require a Ph.D., M.D., or J.D. (law degree).
Extensive skill, knowledge, and experience are needed for these occupations. Many require more than five years of experience. For example, surgeons must complete four years of college and an additional five to seven years of specialized medical training to be able to do their job.
Employees may need some on-the-job training, but most of these occupations assume that the person will already have the required skills, knowledge, work-related experience, and/or training.
O*NET Job Zone 5, SVP (8.0 and above). O*NET OnLine.
Employers commonly list experience with Adobe Acrobat, Microsoft Access, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Office software, Microsoft Outlook, Microsoft PowerPoint for this role.
What do administrative law judges, adjudicators, and hearing officers get paid?
BLS OEWS, May 2025 publishes a wage for administrative law judges, adjudicators, and hearing officers in 49 of the metro areas in this build. The median ranges from $64,620 to $177,150 a year depending on the metro, with a midpoint of $121,720. This is what employers pay, place of work, not a single national figure and not what any one person takes home.
BLS OEWS, BLS OEWS, May 2025, SOC 23-1021.
What does hiring one cost?
The same as any role: tier, not location or salary, sets the fee. Across all six tiers the published range is $6,240 to $54,340 per search. For scale, the highest published median for administrative law judges, adjudicators, and hearing officers in this build is $177,150. A contingency firm hiring at that level would bill roughly $35,430 to $53,145 on the first year salary alone, 20 to 30%.
Frequently asked
- How fast can a administrative law judges, adjudicators, and hearing officers search fill?
- 23 to 35 days, 2 to 3x faster than a typical contingency search, per the recruiting provider's published figures.
- What if the hire does not work out?
- A 45-day replacement guarantee, at 50% off a repeat search for the same role.
Price a administrative law judges, adjudicators, and hearing officers search
Eight questions about the role. Your tier range appears on screen, with the contingency comparison if you are paying one now.