Associate member
If you’re not a magistrate yet, but are interested in what our members do, this is the option for you. As well as the benefits above, you'll get support in your journey to becoming a magistrate.
On this page
Why join?
We connect
Our network of branches across England and Wales, and our programme of useful and interesting events, enables our members to meet, collaborate and network.
We develop
We provide tools to develop magistrates’ knowledge and skills. MA learn, our learning hub for members, is being updated all the time and now contains more than 180 high-quality resources.
We influence
We're the only collective and independent voice of the magistracy. We advocate on behalf of our members and inform the public and media about the vital work that magistrates do.
We inform
Our members' magazine and our tireless media activity makes us a key source of news, updates and opinions on issues relevant to magistrates.
We support
Our exclusive support line for members provides peer support when being a magistrate feels tough.
Become a member
As a member, you’ll get access to a wealth of benefits to help you be the best magistrate you can be, including:
- A learning hub with 180 resources
- Monthly webinars on topical issues
- Our member magazine and emailed updates
- Members-only content on our website
- Events where you can meet colleagues
- A support line run by versed magistrates
Our membership options
Sitting member
All the benefits above, plus the opportunity to shape the MA’s influencing activities, and educate others about the vital role of the magistracy.
Retired member
If you've retired from the bench, you can still join the MA. You can get the benefits above, attend retired member events, shape our influencing work, and share your knowledge with other magistrates.
Subsidised member
For students and those with low incomes (based upon receipt of a defined list of means-tested benefits or proof of time-limited full-time study), you’ll access the same benefits as sitting members.
What our members say
The MA provides support and easily digestible materials that are essential to keeping my knowledge of current practice and my skills as a magistrate up-to-date.
Being a member of the MA provides great opportunities to meet other magistrates and to share experience and knowledge. I have found it very beneficial and would definitely advise all JPs to join.
I very much appreciate being an associate member of the Magistrates’ Association, particularly because becoming a magistrate can be such a lengthy process. I have found the MA’s magazine and learning hub to be invaluable resources at this stage, and I have enjoyed speaking with other new magistrates via the webinars it puts on.
Irene Findlay JP