diff --git a/.changelog/12777.txt b/.changelog/12777.txt
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..de563e1535b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.changelog/12777.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+```release-note:improvement
+api: Added ParseHCLOpts helper func to ease parsing HCLv1 jobspecs
+```
diff --git a/api/jobs.go b/api/jobs.go
index b204024a683..bbecbf5c534 100644
--- a/api/jobs.go
+++ b/api/jobs.go
@@ -65,12 +65,21 @@ func (c *Client) Jobs() *Jobs {
 
 // ParseHCL is used to convert the HCL repesentation of a Job to JSON server side.
 // To parse the HCL client side see package github.com/hashicorp/nomad/jobspec
+// Use ParseHCLOpts if you need to customize JobsParseRequest.
 func (j *Jobs) ParseHCL(jobHCL string, canonicalize bool) (*Job, error) {
-	var job Job
 	req := &JobsParseRequest{
 		JobHCL:       jobHCL,
 		Canonicalize: canonicalize,
 	}
+	return j.ParseHCLOpts(req)
+}
+
+// ParseHCLOpts is used to convert the HCL representation of a Job to JSON
+// server side. To parse the HCL client side see package
+// github.com/hashicorp/nomad/jobspec.
+// ParseHCL is an alternative convenience API for HCLv2 users.
+func (j *Jobs) ParseHCLOpts(req *JobsParseRequest) (*Job, error) {
+	var job Job
 	_, err := j.client.write("/v1/jobs/parse", req, &job, nil)
 	return &job, err
 }
diff --git a/api/jobs_test.go b/api/jobs_test.go
index 0b386d6577f..00dff79eee0 100644
--- a/api/jobs_test.go
+++ b/api/jobs_test.go
@@ -2361,3 +2361,78 @@ func TestJobs_ScaleStatus(t *testing.T) {
 func TestJobs_Services(t *testing.T) {
 	// TODO(jrasell) add tests once registration process is in place.
 }
+
+// TestJobs_Parse asserts ParseHCL and ParseHCLOpts use the API to parse HCL.
+func TestJobs_Parse(t *testing.T) {
+	testutil.Parallel(t)
+
+	jobspec := `job "example" {}`
+
+	// Assert ParseHCL returns an error if Nomad is not running to ensure
+	// that parsing is done server-side and not via the jobspec package.
+	{
+		c, err := NewClient(DefaultConfig())
+		require.NoError(t, err)
+
+		_, err = c.Jobs().ParseHCL(jobspec, false)
+		require.Error(t, err)
+		require.Contains(t, err.Error(), "Put")
+	}
+
+	c, s := makeClient(t, nil, nil)
+	defer s.Stop()
+
+	// Test ParseHCL
+	job1, err := c.Jobs().ParseHCL(jobspec, false)
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+	require.Equal(t, "example", *job1.Name)
+	require.Nil(t, job1.Namespace)
+
+	job1Canonicalized, err := c.Jobs().ParseHCL(jobspec, true)
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+	require.Equal(t, "example", *job1Canonicalized.Name)
+	require.Equal(t, "default", *job1Canonicalized.Namespace)
+	require.NotEqual(t, job1, job1Canonicalized)
+
+	// Test ParseHCLOpts
+	req := &JobsParseRequest{
+		JobHCL:       jobspec,
+		HCLv1:        false,
+		Canonicalize: false,
+	}
+
+	job2, err := c.Jobs().ParseHCLOpts(req)
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+	require.Equal(t, job1, job2)
+
+	// Test ParseHCLOpts with Canonicalize=true
+	req = &JobsParseRequest{
+		JobHCL:       jobspec,
+		HCLv1:        false,
+		Canonicalize: true,
+	}
+	job2Canonicalized, err := c.Jobs().ParseHCLOpts(req)
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+	require.Equal(t, job1Canonicalized, job2Canonicalized)
+
+	// Test ParseHCLOpts with HCLv1=true
+	req = &JobsParseRequest{
+		JobHCL:       jobspec,
+		HCLv1:        true,
+		Canonicalize: false,
+	}
+
+	job3, err := c.Jobs().ParseHCLOpts(req)
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+	require.Equal(t, job1, job3)
+
+	// Test ParseHCLOpts with HCLv1=true and Canonicalize=true
+	req = &JobsParseRequest{
+		JobHCL:       jobspec,
+		HCLv1:        true,
+		Canonicalize: true,
+	}
+	job3Canonicalized, err := c.Jobs().ParseHCLOpts(req)
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+	require.Equal(t, job1Canonicalized, job3Canonicalized)
+}