Best Paralegal Certification

Best Paralegal Certification

Paralegal Certification, Both Kinds, Compared

Compare ABA-approved paralegal certificate programs and professional certification exams. Find the education, cost and credential that fit your next step.

Certificate programs Certification exams Programs in 19 states

, Contributor at Savo Media Group

Last updated

Top Online ABA-Approved Certificates

Ranked on out-of-state tuition, graduation rate and graduates. See all 33

  1. #1 82.0 Johnson County Community College $5,472 a year out of state
  2. #2 78.3 Santa Ana College $9,460 a year out of state
  3. #3 76.2 West Valley College $9,320 a year out of state
Sunlight falling in stripes across the carpet of a quiet library aisle lined with wooden bookshelves

ABA-approved programs ABA

220

ABA directory, September 30, 2026

Median certificate tuition IPEDS

$5,155

a year in-state, 72 ranked certificates

Median graduation rate IPEDS

29%

ranked certificates, within 150% of normal time

Paralegal median pay BLS

$62,890

BLS, May 2025

Certificate, Certification Or License?

The three words get used for one another on school ads and career sites, and they are not the same thing.

CertificateAwarded By A School

What you earn by finishing a paralegal program, in a few months to two years. The ABA approves some programs. Approval is voluntary. Compare paralegal certificate programs.

CertificationAwarded By A Professional Body

A credential you earn as a person, by exam, and renew with continuing education: NALA's CP, NFPA's RP and CRP, NALS's PP. No state requires one. The exams compared.

LicenseIssued By A State Court

Only for the limited-practice legal paraprofessional roles a few states have created, which let the holder advise clients without a lawyer. Not a paralegal job. Which states license them.

Presently, there is no mandatory certification examination for paralegals anywhere in the United States.

ABA Standing Committee on Paralegals

Start With The Decision You Are Making

Every list on this site starts from the ABA's directory of approved programs and the federal record of who awards paralegal credentials, and no school can buy a place in a ranking.

107 Ranked Online Paralegal Programs ABA-approved certificates and degrees you can finish online, ranked on the out-of-state price, led by Johnson County Community College. 220 Programs Every ABA-Approved Program The ABA's full list by state, with each school's federal record beside it and what approval does and does not mean. 166 With A Certificate Paralegal Certificate Programs Undergraduate, post-baccalaureate and extension certificates, and how to tell which fits. For Degree Holders Post-Baccalaureate Certificates The short route for someone who already holds a bachelor's degree, compared on what each program publishes. 62 Online The Paralegal Associate Degree The credential BLS names as typical for the job, ranked online and by state. 6 Credentials The Certification Exams NALA's CP, NFPA's PACE and PCCE, NALS's PP and AAPI's AACP: eligibility, fees and renewal from each body's own rules. $62,890 Median Pay Paralegal Salary By State BLS pay for paralegals and legal assistants in every state, highest in District of Columbia at $89,750. $5,155 Median A Year What A Paralegal Certificate Costs Tuition for approved certificates, the exam fees on top of it, and what sets one program's price apart from another's.

Paralegal Programs And Rules By State

A campus program is usually a local choice, and a few states have rules of their own: California's statute on who may use the title, Florida's registration, North Carolina's certification. 19 states have enough ABA-approved programs for a ranked page.

California CA 32 ABA-approved $77,390 New York NY 16 ABA-approved $68,410 Texas TX 15 ABA-approved $62,310 Illinois IL 14 ABA-approved $63,670 Pennsylvania PA 10 ABA-approved $63,370 Florida FL 9 ABA-approved $61,000 Michigan MI 8 ABA-approved $62,170 Ohio OH 7 ABA-approved $60,420 Tennessee TN 7 ABA-approved $58,820 Wisconsin WI 7 ABA-approved $58,500 North Carolina NC 5 ABA-approved $57,500 Georgia GA 5 ABA-approved $62,400 New Jersey NJ 5 ABA-approved $71,500 Washington WA 5 ABA-approved $79,400 Maryland MD 5 ABA-approved $65,640 South Carolina SC 5 ABA-approved $53,880 Colorado CO 4 ABA-approved $78,190 Massachusetts MA 4 ABA-approved $77,640 Virginia VA 4 ABA-approved $63,990 Every Other State 24 more states every approved program

How To Get Paralegal Certification

The usual order is education, then experience, then an exam.

  1. Choose A Program

    A certificate or associate's degree in paralegal studies is the most common start, and it's what BLS describes as typical for the job.

    Compare paralegal certificate programs

  2. Gain Experience

    NALA's CP accepts degree holders who have a year of experience and high school graduates with five.

    How to become a paralegal, step by step

  3. Take An Exam

    NALA's Certified Paralegal accepts graduates of qualifying programs straight away. NFPA's PCCE is built for early-career paralegals and its PACE for experienced ones.

    NALA's Certified Paralegal rules

  4. Renew It

    Once certified, you renew with continuing legal education every two to five years.

    How each exam renews

Three questions follow from that.

Length How Long A Paralegal Certificate Takes The ABA's credit minimums and the lengths approved programs state, side by side. Value Is A Paralegal Certificate Worth It? What a certificate costs, what paralegals earn and the BLS outlook, each from its source. Price The Cheapest Online Certificates ABA-approved online certificates sorted by price, from the tuition each school publishes and the federal out-of-state figure.

What the job is once you're in it, from the duties to where paralegals work and how the role differs from a lawyer's, is in the paralegal career guide. Narrower questions, such as who can enroll in an approved certificate, are on the paralegal blog.

How This Site Works

Program summaries come from each school's own pages, quoted and dated, and every rule, fee and exam detail links the statute, court or certifying body that publishes it.

Read the full methodology

Common Questions About Paralegal Certification

What is paralegal certification?
A credential a professional body awards to a person who meets its eligibility rules and passes its exam, such as NALA's Certified Paralegal (CP) or NFPA's Registered Paralegal (RP). It's optional: in the ABA's words, "Presently, there is no mandatory certification examination for paralegals anywhere in the United States." A paralegal certificate is the other thing the phrase can mean: an education credential a college or university awards for completing its paralegal program, usually in a few months to two years. 289 schools awarded paralegal certificates in 2023-24, and 166 of the 220 programs on the ABA's list offer one.

How do I get paralegal certification?
Meet a certifying body's eligibility rules, usually with paralegal education, experience or both, then pass its exam and keep it current with continuing education. NALA's CP accepts graduates of qualifying paralegal programs, bachelor's degree holders with a year of experience or 15 semester hours of paralegal courses, and high school graduates with five years of experience. NFPA's PCCE is open to paralegal-studies graduates with no experience.

Is paralegal certification required?
No state requires a certification exam to work as a paralegal. California sets education and experience qualifications for using the title in Business and Professions Code section 6450, and several state bars run voluntary programs. Employers decide the rest, and some prefer or require certification.

How much does paralegal certification cost?
NALA's CP exam is $325 for NALA members and $375 for non-members. NFPA's PACE costs $325 or $350 and its PCCE $300 or $325. A paralegal certificate program costs whatever the school charges, from community college tuition to a university extension's program fee.