Best Paralegal Certification

Becoming A Paralegal, Step By Step

How To Become A Paralegal

, Contributor at Savo Media Group

Last updated

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Typical entry education BLS

Associate's

or a paralegal certificate

Median pay BLS

$62,890

BLS, May 2025

ABA-approved programs ABA

220

in 43 states and DC

Openings a year BLS

40,800

BLS projection, 2025-35

How To Become A Paralegal, At A Glance

  • Most paralegals start with a paralegal certificate or an associate's degree. BLS lists the associate's as the typical entry-level education.
  • No state requires a license or a certification exam to work as a paralegal under a lawyer's supervision. The licenses a few states issue are for independent, limited legal practice.
  • California is the exception that sets education rules: using the title there takes an ABA-approved certificate, 24 units of law-related courses, or a bachelor's plus a year of supervised experience.
  • ABA approval is voluntary, but California's statute, NALA's exam and several state programs name it.
  • Certification from NALA or NFPA is optional and comes after education or experience, by exam.
  • The median paralegal earned $62,890 in May 2025.

A paralegal does substantive legal work, research, drafting, case management, under a lawyer who is responsible for it, and the paralegal job description sets out those duties in full. No state requires a license or an exam to work as a paralegal under a lawyer, so becoming one is a matter of training the employer will accept and, in a few states, meeting a rule about the title. BLS describes the usual entry point this way:

Paralegals and legal assistants typically need an associate's degree or certificate in paralegal studies to enter the occupation. Some employers prefer to hire candidates who have a bachelor's degree; others may consider candidates who have a high school diploma and experience.

BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, Paralegals and Legal Assistants, How to Become One

1. Choose An Education Route

Four routes lead to the same job, and the right one depends on what you already have.

Paralegal CertificateMonths To Two Years

All paralegal coursework, no general education. IPEDS shows 133 schools awarding paralegal certificates of under a year and 171 awarding longer ones. The fastest route for someone who does not need a degree. Certificate programs.

Associate's DegreeAbout Two Years

Paralegal courses plus general education, at 380 schools, mostly community colleges. The credential BLS names as typical, and a step toward a bachelor's. Associate's programs.

Post-Baccalaureate CertificateFor Degree Holders

The legal coursework alone, for someone who already holds a bachelor's degree in another field. 14 schools award one through federal data, and many university extension programs offer one outside it. Post-baccalaureate programs.

Bachelor's DegreeAbout Four Years

A full degree in paralegal or legal studies, at 60 schools. Some employers prefer a bachelor's, and it meets more certification routes on its own.

2. Know Your State's Rules

Most states leave paralegal qualifications to employers. A few do more, and it's worth knowing before you choose a program. California sets qualifications for the title by statute and requires eight hours of continuing education every two years. Florida runs a voluntary registration through its Bar, and North Carolina a voluntary certification through its State Bar. Texas offers board certification in eight specialties to experienced paralegals, and Ohio's bar association certifies paralegals too. The 19 state pages set out what applies in each.

3. Decide Whether ABA Approval Matters To You

The ABA approves paralegal programs that meet its guidelines, and 220 hold approval. It's voluntary, and an unapproved program can teach well. But approval is a route named in rules that matter later: California's statute, the first category of NALA's Certified Paralegal exam, NFPA's certificate routes, Florida's registration and North Carolina's certification all accept it. If any of those is in your future, an approved program keeps the doors open. Every approved program, by state.

4. Build Experience

Experience is what everyone downstream counts. NALA's exam accepts a bachelor's degree with a year of paralegal experience; NFPA's PACE asks for two to seven years on its degree routes; Florida's registration pairs every degree with years of paralegal work; Texas board certification needs five. Some programs build an internship into the credential.

5. Consider Certification

Certification is a credential you earn as a person, by exam, after education or experience, and it's optional: in the ABA's words, there is no mandatory certification exam for paralegals anywhere in the country. NALA's Certified Paralegal, the one with the most holders, accepts graduates of qualifying programs; NFPA's PCCE is built for early-career paralegals. NALS has paused its individual exams, which NALS certification explains. The national certification exams compared in one table set out who can sit for each, what it costs and how it renews.

What Paralegals And Legal Assistants Earn, And The Outlook

BLS counts paralegals and legal assistants as one occupation, SOC 23-2011, and its May 2025 wage survey puts their median pay at $62,890, with the lowest-paid 10% below $44,740 and the top 10% above $101,500. BLS projects little or no change in the number of jobs from 2025 to 2035 but about 40,800 openings a year, mostly as people retire or change careers. Paralegal pay in every state, and pay by employer type.

Common Questions About How To Become A Paralegal

How long does it take to become a paralegal?
From a few months to four years, depending on the route. A paralegal certificate takes from under a year to two years (IPEDS shows 133 schools awarding certificates of less than a year and 171 awarding longer ones). An associate's degree takes about two years full time and a bachelor's about four. If you already hold a bachelor's degree, you can usually take a post-baccalaureate certificate in a year or less.

Do you need a degree to be a paralegal?
Not everywhere. BLS says paralegals "typically need an associate's degree or certificate in paralegal studies", that some employers prefer a bachelor's, and that others consider a high school diploma with experience. California is the strict case: using the title there requires an ABA-approved certificate, 24 semester units of law-related courses, or a bachelor's degree plus a year of supervised experience.

Can you become a paralegal without going to school?
In most states it's possible with experience: BLS notes that some employers consider candidates who have a high school diploma and experience, and NALA's Certified Paralegal exam accepts a high school diploma plus five years of paralegal experience and 20 hours of continuing education. California's experience-only route closed in 2003 (Business and Professions Code section 6450), so there it takes education or a degree.

What are the requirements to be a paralegal?
No state requires a license or a certification exam to work as a paralegal under a lawyer. (Oregon's Licensed Paralegal and Utah's Licensed Paralegal Practitioner are licenses for independent, limited practice, a different job.) What applies everywhere is supervision: a paralegal works under a lawyer and may not give legal advice. Beyond that, the requirement is whatever the employer asks for, usually a certificate or degree in paralegal studies, plus the state's own rule where it has one, as California, Florida and North Carolina do in different ways.

Sources For How To Become A Paralegal

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