Of the 100% online paralegal certificate programs, Johnson County Community College ranks first of 28, at $5,472 a year for an out-of-state student.
28 of the 33 ABA-approved certificates in the online ranking can be finished entirely online; for the rest, the school's page or the federal record shows online study without saying the whole certificate can be done that way.
4 of the 28 charge out-of-state students the in-state rate, by the federal data.
Approved programs teach at least nine semester credits of legal courses live, so expect some scheduled video classes.
The list keeps the online ranking's order, which scores tuition and fees (40%), graduation rate (30%), paralegal graduates (30%), with tuition at the out-of-state price.
A 100% online paralegal certificate can be finished without going to a campus. A certificate is on this list when its school's page says it can be completed entirely online or, where the page is silent, the school reports to the federal government that it can be completed entirely through distance education. 28 of the 33 ABA-approved certificates in the online ranking qualify. They keep its order, renumbered
from 1, so the scoring is the same: tuition and fees (40%), graduation rate (30%), paralegal graduates (30%), with tuition at the out-of-state price.
How the scores work.
The Best 100% Online Paralegal Certificate Programs
The top ten have a card each, with the reason the program is on the list; the table continues it to the 25th. Tuition is a full-time year of out-of-state tuition and fees.
Johnson County Community College in Overland Park, Kansas offers an ABA-approved Paralegal Certificate that can be completed entirely remotely, with core courses taught live online.
Fully onlineYes, you can complete the JCCC Paralegal Certificate entirely remotely!
Santa Ana College's Bachelor of Arts in Paralegal Studies, which enrolled its first class in fall 2025, is described by the college as the first ABA-approved baccalaureate-level paralegal program at any public institution in California.
Fully onlineThe Santa Ana College Online Degree Pathway programs offers the following certificates in the field of Legal Studies (Law) ... Paralegal: Certificate of Achievement (Transcripted)
Cuyahoga Community College (Tri-C), based at its Western Campus in Parma, Ohio, offers an ABA-approved paralegal associate degree and a one-year post-degree certificate, and its catalog says both can be completed 100% online.
Fully onlineThis program is available to be completed 100% online.
Raritan Valley Community College in Branchburg, New Jersey, offers an ABA-approved paralegal associate degree and a 24-credit certificate for degree holders, and lists both among the programs that can be completed entirely online.
Fully onlineRVCC offers the following degree programs which can be completed entirely online (online asynchronous and/or remote synchronous): ... Certificate in Paralegal Studies
Elgin Community College in Elgin, Illinois, offers a 23-credit ABA-approved paralegal certificate whose core courses meet live on Zoom in the evening, so it can be completed without coming to campus, with daytime face-to-face classes also offered.
Fully onlineCan I complete the ECC paralegal certificate online? Yes, you can complete the paralegal program without coming to campus.
College of the Canyons teaches its ABA-approved paralegal courses fully online in the evening, through live Zoom classes and Canvas, and the same 31 units lead to an AA or, for students who already hold a degree, a certificate.
The University of Cincinnati in Cincinnati, Ohio runs its ABA-approved Law and Paralegal Studies program entirely online, with an associate degree and a post-associate certificate through UC Clermont College and a bachelor's degree and a post-baccalaureate certificate through the College of Education, Criminal Justice, and Human Services, all taught by licensed attorneys.
Fully online100% online: no campus visits are required
Inver Hills Community College in Inver Grove Heights, Minnesota says its Paralegal program has been approved by the American Bar Association since 1978 and is taught primarily in an online synchronous class format.
Southwestern College offers bilingual English-Spanish versions of its ABA-approved paralegal associate degree and certificate, adding legal interpretation and translation and bilingual legal terminology to the paralegal core, and all four of its paralegal programs are approved to be completed online.
Fully onlineSouthwestern College offers the following American Bar Association (ABA) approved programs: Paralegal Studies Associate’s Degree, Paralegal Studies Associate’s Degree-Bilingual, Paralegal Studies Certificate of Achievement, and Paralegal Studies-Bilingual Certificate of Achievement. These programs are approved to be completed online.
Key Program Details
A.S. and bilingual A.S.: 60 units each
Certificate: 32.5 to 34.5 units; bilingual certificate: 38.5 to 40.5 units
Certificates awarded only to students with a prior associate or higher degree
All four programs are approved to be completed online and offered at the Chula Vista, California campus
At least 54 hours of legal work experience
$46 per semester credit
ASCertificateOnline
swccd.eduOctober 1, 2026
100% online paralegal certificate programs, ranked 11 to 25
The other 3 are in the online ranking, in the same order.
What 100% Online Means For An Approved Certificate
No campus classes, but not no schedule. Every ABA-approved program, online or not, must teach at least nine
semester credits of its legal specialty courses live, and an online program meets the rule with scheduled
video classes, so a 100% online certificate still has class times for those courses.
The tuition scored is the out-of-state figure, what a student from another state pays.
At 24 of these 28 schools it is higher than the in-state rate, and 4 charge every student the same, by the federal data. The online ranking also ranks the 5 other
approved certificates with online study, and the
cheapest online certificates sorts them all on price alone.
Common Questions About 100% Online Paralegal Certificate Programs
Can you get an ABA-approved paralegal certificate 100% online?
Yes. 28 of the ABA-approved certificates in the online ranking can be completed entirely online, by the school's own page or, where the page is silent, its report to the federal government. Johnson County Community College ranks first among them.
Do online paralegal certificate programs have live classes?
Yes, some. The ABA requires every approved program to teach at least nine semester credits of its legal specialty courses live, and online programs do it with scheduled video classes.
Do out-of-state students pay more for an online paralegal certificate?
At 24 of these 28 schools the federal data shows a higher out-of-state rate, and 4 charge every student the same. Each card shows the out-of-state figure, with the in-state rate beside it where the two differ.
What is the best 100% online paralegal certificate program?
Johnson County Community College, then Santa Ana College and Cuyahoga Community College, in the online ranking's order, where the tuition scored is the out-of-state price an online student from another state pays.
Sources For 100% Online Paralegal Certificate Programs
