Massachusetts regulates paralegal work through the lawyers who supervise it, under the Supreme Judicial Court's rules of professional conduct, which do not define a paralegal. Paralegals organize through voluntary associations.
Middlesex Community College leads Massachusetts's ABA-approved certificate programs, ahead of North Shore Community College.
As a Massachusetts resident you'd pay $5,352 to $6,098 in tuition and fees for a full-time year at Massachusetts's ranked programs. The median for its 3 ranked certificates is $5,520, above the $5,155 median for ranked certificate programs nationally.
3 approved programs in Massachusetts can be finished at least partly online, by each school's own page or, where a page says nothing, the federal record or the ABA's online flag.
ABA-approved programs conferred 50% of the 111 paralegal credentials Massachusetts schools awarded in 2023-24.
Paralegals in Massachusetts earn a median $77,640, above the national $62,890.
In Massachusetts, 6 schools conferred paralegal credentials in 2023-24 without ABA approval, more than the 4 with an approved program. They are listed at the foot of the page with their federal figures. The rankings below cover 3 certificate programs and 4 associate degrees.
Approved programs are ranked within each award level on tuition and fees (what a full-time year costs a Massachusetts resident), graduation rate and paralegal graduates. Positions below are within Massachusetts,
but each score compares a program with every approved program at its level in the country.
The scoring method, step by step.
Supervision Under The Supreme Judicial Court's Rules
The Supreme Judicial Court's Rules of Professional Conduct speak of nonlawyer assistants and don't define a paralegal. The comment to Rule 5.3 says lawyers employ paraprofessionals, must give them appropriate instruction and supervision on the ethics of their work, particularly confidentiality, and should be responsible for their work product. The comment to Rule 5.5 lets a lawyer delegate work to paraprofessionals so long as the lawyer supervises it and keeps responsibility for it.
A General Law mentions paralegals in passing: the notary statute limits non-attorney notaries in immigration matters, but not a paralegal employed by a licensed attorney who gives immigration help in that job. And under SJC Rule 4:01, a disbarred or suspended lawyer may not do paralegal work, and no firm may knowingly employ one, unless the court grants leave after a waiting period.
This Rule does not prohibit a lawyer from employing the services of paraprofessionals and delegating functions to them, so long as the lawyer supervises the delegated work and retains responsibility for their work.
Massachusetts paralegals organize through voluntary associations. The Massachusetts Paralegal Association, founded in 1975, describes itself as the state's oldest and largest paralegal organization, with more than 300 members, and offers membership, events and continuing education rather than a credential.
The Massachusetts Bar Association, a voluntary bar association, has a paralegal membership at $185 for 2026-27. Its ethics committee has said a lawyer defending an insured must judge case by case whether an insurer's guidelines requiring paralegals for certain tasks are ethical, and may not delegate to a paralegal work the paralegal cannot do competently.
ABA-Approved Paralegal Certificate Programs In Massachusetts
3 approved programs in Massachusetts conferred undergraduate paralegal certificates in 2023-24. Paralegal certificate programs in Massachusetts are ranked here only when a new student can start them. Tuition is a full-time year of in-state tuition and fees. The out-of-state or in-district figure is beside it where it differs.
Middlesex Community College in Bedford, Massachusetts and Lowell, Massachusetts offers an ABA-approved 27-credit paralegal certificate for degree holders and Career and Transfer paralegal associate degrees, with in-person, HyFlex, synchronous and asynchronous course formats.
Key Program Details
Certificate: 27 credits, associate or bachelor's degree required
Career AS: 60 to 61 credits
Transfer AS: 61 to 62 credits, MassTransfer eligible
Evening classes in Bedford, Massachusetts and day classes in Lowell, Massachusetts
In-person, HyFlex, synchronous and asynchronous course formats
$263 per semester credit
Read more
Middlesex offers a 27-credit Paralegal Studies Certificate and an Associate in Science, Liberal Studies in paralegal studies with a Career track (60 to 61 credits) for students heading into paralegal work and a Transfer track (61 to 62 credits) that qualifies for MassTransfer to Massachusetts state universities and the University of Massachusetts. Coursework includes Introduction to Law, Legal Research and Writing I and II, Litigation and Computer Applications for Paralegals, with legal specialty electives such as business organizations, contract law, criminal law, family law, real estate law and wills, trusts and estates, plus a paralegal internship option.
The certificate requires an associate or bachelor's degree and is aimed at people changing careers. Classes run in the evening at the Bedford, Massachusetts campus and during the day at the Lowell, Massachusetts campus, and the college also offers HyFlex, synchronous and asynchronous sections, with a 100% online option; students must take at least nine semester credits of legal specialty courses through synchronous instruction. The Transfer track's catalog page also requires at least 10 credits in a traditional classroom setting.
North Shore Community College runs its ABA-approved paralegal program from its campus in Lynn, Massachusetts, where the 27-credit Paralegal Certificate for associate and bachelor's degree holders can be completed in a year, September to August, and the 60-credit Paralegal Associate in Science includes a required field placement.
Key Program Details
Certificate: 27 credit hours, completable in a year (September to August)
Associate in Science: 60 credit hours with a required field placement
The program is based at the Lynn, Massachusetts campus, and the certificate runs day or evening
Certificate requires an associate's or bachelor's degree
At least nine legal specialty credits in a traditional classroom
$233 per semester credit
Read more
The certificate starts in the fall with Information Technology and Its Applications, Introduction to Law and Paralegal Practice, Legal Research and Litigation, continues in the spring with Legal Writing and nine credits of directed electives, and ends in the first summer session with Computer Applications for the Law Office; the electives are three of Basic Criminal Law and Procedure, Real Estate Law, Estates and Trusts, Business Organizations, Family Law and Field Placement for Paralegals, and the certificate runs as a day or evening program. The Associate in Science lays out 15-credit semesters that pair composition, literature, humanities, speech, accounting, business law, information technology, government or social science and an open elective with Introduction to Law and Paralegal Practice, Legal Research, Basic Criminal Law and Procedure, Legal Writing, Litigation, Real Estate Law, Estates and Trusts, Business Organizations, Family Law and a required Field Placement for Paralegals. The program is offered at the Lynn Campus, courses are also scheduled in evening/weekend and summer sessions, and at least nine credits of legal specialty courses must be taken in a traditional classroom.
The certificate has a special admissions requirement: students need an associate's or bachelor's degree, and those with an associate's degree must meet the general education requirements set by the American Bar Association. The associate degree has open admissions, and every certificate course transfers into it. Both credentials require communication and mathematics proficiency to graduate, the certificate pathway calls for a cumulative GPA of at least 2.0, and courses are taught by attorneys and legal professionals.
Bunker Hill Community College in Boston, Massachusetts offers an ABA-approved Paralegal Studies A.S. and a selective-admission Paralegal Certificate for associate and bachelor's degree holders, and says both can be completed entirely online, with daytime courses held live on WebEx and evening courses in person on its Charlestown Campus.
Key Program Details
Both credentials can be completed entirely online
Day classes live on WebEx; evening classes on the Charlestown Campus in Boston, Massachusetts
Certificate: selective admission for associate or bachelor's degree holders
Certificate plan: two semesters (12 and 15 credits)
Optional 150-hour internship
$289 per credit
Read more
The certificate's catalog plan covers two semesters: Introduction to Law and concentration electives (12 credits) in the first, then Legal Research & Writing, Litigation, Legal Ethics, Business Organizations and another concentration elective (15 credits) in the second, with electives chosen from Family Law, Real Estate Law, Criminal Law, Wills, Estates and Trusts, Practical Legal Writing and the Paralegal Internship. The A.S. plan runs four semesters and pairs general education (College Writing I and II, quantitative problem solving, scientific reasoning, a lab science, behavioral science, humanities, community and cultural contexts and creative work) and Applications/Concepts with the certificate's required paralegal courses and paralegal option electives. Day courses are taught remotely and require real-time attendance on WebEx at set times, evening courses meet in person on the Charlestown Campus, courses rotate between fall and spring, and some electives run in a web format without set meeting times; the department schedules at least nine credits of legal specialty coursework as synchronous instruction, as the ABA requires.
The certificate is a selective-admission program: applicants submit proof of a completed associate or bachelor's degree, a letter of interest, a professional resume and three letters of reference, and the college lists January (spring) and September (fall) starts. Certificate students may enroll full-time or part-time and must undergo CORI and SORI background checks before an internship. Students who choose the internship complete 150 hours over 10 to 15 weeks at a law firm, public agency, corporation or other law-related organization under the direct supervision of a legal professional.
ASCertificate
catalog.bhcc.eduOctober 2, 2026
ABA-Approved Associate Degrees In Paralegal Studies In Massachusetts
An associate's degree adds general education to the paralegal courses and usually takes two years full time.
Bunker Hill Community College leads Massachusetts's 4 approved associate programs, conferring 14 paralegal degrees in 2023-24.
Bunker Hill Community College in Boston, Massachusetts offers an ABA-approved Paralegal Studies A.S. and a selective-admission Paralegal Certificate for associate and bachelor's degree holders, and says both can be completed entirely online, with daytime courses held live on WebEx and evening courses in person on its Charlestown Campus.
Key Program Details
Both credentials can be completed entirely online
Day classes live on WebEx; evening classes on the Charlestown Campus in Boston, Massachusetts
Certificate: selective admission for associate or bachelor's degree holders
Certificate plan: two semesters (12 and 15 credits)
Optional 150-hour internship
$289 per credit
ASCertificate
catalog.bhcc.eduOctober 2, 2026
#2In Massachusetts
Score33.4/ 100
Paralegal Studies Career Associates Degree (Associate in Science, Liberal Studies)
Middlesex Community College in Bedford, Massachusetts and Lowell, Massachusetts offers an ABA-approved 27-credit paralegal certificate for degree holders and Career and Transfer paralegal associate degrees, with in-person, HyFlex, synchronous and asynchronous course formats.
Key Program Details
Certificate: 27 credits, associate or bachelor's degree required
Career AS: 60 to 61 credits
Transfer AS: 61 to 62 credits, MassTransfer eligible
Evening classes in Bedford, Massachusetts and day classes in Lowell, Massachusetts
In-person, HyFlex, synchronous and asynchronous course formats
Bristol Community College in Fall River, Massachusetts offers its ABA-approved paralegal program as a nine-course Certificate of Achievement and a 21-course Associate of Science, with day, evening and online classes, an evening program that can be completed fully remotely, and a required 150-hour internship under an attorney's supervision.
Key Program Details
Certificate: 27 credits in nine courses
Associate of Science: 60 to 62 credits in 21 courses
Day, evening and online classes; evening program can be completed fully remotely
Required 150-hour internship supervised by an attorney
Certificate entry: a prior degree or 33 college credits
North Shore Community College runs its ABA-approved paralegal program from its campus in Lynn, Massachusetts, where the 27-credit Paralegal Certificate for associate and bachelor's degree holders can be completed in a year, September to August, and the 60-credit Paralegal Associate in Science includes a required field placement.
Key Program Details
Certificate: 27 credit hours, completable in a year (September to August)
Associate in Science: 60 credit hours with a required field placement
The program is based at the Lynn, Massachusetts campus, and the certificate runs day or evening
Certificate requires an associate's or bachelor's degree
At least nine legal specialty credits in a traditional classroom
$233 per semester credit
ASCertificate
northshore.eduOctober 5, 2026
What A Paralegal Program Costs In Massachusetts
Across Massachusetts's ranked approved programs, you'd pay between $5,352 and $6,098 for a full-time year of tuition and fees as a Massachusetts resident,
with a median of $5,466. The median for its 3 ranked certificates is $5,520, above the $5,155 median for ranked certificate programs nationally.
Tuition and fees are what each school reported to IPEDS for a full-time undergraduate year in 2023-24, tuition plus required fees, before books, supplies or aid. A certificate of about 30 semester credits is roughly a full-time year of coursework, but programs differ in length and many students take them part-time, so read the figure as a way to compare schools. Colleges set new rates every year. It is not the price of a post-baccalaureate or extension certificate, which schools price separately.
What Paralegals Earn In Massachusetts
BLS puts the median for paralegals and legal assistants (SOC 23-2011) in Massachusetts at $77,640 a year,
$14,750 above the national median of $62,890, fourth highest of the 51 states and districts BLS reports.
The 10th percentile is $49,770 and the 90th is $117,480. 7,800 people in Massachusetts hold the job. Figures are from the BLS OEWS May 2025 release. Paralegal pay by state sets them side by side.
Every Paralegal Program In Massachusetts
Every school in Massachusetts that the ABA lists or that conferred a paralegal credential in 2023-24 is here, approved
programs first. Awards are the paralegal credentials each school reported to IPEDS for that year.
Common Questions About Paralegal Certificates In Massachusetts
Do you need a certificate to be a paralegal in Massachusetts?
The Supreme Judicial Court's rules don't define a paralegal or set education requirements. They make the supervising lawyer responsible for a paralegal's work. A certificate is a common way to prepare, and the national certifications are voluntary.
Is there a Massachusetts paralegal certification?
The Massachusetts Paralegal Association offers membership, events and continuing education rather than a credential, so if you want a certification in Massachusetts, you look to the national exams from NALA and NFPA.
How many ABA-approved paralegal programs are in Massachusetts?
The ABA's directory lists 4 approved programs in Massachusetts. IPEDS shows 10 schools in the state conferring paralegal credentials in 2023-24, and 6 of them run a program the ABA has not approved.
What are the best paralegal certificate programs in Massachusetts?
On this ranking, Middlesex Community College, which charges $6,098 a year in in-state tuition and fees, graduates 23% of its first-time students and conferred 11 paralegal certificates in 2023-24. North Shore Community College and Bunker Hill Community College are next. Every program ranked here is ABA-approved.
What is the cheapest ABA-approved paralegal program in Massachusetts?
Of the programs ranked here, you'd pay the least as a Massachusetts resident at North Shore Community College, $5,352 for a full-time year of tuition and fees in 2023-24. That's the figure the school reports to IPEDS, and schools reset it every year.
What do paralegals make in Massachusetts?
BLS puts the median for paralegals and legal assistants (SOC 23-2011) in Massachusetts at $77,640 a year, $14,750 above the national median of $62,890, with 7,800 people in the job. The 10th percentile is $49,770 and the 90th is $117,480. Figures are from the BLS OEWS May 2025 release.
Paralegal Programs In Other States
A campus program usually means the state you live in, but an online one does not. These are the
other states with enough ABA-approved programs for a page of their own.
