Michigan has no paralegal license, but its State Bar admits qualified legal assistants as affiliate members, and a court rule lets fee awards include their time. An ABA-approved program plus a bachelor's degree is the most direct route in.
Grand Valley State University leads Michigan's ABA-approved certificate programs.
As a Michigan resident you'd pay $5,560 to $27,360 in tuition and fees for a full-time year at Michigan's ranked programs.
6 approved programs in Michigan 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 67% of the 203 paralegal credentials Michigan schools awarded in 2023-24.
Paralegals in Michigan earn a median $62,170, below the national $62,890.
In Michigan, 3 approved schools charge residents of their own college district less than other state residents. The rankings below cover 1 certificate program, 5 associate degrees and 4 bachelor's degrees. Another 5 schools in the state conferred paralegal credentials in 2023-24 without ABA approval. They are listed at the foot of the page with their federal figures.
Approved programs are ranked within each award level on tuition and fees (what a full-time year costs a Michigan resident), graduation rate and paralegal graduates. Positions below are within Michigan,
but each score compares a program with every approved program at its level in the country.
How each score is calculated.
The State Bar's Legal Assistant Affiliate Membership
The Michigan Supreme Court's rules for the State Bar let a legal assistant, as the bar's bylaws define one, become an affiliate member of the State Bar of Michigan. The bylaws define a legal assistant by the work: substantive legal work delegated by an attorney and done under the attorney's direction and supervision, work the attorney would otherwise do and that is mostly not clerical. They then set five routes in: an ABA-approved program plus a bachelor's degree; any bachelor's plus at least two years of in-house training as a legal assistant; a legal assistant associate degree plus two years of training; any associate degree plus an ABA-approved program plus two years of training; or four years of in-house training alone. Proof is due at application and every year after.
Affiliate members belong to the bar's Paralegal/Legal Assistant Section, whose application, revised in January 2026, lists a $75 annual fee ($50 when joining after April 1) and cannot be processed without a supervising attorney's attestation.
A legal assistant as defined in the State Bar bylaws may become an affiliate member of the State Bar of Michigan and shall thereupon be a member of the legal assistants section.
Michigan Court Rule 2.626 lets an award of attorney fees include the time of a legal assistant who did nonclerical legal work under an attorney's supervision, but only a legal assistant who meets the State Bar's bylaw criteria. The routes above decide more than membership: they decide whether a paralegal's hours can be included in a fee award.
An award of attorney fees may include an award for the time and labor of any legal assistant who contributed nonclerical, legal support under the supervision of an attorney, provided the legal assistant meets the criteria set forth in Article 1, § 6 of the Bylaws of the State Bar of Michigan.
Advocacy Before Agencies, And A Pilot That Is Not Practice
The State Bar's 1992 ethics opinion RI-125 says a lawyer's legal assistant may appear as an advocate for a party in administrative agency proceedings where the law authorizes it, with the lawyer responsible for the assistant's conduct and work, and notes that legal assistants are not subject to state licensure.
In 2025 the Supreme Court adopted Administrative Order 2025-1, a pilot to study limited help for litigants from people trained in informational and accompaniment services. The order says these services are not the practice of law: providers may not give legal advice or charge clients, and must be supervised. Under a September 2026 amendment, the pilot begins when the State Court Administrative Office opens registration, with a written comment period starting in September 2027.
Legal assistants are not subject to state licensure, nor are they subject to the requirements and regulations imposed upon lawyers.
ABA-Approved Paralegal Certificate Programs In Michigan
One approved program in Michigan conferred an undergraduate paralegal certificate in 2023-24. Paralegal certificate programs in Michigan 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.
#1Paralegal certificate programs in Michigan
Score51.1/ 100
Certificate in Paralegal Studies (Undergraduate Certificate)
Grand Valley State University offers an ABA-approved Legal Studies B.A. or B.S. and a 30-credit paralegal studies certificate, taught face to face in Grand Rapids, Michigan, with a required internship and a 3+3 LEAP pathway to a J.D. at the Michigan State University College of Law.
Key Program Details
B.A. or B.S.: 120 credits, with at least 36 in the major
Certificate: 30 credits
Face to face in Grand Rapids, Michigan
Legal Studies Internship in both the major and the certificate
LEAP 3+3 with Michigan State University College of Law
Read more
The legal studies major (at least 36 credits within a 120-credit B.A. or B.S.) requires Law in our Lives, Legal Research, Legal Writing, Civil Litigation I and II, Property and Probate Law, Commercial Law, a Legal Studies Internship and a Legal Thought capstone, plus Introduction to Computing and two (B.A.) or three (B.S.) electives such as Criminal Law, Constitutional Rights and Civil Liberties, Family Law, Women and the Law, and Employment and Labor Law. The B.A. adds third-semester proficiency in a foreign language, and the B.S. adds statistics and research methods. The 30-credit certificate uses the same core (without the capstone) plus Introduction to Computing and one elective. GVSU lists both as face-to-face programs in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and at least nine credits of legal specialty courses must be taken through synchronous instruction.
The certificate is open to GVSU degree-seeking students, who receive it when their bachelor's degree is awarded, and to people who already hold a bachelor's degree from another institution with an overall GPA of at least 2.7, who apply for admission to the legal studies program. Students can earn the major and the certificate concurrently, and GVSU says certificate students are eligible for financial aid because they are seeking a degree. At least two-thirds of the major's credits must be taken at GVSU, transferred legal specialty credit is limited, and no legal specialty credit is awarded by examination. Through the LEAP program with the Michigan State University College of Law, legal studies majors can earn a bachelor's degree and a J.D. in approximately six years; GVSU's legal studies minor is not ABA-approved.
BABSCertificateJoint Degree
gvsu.eduOctober 5, 2026
ABA-Approved Associate Degrees In Paralegal Studies In Michigan
An associate's degree adds general education to the paralegal courses and usually takes two years full time.
Oakland Community College leads Michigan's 5 approved associate programs, conferring 25 paralegal degrees in 2023-24.
#1In Michigan
Score43.0/ 100
Paralegal Associate Degree
Oakland Community College
Farmington Hills, Michigan · Public · ABA-approved
Oakland Community College's ABA-approved paralegal program offers a 62-credit Associate in Applied Science and a Post-Bachelor Certificate for bachelor's degree holders, and every course in the program is available online or in person.
Key Program Details
A.A.S.: 62 credits; certificate: 35 credits
Every course is offered online or in person
The certificate requires a bachelor's degree
In-person classes meet at the Orchard Ridge Campus in Farmington Hills, Michigan
Macomb Community College's ABA-approved Associate of Applied Science in Paralegal is a 62-credit degree taught by lawyers and paralegals, with courses on the Michigan legal system and ethics and on estate administration and elder law in Michigan.
Key Program Details
62 credit hours, with at least 18 in general education
At least 9 credit hours are paralegal courses taken in the classroom at Macomb
The faculty includes both lawyers and paralegals
Students are encouraged to attend an orientation in their first year
AAS
ecatalog.macomb.eduOctober 5, 2026
#3In Michigan
Score31.6/ 100
Associate of Science - Legal Studies
Davenport University
Grand Rapids, Michigan · Private nonprofit · ABA-approved
Davenport University, based in Grand Rapids, Michigan, says its legal studies program has held ABA approval since 1994, and it is moving all legal studies courses to a livestream format through its Global Campus.
Key Program Details
AS: 60 credits
BS: 120 credits
Post-baccalaureate certificate: 27 credits
Livestream courses online, plus Grand Rapids, Michigan and Lansing, Michigan locations
Madonna University in Livonia, Michigan, says its paralegal program has been ABA-approved since 1984, and it runs the program as a flexible online program offering an associate degree, a bachelor's degree, a post-baccalaureate certificate and a nurse paralegal certificate for B.S.N. holders, all with a required internship.
Key Program Details
B.S.: 120 semester hours, 42 in the paralegal major
A.S.: 60 semester hours, 30 in the paralegal major
Post-baccalaureate certificate: 31 semester hours
Nurse paralegal certificate for B.S.N. holders: 31 semester hours
Required internship and Legal Seminar capstone
ASBSCertificate
madonna.eduOctober 1, 2026
ABA-approved paralegal associate degrees in Michigan, ranked 5 onward
Grand Valley State University offers an ABA-approved Legal Studies B.A. or B.S. and a 30-credit paralegal studies certificate, taught face to face in Grand Rapids, Michigan, with a required internship and a 3+3 LEAP pathway to a J.D. at the Michigan State University College of Law.
Key Program Details
B.A. or B.S.: 120 credits, with at least 36 in the major
Certificate: 30 credits
Face to face in Grand Rapids, Michigan
Legal Studies Internship in both the major and the certificate
LEAP 3+3 with Michigan State University College of Law
Eastern Michigan University's ABA-approved Paralegal B.S. is a 120-credit bachelor's degree that students can enter in any year of undergraduate study, as transfer students or as second-bachelor's candidates, and its internship places students at the Legal Resource Center in the Washtenaw County Courthouse.
Key Program Details
120 credits, 57 of them in the major
The catalog lists the program as in-person/hybrid
The internship is at the Legal Resource Center in the Washtenaw County Courthouse
Students can enter as transfer or second-bachelor's students
$8,550 per semester
BS
catalog.emich.eduOctober 5, 2026
ABA-approved paralegal bachelor's degrees in Michigan, ranked 3 onward
Across Michigan's ranked approved programs, you'd pay between $5,560 and $27,360 for a full-time year of tuition and fees as a Michigan resident,
with a median of $14,978. 3 approved schools in Michigan charge less again to residents of their college district: Lansing Community College ($4,010), Macomb Community College ($3,600) and Oakland Community College ($3,020).
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 Michigan
BLS puts the median for paralegals and legal assistants (SOC 23-2011) in Michigan at $62,170 a year,
$720 below the national median of $62,890, 24th highest of the 51 states and districts BLS reports.
The 10th percentile is $46,590 and the 90th is $96,610. 7,730 people in Michigan 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 Michigan
Every school in Michigan 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 Michigan
Does Michigan license or certify paralegals?
Not by license: the State Bar's 1992 ethics opinion RI-125 says legal assistants are not subject to state licensure, and the Supreme Court's 2025 accompaniment pilot is expressly not the practice of law. What Michigan has is a voluntary State Bar affiliate membership for legal assistants who meet its education and training routes.
Can paralegal time be included in an attorney fee award in Michigan?
Yes, under Michigan Court Rule 2.626, for nonclerical legal work done under an attorney's supervision by a legal assistant who meets the State Bar's bylaw criteria, such as an ABA-approved program plus a bachelor's degree, or two years of in-house training with a bachelor's.
How many ABA-approved paralegal programs are in Michigan?
The ABA's directory lists 8 approved programs in Michigan. IPEDS shows 12 schools in the state conferring paralegal credentials in 2023-24, and 5 of them run a program the ABA has not approved.
What are the best paralegal certificate programs in Michigan?
On this ranking, Grand Valley State University, which charges $14,978 a year in in-state tuition and fees, graduates 69% of its first-time students and conferred 20 paralegal certificates in 2023-24. Every program ranked here is ABA-approved.
What is the cheapest ABA-approved paralegal program in Michigan?
Of the programs ranked here, you'd pay the least as a Michigan resident at Oakland Community College, $5,560 for a full-time year of tuition and fees in 2023-24, or $3,020 if you live in its district. That's the figure the school reports to IPEDS, and schools reset it every year.
What do paralegals make in Michigan?
BLS puts the median for paralegals and legal assistants (SOC 23-2011) in Michigan at $62,170 a year, $720 below the national median of $62,890, with 7,730 people in the job. The 10th percentile is $46,590 and the 90th is $96,610. 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.
