Washington licensed limited license legal technicians from 2012 until its Supreme Court closed the program. No new licenses have been issued since July 31, 2023, and 67 remained active in May 2026.
Spokane Community College leads Washington's ABA-approved certificate programs, ahead of Tacoma Community College.
As a Washington resident you'd pay $4,057 to $4,920 in tuition and fees for a full-time year at Washington's ranked programs.
3 approved programs in Washington 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 93% of the 123 paralegal credentials Washington schools awarded in 2023-24.
Paralegals in Washington earn a median $79,400, above the national $62,890.
Of the 5 programs on the ABA's list for Washington, one is at a school that is not admitting new students. It's left out of the ranking. The rankings below cover 2 certificate programs and 4 associate degrees. Another 2 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 Washington resident), graduation rate and paralegal graduates. Positions below are within Washington,
but each score compares a program with every approved program at its level in the country.
The scoring method, step by step.
The Limited License Legal Technician, And Why It Ended
Washington created the limited license legal technician (LLLT) in 2012 to advise and assist people with divorce, custody and other family law matters, and on June 4, 2020 the Washington Supreme Court voted to sunset the program. The last applicants had to finish every requirement by July 31, 2023. No new licenses have been issued since.
Technicians licensed before the deadline can keep practicing while in good standing. The Washington State Bar Association counted 67 active LLLTs on May 28, 2026.
I am writing to you on behalf of the Supreme Court to advise you that the court voted by majority Thursday, June 4, 2020, to sunset the Limited License Legal Technicians (LLLT) Program.
ABA-Approved Paralegal Certificate Programs In Washington
2 approved programs in Washington conferred undergraduate paralegal certificates in 2023-24. Paralegal certificate programs in Washington 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.
Spokane Community College in Spokane, Washington offers an ABA-approved paralegal AAS and a paralegal certificate for students who hold or are completing a degree, both ending with supervised legal work experience in a real law office.
Key Program Details
AAS: 90 credits, six quarters at full class loads
Certificate: four quarters, for students with or completing a degree
Supervised legal work experience in a law office
Grade of 2.0 or higher required in every class
Both programs start in fall, winter, spring or summer
$136 per quarter unit
Read more
The paralegal curriculum covers Introduction to Legal Careers, Introduction to Law, Legal Citations, Legal Research and Writing, Law Office Computing, Law Office Procedures and Technology, Legal Ethics, Washington and Idaho Court Rules and Instrument Drafting, plus legal specialty electives and Supervised Legal Work Experience, which places students in a law office for on-the-job training. The AAS adds general education in English, math, communication, humanities and social sciences and is awarded after 90 credits of required coursework, six quarters at full class loads; the certificate is laid out over four quarters. At least 13.5 quarter credits of legal specialty courses must be taken through synchronous instruction.
Students can enroll in the certificate instead of the AAS if they are completing or have completed an Associate in Arts, a bachelor's degree or an advanced degree from an accredited college or university. Both credentials require a grade of 2.0 or higher in each class, including prerequisites, and the supervised legal work experience or internship must be approved by the program director. Students can start in fall, winter, spring or summer quarter.
Tacoma Community College in Tacoma, Washington offers an ABA-approved Paralegal AAS and a Paralegal Professional Certificate for students who already hold an Associate of Arts, Associate of Science or higher degree, mixing face-to-face, hybrid and online classes and ending with a required 132-hour internship.
Key Program Details
AAS: 90 credits, about two years full time
Paralegal Professional Certificate: 50 credits, about one year, for AA, AS or higher degree holders
Face-to-face, hybrid and online classes, day and evening; not fully online
Required internship of at least 132 hours
Students can start in any quarter, full or part time
$136 per quarter unit
Read more
TCC's paralegal courses run as traditional face-to-face, hybrid (60% in class, 40% online) and online classes, in the day and the evening, but the program cannot be completed entirely online: students must take at least 10 semester credits or the equivalent of legal specialty courses in a traditional classroom. Both credentials include PLST 233, a required 5-credit internship of at least 132 hours at a law firm, government agency or corporation, taken toward the end of the program at a site the student finds with faculty support. Legal courses are taught by faculty from various areas of law.
The AAS is 90 credits in the 2026-2027 catalog and takes about two years full time; paralegal courses require college-level English and reading placement, and AAS students also take the math directed self-placement. The Paralegal Professional Certificate (50 credits, about one year full time) is for students who already hold an Associate of Arts, Associate of Science or higher degree; an Associate of Applied Science does not qualify. There is no formal acceptance process (courses are space-available), students can start in any quarter and attend full or part time, and up to 18 quarter credits of legal specialty courses can transfer in after review by the program chair.
AASCertificate
catalog.tacomacc.eduOctober 1, 2026
ABA-Approved Associate Degrees In Paralegal Studies In Washington
An associate's degree adds general education to the paralegal courses and usually takes two years full time.
Edmonds College leads Washington's 4 approved associate programs, conferring 20 paralegal degrees in 2023-24.
#1In Washington
Score63.1/ 100
Paralegal Associate in Applied Science-Transfer (AAS-T) Degree
Edmonds College in Lynnwood, Washington offers its ABA-approved paralegal program as 93-credit associate degrees (a transfer-oriented AAS-T and a career-focused ATA) and a 44-credit Advanced Paralegal Certificate for bachelor's degree holders, all taught by licensed attorneys and with a remote pathway.
Spokane Community College in Spokane, Washington offers an ABA-approved paralegal AAS and a paralegal certificate for students who hold or are completing a degree, both ending with supervised legal work experience in a real law office.
Key Program Details
AAS: 90 credits, six quarters at full class loads
Certificate: four quarters, for students with or completing a degree
Supervised legal work experience in a law office
Grade of 2.0 or higher required in every class
Both programs start in fall, winter, spring or summer
Highline College in Des Moines, Washington offers an ABA-approved Paralegal AAS and a one-year Paralegal Plus certificate for bachelor's degree holders, both built on a 40-credit legal core that includes an internship, and both can be completed remotely.
Key Program Details
Paralegal AAS: 95 quarter credits, two years full time
Paralegal Plus certificate: 55 quarter credits, one year, for bachelor's degree holders
Both programs can be completed remotely, with at least 13 quarter hours live on Zoom or in a classroom
Tacoma Community College in Tacoma, Washington offers an ABA-approved Paralegal AAS and a Paralegal Professional Certificate for students who already hold an Associate of Arts, Associate of Science or higher degree, mixing face-to-face, hybrid and online classes and ending with a required 132-hour internship.
Key Program Details
AAS: 90 credits, about two years full time
Paralegal Professional Certificate: 50 credits, about one year, for AA, AS or higher degree holders
Face-to-face, hybrid and online classes, day and evening; not fully online
Required internship of at least 132 hours
Students can start in any quarter, full or part time
$136 per quarter unit
AASCertificate
catalog.tacomacc.eduOctober 1, 2026
What A Paralegal Program Costs In Washington
Across Washington's ranked approved programs, you'd pay between $4,057 and $4,920 for a full-time year of tuition and fees as a Washington resident,
with a median of $4,646.
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 Washington
BLS puts the median for paralegals and legal assistants (SOC 23-2011) in Washington at $79,400 a year,
$16,510 above the national median of $62,890, second highest of the 51 states and districts BLS reports.
The 10th percentile is $50,470 and the 90th is $116,750. 9,460 people in Washington hold the job. Figures are from the BLS OEWS May 2025 release. Paralegal pay in every state sets them side by side.
Closed And Paused Schools In Washington
Each school below says on its own page that a program has closed or is not admitting new students. That program is
left out of the rankings above, and the school's words and the date the page was read are here.
South Puget Sound Community College, Olympia, Washington: Not admitting new students
IMPORTANT NOTE: SPSCC is no longer accepting students into this program.
Every school in Washington 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.
South Puget Sound Community College Not admitting new students
AAS, Certificate
Certificate 5 · Associate's 1
Whatcom Community College
Certificate 1 · Associate's 7
$5,146
Peninsula College
Associate's 1
Yes (federal)
$4,586
Common Questions About Paralegal Certificates In Washington
Can I still become a limited license legal technician in Washington?
No. The Washington Supreme Court voted to sunset the program in 2020, and no new licenses have been issued since July 31, 2023. Existing technicians in good standing may keep practicing, and 67 were active in May 2026.
How many ABA-approved paralegal programs are in Washington?
The ABA's directory lists 5 approved programs in Washington, 1 of them at a school that is not admitting new students. IPEDS shows 7 schools in the state conferring paralegal credentials in 2023-24, and 2 of them run a program the ABA has not approved.
What are the best paralegal certificate programs in Washington?
On this ranking, Spokane Community College, which charges $4,057 a year in in-state tuition and fees, graduates 37% of its first-time students and conferred 15 paralegal certificates in 2023-24. Tacoma Community College is next. Every program ranked here is ABA-approved.
What is the cheapest ABA-approved paralegal program in Washington?
Of the programs ranked here, you'd pay the least as a Washington resident at Spokane Community College, $4,057 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 Washington?
BLS puts the median for paralegals and legal assistants (SOC 23-2011) in Washington at $79,400 a year, $16,510 above the national median of $62,890, with 9,460 people in the job. The 10th percentile is $50,470 and the 90th is $116,750. 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.
