NALA Certified Paralegal

Issued by NALA - The Paralegal Association

Becoming a NALA Certified Paralegal (CP®) means an individual has successfully passed a rigorous examination of the knowledge necessary to be an effective paralegal. The voluntary CP® program encourages the growth of the paralegal profession while also providing a proud achievement that comes with a career-long commitment. Established in 1976, the CP® credential is key to respect and opportunity throughout the legal profession and is the national professional standard for paralegals.

Type Certification

Additional Details

Skills

Paralegal
Paralegal Certificate Program
Paralegal Ethics
Paralegal Studies

Earning Criteria

Applicants must meet one of three eligibility requirements. The applicant must graduate from a paralegal program, have obtained a bachelor’s degree in any field plus one year of paralegal experience or successful completion of at 15 semester hours of substantive paralegal courses, or have obtained a high school diploma or equivalent, plus seven years of experience as a paralegal plus a minimum of 20 hours of continuing legal education completed within two years of applying for the exam.
Applicants must successfully pass the two-part Certified Paralegal comprehensive exam based on federal law and procedures. The multiple-choice Knowledge Exam must be passed before the applicant can take the essay-based Skills Exam. Successful completion of both the Knowledge and Skills Exams are required to obtain the Certified Paralegal (CP®) credential.
NALA Certified Paralegals must renew their certification every five years. Recertification requires proof of 50 completed hours of Continuing Legal Education (CLE) courses with at least 5 hours of legal ethics within the five years. A CP® must also have not been convicted of a felony during this time. CPs must continually work to maintain proper certification. Lifetime certification is not available due to the continual change in laws and procedures.

Standards

National Commission for Certifying Agencies

The National Commission for Certifying Agencies (NCCA) is an accrediting body of the Institute for Credentialing Excellence (ICE). NALA is the only accredited paralegal program by NCCA.