The NALA Certified Paralegal certification is a voluntary, nationally recognized credential from the National Association of Legal Assistants that verifies a paralegal has met set education or experience requirements and passed a standardized two-part exam. Application fees start at $325 for NALA members and $375 for non-members, and the credential is valid for five years before recertification is required.
Why the CP Credential Matters
Most states do not license paralegals, so there is no universal benchmark for who can call themselves one. The CP fills that gap. For employers, it signals verified baseline knowledge across core legal practice areas. For paralegals, it travels with you across state lines, which matters because several states reference NALA certification as a prerequisite for their own state-level paralegal designations, and at least one state allows anyone holding a NALA certification to use the “paralegal” title by statute.
The credential is voluntary. Plenty of paralegals work without it. But in competitive hiring at larger firms and corporate legal departments, certification often functions as a screening criterion.
Who Can Sit for the Exam
NALA offers three eligibility pathways, and you only need to qualify under one.
- Graduation from an ABA-approved paralegal program, or from a paralegal program at an institutionally accredited school with at least 60 semester hours of coursework. No attorney attestation is required.
- A bachelor’s degree in any field. If the degree did not include at least 15 semester hours of paralegal-specific courses, one year of paralegal work experience can substitute, with an employer attestation.
- A high school diploma or equivalent plus five years of paralegal experience, along with at least 20 hours of substantive continuing legal education completed within the two years before applying. A supervising attorney attestation is required.
Older sources sometimes cite seven years of experience for the third pathway, but NALA’s current requirement is five years plus the 20-hour CLE component.1NALA. NALA Certified Paralegal (CP) Exam FAQs
If you hold a foreign degree, you must have it evaluated by a reputable credential evaluation service to determine U.S. equivalency before applying. Once equivalency is established, you still need to meet one of the three categories.2NALA. Eligibility Requirements for Certification
Supporting documents, including transcripts, attestations, and credential evaluations, should go in with the application. If NALA flags something missing, you have 60 days from the notification date to supply it. Transcripts must come directly from the institution or arrive in a sealed, secure format.2NALA. Eligibility Requirements for Certification
What It Costs
Application fees cover review of your application and one testing appointment for each exam part:
- Standard: $325 for NALA members, $375 for non-members
- Military: $240 for members, $280 for non-members (active duty, veterans, reservists, guardsmen, and spouses)
- Student: $150 for members, $175 for non-members
Active NALA membership runs $170 per year.3NALA. Join If you plan to take the exam at the standard rate, joining first saves $50 on the application and locks in member pricing for retakes and recertification.4NALA. Testing Fees
Veterans have a separate funding option. The CP exam is approved by the Department of Veterans Affairs under the licensing and certification testing benefit, and eligible veterans can submit VA Form 22-0803 to request reimbursement of up to $2,000. The VA covers the test itself, not application processing fees. There is no cap on the number of approved tests you can seek reimbursement for, and the VA will reimburse even if you don’t pass.5U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Licensing and Certification Test Reimbursement
What the Exam Looks Like
The CP exam has two parts. You take them separately, and you must pass the Knowledge Exam before you can sit for the Skills Exam.
Knowledge Exam
Three hours, multiple choice, ten subject areas with 100 total points distributed as follows:
- U.S. Legal System: 15 points
- Civil Litigation: 15 points
- Professional and Ethical Responsibility: 12 points
- Contracts: 10 points
- Corporate and Commercial Law: 10 points
- Torts: 10 points
- Real Estate and Property: 8 points
- Criminal Law and Procedure: 7 points
- Estate Planning and Probate: 7 points
- Debtor/Creditor and Bankruptcy: 6 points
U.S. Legal System, Civil Litigation, and Ethics together account for 42 of the 100 points. The ethics portion covers not only abstract principles but practical scenarios involving unauthorized practice of law.6NALA. The Certified Paralegal Program Handbook
Skills Exam
Two hours, written. You receive a legal scenario and draft a memorandum to an attorney identifying the relevant facts, spotting the legal issues, analyzing how the law applies, and drawing conclusions. Scoring breaks into legal writing quality (10 points for composition and mechanics) and critical thinking (20 points for fact identification, issue spotting, analysis, and conclusions).6NALA. The Certified Paralegal Program Handbook
NALA does not publish a numerical passing score. Results are reported as pass or fail, and candidates who fail receive feedback on their performance areas.7NALA. Exam Results
Testing In Person or Remotely
Both exam parts can be taken at a Prometric testing center or through remote proctoring from home. Remote testing has strict conditions: a private room with no other people or pets, a detachable webcam rather than a built-in laptop camera or phone, and a workspace cleared of papers, books, and personal items. Scratch paper is not allowed. You use an on-screen comment box instead, your hands must stay visible to the camera, and talking or mouthing words during the exam is prohibited.8NALA. Remote Proctoring
Candidates who wear a head covering for religious or personal reasons are not eligible for remote proctoring and must test at a Prometric center or a NALA partner location.8NALA. Remote Proctoring
Scheduling, Results, and Retakes
Once NALA approves your application, you receive an authorization to test and instructions for scheduling through Prometric. Popular testing windows fill quickly, so book early.9NALA. Applying for the Exam
You have 365 days from your initial authorization to pass the Knowledge Exam, with up to three attempts in that window. Pass it, and you receive a separate authorization for the Skills Exam within about 48 hours, with its own 365-day window and three attempts. A mandatory 90-day waiting period applies between any failed attempts.6NALA. The Certified Paralegal Program Handbook
Knowledge Exam results appear as a preliminary pass/fail at the testing center immediately, though NALA reserves the right to review for scoring anomalies. Skills Exam results take up to 15 weeks after the testing window closes because essays are graded by a panel.7NALA. Exam Results
Each retake costs $150 per exam part regardless of membership status. Exhaust all three attempts on either part without passing, and you must submit an entirely new application with full fees. If you fail the Skills Exam three times, you also have to retake the Knowledge Exam.4NALA. Testing Fees
Keeping the Credential: Recertification
The CP is valid for five years. To renew, you complete 50 hours of continuing legal education before your expiration date, submit a signed recertification affidavit, and pay the recertification fee.10NALA. Recertification Requirements
The 50 hours have internal limits:
- At least 5 hours must be in legal ethics
- No more than 10 hours may be non-substantive
- No more than 3 hours may be technology credits
The recertification fee is $125 for members and $175 for non-members, with a $25 late fee if you miss the deadline.11NALA. Recertification Process Miss the CLE requirement or the affidavit and fee entirely, and NALA will revoke the credential. Reinstatement is not guaranteed; you can appeal to the Certifying Board, but the outcome is discretionary.12NALA. Certified Paralegal Recertification FAQs
Specializing After the CP
Once you hold the CP, you can pursue Advanced Certified Paralegal credentials in specific practice areas. The ACP program is curriculum-based rather than exam-based: you complete a web-based course averaging about 20 hours with built-in assessments and interactive exercises. That coursework also counts toward your 50-hour recertification requirement, so no additional CLE is needed to maintain an ACP.13NALA. Advanced Certified Paralegals
Current ACP offerings include Business Organizations (Incorporated Entities), Contract Management, Criminal Litigation, Discovery and eDiscovery, Family Law (with a separate Adoption and Assisted Reproduction course), Land Use, Personal Injury, Real Estate Principles, Trial Practice, and a California Advanced Specialization in Discovery.
Anyone can take an ACP course for the educational content, but the credential itself is reserved for current Certified Paralegals. If you complete a course before passing the CP, you can still receive the ACP credential retroactively, provided you pass the CP within one year of finishing the course.13NALA. Advanced Certified Paralegals
What It Does for Your Career
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported the median annual wage for paralegals and legal assistants at $61,010 as of May 2024.14Bureau of Labor Statistics. Paralegals and Legal Assistants – Occupational Outlook Handbook NALA’s own compensation surveys have consistently shown that certified paralegals earn more than non-certified peers, though exact premiums vary by region and practice area. The credential tends to make the biggest measurable salary difference early in a career, when you have less experience to point to and need something concrete to stand out.
Portability is the other practical gain. Because some states require NALA certification as a prerequisite for their own paralegal designations, holding the CP can open doors to state-level credentials later. And if you relocate, the national scope of the CP means you aren’t starting over with a new state-specific certification each time.