While it is not required to become certified as a paralegal, your career as a paralegal can be advanced when you become certified. You will become more competitive in the job market and have a better chance of getting promotions and raises.
There are two main certifiying bodies for paralegals in the United States, The National Association of Legal Assistants (NALA) and the National Federation of Paralegal Associations (NFPA). With NALA, a paralegal earns the Certified Paralegal (CP) credential. NFPA offers two types of certification, the CORE Registered Paralegal (CRP) and the Registered Paralegal (RP). To qualify for these certifications, you must pass a paralegal certificaiton exam.
NALA CP
The NALA Certified Paralegal exam consists of two parts: the Knowledge Exam and the Skills Exam. The Knowledge Exam is a multiple choice exam with 120 questions. The Skills Exam is an essay exam. The canddiate must pass the Knowledge Exam to qualify to take the Skills Exam.
Knowledge Exam
The Knowlege Exam is a multiple choice test. Only 100 questions of the 120 questions are scored. Three hours is given to take the Knowledge exam. The subjects tested on the Knowledge Exam are as follows:
- United States Legal System
- Civil Lititgation
- Corporate/Commercial Law
- Contracts
- Family law
- Criminal Law and Procedure
- Litigation
- Estate Planning and Probate
- Real Estate and Property
- Professional and Ethical Responsibility
- Bankruptcy
Skills Exam
The NALA Skills Exam is an essay exam. Two hours is given to complete it. It consists in reading an assignment and writing an essay that developes the legal issues involved in the case. Candidates are graded on the following criteria:
- identify facts and state them clearly and accurately;
- identify main issues and secondary issues;
- identify legal authority and apply it to the facts; and
- draw persuasive conclusions in a logical way.
The Skills Exam is only given in February, April, July and October.
For both the Knowledge and Skills Exams, if the candidate fails a part of the test, the candidate can only take each exam three times in a 365 day period commencing from the date of authorization to take the test. If the candidate does not pass within 365 days of the initial authorization to test, the candidate must make a new application to take the test. There must be a 90 day period between each of the three attempts to take the test in a 365 day period.
For a comprehensive practice test, use our 500 question NALA Certified Paralegal Practice Exam that includes essay assignments and samples, online flashcards and exam review. It is written by instructors in paralegal studies. Our interactive test platform allows you to simulate the exam. Take as many practice tests as you need. There's no time limit or recurrent charges.
For a free Paralegal Practice Exam, use our free Paralegal Practice Tests.
