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Nala Test Your 2025 Path To Legal Assistant Certification

Leo Migdal
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nala test your 2025 path to legal assistant certification

The NALA (National Association of Legal Assistants Certification) Test is a crucial credential for legal professionals looking to advance their careers as legal assistants or paralegals. This certification demonstrates a strong understanding of legal principles, procedures, and the ethical responsibilities involved in legal support roles. Whether you’re starting your legal career or aiming for advancement, this guide will help you navigate the NALA certification process, understand its value, and explore the diverse career opportunities in the legal field. The National Association of Legal Assistants (NALA) is a professional organization that offers certification and continuing education for legal support staff. Since its founding in 1975, NALA has become one of the leading providers of certification for legal assistants and paralegals in the United States. The NALA Certification offers legal professionals an opportunity to demonstrate their knowledge and skills.

It provides two certification levels: Many professionals wonder whether the NALA Certification is worth the investment of time and resources. Here are several reasons why obtaining this certification can be highly beneficial: Career Advancement:Holding a NALA certification can help you stand out in the competitive legal job market. Many law firms and corporations prefer hiring certified legal assistants because it shows a higher level of competency and professionalism. For over 50 years, NALA’s Certified Paralegal Program has been recognized both nationally and internationally.

It has received recognition from both the National Commission for Certifying Agencies and the American Bar Association. On April 30, 2014, the NCCA granted accreditation to our program, making us its only accredited paralegal certification program. Our CP® credential has also been acknowledged by the American Bar Association as a mark of high professional achievement. With our acknowledgments, we pride ourselves on our professionalism while still maintaining lasting relationships with our Certified Paralegals. The Certified Paralegal (CP®) certification is a key to success, respect, and opportunity throughout the legal profession. Here’s why:

Written by Megan Carter, Last Updated: December 3, 2025 NALA (National Association of Legal Assistants) is one of the most widely recognized paralegal professional associations in the U.S., offering two voluntary certifications: Certified Paralegal (CP) and Advanced Certified Paralegal (ACP). The CP requires passing a Knowledge Exam and Skills Exam, while ACP provides specialized training in specific legal practice areas. Certification is voluntary and not required to work as a paralegal. Professional certification can help you stand out in the competitive paralegal field. If you’re considering advancing your paralegal career, NALA certification offers voluntary credentials recognized by many employers across the legal profession.

Since 1975, NALA has been a significant resource for paralegal professional development, offering continuing education, networking opportunities, and nationally recognized certification programs. As one of the most established paralegal associations in the profession, NALA provides resources to help paralegals advance their careers. Whether you’re just starting your paralegal education or looking to specialize in a specific area of law, understanding NALA certification options helps you make informed decisions about your professional development path. Before pursuing certification, it helps to understand what to know before becoming a paralegal to ensure the investment aligns with your career goals. Quality starts with who wrote the material. Our writers:

Tisha Delgado, NALA ACP, is an advanced certified paralegal and educator with 20 years of experience. She has taught in the Paralegal Studies program at the College of DuPage in Illinois. S. Nicole Terry, NALA CP, is an adjunct professor in paralegal studies at the University of Richmond in Virginia. She is the former Chair of the Paralegal Membership for the Virginia Trial Lawyers Association. Bre Little Wise, NALA CP, is an adjunct professor in the College of Law Paralegal Program at University of Oklahoma.

She has been a certified paralegal for over seven years. The NALA Certified Paralegal Exam consists of two exams, a Knowlege Exam containing 120 multiple-choice questions and a Skills Exam with essays. The National Association of Legal Assistants (NALA) administers the Certified Paralegal (CP®) examination to assess the core competencies of prospective certified legal assistants (CLA). Since the CLA and CP designations are generally interchangeable in the legal profession, we will refer to the CP designation here. Click “Start Test” above to take a free CLA/CP practice test, and check out our premium-quality CLA/CP test prep resources by clicking the links below! To be eligible for this exam, you must meet ONE of the following requirements:

The Certified Paralegal exam contains 120 multiple-choice questions, 20 of which are unscored, and one essay assignment. NALA uses the unscored questions to validate questions for future versions of the exam. The exam is split into two parts: a knowledge test and a skills test. You must take and pass the knowledge test before taking the skills test, and you must pass both tests to receive your CP certification. Candidates for certification must meet one of the following requirements outlined below in Categories 1, 2, or 3 at the time of filing an application form. (The deadline to submit additional documentation is 60 days from the notification date from NALA.) To help determine if you are eligible to take the CP® Exam, please select the category below that best...

*Foreign degrees must be evaluated by a reputable company to determine the equivalency to U.S. education. If you have any questions, please contact us at testing@nala.org or 918-587-6828

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