People who are eligible to take the examination for paralegals should have at least five years of working experience doing various paralegal or legal assistant duties – certain candidates may be granted a partial waiver of one year if he or she has able to acquire a post-secondary degree, other certification, or a paralegal certificate while candidates who already have a paralegal degree may receive a two-year partial waiver.

The exam for paralegals mainly covers:
PART 1: Written Communications
PART 2: Legal Knowledge and Skills
PART 3: Ethics and Judgment Skills
PART 4: Substantive Law

Guidelines for the paralegal examinations

All of the four parts of the given examination must be taken on just the first attempt, although there’s an exception for current PLS’ wherein only Part 4 or the one concerning Substantive Law is needed. When a person’s not able to pass the entire exam on the first attempt, but didn’t flunk on the whole exam – even passed on one or more parts, you may just retake only the parts that you’ve failed on. All of the parts that you’ve failed on the exam must be taken again at the same time. Once a person’s able to pass the exams, he or she will receive a certificate that will be valid for the next five years. As for recertification, it is required that to renew one’s certification after every five years and one may able to achieve that through continuing legal education as well as relevant participating in relevant activities.

Dates for the paralegal examinations:

March: First Saturday of the month
July: In conjunction with NALS regional conferences held in the month of July only
September: Last Saturday of the month

Deadlines for the paralegal examinations:

March: Postmarked by January 1
July: Postmarked by June 15
September: Postmarked by August 1

Examination fees for the paralegal examinations:

For Current PLSs
Members: $150
Nonmembers $200

For Non-PLS
Members: $200
Nonmembers: $250

Examination fees for those who are going to retake the paralegal examinations:

Members: $50 per part
Nonmembers: $60 per part