Lots of schools for Paralegal offer paralegal certification programs and grant certificates or diplomas to their graduates. Many potential students do now even realize that this isn’t the same as paralegal certification. Paralegal Certification is only granted by three organizations namely the National Association of Legal Assistants (NALA), the National Federation of Paralegal Associations (NFPA) and the American Alliance of Paralegals (AAPI).

Only a person with five years’ experience performing paralegal/legal assistant duties can apply for certification and they have to pass a four part exam before they can be certified. This is why paralegals that have received this certification command much higher pay.