Examination:
ALS - The ALS is a 3-part exam covering written communications; office procedures and legal knowledge; and human relations and judgment.
PP - The PP certification exam is administered in four parts and covers written communications, legal knowledge and skills, ethics and judgment skills and substantive law. Candidates may retake any failed portions of the exam.
Recertification is required every five years but may be accomplished through the accumulation of continuing legal education hours and activities
PLS – The PLS exam is a one-day, four-part examination which is broken down as follows: Part 1 - Written Communications, Part 2: Office Procedures and Technology, Part 3: Ethics and Judgment and Part 4: Legal Knowledge and Skills.
American Alliance of Paralegals
Issuing Body: The American Alliance of Paralegals, Inc. (AAPI)
Designation: AACP
Eligibility Requirements: Every paralegal seeking American Alliance certification must possess no less than five (5) years of substantive paralegal experience and meet one (1) of the following three (3) educational criteria:
(a) A Bachelor or advanced Degree in any discipline from an accredited institution; or
(b) An Associate Degree in paralegal studies from an ABA approved paralegal program or a program which is a voting institutional member of the American Association for Paralegal Education; or
(c) A Certificate from an ABA approved paralegal program or a program which is a voting institutional member of the American Association for Paralegal Education.
To prove that you fulfill the eligibility requirements, the AAPI requires candidates to submit, along with a processing fee, a certified copy of official educational transcripts and an affidavit or declaration from an attorney attesting to your substantive work experience.
Examination: None
Maintenance/Recertification: In order to maintain American Alliance certification, every AACP shall renew his/her certification status every two (2) years and complete eighteen (18) hours of continuing legal education (“CLE”), with two (2) of the eighteen (18) hours being in ethics. Proof of completion of the requisite CLE along with the two-year renewal fee in effect at the time of renewal shall be submitted to the Commission. At the time of renewal, an AACP must be employed as a paralegal.
