The NALA Certified Paralegal exam has two required sections: a three-hour Knowledge Exam of 120 multiple-choice questions, then a two-hour written-essay Skills Exam.
You must pass the Knowledge Exam before you sit the Skills Exam, which NALA offers four times a year.
In 2025, about 57 percent of Knowledge Exam candidates passed, and about 50 percent of Skills Exam candidates did.
Here is the full format, the scoring weights, the pass rates and a prep plan.
NALA CP exam format: two sections, taken in order
NALA's Certified Paralegal exam is two required sections taken in a fixed order: the Knowledge Exam first, then the Skills Exam.
You cannot sit the Skills Exam until you have passed the Knowledge Exam.
The Knowledge Exam runs year-round.
It lasts 3 hours and carries 120 multiple-choice questions — 100 scored, plus 20 unscored pre-test questions NALA uses for statistical analysis.
Delivery is flexible: a Prometric test center, remote proctoring, or an approved partner proctor.
The Skills Exam changes the rules of the sitting.
It is a 2-hour written essay, and NALA administers it only in February, April, July and October.
Graders score it on four moves: identifying relevant facts, spotting the main and secondary issues, applying legal authority, and drawing persuasive conclusions.
Booking either section adds Prometric's testing fee, which is separate from NALA's application fee: $63 onsite for the Knowledge Exam and $53 for the Skills Exam, $25 per section at a partner testing site, or $58 for remote proctoring — which NALA's testing-fees page offers for the Knowledge Exam only.
NALA's application fees, retake pricing and the eligibility routes are covered in our NALA CP guide.
Exam rules change — confirm with NALA
How the NALA CP exam is scored
The Knowledge Exam carries 100 points, and NALA publishes exactly where they sit.
Its exam specifications, effective 2024, spread the points across ten subject areas:
| Knowledge Exam subject | Points |
|---|---|
| U.S. legal system | 15 |
| Civil litigation | 15 |
| Professional and ethical responsibility | 12 |
| Contracts | 10 |
| Corporate/commercial law | 10 |
| Torts | 10 |
| Real estate and property | 8 |
| Criminal law and procedure | 7 |
| Estate planning and probate | 7 |
| Debtor/creditor and bankruptcy | 6 |
The Skills Exam adds 30 points of its own: 20 for critical thinking and 10 for legal writing.
The weights tell you where study time pays: U.S. legal system and civil litigation lead at 15 points each, with professional and ethical responsibility next at 12.
One number our research did not find is a published minimum passing score — we can point to no verified cut score, so check the current CP Program Handbook on nala.org if you need it.
NALA CP exam pass rates
NALA publishes certification statistics for both exam sections.
In 2025, 371 of 654 Knowledge Exam candidates passed — about 57 percent.
On the Skills Exam, 228 of 459 candidates passed and became new Certified Paralegals, about 50 percent.
Read the two sections separately: passing the Knowledge Exam alone does not earn the credential, and the essay is where the pass rate runs lower.
The counts are NALA's published totals for 2025 — check the current report on nala.org before you lean on the numbers.
How to prepare for the NALA CP exam
Study against the point weights rather than a generic outline.
U.S. legal system and civil litigation carry 15 Knowledge Exam points each, professional and ethical responsibility adds 12, and contracts, corporate/commercial law and torts add 10 apiece — so that is where the bulk of your multiple-choice review belongs.
Give the 12-point ethics block real time too; it is graded like every other subject and is easy to leave until last.
For the essay, practice the four graded moves on paper: pull the relevant facts out of a fact pattern, name the main and secondary issues, tie each issue to legal authority, and close with a persuasive conclusion.
Do it against a clock — the sitting gives you 2 hours.
Book the Knowledge Exam first
It runs year-round at Prometric centers, by remote proctoring or with an approved partner proctor, so schedule it for when your review plan peaks rather than around a fixed window.Work backward from a Skills Exam window
The essay is offered only in February, April, July and October. If you pass the Knowledge Exam in March, you are planning for a later window — build that gap into your timeline.Know the retake clock before you sit
NALA allows up to three attempts within 365 days at each section, with a mandatory 90-day wait between attempts. Every retry needs a new application and fee plus the testing fee again.Budget both fee lines
NALA's application fee and Prometric's per-section testing fee are separate charges, and a retake restarts both. The current amounts are in our NALA CP guide.
One planning note ties the sections together: because the Knowledge Exam is on demand and the Skills Exam is not, the essay windows are the scarce resource in your calendar.
Decide which window you are targeting before you start studying, then schedule the Knowledge Exam early enough that a 90-day retake wait — if you need one — does not push you out of it.
Career information, not legal advice. The exam rules above are NALA's program requirements — confirm current format, fees and windows with NALA before you register.