As NFPA, one of the credentialing bodies, puts it, there is no single authority in the United States which oversees the paralegal profession — so continuing education reaches paralegals through two channels: state law, such as California's continuing-education rule for working paralegals, and the voluntary credential issuers — NALA, NFPA, NALS and AAPI nationally, plus state bars such as Florida's and North Carolina's — each of which sets its own renewal rules.
Here is what each requires.
Who requires continuing education from paralegals?
Two kinds of rulemaker put the continuing-education requirements this page covers on a paralegal.
The first is a state.
California is the example our research documented: under Business and Professions Code §6450(d), a paralegal working in California must certify completion of four hours of mandatory continuing legal education in legal ethics and four hours in either general law or an area of specialized law, every two years.
Our California paralegal requirements page covers the state's paralegal requirements.
The second rulemaker is the credential issuer.
The national credentials — NALA's CP, NFPA's RP and CRP, NALS's ALP, CLP and PP, and AAPI's AACP — are voluntary certifications, not licenses: NFPA's guidance is that a paralegal can call themselves 'licensed' only in a state with a formal paraprofessional license.
Hold one and its issuer's renewal rules apply, and each of these credentials renews on continuing education.
How the credentials compare on eligibility, exams and cost is the job of our certification overview.
A further layer: state-level voluntary certifications.
NFPA's regulation page lists 16 of them, including the Florida Registered Paralegal and North Carolina Certified Paralegal designations.
Our research documented the renewal rules for those two — run by The Florida Bar and the North Carolina State Bar — and they are in the table below; our Florida and North Carolina pages cover each state's paralegal requirements.
If you hold another state designation, its issuer sets the renewal rules, so confirm them with that issuer directly.
CLE hours by credential and state
Here are the published renewal requirements, as each issuer and the California statute states them.
| Credential | Issuer | Renewal cycle | CLE required to renew |
|---|---|---|---|
| CP — Certified Paralegal | NALA | 5 years | 50 hours, including at least 5 in legal ethics; no more than 10 non-substantive hours and no more than 3 technology hours count toward the total |
| RP — Registered Paralegal | NFPA | 2 years | CLE within the two-year cycle, from approved providers; the exact hour totals were not confirmed by our research — check NFPA's renewal page |
| CRP — Certified Registered Paralegal | NFPA | 2 years | Same two-year cycle; hour totals not confirmed by our research |
| ALP — Accredited Legal Professional | NALS | 5 years | At least 50 hours of CLE credits and activities |
| CLP — Certified Legal Professional | NALS | 5 years | 75 hours of CLE and activities, including 5 hours of ethics |
| PP — Professional Paralegal | NALS | 5 years | At least 75 hours of CLE, including at least 5 in ethics and 50 in substantive legal topics |
| AACP — American Alliance Certified Paralegal | AAPI | 3 years | 18 hours, including 3 in ethics |
| FRP — Florida Registered Paralegal | The Florida Bar | 3-year CE period; registration renews annually | 30 hours of CE, including 5 in legal ethics or professionalism and 3 in technology |
| NC Certified Paralegal | North Carolina State Bar | 1 year (renew by July 1) | At least 6 hours of board-approved continuing paralegal education, including 1 in ethics or professional responsibility |
| Working paralegal (state law) | California — B&P Code §6450(d) | 2 years | Certify 4 hours of MCLE in legal ethics plus 4 hours in general or specialized law |
Read the totals the way each issuer writes them.
NALA's five ethics hours are a floor inside the 50, while the non-substantive and technology categories are caps — no more than 10 and no more than 3 hours of the 50 can come from them.
NALS's PP also splits its 75: at least 5 ethics hours and 50 substantive legal hours.
AAPI's AACP runs on a three-year cycle, and its renewal carries two conditions stated alongside the hours: a $40 renewal fee, and the holder must be employed as a paralegal at renewal.
Totals change — confirm with the issuer
Where to get paralegal CLE hours
For NFPA's RP and CRP, renewal CLE must come from approved providers.
NFPA names NFPA itself, its member associations, bar associations, courts, NALA, ABA/AAfPE programs and attorney-approved CLE, among others.
The list is NFPA's, published for its own credentials — whether hours earned somewhere count toward another issuer's renewal is that issuer's call.
NALA's own courses are the documented example on the issuer side.
The Advanced Certified Paralegal (ACP) courses are web-based and earn up to 20 CLE hours each — and anyone may take an ACP course, though only a current Certified Paralegal earns the ACP credential itself.
For the rest, the issuers' renewal rules are the source of truth.
The sources this page draws on did not document where NALS, AAPI or Florida Registered Paralegal hours must come from (North Carolina's must be board-approved), and the California statute text our research captured sets the hours without naming providers — so confirm provider rules with NALS, AAPI, The Florida Bar and the current statute before booking hours that need to count.
Career information, not legal advice. Continuing-education requirements change — confirm the current rules with the issuer named above, or with the current statute for a state rule like California's, before you renew.