Paralegal Requirements in Illinois: Education, Certification and State Rules

Illinois does not license or certify paralegals as far as our research could establish: we found no state paralegal credential in the statutes we read, and no Illinois regulator statement on the question was captured, so confirm before relying on the absence.

The attorney-licensing statute we read regulates the practice of law.

Under 705 ILCS 205/1, no person is permitted to practice as an attorney or counselor at law without a license from the Illinois Supreme Court, and the same section bars anyone but a licensed attorney from receiving compensation for legal services or from advertising or holding out to provide them.

The one paralegal-specific statute our research found works differently: 5 ILCS 70/1.35, the Statute on Statutes, defines a paralegal as someone qualified by education, training or work experience who does substantive legal work under an attorney's direction, and provides that a reference in an act to attorney fees includes paralegal fees, recoverable at market rates.

That definition's work is fee recovery, not licensing: it is not a license, and it sets no entrance requirements.

Our research found no Illinois paralegal education requirement, and the state's own paralegal definition names education, training or work experience as the ways a person qualifies — 5 ILCS 70/1.35 treats the three routes as alternatives.

Our research did not include a survey of Illinois employers, so the expectations below are the national picture BLS publishes rather than an Illinois finding.

BLS lists the typical entry-level education for paralegals and legal assistants as an associate's degree, and notes that some employers prefer a bachelor's degree, others consider candidates with a high school diploma and experience, and some hire people with no legal education and train them on the job.

Certification is voluntary: BLS says paralegal certification is not required, though some employers prefer or require it.

NALA distinguishes a certificate (completing a learning program) from certification (validating mastery against a professional standard), so finishing a paralegal course does not make someone a certified paralegal.

Among national credentials, NALA's CP has a paralegal-studies eligibility category covering graduation from an ABA-approved paralegal program, an associate degree program, a post-baccalaureate paralegal certificate program or a bachelor's in paralegal studies, or a paralegal program of at least 60 semester hours with at least 15 of substantive legal courses — open to a new graduate without paralegal work experience.

NFPA's PCCE and PACE exams earn the CRP and RP; NFPA says someone without substantive paralegal work experience is not eligible for either under its current criteria, and NALS offers the ALP, CLP and PP. At the state level, NFPA lists 16 state-level voluntary paralegal certifications and includes an Illinois Accredited Paralegal — our Illinois research did not verify the sponsoring organization — confirm it before you count on it.

NFPA's separate list of state legal paraprofessional programs names Arizona, Minnesota, Oregon and Utah; no Illinois program appears on it.

Program research for Illinois was an explicit gap in our state work: we did not catalogue the paralegal certificate and degree programs operating in Illinois, and we could not confirm how many paralegal education programs hold ABA approval, so this page names no schools.

What we can define is the approval itself.

ABA approval is something a paralegal education program chooses to seek — it is approval of programs, not a credential for individual paralegals.

The process runs on a self-evaluation report and an on-site visit, the ABA House of Delegates gives final approval, and approval lasts seven years.

When you compare Illinois programs, ask each school where its approval stands and check it against the ABA's own records.