Paralegal Requirements in Michigan: Education, Certification and State Rules
Michigan does not license paralegals, so the state sets no exam or education requirement for the role — hiring standards come from employers, not from a state rulebook.
The closest thing to a state benchmark is voluntary: the State Bar of Michigan's Paralegal/Legal Assistant Section admits paralegals as affiliate members who do substantive legal work under a lawyer's supervision and meet one of five education or experience criteria, at $75 a year.
National certifications are optional extras.
Verify before you rely on this
At a glance
No. Michigan does not license paralegals.
None that our research found.
The voluntary option is affiliate membership in the State Bar of Michigan's Paralegal/Legal Assistant Section, open to paralegals who do substantive legal work under a lawyer's supervision and meet one of five education or experience criteria ($75 a year).
Not established in our research — ask the state bar.
No state education rule.
As a voluntary benchmark, the State Bar section's membership criteria run from a bachelor's degree combined with an American Bar Association-approved program to 4 years of in-house training.
Paralegal credentials in Michigan
- State Bar of Michigan Paralegal/Legal Assistant Section affiliate membership(SBM Paralegal/Legal Assistant Section)Other
Voluntary affiliate membership for paralegals who do substantive legal work under a lawyer's supervision and meet one of five education or experience criteria; $75 per membership year ($50 after April 1).
Does Michigan regulate paralegals?
Michigan does not license paralegals.
Our research found no state application, exam or registry for the role.
What Michigan has instead is voluntary: the State Bar of Michigan's Paralegal/Legal Assistant Section admits working paralegals as affiliate members.
Section membership rests on being employed or retained by a lawyer, law office, governmental agency or other entity engaged in the practice of law, and on doing substantive — not purely clerical — legal work under a lawyer's supervision.
Candidates must also meet one of the section's five education or experience criteria, and joining is optional.
“A person shall be deemed to be qualified for Section membership if the person is currently employed or retained by a lawyer, law office, governmental agency or other entity engaged in the practice of law”
What education do Michigan employers expect?
There is no state education requirement, so hiring expectations come from employers rather than from a state rulebook.
A useful benchmark is the State Bar of Michigan's Paralegal/Legal Assistant Section membership criteria, which recognize five education-and-experience combinations: a bachelor's degree combined with a paralegal program approved by the American Bar Association; a bachelor's degree in any field plus 2 years of in-house training; an associate degree in legal assisting plus 2 years of in-house training; any associate degree plus an ABA-approved program and 2 years of in-house training; or 4 years of in-house training as a legal assistant.
Meeting the criteria qualifies a paralegal for voluntary section membership — it is a benchmark, not a legal requirement to work.
Which paralegal certifications are voluntary in Michigan?
Our research found no Michigan-run certification for paralegals, so the credentials a Michigan paralegal earns come from national associations.
NALA awards the Certified Paralegal (CP) credential, whose exam has two required sections taken in order: the Knowledge Exam, then the Skills Exam, and a candidate must pass the Knowledge Exam before taking the Skills Exam.
NALA draws the certificate-versus-certification line this way: a certificate shows you finished a learning program, while certification validates mastery against a professional standard, so finishing a paralegal course does not by itself make anyone a certified paralegal.
NFPA runs two exams of its own: the Paralegal CORE Competency Exam (PCCE) for early-career and entry-level paralegals, which earns the CRP designation, and the Paralegal Advanced Competency Exam (PACE) for experienced paralegals, which earns the Registered Paralegal (RP) designation.
NALS, the association for legal professionals, offers three certifications: the ALP (Accredited Legal Professional), the CLP (Certified Legal Professional) and the PP (Professional Paralegal), and NALS membership is not required for any of its exams.
None of them is a requirement in Michigan.
Which paralegal programs are in Michigan?
Our research for this page read the State Bar of Michigan's paralegal section membership materials, and they do not name the paralegal programs offered in Michigan, so we cannot list Michigan schools or confirm which hold approval.
What the research does establish is how the approval named in the section's criteria works: seeking it is the program's choice, and it applies to programs, not to individual paralegals.
Approval follows a self-evaluation report and an on-site visit, the ABA House of Delegates gives final approval, and an approval lasts seven years.
To find current Michigan options, check the ABA's directory of approved paralegal education programs and ask the schools directly about approval status, certificates and degrees.
What This Page Does, and Doesn’t, Cover
This page summarizes the Michigan court rules, board and bar pages and other sources listed below, as read for this state-by-state paralegal requirements series, current as of October 2026.
It is not a substitute for the instructions the state supreme court or state bar publishes.
What Paralegal Job Listings in Michigan Show Right Now
From the 10 active paralegal listings on LawFirmHires as of October 8, 2026.
Pay employers post
- 50% of paralegal listings in Michigan state any pay at all.
Source: active paralegal listings on LawFirmHires, updated daily. Pay figures use only listings that state pay (midpoint of each posted range). Benefits count listings that name the benefit; a listing that doesn’t mention one may still offer it.
Browse 10 jobs →Frequently Asked Questions
Does Michigan require paralegals to be licensed or certified?
Michigan does not license paralegals, and our research found no state certification or exam to pass before starting work.
The State Bar of Michigan's Paralegal/Legal Assistant Section offers voluntary affiliate membership to paralegals who do substantive legal work under a lawyer's supervision and meet one of five education or experience criteria.
Membership costs $75 for the October 1 to September 30 year, or $50 after April 1, but it is optional — not a condition of holding the job.
What education do you need to become a paralegal in Michigan?
There is no state education requirement, so hiring standards come from employers rather than a state rulebook.
The benchmark worth comparing yourself against is the State Bar section's five membership criteria: a bachelor's degree combined with an ABA-approved program; a bachelor's degree in any field plus 2 years of in-house training; an associate degree in legal assisting plus 2 years; any associate degree plus an ABA-approved program and 2 years; or 4 years of in-house training as a legal assistant.
What is the State Bar of Michigan Paralegal/Legal Assistant Section?
It is a section of the State Bar of Michigan that working paralegals join as affiliate members.
Membership is voluntary and costs $75 for the membership year running October 1 to September 30, or $50 if you join after April 1.
To qualify, a paralegal must be employed or retained by a lawyer, law office, governmental agency or other entity engaged in the practice of law, do substantive legal work under a lawyer's supervision, and meet one of five education or experience criteria.
Which paralegal certification exams can Michigan paralegals take?
Michigan has no exam of its own; the credentials in our research come from national associations.
NALA's Certified Paralegal (CP) exam has two required sections taken in order, the Knowledge Exam and the Skills Exam.
NFPA offers the PCCE, which earns the CRP designation for early-career and entry-level paralegals, and the PACE, which earns the RP designation for experienced paralegals.
NALS offers the ALP, CLP and PP credentials.
None of these exams is required to work as a paralegal in Michigan.
Do Michigan schools have ABA approval for their paralegal programs?
Our research did not confirm which Michigan schools hold ABA approval, so check the ABA's directory of approved paralegal education programs before you enroll.
What is established is how approval works: a program chooses to seek it, the process includes a self-evaluation report and an on-site visit, the ABA House of Delegates gives final approval, and approval lasts seven years.
It approves programs, not people — graduates do not hold an individual ABA credential.
More Michigan Resources
Sources
- State Bar of Michigan Paralegal/Legal Assistant Section: membership application (retrieved 2026-10-02)
- NALA: About the CP Exam (retrieved 2026-10-02)
- NALA: Certification (retrieved 2026-10-02)
- NFPA: PACE and PCCE (retrieved 2026-10-02)
- NALS: Certification Resource Manual (2025) (retrieved 2026-10-02)
- American Bar Association: paralegal program approval process (retrieved 2026-10-02)
Sourced from the documents listed above.
Verified October 2026.
This is career information, not legal advice.
Confirm current rules with the state supreme court or state bar.