1.3 Fees, Scheduling & Skills Exam

Money, calendars, and delivery rules turn abstract eligibility into an exam-day plan. Candidates who budget both NALA fees and Prometric testing fees, and who respect the Skills window calendar, avoid the most expensive surprises in the CP process.

NALA Examination Fees (2025 Certification FAQs / 2026 Handbook)

NALA publishes tiered first-time fees by membership status. Use the current published figures below — older "$250/$275" tables are outdated.

Membership often pays for itself on the first application: the standard member/non-member gap is $50 before counting any other member benefits. Student and military tiers exist for candidates who meet those published eligibility definitions — do not self-apply a discount without confirming you qualify.

Subsequent attempts cost $150 each. Fail Knowledge twice before passing, then pass Skills on the first try, and you have paid the first-time tier plus two $150 Knowledge retakes. Incomplete applications or withdrawals trigger the $75 processing/cancelation fee rather than a free redo.

Prometric Testing Fees (Separate from NALA)

Prometric charges delivery fees in addition to NALA's examination fees. Current published Prometric testing fees include:

Budget both layers. A member paying the $325 first-time NALA fee who sits Knowledge onsite and Skills onsite also owes Prometric $63 + $53 for those appointments (plus any later Prometric fees on retakes). Remote Knowledge saves a few dollars versus onsite Knowledge but does not unlock remote Skills — Skills still requires onsite or partner seating in a published window.

Scheduling Sequence with Prometric

1. Apply to NALA and receive approval. Eligibility review comes first.
2. Receive the Authorization to Test / Testing Ticket. This starts the 365-day attempt framework.
3. Schedule through Prometric using the authorization — do not invent appointments before the ticket exists.
4. Choose Knowledge delivery: onsite Prometric, partner site, or remote proctoring (Knowledge only).
5. After passing Knowledge, schedule Skills inside a February, April, July, or October window at an onsite or partner location.

Practical trap — name mismatch: if your government ID says "Katherine" and your application says "Katie," fix the record weeks before the Prometric appointment. Check-in failures waste fees and burn calendar inside the authorization year.

Remote Knowledge setup: private room, clean workspace, working webcam and microphone, and a completed system check before exam day. Skills candidates skip remote logistics entirely and focus on arriving at the correct Prometric or partner site with valid ID.

Knowledge Before Skills — and the Window Reality

You must pass the Knowledge Exam before you may take the Skills Exam. That sequencing rule interacts with Skills availability:

• Knowledge: year-round Prometric scheduling.
• Skills: February, April, July, October only, and not remote.

Scenario — Marcus: Marcus passes Knowledge on June 20. The next Skills window is July. He must arrange onsite or partner seating for that window (or wait until October). There is no "June Skills" sitting simply because he is now Knowledge-passed, and remote Skills is not an option to squeeze in early.

Scenario — Tanya: Tanya fails Skills in the July window (first Skills attempt). The earliest retake is the October window, subject to the 90-day wait between attempts and payment of the $150 subsequent-attempt fee to NALA, plus another Prometric Skills delivery fee. The window gap often satisfies the 90-day wait automatically, but she still cannot invent an August Skills date.

Retakes, Exhausted Attempts, and Restarting

Recall Section 1.1: up to 3 attempts per exam within 365 days of authorization, with a 90-day wait between attempts on the same exam, at $150 per subsequent attempt under current NALA fees.

If you exhaust your attempts or your authorization period ends without completing certification, you must submit a new application and restart the process under then-current eligibility and fee rules. Do not assume a fourth try can be purchased inside the same Testing Ticket. Plan first attempts early enough in the authorization year that two waits and two retakes still fit the calendar if needed.

Scenario — Priya's retake budget (member rates): Priya pays $325 first-time, fails Knowledge in March, waits 90 days, fails again in June ($150), waits again, and passes in September ($150). She then sits Skills in October (first Skills attempt under her certification path) and pays Prometric delivery fees for each appointment. Her NALA exam fees alone are $325 + $150 + $150 = $625 before Prometric charges — an argument for thorough Knowledge preparation before the first sitting.

Skills Exam Logistics on Exam Day

The Skills Exam is a two-hour written assignment, not another multiple-choice bank. Graders evaluate Legal Writing and Critical Thinking against the 30-point framework in Section 1.1. Success habits:

• Outline before drafting so Issue Spotting and Analysis (14 combined points) are visible in the structure.
• State relevant facts cleanly (4 points) before diving into argument.
• Close with supported conclusions (2 points) rather than trailing off mid-sentence when time expires.
• Leave a few minutes to catch mechanics errors (3 points) without sacrificing composition (7 points).

Multiple-choice speed drills do not transfer. Practice full timed writing tasks under a two-hour clock, preferably on a keyboard setup similar to the testing center.

Maintaining the CP: Renewal CLE

After certification, renewal is a CLE obligation, not a re-examination. NALA requires 50 CLE hours every 5 years to maintain the CP. Recertification rules include ethics components as part of NALA's CLE requirements — follow the current NALA recertification guidance for how ethics hours must be satisfied within the 50-hour total, rather than inventing a freestanding number from memory. Missing the renewal cycle can lapse the credential even if you once passed both exams.

Bottom line: budget NALA fees and Prometric fees separately, schedule Knowledge flexibly through Prometric after authorization, lock an in-person Skills window only after Knowledge is passed, price retakes at $150 each, and protect the credential afterward with the 50-hour / 5-year CLE renewal cycle.