2.2 National Paralegal Associations

PCCE association items look like trivia until you see why NFPA writes them. The exam is not asking whether you can name every acronym in the profession. It is asking whether you know who certifies whom, which ethics code you are being tested on, and where a CORE Registered Paralegal (CRP) goes for the continuing education that keeps the credential alive.

NFPA: A Federation, Two Exams, Two Credentials

The National Federation of Paralegal Associations (NFPA) is organized as a federation of associations. Its core members are local and state paralegal associations that affiliate with NFPA. Individuals typically join through a member association or as at-large/individual members. That structure matters on the exam: "NFPA member" can mean a person, but it often means a local association that belongs to the federation.

NFPA owns two national competency exams:

• The Paralegal CORE Competency Exam (PCCE) is the entry-level / early-career exam. Passing it earns the CRP designation. That is the credential this study guide is built around.
• The Paralegal Advanced Competency Exam (PACE) is the advanced exam for paralegals with substantial education and experience. Passing it earns the Registered Paralegal (RP) designation, also styled PACE Registered Paralegal.

Do not mix the pairs. PCCE does not award RP. PACE does not award CRP. A stem that says "the advanced NFPA credential" is pointing at PACE/RP. A stem that says "the CORE credential" is pointing at PCCE/CRP.

NFPA states that both the CRP and RP credentials have received national acknowledgement as a benchmark of excellence from the American Bar Association (ABA) and U.S. courts for fee-petition recognition. That is a professional-identity fact, not a license. Putting CRP after your name on a fee petition is a competency signal. It is not admission to practice.

Local NFPA-Member Associations

Because NFPA is a federation, much of a working paralegal's professional life happens in a local member association: a city, regional, or state group that pays federation dues and sends delegates. Those associations host meetings, job banks, and — most important for credential holders — continuing legal education (CLE). When a CRP needs ethics or diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) hours for renewal, the local NFPA-member association is often the provider. PCCE items that mention "your local association" are testing this federation model, not a random civic club.

NALA: CP and ACP

NALA — The Paralegal Association, historically the National Association of Legal Assistants, is an individual-membership association. It awards:

• The Certified Paralegal (CP) credential, earned by passing NALA's national certification exam. Older materials still say Certified Legal Assistant (CLA); that is the former name of the same credential, not a separate license.
• The Advanced Certified Paralegal (ACP) credential, NALA's advanced/specialty designation for CP holders who complete additional NALA advanced coursework in defined practice areas.

NALA's CP program is the paralegal certification that has been accredited by the National Commission for Certifying Agencies (NCCA). That accreditation is a NALA talking point, not an NFPA requirement, and it does not make CP the "official" national license. On a PCCE item, CP/ACP belong to NALA. They are peer credentials, not NFPA credentials, and they are not substitutes for CRP when a question asks what you earn by passing the PCCE.

NALA publishes its own code of ethics. That code is not the PCCE ethics source. If a question asks which association's ethics product governs NFPA certificants, the answer is NFPA's code, not NALA's.

NALS: PP and SC

NALS...the association for legal professionals, historically the National Association of Legal Secretaries, is also an individual-membership association with a broader legal-support audience (paralegals, legal secretaries, and other professionals). For PCCE purposes, know two NALS credentials:

• The Professional Paralegal (PP) is NALS's exam-based national paralegal credential. It is designed for graduates of ABA-approved legal studies or paralegal programs, or for individuals with substantial paralegal experience (NALS publishes a five-year experience pathway).
• The Specialty Certificate (SC) is not a second sit-down national exam like PP. It recognizes certified NALS professionals who complete a published block of advanced CLE in a designated specialty track, such as litigation/civil law, corporate law, or estate planning/family law.

NALS also offers other legal-professional credentials (for example, entry-level office credentials). Those are not the PCCE pairing. If the stem says NALS and paralegal certification, think PP; if it says advanced specialty recognition after the NALS credential, think SC.

What Each Credential Signals

A credential signals tested competency plus whatever renewal the issuer requires. It does not signal a license to give legal advice. It does not replace attorney supervision. It does not convert a freelance engagement into a direct-to-public law practice.

NFPA's Ethics Product

NFPA first published its Model Code of Ethics and Professional Responsibility in 1993 and updated it in 2006. In 2022 NFPA comprehensively revised the document and retitled it the Code of Ethics and Professional Responsibility, sunsetting the older enforcement guidelines as a separate package. PCCE stems and many textbooks still say Model Code. Treat those labels as the same NFPA ethics product.

That code is why association identity is not optional knowledge. Later chapters in this guide walk the canons (competence, integrity, confidentiality, conflicts, UPL, and public responsibility). This chapter's job is narrower: know that the code you will apply is NFPA's, that it is a model/professional code rather than a statute, and that NFPA also issues ethics opinions and a position statement opposing UPL.

Membership, Fees, and Why the Exam Cares

Membership is not required to sit for the PCCE. A qualified non-member may apply, receive an authorization to test, and sit at a Prometric center or by ProProctor remote delivery. What membership changes is money and community, not eligibility.

NFPA publishes a member discount on the application/testing fee. The current published testing fee is $300 for NFPA members and $325 for non-members. Do not invent other unpublished discounts or pass-rate claims. If a stem says a candidate is not a member, the correct statement is that the candidate may still sit and will pay the non-member published fee — not that the application will be rejected.

Why does a competency exam test this?

1. Professional identity. CRP, RP, CP, ACP, PP, and SC are not interchangeable. Employers, courts reviewing fee petitions, and clients will see the letters. The exam expects you to know which letters you are sitting for.
2. Ethics source control. You are testing against NFPA's code, not a blended "generic paralegal ethics" soup.
3. CLE providers for CRP renewal. A CRP renews on NFPA's published cycle. Local NFPA-member associations, NFPA national programs, and other accepted CLE providers supply the hours — including the required ethics and DEI hours. Association awareness is how a credentialed paralegal stays credentialed.

In Practice

Devon passed the PCCE last spring and now uses "Devon Ortiz, CRP" on the firm letterhead block under the attorneys. A partner asks whether Devon should also put "CP" on the same line because "they are all the same certification." Devon should decline. CP is NALA's credential, earned only by passing NALA's exam. Borrowing another association's letters is a professionalism failure, and it is exactly the mix-up PCCE association items are written to catch.