Regulation - Information For Paralegals

Paralegals are not regulated by government and therefore anyone can set themselves up as a Paralegal. There is no statutory regulation.

The Institute of Paralegals (IoP) is the only government recognised professional body for the paralegal sector in England and Wales. We provide support and guidance for those who wish to become Professional Paralegals. Professionalism has two elements, competency and accountability.

To become a Professional Paralegal, two vital elements need to be shown: competency and accountability. A minimum level of qualification and /or experience is required to become competent to offer legal assistance, complete legal work or offer legal services.

The IoP has written the competency standards for Paralegals which map to the National Occupational standards for legal services. We therefore can be confident that our Paralegals have all the tools they require, including a new suite of paralegal qualifications to be launched this year, to fulfil the competency requirement.

The Institute is also one of the founding members of the Professional Paralegal Register (PPR). The PPR is the recognised overarching voluntary regulator for Paralegals in England, Wales and Internationally.

As the IoP is a Recognised Body of the PPR then our members can join the PPR to enable them to fulfil the second criteria of being accountable.

The IoP’s role is a professional membership body it is not a regulator.

Our members can apply for Paralegal Practising Certificates, the only right to practice being provided by a voluntary regulator.

There are no other regulatory practice certificates or licenses that enable Paralegals to show accountability as there are no other schemes that are genuine regulatory bodies.

There are no other regulatory practice certificates or licenses that enable Paralegals to show accountability as there are no other schemes that are genuine regulatory bodies.

The PPR continues to work with the legal ombudsman, the consumer panel of the legal services board and government to ensure a robust system is in place for the protection of consumers. Read more on the PPR website about the recent event at the House of Commons and see the supporters page here.