Effective July 1, 2003, all individuals and businesses preparing legal documents without the supervision of an attorney in good standing with the State Bar of Arizona, must be certified pursuant to Rule 31, and Arizona Codes of Judicial Administration § 7-208 and § 7-201. Legal Document Preparer Program certifies non-attorney legal document preparers in Arizona who provide document preparation assistance and services to individuals and entities not represented by an attorney. Legal document preparers may provide general legal information but may not give legal advice.
Board of Legal Document Preparers Meeting
Next meeting to be held:
May 20, 2013
10:00 a.m.
Hearing Room 109
Arizona Supreme Court
1501 West Washington Street
Phoenix, Arizona 85007
General Inquiries Call: (602) 452-3378 (Certification and Licensing Division Line)
Board meetings are open to the public.
Agenda and materials are available Click Here.
IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT!
You can apply and pay online for your Legal Document Preparer Renewal Application using your check debit or credit card by clicking on the link below:
https://apps.supremecourt.az.gov/pay2aocvisible_ui/ldp/default.aspx
In order to access the online renewal application, you will need:
< Your Arizona Legal Document Preparer Certification Number,
< Your email address on record with the Division, and
< Your date of birth on record with the Division
If you do not have an email address on file with the Division, or your email address has changed, you need to update your email address as soon as possible. You can also contact the Division for a hard copy renewal form and mail it to the Certification and Licensing Division if you do not wish to apply for renewal and pay online. Applications postmarked or online renewal applications submitted after June 9, 2013 will be assessed a $50.00 late renewal fee. Applicants who submit their application after June 30, 2013, will be required to retake the examination and submit an initial application.
BUSINESS EXEMPTION – If your business is exempt, you MUST download, complete and submit the following Business Exemption Extension Form.
Send the exemption extension form to Certification and Licensing Division, 1501 W. Washington Avenue, Ste 104, Phoenix, AZ 85007 or fax to 602-452-3958 or scan and email to ldp@courts.az.gov
For a list of acceptable residency/citizenship documents, click here.
INITIAL CERTIFICATION INFORMATION
How to apply for certification as a legal document preparer:
1. Check the Arizona Code of Judicial Administration, specifically section § 7-208(E) for eligibility requirements to ensure that you are eligible for certification. Click here for ACJA § 7-208.
2. You must first sit for and pass the examination. To download the exam schedule and registration form for the Legal Document Preparer (LDP) Knowledge Examination, click here. Please note that all fees are non-refundable, so be sure to schedule your exam on a day that you can attend as scheduled. There is a study guide that corresponds to the current examination being administered. Please see the link below. The Supreme Court does not provide any preparatory classes or trainings for the exam or the Legal Document Preparer Program in general.
3. Test results will be mailed to the address you provided to Division staff within 2-4 weeks. An application for initial certification and a fingerprint card will be included if you have successfully passed the exam. If you did not pass, you may send a written request to retake the exam to LDP@courts.az.gov and further instructions will be provided.
4. Fill out the Initial Certification Application as instructed. Be sure to include the required picture and fingerprints for the background check. If any further information is needed, Division staff will be in contact with you. Please note that any deficient information or documentation will prolong the application process.
5. Once the application process is complete, Division staff will present your application during the next scheduled Legal Document Preparer Board meeting for a decision. The decisions made during the Board meeting will be mailed to any and all applicants on the agenda unless the applicant is deferred due to deficient information.
Allow 2-4 months to process applications.
CONTINUING EDUCATION
Arizona Code of Judicial Administration §7-208 L (2)(a) requires all certified legal document preparers to attend a minimum of ten hours of approved continuing education each year, between the period of May 1st and April 30th of the following year. A total of no less than twenty hours of continuing education must be completed on or before April 30th of every odd-numbered year. The continuing education requirements do not apply to certified legal document preparer business entities. Hours of participation are not transferable to certification periods other than the one in which the participation occurred.
Continuing Education Opportunities:
The Arizona State Bar has extended to all certificate holders a member rate discount for CE courses. When registering for a State Bar course, please identify yourself as an AZCLDP in order to receive the available discount. A catalog of the State Bar of Arizona continuing education opportunities is available at www.azbar.org.
The State Bar of Arizona has activated a “coupon code” for their online site that will give any legal document preparer an additional 10% off any Online CLE, Publication, CLEtoGO, E-Publication and Webcasts from their online site. The coupon code can be used only once, but there is no limit to the amount of programs or products a user can add to their “cart” before activating the coupon – giving them a 10% discount on multiple items. To use to coupon code, add as many programs or products to your cart that you want, and when you are ready to check out and purchase – enter the coupon code “DOCPREP” at the bottom of the screen and click “Apply Code” this will then automatically take 10% off every item in the shopping cart. This discount is in addition to the “member rate discount” already enjoyed by AZCLDP members. The coupon will expire at midnight, April 30th. The coupon code will not work for Live Seminars or special programs such as CLE by the Sea. The direct link to the State Bar’s online catalog can be found at: http://www.legalspan.com/azbar/catalog.asp
Maricopa County Bar Association offers an extensive curriculum of continuing education opportunities for Arizona Supreme Court Certification and Licensing Division certificate holders, including AZCLDPs. The MCBA maintains a Paralegal Division as well as a CLE Department which offer seminars and self-study CE materials. For more information, please click here.
Family Court Administration - Establishment of Paternity Workshop
Workshops are held on the 3rd Friday of every month - for more information click here
If you have additional questions, please call us at (602) 452-3378. You can also contact Program Staff electronically by sending an email to: LDP@courts.az.gov