Also called: Legal Document Assistant (California), Certified Legal Document Preparer (Arizona)
A registered non-lawyer who helps people fill out legal forms themselves for things like divorces, name changes, and evictions.
Document preparers sit with customers who can't afford a lawyer, gather their information, and prepare court forms correctly; they can't give legal advice, but they save people from costly mistakes. Some states, like California and Arizona, register or certify them.
Many run small independent businesses. Estimate.
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
Certificate, about 1 year after high school. Paralegal training or experience, plus state registration/certification and a bond in some states.
Ways in: Certification, 2-year college, On-the-job training. Training cost: Under $15k.
Majors to look at: Paralegal Studies, Legal Studies.
Growing about average. Demand from people representing themselves in court.
Medium risk in 5 years, high in 10. AI form tools and court self-help sites fill out divorce and name-change forms; human preparers keep fewer clients.
Classes: Computer applications, Spanish, Business CTE class, AP U.S. Government.
Official data: O*NET occupation 23-2099.
Career Universe is an early version. Pay, training and AI-risk figures are estimates to start your own research, not verified facts. The research was written with AI research assistants, checked by validation scripts and spot-checked by hand. Check anything important with schools, employers and official sources. How the numbers work.