Dallas Area Paralegal Association - Online Membership Application

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DALLAS AREA

PARALEGAL ASSOCIATION

Thank you for joining DAPA - we are glad to have you!

MEMBERSHIP YEAR:

DAPA's membership year runs on a calendar year, January 1 to December 31.

DOCUMENTATION REQUIRED:

This online application process will ask you to upload documents to verify your qualifications for membership based on the applicable criteria below (e.g. degree, paralegal certificate, certification, resume). Further, those applying to become a Voting member must upload CLE certificates totaling 6 hours of CLE credit (1 must be for ethics); this is required to submit the online application for Voting membership. Please have them ready and saved to your computer prior to starting this application for easy upload and online application completion. Please see terms below.

Supported upload formats include: Adobe PDF, DOC, DOCX, XLS, XLSX, JPG, JPEG, GIF, PNG, TIF, and TIFF.

APPLICATION FEE:

DAPA charges a one-time $10 application fee for all new Student, Non-Voting, and Voting applicants. This fee does not apply towards future renewals, unless your membership lapses and you need to reapply.

Membership Type	New* (10/01 - 05/31)	New** (06/01 - 09/30)	Renew or Reapply* (01/01 - 12/31)**
Voting / Non-Voting	$85	$66.25	$75
Student	$65	$51.25	$55
Emeritus	N/A	N/A	$55

Membership Type

New*

(10/01 - 05/31)

New**

(06/01 - 09/30)

Renew or Reapply***

(01/01 - 12/31)****

Voting / Non-Voting

$85

$66.25

$75

Student

$65

$51.25

$55

Emeritus

N/A

$55

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Select membership level

* Mandatory fields

* Membership level

a. Student Member - $55.00 (USD) Subscription period: 1 year, on: January 1st
Your membership renewal date will be: Thursday, January 01, 2026 No automatically recurring payments STUDENT MEMBERS are non-voting members. A person eligible for student membership shall be any person who is enrolled and actively participating in an accredited baccalaureate, post-baccalaureate or associate degree paralegal education program. However, it is not the intent of DAPA to exclude any potential student member who is enrolled in any aforementioned level degree program which bears the title of “Legal Studies”, “Pre-Law”, “Criminal Justice” or some other program title, provided that such program has attained ABA approval or shall be institutionally accredited or shall be in substantial compliance with the ABA guidelines for a paralegal studies program.

b. Non-Voting Member - $75.00 (USD) Subscription period: 1 year, on: January 1st
Your membership renewal date will be: Thursday, January 01, 2026 No automatically recurring payments NON-VOTING MEMBERS are persons who:
1. Have not met either the educational or experiential requirements for Voting membership;
2. Have not met the CLE requirements for Voting membership;
3. Meets ALL the requirements for Voting membership but is not currently employed as a paralegal.

c. Voting Member - $75.00 (USD) Subscription period: 1 year, on: January 1st
Your membership renewal date will be: Thursday, January 01, 2026 No automatically recurring payments CLE CREDIT REQUIREMENTS
1. Have 6 hours of CLE completed and documented before beginning the application / renewal process;
2. At least 1 Ethics CLE credit of the 6 required;
3. Up to two (2) hours of CLE can be claimed as self-study.

EDUCATION & EXPERIENCE REQUIREMENTS | Voting members must meet at least one of these requirement options:
1. Have 4 year degree in paralegal studies;
2. Have 4 year degree in any discipline AND a paralegal certificate;
3. Have 1 year of paralegal experience AND an associate degree in paralegal studies;
4. Have 1 year of paralegal experience AND a 4 year degree in any discipline;
5. Have 3 years of paralegal experience AND an associate degree in any discipline;
6. Have 3 years of paralegal experience AND earned a PCCE, CLA, or CP certification;
7. Earned the PACE, ACP, or TBLS certification;
8. Have 7 years of paralegal experience.

d. Emeritus Member - $55.00 (USD) Subscription period: 1 year, on: January 1st
Your membership renewal date will be: Thursday, January 01, 2026 No automatically recurring payments EMERITUS MEMBERS are non-voting members. A person eligible for emeritus membership shall be any person who is a former voting or non-voting member of the Association, who is no longer working as a paralegal and who has either retired from the profession, moved out of the area, taken a leave of absence, or changed careers. Mandatory CLE requirements shall not apply.

Membership Terms

DAPA's membership year runs January 1 to December 31. If you join between June 1 to September 30 of any given year, you will receive a 25% reduction in dues. Persons who join DAPA in October, November or December of any given year will pay the full membership fees, but their membership will be effective for the remainder of the current year through December 31 of the following year. (Example: Join October 2, 2024, membership expires December 31, 2025). If you do not renew your membership before March 1st you will be dropped from the active association roster. A portion of dues goes to membership in the National Federation of Paralegal Associations.

* Membership Term: remainder of the current year or, if joining in October, November or December, the remainder of the current year through December 31 of the following year.

** Membership Term: remainder of the current year.

*** Membership Term: remainder of the current year if renewing/reapplying prior to October 1. The term when reapplying in after October 1 is the remainder of the current year through December 31 of the following year. Late fee will be applied on or after 03/01 until early renewals open in December.

**** The normal period for renewals is 01/01 - 02/28-29. Those dropped from the active association roster after March 1 can reapply, paying the late fee.

Legal Disclaimer

DAPA presents the information on this web site as a service to our members and other Internet users. While the information on this site is about legal issues, it is NOT legal advice. Moreover, due to the rapidly changing nature of the law and our reliance on information provided by outside sources, we make no warranty or guarantee concerning the accuracy or reliability of the content at this site or at other sites to which we link.

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Dallas Area Paralegal Association
P.O. Box 12533
Dallas, Texas 75225-0533

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