2025 NFPA PCCE Scholarship Application

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NFPA® and a selected sponsor (or sponsors) (“Sponsor(s)”) may award one PACE® and/or PCCE® scholarship each year, provided that sponsorship is obtained.

Applications:

Applications must include:

  • Completed Application for PCCE® Scholarship.
  • An essay of four (4) pages or less on a topic to be determined by the Director of Paralegal Certification with the concurrence of the NFPA® Board. Essays must be double spaced, typewritten, and provided in no less than a 12-point font. Margins must be 1 inch on all sides. Each page of the essay must include a header with the applicant’s name. Each page must be numbered as page _ of __.
  • Agreement from the applicant attesting (i) that he/she meets the eligibility requirements for PCCE®; (ii) that he/she agrees to take the exam within one (1) year of receipt of the scholarship; and (iii) that he/she is either an individual sustaining member of NFPA® or is a member in good standing in a NFPA® Voting Member Association in good standing.

No application will be considered without all component parts included.

Basic Eligibility Requirements:

The criteria listed below may be utilized in selecting scholarship recipients:

  • Must meet PCCE® eligibility requirements.
  • Must be an individual sustaining member of NFPA® or a member in good standing of a NFPA® Voting Member Association in good standing at the time of the NFPA® Annual Convention in the year for which the scholarship is awarded.
  • Must agree to take PCCE® within one (1) year of the scholarship award.
  • Prior unsuccessful attempts to take PCCE® will not cause the applicant to become ineligible for the scholarship award. However, scholarship winners may not receive the scholarship as a reimbursement for PCCE® expenses already incurred prior to the date of the award.

Award Criteria:

The Judges will review applications based on the following criteria and weightings which were determined by the NFPA® Board:

  • Application – 5%.
  • Essay – 40%.
  • Years of paralegal experience – 15%.
  • Efforts to further the paralegal profession in the community (this may be through pro bono work, serving on committees, local association boards, bar association committees, etc.) – 20%.
  • Leadership in place of employment and within local association and/or in the community - 15%.
  • Miscellaneous other criteria (might include financial need, whether the applicant’s employer will reimburse for costs associated with PCCE) – 5%. 

At the direction and under the name of the Director of Paralegal Certification, the NFPA® Management Company will send letters to applicants who did not receive the scholarship.

Disqualification:

Applicants may be disqualified for any one of the following reasons:

  • Conviction of a felony or comparable crime as defined by an individual state that does not have felony designations.
  • Currently under the suspension, termination, or revocation of a certificate, registration of a certificate, registration, or license to practice by a professional organization, court, disciplinary board or agency in any jurisdiction.
  • Falsification or misstatements on any part of the PCCE® Scholarship Application or plagiarism of any part of the essay.
  • Failure to meet the PCCE® eligibility criteria or dishonesty in the affidavit accompanying the application. 

Note: Applicants will not be disqualified for prior unsuccessful attempts to take PCCE®.

Default: 

In the event that the scholarship recipient does not meet PCCE® eligibility criteria, the scholarship shall be forfeited. If, during the nine (9) months following the scholarship date, the scholarship recipient is not able to use the scholarship, he/she must notify the Director of Paralegal Certification immediately. In the case of a default by the scholarship recipient, the applicant with the next highest score from the Judges shall receive all previously unused benefits of the scholarship. In the event that a PCCE® Scholarship recipient does not either (a) use the scholarship in the one-year from being awarded the scholarship at the awards luncheon during Convention for any reason, or (b) does not notify the Director of Paralegal Certification within nine (9) months of receiving the scholarship of the inability to use the scholarship for any reason, that person shall be ineligible to reapply for the scholarship.

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