WHAT IS AN ARIZONA CERTIFIED LEGAL DOCUMENT PREPARER?
Arizona Certified Legal Document Preparers, also simply referred to as
Legal Document Preparers, are individuals certified by the Arizona
Supreme Court's Certification and Licensing Division to prepare or
provide legal documents for people who do not have an attorney.
Most Legal Document Preparers are paralegals who meet the eligibility
requirements established in Section 7-208 of the Arizona Code of
Judicial Administration. A Legal Document Preparer is not a
lawyer. Therefore, they can not give legal advice and
communications with a Legal Document Preparer are not privileged.
However, Legal Document Preparers may, according to the Arizona Supreme
Court, "provide general factual information pertaining to legal rights,
procedures, or options available to a person in a legal matter when
that person is not represented by an attorney." Legal Document
Preparers are not employed by attorneys; therefore, they are able to
establish their own fees. The costs of having a Legal Document
Preparer draft and file your legal documents are usually significantly
lower than what an attorney would charge for a similar service.
WHAT IS THE ARIZONA CERTIFIED LEGAL DOCUMENT PREPARER PROGRAM?
It is the office within the Arizona Supreme Court's Certification and
Licensing Division which certifies Legal Document Preparers.
Effective July 1, 2003, all individuals and businesses preparing legal
documents in the state of Arizona, without the supervision of an
attorney, must be certified by this office in accordance with Rule 31
and Section 7-208 of the Arizona Code of Judicial Administration. Section 7-208 of this Code states that its purpose is intended to:
- Protect the public through the certification of legal
document preparers to ensure conformance to the
highest legal standards and performance of
responsibilities in a professional and competent
manner, in accordance with all applicable statutes,
code sections, and Arizona court rules; and
- Result in the effective administration of the Legal
Document Preparer Program.
