Colorado licenses Licensed Legal Paraprofessionals (LLPs) to practice family law — a licensed profession created by the Colorado Supreme Court after finding that, in FY2022, roughly 74% of domestic-relations parties had no lawyer. LLPs fill that gap: they prepare filings, advise clients, and appear in court within a defined family-law scope. Here is the complete path, step by step, with every official source linked.
Step 1 — Meet the eligibility requirements
Under C.R.C.P. 207.8(3), you qualify through one of several education pathways (multiple qualifying degree types) or demonstrated work experience. Separately — and this applies to everyone — you must show substantive law-related practical experience, including Colorado family law experience, within the three years immediately before you apply, certified by a licensed attorney. The LLP Committee publishes eligibility guidance on what counts.
Step 2 — Take a qualifying legal ethics class
Before you sit for the exam, you must complete a qualifying legal ethics course — and OARC warns that most professional-responsibility courses inside paralegal programs do not qualify. The Community College of Denver offers an LLP-specific ethics class available remotely. Verify any course against the official FAQ before paying for it.
Step 3 — Apply (fees and the 2026 windows)
The 2026 application windows: regular filing closed July 31, 2026; the final window runs August 1–31, 2026 (a higher fee applies). The timely application fee is $710 plus the state fingerprint fee. Apply through the official application instructions. Character & fitness review begins when you file — file complete, not perfect.
Step 4 — Pass character & fitness and the professionalism course
Every applicant clears a character-and-fitness review and completes OARC’s professionalism course. Disclose everything; the review rewards candor.
Step 5 — Pass the exam (November 10, 2026)
One exam day, three sessions at the Ralph L. Carr Judicial Center in Denver: two essays (90 minutes, 25% of the score), 45 ethics multiple-choice (90 minutes, 25%), and 90 family-law multiple-choice (180 minutes, 50%) — per the official schedule. The blueprint is the LLP Core Competencies (amended May 22, 2026). In 2025, first-time takers passed at 87% — see our full pass-rate breakdown.
Step 6 — Get licensed, then keep it
After passing: oath and licensure through OARC. Annual registration runs $190/year for the first three years, then $395/year, with continuing legal education and a public disclosure of whether you carry malpractice insurance.
What you’ll be licensed to do
- Dissolution of marriage or civil union, legal separation, invalidity — pre- and post-decree
- Initial allocation and modification of parental responsibilities; two-party parentage
- Child support establishment, enforcement, and modification; remedial contempt in scope
- Protection orders, name changes, adult gender-designation changes
- Prepare documents, draft pleadings, appear at hearings, examine witnesses, address the court
And the carve-outs (attorney required)
- QDROs, prenup/postnup preparation or disputes, punitive contempt under C.R.C.P. 107
- Common-law marriage disputes, complex trust issues, foreign-order registration, 3+ parent parentage
Sources: OARC LLP FAQ · Application instructions · 2026 examination page · Exam-day schedule (PDF) · Core Competencies (PDF). Figures as published by OARC; always verify current requirements at the source.