Nolo

What Nolo does

Nolo, founded in 1971 in Berkeley, California, is a self-help legal publishing and information platform that sells books, software, and online forms to consumers and small businesses seeking affordable legal guidance outside traditional attorney services. Its product portfolio centers on the WillMaker & Trust estate planning software (perpetual licenses starting at $109), a catalog of self-help legal books covering immigration, small claims, intellectual property, business formation, landlord-tenant matters, and other areas, NoloCloud online legal forms, and an extensive free legal encyclopedia that functions as both a standalone information product and a customer acquisition funnel.

The underlying technology is a content management and publishing platform that delivers attorney-reviewed legal articles, encyclopedia entries, and downloadable/online software products via web, supported by a lawyer directory marketplace (lawyers.nolo.com) where attorneys pay for paid listings. Nolo monetizes through one-time purchases of books and software, paid attorney listings on the directory, and an affiliate program on CJ.com. Distribution combines a direct-to-consumer e-commerce storefront (store.nolo.com) with global wholesale and library reach via a partnership with Ingram Publisher Services established in 2012. The company operates as MH Sub I, LLC, with 51–100 employees, and maintains multiple parallel GTM motions: product-led self-serve software sales, content/SEO-driven organic acquisition, and a referral/marketplace channel through the attorney directory.

Name

Nolo

Legal name

MH Sub I, LLC

Website

https://nolo.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1971

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Nolo is a Berkeley-based self-help legal publishing platform founded in 1971 that sells books, WillMaker estate planning software, and online legal forms to consumers and small businesses, supplemented by a free legal encyclopedia and a paid attorney directory.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Legal Self-Help Publishing and DIY Legal Software

NAICS

Software Publishers (5132), Other Legal Services (54119)

SIC

Retail-Nonstore Retailers (5960)

akta.pro primary industry

Omnichannel Commerce & Click-and-Collect Platforms (BPAMAGAL)

Keywords

• Legal self-help publishing
• Estate planning software
• Diy legal forms
• Legal information services
• Lawyer referral directory

Headquarters

HQ city

Berkeley

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain, Operations

Revenue model

1. Books and Digital Publications: Nolo sells physical books and eBooks covering self-help legal topics including immigration, wills and trusts, business formation, landlord-tenant law, small claims, and more. Products are sold through store.nolo.com and distributed via Ingram Publisher Services to retailers and libraries.
2. Legal Software (WillMaker): Nolo sells Quicken WillMaker & Trust, a downloadable and online estate planning software product that allows users to create legal documents without an attorney. Pricing starts at $109 per license.
3. Lawyer Directory and Referral: Nolo operates a lawyer directory that connects consumers with attorneys. Attorney listings on the site are paid attorney advertising, generating referral/lead revenue.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

Nolo sells do-it-yourself legal products directly to consumers and small businesses, including the Quicken WillMaker & Trust estate planning software, NoloCloud online legal forms, and a catalog of self-help legal books and eBooks covering immigration, small claims, business formation, intellectual property, and other practice areas. It complements these paid products with a free Legal Encyclopedia of attorney-reviewed articles, Nolo News, legal research guides, and a Lawyer Directory that connects visitors with attorneys for paid consultations.

Product overview

Nolo is a self-help legal publishing platform offering a comprehensive suite of tools and resources. The core offerings include: (1) WillMaker estate planning software for creating wills and trusts without attorneys; (2) NoloCloud online legal forms platform; (3) an extensive free legal encyclopedia with thousands of articles; (4) a lawyer directory for professional legal help; (5) self-help legal books covering immigration, small claims, patents, business formation, and other legal topics; and (6) downloadable legal forms. Products are organized by legal area including immigration, wills/trusts, small claims, landlord-tenant, bankruptcy, and intellectual property. The company operates primarily as a direct-to-consumer publisher, with distribution through Ingram Publisher Services for retail and library sales.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Quicken WillMaker & Trust (WillMaker) Estate planning software available online and as a downloadable product that allows individuals and families to create wills, trusts, and related legal documents without hiring an attorney. Priced from $109 per perpetual license.
• NoloCloud Online Legal Forms Web-based platform that lets users complete and manage legal documents digitally, with forms organized by legal area for purchase and download.
• Nolo Self-Help Legal Books Self-help legal books and eBooks covering immigration, wills and trusts, business formation, landlord-tenant law, small claims, intellectual property, family law, and other practice areas, written by attorneys in plain English and available in print and digital formats.
• How to Get a Green Card Guide to obtaining U.S. lawful permanent residence covering family-based, asylum, U visa, and other green card categories. 17th edition published May 2026.
• Becoming a U.S. Citizen Book guide that walks readers through the naturalization process to become a U.S. citizen.
• Fiancé & Marriage Visas A couple's guide to U.S. immigration through fiancé and marriage visas; 12th edition published July 2025.
• U.S. Immigration Made Easy Comprehensive guide to U.S. immigration covering visas, green cards, and citizenship processes.
• Nolo's Immigration Bundle Bundle of Nolo immigration books providing comprehensive guidance on visas, green cards, and U.S. citizenship applications.
• Everybody's Guide to Small Claims Court Guide to navigating small claims court procedures to resolve disputes without costly legal bills.
• Represent Yourself in Court Guide to self-representation in court, helping individuals safely and efficiently act as their own lawyer.
• Patent It Yourself Step-by-step guide to filing patents, helping inventors navigate the patent process without expensive attorney fees.
• Patents, Copyright & Trademark Comprehensive reference covering intellectual property protections for patents, copyrights, and trademarks.
• General Mutual Release Form Legal form template for releasing both parties in a dispute from future claims when both sides claim the other's fault.
• Nondisclosure Agreement for Inventors Legal form template for inventors to protect confidential information when sharing invention details with potential partners or investors.
• Joint Ownership Agreement for an Invention Legal form establishing terms for joint ownership of an invention between multiple parties.
• Accident Claim Worksheet Online form to help users track and document important details of an accident for insurance or legal claims.
• Lawyer Directory Online directory at lawyers.nolo.com that helps consumers search for, learn about, and connect with attorneys in their area for consultations and one-on-one legal help. Attorney listings are paid advertising, generating referral revenue for Nolo.

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Ingram Publisher ServicescoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 30 January 2012As of January 30, 2012, Ingram Publisher Services became Nolo's official distributor for all retail, institutional, and business orders of Nolo books. Ingram handles order fulfillment through ipage.ingrambook.com, phone, fax, and email for trade orders, and Ingram Library Services for library orders and standing orders. This partnership allows Nolo to focus on content development rather than distribution logistics.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• LegalZoom: LegalZoom is the largest direct competitor to Nolo in the legal self-help space, offering DIY legal forms, wills, business formation, and registered agent services. Like Nolo, it targets consumers and small businesses seeking affordable alternatives to full-service law firms, but operates at a much larger scale with subscription pricing and an integrated attorney network.
• Rocket Lawyer: Rocket Lawyer is a subscription-based legal self-help platform offering DIY legal documents, attorney consultations, and on-demand legal advice. It competes directly with Nolo's WillMaker software, online forms, and legal encyclopedia content, with a stronger subscription model and broader international presence.
• FindLaw: FindLaw is a legal information and lawyer directory platform owned by Thomson Reuters, offering consumer-facing legal articles, attorney directories, and legal forms. It was cited alongside Nolo by the U.S. FTC as a trusted legal authority, making it a directly comparable content-plus-directory competitor.
• Avvo: Avvo is an online legal directory and Q&A platform that connects consumers with attorneys, similar to Nolo's lawyers.nolo.com directory. It provides attorney ratings, legal guides, and a lawyer marketplace, competing for both the consumer legal content audience and the attorney advertising revenue.
• Justia: Justia provides free legal information, case law, codes, and a lawyer directory, directly competing with Nolo's legal encyclopedia and lawyer directory. It focuses on free access to primary legal sources alongside consumer-friendly guides, putting it in overlapping content and audience territory.
• LawDepot: LawDepot is a leading DIY legal forms platform offering subscription-based access to legal document templates for personal and business use. It competes most directly with NoloCloud Legal Forms and WillMaker on the online forms product category, though its subscription model differs from Nolo's one-time licensing.

Broad incumbents

• Martindale-Hubbell: Martindale-Hubbell is one of the oldest and most recognized lawyer directory services in the U.S., now part of Internet Brands. It competes with Nolo's lawyers.nolo.com directory on attorney advertising and consumer attorney search, though it does not produce DIY content or software products.
• Lawyers.com: Lawyers.com is a consumer-facing legal directory operated by Martindale-Hubbell/Internet Brands that connects users with attorneys. It competes with Nolo's lawyer directory on the attorney referral and advertising side but does not offer Nolo's self-help books or WillMaker software.

Emerging players

• LegalShield: LegalShield offers subscription-based access to attorneys for everyday legal matters, including document review, consultations, and letter-writing. It competes indirectly with Nolo by serving the same consumer affordability gap but through a membership-based attorney access model rather than DIY publishing.

Others

• Quicken (Intuit) WillMaker: Intuit's Quicken WillMaker is the brand under which Nolo's WillMaker software has historically been co-marketed. While not a direct competitor today, the relationship illustrates Nolo's product positioning within the broader personal finance software category and is relevant for benchmarking the WillMaker product line.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/NoloLaw
• Facebookfacebook.com/NoloLaw
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/nolo

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Nolo