NATIONAL ELDER LAW FOUNDATION

What NATIONAL ELDER LAW FOUNDATION does

The National Elder Law Foundation (NELF) is a Tucson, Arizona-based nonprofit professional certification organization and the only body accredited by the American Bar Association to certify attorneys in elder and special needs law. It administers the Certified Elder Law Attorney (CELA) credential, a five-and-a-half-hour examination covering 12 subject areas, held twice yearly, and confers the designation on attorneys who complete the certification process and recertify periodically through 75 hours of elder law continuing legal education. NELF supports a credentialed population of more than 500 CELAs across the United States.

The organization's core products include the CELA Certification Program, the CELA Exam, a $595 virtual Exam Study Course delivered via Zoom, the annual NELF Forum conference, monthly Practice Accelerator webinars, an online Attorney Directory Search, and a consumer-facing Get Elder Law website. NELF also operates tiered memberships, including a $75/year Student Membership and an Affiliate Membership for early-career attorneys, plus Short Form, Long Form, and Recertification applications.

NELF generates revenue primarily through certification and exam-related fees, membership dues, study course registration ($595), event registrations for the annual Forum, and emerging webinar sponsorships. Distribution is delivered through self-service online registration on the MemberClicks platform, virtual programming, and a CELA Listserv community. The organization operates with a small staff of approximately five employees and is governed by a Board of Directors, with no venture funding or parent company ownership.

Name

NATIONAL ELDER LAW FOUNDATION

Legal name

National Elder Law Foundation

Website

https://nelf.org

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The National Elder Law Foundation is a Tucson-based nonprofit and the only American Bar Association-accredited organization certifying attorneys in elder and special needs law, administering the CELA designation to over 500 attorneys nationwide.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Professional Certification Services

NAICS

Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (61131)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600), Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Legal, Governance, Privacy & Audit Certifications (EDAAANAN)

akta.pro secondary industry

Legal & Compliance (CLE, Paralegal CE) (EDAAALAB)

Keywords

• Professional certification services
• Attorney credentialing programs
• Continuing legal education
• Professional association membership
• Legal specialization accreditation

Headquarters

HQ city

Tucson

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Professional Certification Services: NELF generates revenue through certification fees, examination registration, study course fees, and membership dues for attorneys seeking the Certified Elder Law Attorney (CELA) designation.

Pricing tiers

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

NELF is the only ABA-accredited national organization certifying attorneys in elder and special needs law through the Certified Elder Law Attorney (CELA) designation. Its core offering includes the CELA certification program with a twice-yearly examination, a virtual study course, annual continuing education programming, and tiered membership categories for attorneys and law students.

Product overview

NELF is a nonprofit professional certification organization offering the Certified Elder Law Attorney (CELA) designation—the only ABA-accredited elder law certification in the United States. The portfolio consists of the CELA Certification Program (including the twice-yearly CELA Exam and Exam Study Course), annual NELF Forum conferences, monthly Practice Accelerator webinars for continuing education, an Attorney Directory Search, and tiered memberships (Student and Affiliate). The organization also provides application processes for initial certification and recertification, serving over 500 certified elder law attorneys nationwide.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• CELA (Certified Elder Law Attorney): The Certified Elder Law Attorney designation awarded by NELF to attorneys who meet the certification requirements in elder and special needs law.

Products and services

• Certified Elder Law Attorney (CELA) Certification Program The ABA-accredited professional certification program for attorneys specializing in elder and special needs law. It establishes advanced knowledge and expertise standards and is the only national certification of its kind in the field, with over 500 CELAs nationwide.
• CELA Exam A five-and-a-half-hour examination consisting of 300 points covering 12 subject areas including Health and Personal Care Planning, Pre-Mortem Legal Planning, Fiduciary Representation, Legal Capacity Counseling, and Public Benefits Advice. Administered twice yearly in March and August/September.
• CELA Exam Study Course Virtual preparation course held every other week via Zoom, providing structure and strategic guidance for the CELA examination. Full registration is $595 with independent study between sessions.
• Student Membership

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered minor.

• Krause FinancialminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2026Krause Financial sponsors NELF webinars as part of the Practice Accelerator education program. They appear as webinar sponsors for educational content provided to CELA members and candidates.
• Brown Palace Hotel and Spa, Autograph CollectionminorOthersThe Brown Palace Hotel and Spa in Denver, Colorado serves as the venue for the 2026 NELF Forum annual conference. Located at Marriott Autograph Collection property.

Scale indicators1 record

Expansion highlights4 records

Others

• American College of Trust and Estate Counsel: A fellowship of estate planning and trust attorneys. Adjacent to NELF as a selective professional society in a related legal specialty (estate planning), with a similar model of vetting practitioner credentials and offering continuing education.
• CFP Board: The professional certification body governing the CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER designation. Comparable to NELF as a professional certification organization with examination, ongoing education, and recertification requirements for individual practitioners.
• National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying: Organization that develops and administers examinations for professional engineering and surveying licensure. Comparable to NELF as a professional credentialing body that administers standardized exams and supports state-level professional recognition.
• American Board of Medical Specialties: The umbrella organization for U.S. medical specialty certification boards. Comparable to NELF at a conceptual level as a specialty certification oversight body, though much larger and operating in medicine rather than law.
• National Association of Elder Law Attorneys: The principal membership organization for elder law and special needs law attorneys in the U.S. Adjacent to NELF because both serve the same practitioner community, though NAELA is a membership association rather than a certification body.
• Special Needs Alliance: A national network of attorneys dedicated to special needs planning, including disability and public benefits law. Comparable to NELF because it serves the same special-needs-law practitioner niche, though its model is referral-based rather than certification-based.

Direct peers

• National Board of Trial Advocacy: ABA-accredited national certification body for trial and appellate attorneys. Highly comparable to NELF as a peer ABA-accredited legal specialty certification organization operating a similar certification, examination, and recertification model.
• National Board of Legal Specialty Certification: ABA-accredited organization certifying legal specialists in civil trial, criminal trial, criminal appellate, and other legal specialties. Directly comparable to NELF as a national ABA-accredited legal certifier using examination-based credentialing.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/NatlElderLawFdn
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/national-elder-law-foundation

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

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 NATIONAL ELDER LAW FOUNDATION