The Best Free Online Law Courses of 2025

Do you think you might be interested in practicing law? Law school can be a major investment, but there are free online courses you can also take.

These free courses can give you a basic understanding of legal principles and help you decide if the field of law is right for you.

Even if you're not interested in starting a legal career, a free online law course can help you better understand the legal system.

So whether you're an aspiring attorney or just want to be an informed citizen, check out these outstanding free online law courses.

Top Free Online Law Courses

Read on for all the details about the best law courses that are available online for free.

1. Alison

Alison is a learning platform where all of the courses are 100% free and available on demand. The platform has many free law courses.

There are more than 80 courses available on Alison that cover a wide range of legal topics, including:

• food hygiene regulations
• general data protection regulations
• business law
• international convention and maritime law
• employment law
• criminal law and investigation
• intellectual property rights

Many of the shorter courses can be completed in two to three hours. You'll get a certificate of completion when you're done with the course.

For a more in-depth study, Alison also offers diploma courses, which tend to be 10 to 15 hours long.

2. Harvard Law School

If you're interested in law school, make sure you sign up for Harvard Law School's Zero-L course, which will help set you up for success.

This course is designed to ensure that all students, regardless of their educational background, can succeed in the law school environment.

But even if you're not interested in going to law school, you can still benefit from this introduction to the American legal system.

While the course doesn't result in any college credit, it is available completely free of charge to all interested students.

3. Monash University

Head to YouTube if you're looking for a basic introduction to law for non-lawyers, offered for free by Monash University.

The course is a little over three hours long and provides insight into the common law system used in the US and other countries.

Monash University will award you a certificate of completion if you sign up for the course through the FutureLearn platform.

If you're not interested in a certificate and just want the knowledge, you can also watch the whole course on YouTube.

4. The Open University

All OpenLearn courses from the Open University are free for anyone to study, and a great many of them cover legal topics.

Since the Open University is located in London, many of these courses focus on British law.

Topics covered include:

• judicial decision making
• legal myths
• asylum, immigration, and social work law
• criminology and youth justice

The information for each course clearly displays the level of the course so you don't have to worry about getting in over your head.

The Open University provides free certificates of completion as well as digital badges that you can add to your social media accounts.

5. United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization

UNESCO, in conjunction with the Centre for Law and Democracy, has a free online course that covers 'access to information' laws.

The course focuses on how to access information that is held by public authorities, including information requests and governmental disclosure.

There are eight modules in total to make up the course, each of which should take you about one hour to complete.

By the end of the course, you should be well-versed in international standards governing public access to government information.

6. University of Pennsylvania Law School

The University of Pennsylvania is strongly committed to free and open learning, and the law school is no exception.

From Penn Carey Law at the University of Pennsylvania, you can take free online law courses covering any of the following areas:

• healthcare law
• intellectual property law
• regulatory compliance
• constitutional law
• the American legal system

These courses are generally designed to take about three weeks to complete, but you're free to work through them at your own pace.

Although each course does start on an exact date, once you're enrolled, you have access to the course materials at any time.

7. Winston & Strawn

Winston & Strawn is a top US law firm that has created a free online course to help law students succeed.

While the course is designed for first-generation and diverse law students, anyone is free to take it.

The course focuses on skills that are necessary to succeed in law school, including reading and analyzing case law.

Even if you have no interest in going to law school, this course can help you 'think like a lawyer' and improve your general analytical skills.

FAQs about Free Online Law Courses

Keep reading if you're looking for answers to some of the most commonly asked questions about free online law courses.

Can You Study Law Online for Free?

You can definitely study different aspects of law online for free, but you're unlikely to get the depth of understanding you would from a paid course.

At the same time, if you just want to learn for your own enlightenment or to supplement prior education, free courses are really great for that.

Do You Get Credit for Free Online Law Courses?

Free online courses typically don't result in college credit that you can apply toward a degree because there are no exams.

These courses are typically offered on-demand without any access to the instructor. This means your progress can't be properly evaluated.

Are Free Online Law Courses Really Free?

They typically are! If a course advertises that it's free, there usually won't be any hidden costs involved or need to provide a method of payment.

Some colleges and universities do charge a small fee if you want a certificate of completion when you finish the course.

Find the Right School for Free Online Law Courses Today

If you think you might want to go to law school, start with free online law courses to get a basic understanding of legal principles.