MCLE State Requirements
The following 43 jurisdictions require lawyers to take MCLE courses in order to practice law within that
particular jurisdiction:
For further information on your state MCLE requirements, contact your state regulatory entity.
- Alabama
- The following requirements are currently under review: Two year reporting period with 24 credits of
approved CLE including 2 ethics credits per reporting period.
- Alaska
- 12 hrs. per calendar year. Reporting date: December 31.
- Arizona
- 15 hrs. Per calendar year including 3 hrs. ethics/professional responsibility,
professionalism, substance abuse, or ADR. Reporting date: September 15.
- Arkansas
- 12 hrs. Per year including 1 hour of legal ethics. Reporting date: June
30.
- California
- 25 hrs. over 3-year period including 4 hrs. of legal ethics; 1 hr. substance
abuse and 1 hr. elimination of bias in the profession. Reporting date: January
31.
- Colorado
- 45 hrs. over 3-year period including 7 hrs. legal ethics, professionalism.
Reporting date: anytime within 3 year period.
- Delaware
- 24 hrs. over 2-year period including 4 hrs. Enhanced Ethics, Fundamentals
of Law 3-day series for new admittees within 4 years of admission. Reporting
date: December 31.
- Florida
- 30 hrs. over 3-year period including 5hrs. legal ethics, professionalism,
substance abuse, or mental illness awareness; basic skills course for newly
admitted attorneys. Reporting date: assigned month every 3 years.
- Georgia
- 12 hrs. per year including 1 hr. legal ethics, professionalism, basic skills
within 1st 2 yrs., ADR 3 hrs. one time only. Reporting date: January 31.
- Idaho
- 30 hrs. over 3-year period including 2 hrs. legal ethics, basic skills course
for new admittees. Reporting date: every 3rd year depending on year of admission.
- Illinois
- 20 hrs. of CLE activity during the initial two-year reporting period. Increases to 24
hrs. for the subsequent reporting period. Four of the total hours required for any two-year
period must be in the area of professionalism, diversity issues, mental illness and addiction
issues, civility, or legal ethics. Reporting date: June 30.
- Indiana
- 36 hrs. over 3 calendar year period with 6 hr. minimum per year including
3 hrs. legal ethics. Reporting date: December 31.
- Iowa
- 15 hrs. per calendar year including 2 hrs. legal ethics every 2 years. Reporting
date: March 1.
- Kansas
- 12 hrs. per year including 2 hrs. legal ethics. Reporting date: 30 days
after program.
- Kentucky
- 12.50 hrs. per year including 2 hrs. legal ethics, new lawyer skills training
within 12 mos. of admission. Reporting date: June 30.
- Louisiana
- 12.50 hrs per year including 1 hr ethics and 1 hr professionalism. Newly
admitted attorneys need 12.50 hrs including 8 hrs ethics, professionalism
or law practice management. CLE Completion deadline: December 31. Reporting
date January 31.
- Maine
- Eleven hours per year including 1 hour ethics/professional responsibility. Reporting
date: Annually in connection with filing of registration statement required
by Maine Bar Rule 6(a).
- Minnesota
- 45 hrs. over 3-year period, 3 hrs. legal ethics, 2 hrs. elimination of bias
required, maximum of 6hrs. law office management. Reporting date: August
30.
- Mississippi
- 12 hrs. per year including 1 hr. legal ethics, professional responsibility, or malpractice
prevention each year. Reporting date: July 31.
- Missouri
- 15 hours per year including 3 hrs. ethics every 3 years, new admittees 3
hrs. professionalism, legal/judicial ethics within 12 mos. Reporting date:
July 31.
- Montana
- 15 hrs. per year. Reporting date: March 1.
- Nevada
- 12 hrs. per year of which 2 must be in ethics. Reporting date: March 1.
- New Hampshire
- 12 hrs. per year/at least 6 must be earned by attendance at live CLE programs, including
2 hrs legal ethics/professionalism, or substance abuse. Reporting date:August 1.
- New Mexico
- 12 hours per year including one (1) hr ethics, one (1) credit must be professionalism.
Reporting date: December 31st each year.
- New York
- Newly Admitted Attorneys: Practicing less than 2 years in NY (or less
than 5 years in another jurisdiction immediately preceding admission to the
NY Bar.)
32 hrs. "transitional" education within the first two years admission
to the Bar. 16 hrs. completed each year including 3 hrs ethics/professionalism,
6 hrs. practical skills, 7 hrs. practice management and areas of professional
practice. "Transitional" courses help newly admitted attorneys
develop a foundation in practical skills, techniques
and procedures.
Experienced Attorneys:
24 hrs. over two year period including 4 hrs. ethics/professionalism
All Attorneys:
Reporting period: every two years from the time admitted to the bar.
- North Carolina
- 12 hrs. per year including 2 hrs. ethics, 9 of the 12 hrs. in practical
skills during first 3 yrs. of admission, and 1 hr. substance abuse or debilitating
mental conditions every 3 yrs. Reporting date: February 28.
- North Dakota
- 45 hrs. over 3-year period, 3 hrs. ethics every 3 yrs. Reporting date: June
30.
- Ohio
- 24 hrs. every two years including 2 hr. of ethics based on the Code of
Professional Responsibility, 1 hr.of professionalism based on A Lawyer’s
Creed and A Lawyer’s Aspirational Ideals and thirty minutes of substance
abuse education that includes a discussion of prevention, detection, causes
and treatment alternatives. An attorney’s reporting date is determined
by the alphabetical grouping of the attorney’s last name and is every
two years on January 31.
Attorneys can only receive self-study credit for courses approved by the
Commission for self-study credits. Additionally, self-study hours are capped and attorneys
can only receive 6 hours of self-study credit every two years. This includes
audio, video, internet-based, and CD-Rom based educational activities.
- Oklahoma
- 12 hrs. per year including 1 hr. ethics. Reporting date: February 15.
- Oregon
- 45 hrs. over 3-year period including 6 hrs. ethics, 1 of those 6 hrs. on
child abuse reporting, 3 of the general hours must be in courses pertaining
to the role of lawyers concerning racial and ethnic issues, gender fairness,
disability issues, and access to justice. New admittees-15 hrs. of which 10
must be in practical skills and 2 hrs. in ethics. Reporting date: December
31st every 3 years.
- Pennsylvania
- 12 hrs. per year for all 3 compliance groups. 1 hr. ethics, professionalism,
or substance abuse and a minimum of 11 hrs. of substantive law, practice and
procedure, CLE crs. for ethics, professionalism, or substance abuse may be
applied to any substantive law, practice and procedure requirement, but no more
than twice the current annual CLE requirement may be continued into
the two succeeding years. Reporting date: 30 days after program.
- Puerto Rico
- 24 credit hours of continuing legal education per compliance period.
- Rhode Island
- 10 hrs. per year including 2 hrs. ethics. Reporting date: July 1-June 30
annually.
- South Carolina
- 14 hrs. per year including 2 hrs. ethics/professional responsibility each
reporting period. Reporting date: March 1.
- Tennessee
- 15 hrs. per year. Including 3 hrs. ethics/professionalism. Reporting date:
March 1.
- Texas
- 15 hrs. per year including 3 hrs. legal ethics. 1 hr. of the 3 hrs. of legal
ethics may be completed through self-study. 5 hrs. of the total 15 hrs. may
be completed through self-study. Reporting date: last day of birth month each
year.
- Utah
- 27 hrs. every 2-years including 3 hrs. ethics each reporting period . Reporting
date: end of second year compliance period.
- Vermont
- 20 hrs. over 2-yrs. including 2 hrs. ethics each reporting period. Reporting
date: July 15.
- Virginia
- 12 hrs. per year including 2 hrs. ethics each reporting period. CLE compliance
deadline October 31, reporting date: December 15.
- Washington
- 45 hrs. over 3 yrs. including 6 hrs. ethics, professional responsibility,
professionalism,anti-bias and diversity. At least 30 credits must be earned
by attendance at live CLE programs, and up to 15 may be earned by self-study.
Reporting date: January 31.
- West Virginia
- 24 hrs. over 2-yrs. including 3 hrs. ethics or office management or substance
abuse per cycle. Reporting date: June 30 every 2 yrs.
- Wisconsin
- 30 hrs. over 2-yrs. including 3 hrs. ethics and professional responsibility.
Reporting date: December 31st every other year.
- Wyoming
- 15 hrs. per year including 1 hr. ethics. Reporting date: January 30.
Continuing Legal Education Courses