State Requirements - Summary of Mandatory Continuing Legal Education
Mandatory continuing legal education (MCLE) requirements vary by state. Find out more about your individual CLE requirements below, or click on the state links for further information.
Required: 12 hours per calendar year, including 1 ethics hour
Up to 12 general credits and 1 ethics credit may roll over to next reporting period.
Reporting Date: December 31
Alaska
No CLEs required.
Required: 15 hours per calendar year, including 3 hours of ethics/professional responsibility, professionalism, substance abuse, or alternative dispute resolution.
Up to 15 credits may roll over to next reporting period.
Reporting Date: September 15
Required: 12 hours per calendar year, including 1 hour of legal ethics.
No excess credits may roll over to next reporting period.
Reporting Date: June 30
Required: 25 hours over a 3-year period, including 4 hours of legal ethics; 1 hour of substance abuse and 1 hour of elimination of bias in the profession.
No excess credits may roll over to next reporting period.
Reporting Date: Varies by name
Colorado
Required: 45 hours over a 3-year period, including 7 hours of legal ethics/professionalism.
Reporting Date: Jan. 31
Connecticut
No CLEs required.
Required: 24 hours over a 2-year period, including 4 hours of enhanced ethics. Newly admitted attorneys (within 4 years of admission) are required to take a Fundamentals of Law 3-day series.
Up to 20 credits may roll over to next reporting period.
Reporting Date: December 31
Required: 30 hours over a 3-year period, including 5 hours of legal ethics, professionalism, substance abuse, or mental illness awareness. Newly admitted attorneys are required to take a basic skills course.
No excess credits may roll over to next reporting period.
Reporting Date: assigned month every 3 years.
Required: 12 hours per year including 1 hour of legal ethics and 1 hour of professionalism; 3 hours of Alternative Dispute Resolution (one time only). Newly admitted attorneys are required to take basic skills training within first 2 years.
Up to 12 credits may roll over to next reporting period.
Reporting Date: January 31
Hawaii
No CLEs required.
Required: 30 hours over a 3-year period including 2 hours of legal ethics. Newly admitted attorneys are required to take a basic skills course.
Reporting Date: every third year, depending on year of admission
Required: 20 hours of CLE activity during the first 2-year reporting period (ending July 1, 2008) including 4 professionalism hours, 24 hours during the second 2-year reporting period (ending in mid-2010 or mid-2011), and 30 hours of CLE activity during all subsequent 2-year reporting periods, including 4 hours of professionalism, issues involving diversity, mental illness and addiction issues, civility or legal ethics.
Reporting date: June 30th compliance date and July 31 reporting date
Required: 6 hours per year, and at least 36 hours per each 3-year period, including 3 hours of legal ethics. Newly admitted attorneys are required to take an approved six-hour "Applied Professionalism" course in lieu of the ethics requirement in their first three-year cycle.
No excess credits may roll over to next reporting period.
Reporting Date: December 31
Required: 15 hours per calendar year including 2 hours of legal ethics every 2 years.
Any excess credits may roll over to the next 2 reporting periods.
Reporting Date: March 1
Required: 12 hours per year including 2 hours of legal ethics.
Up to 10 credits may roll over to next reporting period.
Reporting Date: June 30
Required: 12.5 hours per year including 2 hours of legal ethics. Newly admitted attorneys are required to take new lawyer skills training within first year of admission.
Up to 25 credits may roll over to next 2 reporting periods.
Reporting Date: August 10
Required: 12.5 hours per year including 1 hour of ethics and 1 hour of professionalism. Newly admitted are required to take 12.5 hours including 8 hours of ethics, professionalism, or law practice management.
Any excess credits may roll over to the next reporting period.
Reporting Date: January 31
Required: 11 hours per year including 1 hour of ethics/professional responsibility.
Up to 11 credits may roll over to next reporting period.
Reporting Date: Annually in connection with filing of registration statement required by Maine Bar Rule 6(a)
Maryland
No CLEs required.
Massachusetts
No CLEs required.
Michigan
No CLEs required.
Required: 40 hours over a 3-year period, including 3 hours of legal ethics and 2 hours of elimination of bias (maximum of 6 hours of law office management).
No excess credits may roll over to next reporting period.
Reporting Date: August 30
Required: 12 hours per year including 1 hour of legal ethics, professional responsibility, or malpractice prevention.
Up to 12 credits may roll over to next reporting period.
Reporting Date: August 15
Required: 15 hours per year including 3 hours of ethics every 3 years. Newly admitted attorneys are required to take 3 hours of legal ethics within first year of admission.
Up to 15 credits may roll over to next reporting period.
Reporting Date: July 31
Required: 15 hours per year, including 5 ethics over 3 years
Up to 30 live credits may roll over to next reporting period.
Reporting Date: April 1
Required: All active attorneys are to complete 10 hours of continuing legal education, including 2 hours of ethics or professional responsibility, per calendar year beginning in January 1, 2010.
Required: 12 hours per year including 2 hours of legal ethics.
Up to 15 general credits and 4 ethics credits may roll over to next reporting period.
Reporting Date: March 1
Required: 12 hours per year including 2 hours of legal ethics/professionalism.
Any excess credits may roll over to the next reporting period.
Reporting Date: October 1
What is the new requirement for mandatory CLE?
Every active New Jersey attorney is required to complete 24 credit hours of continuing legal education every two years. Of those 24 credits, at least four must be in ethics and/or professionalism. BCLE Reg. 201:1
What is a credit hour?
A credit hour is 50 minutes of instruction time in Board-accredited continuing legal education courses. BCLE Reg. 103:1(j)
Required: 15 hours per year including 1 hour of ethics and 1 hour of professionalism.
Up to 12 credits may roll over to next reporting period.
Reporting Date: December 31
Required for newly admitted attorneys (less than 2 years since admittance): 16 hours per year including 3 hours of ethics/professionalism, 6 hours of practical skills, 7 hours of law practice management and/or areas of professional practice.
Required for experienced attorneys (more than 2 years since admittance): 24 hours over a 2-year period including 4 hours of Ethics and Professionalism.
Up to 6 credits may roll over to next reporting period.
Reporting Date: 30 days after your birthday
Required: 12 hours per year including 2 hours of ethics/professional responsibility.
Up to 12 credits may roll over to next reporting period.
Reporting Date: February 28
Required: 45 hours over a 3-year period including 3 hours of ethics.No excess credits may roll over to next reporting period.
Reporting Date: July 1 – June 30
Required: 24 hours over a 2-year period including 2.5 hours of professional conduct [30 minutes on substance abuse, including causes, prevention, detection, and treatment alternatives; 60 minutes on the Code of Professional Responsibility; 60 minutes on professionalism (including A Lawyer’s Creed and A Lawyer’s Aspirational Ideals adopted by the Supreme Court)]. Up to 12 credits may roll over to next reporting period.
Reporting Date: January 31
Required: 12 hours per year including 1 hour of ethics. Up to 12 credits may roll over to next reporting period.
Reporting Date: December 31
Required: 45 hours over a 3-year period, including 9 hours of professional responsibility: 5 hours of legal ethics credits, 1 hour of lawyers’ child abuse reporting obligations, and 3 hours of elimination of bias. Up to 6 ethics credits and 3 elimination of bias credits may roll over to the next reporting period.
Reporting Date: December 31
Required: 12 hours per year including 1 hour of ethics. Newly admitted attorneys are required to attend a Bridge the Gap session prior to the first reporting date. Up to 24 credits may roll over to the next reporting periods.
Reporting Date: Varies by group
Rhode Island
Required: 10 hours per year including 2 hours of ethics/professionalism.
Reporting Date: June 30
Required: 14 hours per year including 2 hours of legal ethics/professional responsibility.
Up to 14 credits may roll over to the next 2 reporting periods.
Reporting Date: March 1
South Dakota
No CLEs required.
Required: 15 hours per year including 3 hours of ethics/professionalism.
Up to 15 credits may roll over to the next reporting period.
Reporting Date: December 31
Required: 15 hours per year including 3 hours of legal ethics/professional responsibility.
Any excess credits may roll over to the next reporting period.
Reporting Date: Attorney's birth month
Required: 24 hours over a 2-year period including 3 hours of legal ethics/professionalism. Newly admitted attorneys are required to take a New Lawyer Ethics Program in the first 2 years.
Reporting Date: January 31
Vermont
Required: 20 hours over a 2-year period including 2 hours of ethics.
Reporting Date: July 1
Required: 12 hours per year including 2 hours of ethics.Up to 12 credits may roll over to the next reporting period.
Reporting Date: October 31
Washington
Required: 45 hours over a 3-year period including 6 hours of ethics.
Reporting Date: December 31
No CLEs required.
Required: 24 hours over a 2-year period including 3 hours of ethics.Up to 6 credits may roll over to the next reporting period.
Reporting Date: July 31
Required: 30 hours over a 2-year period including 3 hours of ethics/professionalism. Up to 15 credits may roll over to the next reporting period.
Reporting Date: December 31
Required: 15 hours per year including 1 hour of ethics.
Any excess credits may roll over to the next two reporting periods.
Reporting Date: January 31
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