CLE Regulations
Click to view state specific information regarding CLE Regulations
Alabama
12 hours per calendar year, including 1 hour of ethics or professionalism
Alaska
3 hours of mandatory ethics per calendar year. 9 additional hours of voluntary CLE are encouraged. Attorneys must report on both mandatory and voluntary hours each year.
Reporting date: December 31
Arizona
15 hours per calendar year including 3 hours ethics / professional responsibility, professionalism, substance abuse, or ADR
Reporting date: September 15
Arkansas
http://courts.state.ar.us/opp/continue_legal
12 hours per year including 1 hour of legal ethics.
Reporting date: June 30
California
25 hours over 3 year period including 4 hours of legal ethics; 1 hour of substance abuse and 1 hour of elimination of bias in the profession.
Reporting date: January 31
Colorado
45 hours over 3 year period including 7 hours of legal ethics, professionalism.
Reporting date: Anytime within 3 year period
Delaware
24 hours over 2 year period including 4 hours Enhanced Ethics, Fundamentals of Law 3-day series for new admittees (within 4 years of admission).
Reporting date: December 31
Florida
30 hours over 3 year period including 5 hours of 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 hours per year including 1 hour of legal ethics, professionalism, basic skills within 1st 2 years, ADR 3 hours (one time only).
Reporting date: January 31
Idaho
30 hours over 3 year period including 2 hours of legal ethics, basic skills course for new admittees.
Reporting date: Every 3rd year depending on year of admission
Illinois
20 hours during initial 2 year period (ending 6/30/08 for attorneys whose last name begins with A-M / 6/30/09 for attorneys whose last name begins with N-Z). Increases to 24 hours for the subsequent reporting period. 4 of the total hours required for any two-year period must be professionalism, diversity issues, mental illness and addiction issues, civility, or legal ethics.
Reporting date: June 30
Indiana
36 hours over 3 calendar year period with 6 hour minimum per year including 3 hours of legal ethics.
Reporting date: December 31
Iowa
15 hours per calendar year including 2 hours of legal ethics every 2 years.
Reporting date: March 1
Kansas
12 hours per year including 2 hours of legal ethics.
Reporting date: 30 days after program
Kentucky
12.50 hours per year including 2 hours legal ethics, new lawyer skills training within 12 months of admission.
Reporting date: June 30
Louisiana
12.50 hours per year including 1 hour legal ethics and 1 hour professionalism. Newly admitted attorneys need 12.50 hours including 8 hours of ethics, professionalism or law practice management.
CLE Completion Deadline & Reporting Date: December 31
Maine
11 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 hours over 3 year period, 3 hours legal ethics, 2 hours elimination of bias required, maximum of 6 hours law office management.
Reporting date: August 30
Mississippi
www.mssc.state.ms.us/cle_bccr/cle_bccr.html
12 hours per year including 1 hour legal ethics, professional responsibility, or malpractice prevention each year.
Reporting date: July 31
Missouri
15 hours per year including 3 hours ethics every 3 years, new admittees 3 hours professionalism, legal/judicial ethics within 12 months.
Reporting date: July 31
Montana
15 hours per year including a minimum of 5 hours of ethics every 3 years.
Reporting date: March 1
Nevada
12 hours per year of which 2 must be legal ethics.
Reporting date: March 1
New Hampshire
12 hours per year / at least 6 from out of the office live programs, including 2 hours legal ethics/professionalism, or substance abuse.
Reporting date: August 1
New Mexico
12 hours per year including 1 hour ethics, 1 credit must be professionalism.
Reporting date: December 31
New York
www.courts.state.ny.us/attorneys/cle
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 hours "transitional" education within the first 2 years admission to the Bar. 16 hours completed each year including 3 hours ethics / professionalism, 6 hours practical skills, 7 hours practice management and areas of professional practice.
Experienced Attorneys — 24 hours over 2 year period including 4 hours of ethics / professionalism.
Reporting period: Every 2 years from the time admitted to the Bar.
North Carolina
12 hours per year including 2 hours of ethics, 9 of the 12 hours in practical skills, during first 3 years of admission, and 1 hour substance abuse or debilitating mental conditions every 3 years.
Reporting date: February 28
North Dakota
45 hours over 3 year period, 3 hours ethics every 3 years.
Reporting date: June 30
Ohio
24 hours every 2 years including 2 hours ethics based on Code of Professional Responsibility, 1 hour 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.
Reporting date: Determined by the alphabetical grouping of the attorneys last name / Every 2 years on January 31
Oregon
45 hours over 3 year period including 6 hours of ethics, 1 of those 6 hours 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 hours of which 10 must be in practical skills and 2 hours in ethics.
Reporting date: December 31 every 3 years
Pennsylvania
12 hours per year for all 3 compliance groups. 1 hour ethics, professionalism, or substance abuse and a minimum of 11 hours of substantive law, practice and procedure, CLE credits for ethics, professionalism, or substance abuse may be applied to any substantive law, practice and procedure requirement, no more than two times the current annual CLE requirement may be carried forward into the two succeeding years.
Reporting date: 30 days after program
Rhode Island
www.courts.state.ri.us/mcle/defaultmcle.html
10 hours per year including 2 hours of ethics.
Reporting date: July 1 – June 30 annually
South Carolina
14 hours per year including 2 hours ethics / professional responsibility each reporting period.
Reporting date: March 1
Tennessee
15 hours per year including 3 hours ethics / professionalism.
Reporting date: March 1
Texas
15 hours per year including 3 hours ethics. 1 hour of the 3 hours of ethics may be completed through self-study. 5 hours of the total 15 hours may be completed through self-study.
Reporting date: Last day of birth month each year
Utah
27 hours every 2 years including 3 hours ethics.
Reporting date: End of 2nd year compliance period
Vermont
20 hours over 2 years including 2 hours of ethics.
Reporting date: July 15
Virginia
12 hours per year including 2 hours ethics.
CLE Compliance Deadline: October 31
Reporting date: December 15
Washington
45 hours over 3 years including 6 hours 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 hours may be earned by self-study.
Reporting date: January 31
West Virginia
24 hours over 2 years including 3 hours ethics or office management or substance abuse per cycle.
Reporting date: June 30 every 2 years
Wisconsin
30 hours over 2 years including 3 hours ethics and professional responsibility.
Reporting date: December 31 every other year