The following 46 U.S. states and territories require lawyers to take mandatory or minimum continuing legal education (MCLE) courses in order to practice law within that particular jurisdiction.

For further information on your state MCLE requirements, contact your jurisdiction's regulatory entity.

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Alabama

12 hours per calendar year of which 1 hour must be designated as ethics or professionalism.

Alaska

Effective January 1, 2008, 3 hours of mandatory ethics CLE (MECLE) per calendar year. 9 additional hours of voluntary CLE (VCLE) are encouraged. Attorneys must report on both MECLE and VCLE 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

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 substance abuse and 1 hour elimination of bias in the profession. Reporting date: January 31.

Colorado

45 hours over 3-year period including 7 hours 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 5hours 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 legal ethics, professionalism, basic skills within 1st 2 years, ADR 3 hours one time only. Reporting date: January 31.

Guam

10 hours per year including 2 hour legal ethics or professionalism. Reporting period: January 1 - December 31. Reporting date: January 31.

Idaho

30 hours over 3-year period including 2 hours legal ethics, basic skills course for new admittees. Reporting date: every 3rd year depending on year of admission.

Illinois

20 hours of CLE activity during the initial two-year reporting period, which ends June 30, 2008 for attorneys whose last name begins with A-M and June 30, 2009 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 in the area of 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 legal ethics. Reporting date: December 31.

Iowa

15 hours per calendar year including 2 hours legal ethics every 2 years. Reporting date: March 1.

Kansas

12 hours per year including 2 hours 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 mos. of admission. Reporting date: June 30.

Louisiana

12.50 hours per year including 1 hour ethics and 1 hour professionalism. Newly admitted attorneys need 12.50 hours including 8 hours ethics, professionalism or law practice management. CLE Completion deadline: December 31. Reporting date January 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 6hours law office management. Reporting date: August 30.

Mississippi

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 mos. 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 in 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 one (1) hour 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 hours "transitional" education within the first two 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. ("Transitional" courses help the newly admitted attorney develop a foundation in practical skills, techniques and procedures essential to the practice of law.)

Experienced Attorneys:
24 hours over two year period including 4 hours ethics/professionalism

All Attorneys:
Reporting period: every two years from the time admitted to the bar.

ABA-CLE Products Produced After 8/97
The New York State Continuing Legal Education Board has preapproved for MCLE use all ABA-CLE products produced since August 1, 1997. Attorneys licensed in New York can earn MCLE credit with ABA-CLE products produced after this date.

Independent Provider Verification Required after January 1, 2003: The New York State Continuing Legal Education Board adopted a new rule requiring independent provider verification of an attorney's participation in a self-study course. This rule applies to self-study courses produced on or after January 1, 2003. Each ABA-CLE self-study program produced on or after January 1, 2003 will contain an ABA Participation Verification Code, which you must provide where requested on the New York Self-Study Confirmation Form in order to be eligible to earn MCLE credit and receive a New York Certificate of Attendance.

Self-Study Confirmation Form
To receive a New York Certificate of Attendance for your records, please print a copy of the Self-Study Confirmation Form for New York Attorneys. Fill out and return to the ABA as indicated on the form.

North Carolina

12 hours per year including 2 hours 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.

Northern Mariana Islands

20 hours over 2-year period. Reporting date: February 15 in even-numbered years for preceding 2-year calendar period..

Ohio

24 hours every two years including 2 hour of ethics based on the Code of Professional Responsibility, 1 hourof 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 hours per year including 1 hour ethics. Reporting date: February 15.

Oregon

45 hours over 3-year period including 6 hours 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 31st 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 crs. 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.

Puerto Rico

24 credit hours of continuing legal education per compliance period.

Rhode Island

10 hours per year including 2 hours 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 legal ethics. 1 hour of the 3 hours of legal ethics may be completed thourough self-study. 5 hours of the total 15 hours may be completed thourough self-study. Reporting date: last day of birth month each year.

Utah

24 hours every 2 years including a minimum of 3 hours of ethics or professional responsibility, (one of the 3 hours of ethics or professional responsibility shall be in the area of professionalism and civility).

Vermont

20 hours over 2 years including 2 hours ethics each reporting period. Reporting date: July 15.

Virginia

12 hours per year including 2 hours ethics each reporting period. CLE compliance deadline October 31, reporting date: December 15.

Virgin Islands (U.S.)

12 hours per calendar year including 2 hours ethics or professsionalism. Reporting date: January 31 (first reporting date, January 31, 2009).

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 CLEs, and up to 15 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 31st every other year.

Wyoming

15 hours per year including 1 hour ethics. Reporting date: January 30.