Every practicing attorney in the state answers the same question on a two-year rhythm: where am I actually going to earn my credits this cycle? The New York CLE requirements are well defined, but the list of accredited sponsors is long and the delivery formats range from a traditional live classroom setting to on-demand video you can watch at midnight. This guide covers where to find CLE in New York, the major providers most attorneys turn to - and answers the practical questions that come up along the way, from how many hours you need to whether you can carry credits forward.

New York CLE requirements, in brief

Mandatory continuing legal education in New York is overseen by the New York State Continuing Legal Education Board, and the official rules live on nycourts.gov. Like every CLE state, New York sets its own credit totals, categories, and formats, so hours and rules from elsewhere don't automatically carry over. A New York credit hour equals 50 minutes of instruction.

Your requirement depends on how long you've been admitted to the New York Bar.

How many CLE hours do you need in New York?

Experienced attorneys — anyone admitted to the New York Bar for more than two years — must earn at least 24 credit hours each biennial reporting cycle, broken down as:

• 4 credit hours of Ethics and Professionalism (the "ethics and professionalism credits" most attorneys ask about first)

• 1 credit of Diversity, Inclusion and Elimination of Bias

• 1 credit of Cybersecurity, Privacy and Data Protection

• the remaining ~18 hours in any category of credit

The Cybersecurity, Privacy and Data Protection credit can be earned as Cybersecurity General or Cybersecurity Ethics. If you take Cybersecurity Ethics, up to 3 such credits can count toward your 4-hour Ethics and Professionalism requirement — a useful bit of overlap when you're planning a cycle. The Diversity, Inclusion and Elimination of Bias category covers exactly what it sounds like: diversity and inclusion in the profession, along with implicit bias and how it shows up in legal practice.

Your reporting cycle is tied to your birthday, and you certify compliance on your biennial attorney registration form.

Newly admitted attorneys

Newly admitted attorneys — those admitted two years or less — have a heavier, transitional requirement: 32 credit hours total, 16 per year. Each of those two years breaks down as:

• 3 Ethics and Professionalism credits

• 6 Skills credits (the "skills credit" requirement)

• 7 credits in Law Practice Management and/or Areas of Professional Practice

Attorneys admitted on or after July 1, 2023 also need 1 Cybersecurity credit within the newly admitted cycle. Note two things newly admitted attorneys should watch: they can't earn Diversity, Inclusion and Elimination of Bias credit yet, and — effective January 1, 2026 — their Skills credit and Ethics credit must be earned in a traditional live classroom setting or by fully interactive videoconference with group participation, not through standard on-demand programs.

This is where Bridge the Gap programs come in. Many providers package a full year's worth of newly admitted credit into a single Bridge the Gap event, mixing live Skills and Ethics sessions with the Law Practice Management and Areas of Professional Practice hours you can take in other formats.

Formats: how you'll actually watch

New York recognizes a wide mix of delivery formats, and knowing the vocabulary helps when you're browsing New York CLE courses:

• Traditional live classroom setting — in-person attendance

• Fully interactive videoconference — real-time, two-way participation (the format newly admitted attorneys need for Skills and Ethics)

• Webinar, webconference, and teleconference — live remote formats, often listed together as live/webinar programs

• On-demand — prerecorded video or audio you complete on your own schedule

For experienced attorneys, all 24 credits can be earned online, including through on-demand CLE courses. That flexibility is the single biggest reason the provider you choose matters — some lean heavily on live programming, others have deep on-demand libraries.

Where to find CLE in New York: the major providers

With the rules in hand, here are five well-established, New York State CLE Board–accredited providers worth knowing.

New York State Bar Association (NYSBA)

NYSBA is both a voluntary membership association and one of the largest CLE providers in the state. Its catalog spans live programs, live/webinar sessions, and a large on-demand library across essentially every practice area — from trusts and estates to employment law to emerging technology. A standout perk: NYSBA members receive a bank of complimentary on-demand credits each year, which can cover a meaningful chunk of a cycle at no extra cost. If you want one provider that can plausibly satisfy an entire experienced-attorney requirement, NYSBA is usually the first stop.

New York City Bar Association (NYC Bar)

The City Bar runs a robust CLE program built around its many committees, which means programming that's often timely and practice-specific. Most City Bar programs are offered as live webcasts and then posted as on-demand programs shortly after, so you can attend live or catch up later. The City Bar typically offers several New York Bridge the Gap programs a year — each designed to fulfill a full year of newly admitted credit while still delivering useful credit for experienced attorneys.

New York County Lawyers Association (NYCLA)

NYCLA is a long-standing accredited provider offering Live/Webinar programs, on-demand programs, and on-demand bundles. Its course listings clearly flag credit type and totals — Skills, Ethics, Diversity/Inclusion/Elimination of Bias, Cybersecurity Ethics, and so on — which makes it easy to target the specific categories you still need. NYCLA also offers tuition assistance by application, a helpful option for solo and small-firm attorneys.

New York State Academy of Trial Lawyers

For litigators, the Academy is a natural fit. Its programming is geared toward trial practice and the skills that matter in the courtroom, taught by experienced practitioners and jurists. Membership generally includes access to the Academy's CLE programs, so it can be an economical choice if litigation-focused content lines up with the credits you need — including Skills credit that trial attorneys will find directly applicable to their work.

New York Law School

Law schools are also accredited CLE sources, and New York Law School — based in Tribeca — hosts continuing legal education through its centers, institutes, and public events. Programming tends to be topical and often ties into the school's areas of focus, so it's a good place to find substantive Areas of Professional Practice sessions and thoughtful treatments of ethics and emerging issues. Availability varies by semester, so check the school's events calendar for current offerings.

A note on choosing: these five aren't the only accredited sponsors — dozens of bar associations, law schools, and commercial providers are certified by the New York State Continuing Legal Education Board. The accredited-provider directory on nycourts.gov is the authoritative place to confirm any sponsor before you register.

Common questions about New York CLE

Can you carry over New York CLE credits?

Yes, within limits. Experienced attorneys may generally carry over up to 6 excess credit hours to the next biennial reporting cycle. The important caveat: the mandatory-category credits — Ethics and Professionalism, Diversity, Inclusion and Elimination of Bias, and Cybersecurity Ethics — typically cannot be carried forward. Because the carry-over rules have specific exceptions, confirm the current details on nycourts.gov before you rely on rolling credits into your next cycle.

Are New York CLE requirements prorated?

They can be. If you're not practicing law in New York for part of your cycle, a prorated requirement may apply. For newly admitted attorneys, the proration is spelled out precisely: an attorney who becomes subject to the requirement mid-cycle must complete 1.5 transitional credit hours for each month during any part of which they practice law in New York during their first two years, completed by the second anniversary of admission. Experienced attorneys who practice only part of a cycle may likewise have a reduced requirement. As always, the specifics depend on your dates and activity, and nycourts.gov has the governing rules.

New York CLE requirements for experienced attorneys

To restate the core of it: 24 credit hours every two years, including 4 Ethics and Professionalism, 1 Diversity, Inclusion and Elimination of Bias, and 1 Cybersecurity, Privacy and Data Protection, with the balance in any category. Experienced attorneys enjoy full format flexibility — every one of those credits can be earned through webinar, webconference, teleconference, or on-demand CLE courses if that suits your schedule.

New York CLE requirements for out-of-state attorneys

If you're admitted in New York but practicing elsewhere, two rules matter most:

• Exemption while not practicing in New York. Under the New York State CLE Program Rules, you may be exempt from the New York requirement for any cycle during which you don't practice law in New York — though you must still satisfy the CLE obligations of the jurisdiction where you do practice to remain in good standing here. You certify your status on your registration form.

• Approved Jurisdiction credit (reciprocity). CLE you complete that's accredited by a New York Approved Jurisdiction can often be applied toward your New York requirement. Keep your certificates and documentation, since New York is a self-reporting system.

One more point that catches people: if you practiced law in another U.S. or foreign jurisdiction for at least five of the seven years immediately before your New York admission, you are not treated as newly admitted. You follow the experienced-attorney rules from the start, skipping the 32-hour transitional requirement.

The bottom line

Knowing where to find CLE in New York comes down to matching a provider's strengths to the credits you actually need. NYSBA and the NYC Bar offer broad, all-formats catalogs that can carry an entire cycle; NYCLA makes it easy to target specific credit types; the New York State Academy of Trial Lawyers is built for litigators; and New York Law School rounds things out with academically grounded programming. Whichever you choose, confirm the sponsor's accreditation and the current rules on nycourts.gov, and plan your ethics, diversity and inclusion, and cybersecurity credits early — those mandatory categories are the ones attorneys most often leave until the last week of a cycle.

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