General California Continuing Legal Education Requirements
Active status California attorneys must complete 25.00 CLE credits every 3 years to maintain good standing with the State Bar of California.
As part of their 25.00 credits required every 3 years, CA attorneys must complete CLE in the following topics:
- 4.00 credits in legal ethics.
- 2.00 credit in competence issues (one hour must focus on prevention and detection).
- 2.00 credits in elimination of bias (at least 1.00 of which must be in implicit bias and the promotion of bias-reducing strategies).
- 1.00 credits in technology.
- 1.00 credits in civility.
Specialty credit may be taken in participatory or self-study format.
Credit Hour: 60 minutes (rounded to the nearest 1/4 hour).
Courses that address mental health, substance abuse, stress management, and detection of impairment in the legal profession qualify for Competence Issues credit.
Courses must address strategies to reduce bias and may include sessions on diversity, equity, inclusion, and understanding implicit bias.
Yes. Courses focused on attorney mental health and wellness - including stress management and substance abuse prevention - can count toward the competence category of MCLE, if offered by an approved MCLE provider.
Attorneys in California must complete all 25.00 required credits by March 29th of their assigned reporting year. CLE sponsors will report your attendance to the California State Bar.
You are permanently assigned to a compliance group based on the first letter of your last name as it is listed on your admit card. All compliance periods end on March 29th, but reporting years vary depending on your assigned compliance group.
- Compliance Group 1 (Last Names A-G): 2028
- Compliance Group 2 (Last Names H-M): 2027
- Compliance Group 3 (Last Names N-Z): 2026
Attorneys assigned to a compliance group will always remain in that same group, even if they change their last name.
- Attorneys admitted on or before Feb. 1, 1992, were assigned to a compliance group based on the first letter of their last name, as listed on their official State Bar records, effective Feb. 1, 1992, (the beginning of the MCLE program.)
- Attorneys admitted after Feb. 1, 1992 are assigned to a compliance group based on the first letter of the last name listed on their admit cards. Admit cards are filled out when they are sworn in.
NBI reports your credit to the State Bar of California.
California attorneys must report MCLE compliance to the State Bar of California at the end of their three-year compliance period.
Failure to report compliance - even if you’ve completed the hours - can result in ineligibility to practice. Late filings may incur penalties and lead to aggressive administrative action.
You can view and report your CLE credits through your My State Bar Profile. NBI reports your attendance for NBI-accredited courses, but you must still certify your compliance by the reporting deadline.
Your MCLE (Minimum Continuing Legal Education) requirement may be prorated based on your date of admission. However, all attorneys must still complete the New Attorney Training Program in the first year.
You must retain certificates of completion for at least one year after your compliance period ends, in case of audit.
Experienced attorneys can fulfill their California CLE requirement by completing courses approved and accredited by the State Bar of California CLE Commission. Examples of accepted course formats include:
Live Participatory CLE (Minimum 12.50 Hours)
Self-Study (Maximum 12.50 Hours)
Yes. Of the 25 total MCLE hours every three years, at least 12.5 must be participatory credit, meaning interactive activities such as live classes, webcasts, or approved in-person events. These must be from a CalBar-approved MCLE provider.
No. MCLE credit can only be applied to the compliance period in which it is completed. No credits may be carried over.
You can earn up to 12.50 credits of your CA MCLE requirements with self-study courses.
You must complete 12.50 credits with courses approved as a participatory activity. A participatory activity may be in-person or online and is an MCLE activity for which the provider must verify attendance.
Yes. California allows for proportional reduction of the 25-hours of MCLE requirement based on the number of months not in active status during the compliance cycle.
Yes. Certain attorneys can be exempt from MCLE programs but must still report their status for the period, including:
- State or federal government employees who don’t practice law
- Law school professors (full-time)
- State or elected officials
Exemptions must be claimed and reported; otherwise, compliance penalties apply.
No. In-program attendance verification is not required.
Yes. A law firm can sponsor MCLE programs for its attorneys if the firm becomes an approved participatory MCLE provider or applies for single-activity provider status with the CalBar.
Yes. Certain pro bono legal service activities may earn MCLE credit, but they must be tied to training, supervision, or educational programs approved by a bar association or other MCLE provider.
- State Contact Information
- Website: http://www.cabar.ca.gov/Attorneys/MCLE-CLE
- Main Office Address: 180 Howard St., San Francisco, CA 94105
- Main Office Phone Number: (415) 538-2000
- Los Angeles Office Address: 845 S. Figueroa St., Los Angeles, CA 90017-2515
- Los Angeles Phone Number: (213) 765-1000
- California CLE Resources
Are you newly admitted to the State Bar of California? Here’s what you need to know:
Newly admitted attorneys in California must complete a State Bar New Attorney Training Program during their first year of admission. New Attorney Training Program courses are accessed via your My State Bar Profile. Once you have established an individual My State Bar Profile, you will be added to the e-learning portal and will receive a confirmation email from the State Bar providing information about accessing the New Attorney Training Program courses.
You may have prorated CA MCLE requirements for your first reporting period, depending on your date of admission to the State Bar of California.
No. CLE credits may not be carried over. However, credits earned from your State Bar New Attorney Training Program count toward your CLE requirement.
You are permanently assigned to a compliance group based on the first letter of your last name as it is listed on your admit card. Your first reporting period begins on the first day of the month in which you were admitted. All compliance periods end on March 29th, but reporting years vary depending on your assigned compliance group.
- Compliance Group 1 (Last Names A-G): 2025
- Compliance Group 2 (Last Names H-M): 2027
- Compliance Group 3 (Last Names N-Z): 2026
Yes. Newly admitted attorneys in California must complete the 10-hour New Attorney Training Program provided by the State Bar of California. You may apply these hours to the MCLE requirement for the compliance period in which they were completed. The courses are available only through your California attorney online login.
You must complete the New Attorney Training Program within 1 year from the last day of the month in which you were admitted to the bar. For example, if you were admitted to the bar on December 1, 2022, you must complete the New Attorney Training Program by December 31, 2023.
An attorney in their first year following admission is considered a California Newly Admitted Attorney.