New York CLE Requirements

In New York, experienced active status attorneys must complete 24.00 CLE credits every 2 years to maintain good standing with the New York State Bar.

An experienced attorney for purposes of NY CLE requirements is an attorney who has been admitted to the New York State Bar for more than 2 years.

You certify compliance with New York MCLE requirements when you file your attorney registration form, which will be mailed to you. You must file your attorney registration form and complete your CLE requirement within 30 days after your birthday on alternate years.

The NY CLE compliance period is 2 years. You must complete your required CLE credits within 30 days after your birthday on alternate years.

New York attorneys must manage their CLE credits and certify compliance by filling out the CLE section of their attorney registration form. The Board will provide the form annually for reporting attendance. You will report credits earned over the past two years and register for the next two years.

Experienced attorneys can fulfill their New York CLE requirement by completing courses approved and accredited by the NYS CLE Board. Examples of accepted course formats include:

• Online Courses
• Live Broadcasts
• Traditional Live Classroom Settings
• Video Recordings
• Teleconferences
• Videoconferences
• Webconferences

Experienced New York attorneys may carry over 6.00 CLE credits to the next compliance period. Experienced attorneys may carry over ethics/professionalism and diversity, inclusion, and elimination of bias credits.

Newly admitted attorneys who have completed all of their first-year CLE requirements may be eligible to apply up to 8.00 CLE credits to their second-year CLE requirements. Ethics/professionalism credits may not be carried over during your 2-year transitional CLE compliance period. New attorneys do not have an elimination of bias requirement (although they are encouraged to take courses on this topic).

There's no limit. Experienced attorneys in New York may satisfy all 24.00 of their NY CLE requirements with non-traditional courses if they choose.

Newly admitted attorneys must earn some of their required transitional credits through certain formats:

• Skills credits (6.00 for each of their first 2 years of practice) must be earned through a traditional live classroom course or by attending a fully interactive videoconference that has been approved by the CLE Board for use by newly admitted attorneys.*

*Due to concerns regarding the COVID-19 pandemic, the New York CLE Board has issued an order temporarily allowing Newly Admitted Attorneys to complete their Skills requirement via live webcast, teleconference, and videoconference. (Effective March 11, 2020, to June 30, 2025.)

• Ethics/Professionalism credits must be earned in the traditional live classroom setting, by attendance at a fully interactive videoconference that has been approved by the CLE Board for use by newly admitted attorneys, or by participation in the simultaneous transmission of a live program (such as a webinar or teleconference) where audience questions are allowed during the program (synchronous interactivity). If there is no opportunity for questions during the program, then you may not earn Ethics/Professionalism credits for the program.

Experienced New York attorneys must complete 4.00 ethics/professionalism credits and also complete 1.00 credit in diversity, inclusion, or elimination of bias during every 2-year compliance period.

Beginning July 1, 2023, attorneys must complete 1.00 CLE credit hour in cybersecurity, privacy and data protection.

Yes. In-program attendance verification is required for downloadable courses.

Experienced attorneys my earn credit for:

• speaking or teaching at an accredited CLE program
• moderating or participating in a panel presentation at an accredited CLE program
• teaching law courses at an ABA-accredited law school
• preparing students for judging law competitions, mock trials, and moot court arguments, including those at the high school or college level
• publishing legal research-based writing
• providing pro bono legal services

• State Contact Information
  • Address: NYS CLE Board, 25 Beaver Street, 11th Floor, New York, NY 10004
  • Phone Number: (212) 428-2105
  • Email Address: CLE@nycourts.gov
  • Website: http://www.nycourts.gov/attorneys/cle/index.shtml

• New York's Accredited Provider List of approved CLE providers

A newly admitted attorney for purposes of NY CLE requirements is an attorney who has been admitted to the New York State Bar for 2 years or less.

In each of the first 2 years after admission to the New York State Bar, newly admitted attorneys must complete at least 16.00 CLE credits in the following categories:

• 3.00 Ethics/Professionalism (Starting July 1, 2023, 1.00 of the ethics/professionalism credit hours must be cybersecurity, privacy and data protection ethics.)
• 6.00 Skills
• 7.00 Law Practice Management and/or Areas of Professional Practice
• Complete this Bridge the Gap bundle to satisfy your 16 hours of transitional credit for newly admitted attorneys in New York.

The first set of 16.00 transitional CLE credit hours must be completed by the first anniversary of your admission to the New York State Bar. The second set of 16.00 transitional CLE credit hours must be completed between your first and second anniversary of admission to the New York State Bar.

• Note that new attorneys must earn skills credits through a traditional live classroom course or by attending a fully interactive videoconference that has been approved by the CLE Board for use by newly admitted attorneys.*

*Due to concerns regarding the COVID-19 pandemic, the New York CLE Board has issued an order temporarily allowing Newly Admitted Attorneys to complete their Skills requirement via live webcast, teleconference, and videoconference. (Effective March 11, 2020, to June 30, 2025.)

• New attorneys may complete required ethics/professionalism credit in the traditional live classroom setting, by attendance at a fully interactive videoconference that has been approved by the CLE Board for use by newly admitted attorneys, or by participation in the live simultaneous transmission of a live program (such as a webinar or teleconference) where audience questions are allowed during the program (synchronous interactivity). If there is no opportunity for questions during the program, then you may not earn Ethics/Professionalism credit for the program.
• New attorneys may complete law practice management and areas of professional practice credit in any approved format, including non-participatory formats such as on-demand video or live broadcast.

For each of their first two years of admission, newly admitted attorneys in New York can fulfill their CLE requirement by completing courses in select categories that are approved and accredited by the NYS CLE Board. Examples of accepted course categories include:

• 3.00 Ethics/Professionalism (Starting July 1, 2023, 1.00 of the ethics/professionalism credit hours must be cybersecurity, privacy and data protection ethics.)
• 6.00 Skills
• 7.00 Law Practice Management and/or Areas of Professional Practice
• Complete this Bridge the Gap bundle to satisfy your 16 hours of transitional credit for newly admitted attorneys in New York.

Yes. If you have completed the 16.00 credits required in your first year of practice, you may carry over up to 8.00 credits to the next year.

If you complete more than the required 16.00 credits in your second year of practice, you can carry over up to 6.00 credits to the following biennial compliance period (your first regular CLE compliance period).

Ethics/professionalism credits may not be carried over during your 2-year transitional CLE compliance period.

Your first reporting period is a transitional reporting period and ends on the second anniversary of your admission to the New York State Bar.

Note that your reporting period for your transitional 2-year reporting period is different from the reporting period that you will follow once you are considered an experienced attorney. Once you’ve been admitted to the Bar for 2 or more years, your reporting period will be within 30 days of your birthday, every 2 years.

Yes. Newly admitted attorneys must complete at least 16.00 transitional CLE credit hours in the following categories in each of the first two years of admission to the New York State Bar as follows:

• 3.00 Ethics/Professionalism (Starting July 1, 2023, 1.00 of the ethics/professionalism credit hours must be cybersecurity, privacy and data protection ethics.)
• 6.00 Skills
• 7.00 Law Practice Management and/or Areas of Professional Practice
• Complete this Bridge the Gap bundle to satisfy your 16 hours of transitional credit for newly admitted attorneys in New York.

The first set of 16.00 transitional CLE credit hours must be completed by the first anniversary of your admission to the New York State Bar. The second set of 16.00 transitional CLE credit hours must be completed between your first and second anniversary of admission to the New York State Bar.

• New attorneys must earn skills credits through a traditional live classroom course or by attending a fully interactive videoconference that has been approved by the CLE Board for use by newly admitted attorneys.*

*Due to concerns regarding the COVID-19 pandemic, the New York CLE Board has issued an order temporarily allowing Newly Admitted Attorneys to complete their Skills requirement via live webcast, teleconference, and videoconference. (Effective March 11, 2020, to June 30, 2025.)

• New attorneys may complete required ethics/professionalism credit in the traditional live classroom setting, by attendance at a fully interactive videoconference that has been approved by the CLE Board for use by newly admitted attorneys, or by participation in the live simultaneous transmission of a live program (such as a webinar or teleconference) where audience questions are allowed during the program (synchronous interactivity). If there is no opportunity for questions during the program, then you may not earn Ethics/Professionalism credit for the program.
• New attorneys may complete law practice management and areas of professional practice credit in any approved format, including non-participatory formats such as on-demand video or live broadcast.

Attorneys admitted to the New York State Bar two years or less are considered newly admitted attorneys.

Attorney registration forms must be filed within 30 days after the attorney’s birthday in the second calendar year following their admission to the New York Bar.

The attorney will certify the number of CLE credits they have completed when they file their registration form. They will be considered in compliance even if they have not completed the full second-year requirement, so long as they have completed the first-year requirement. Attorneys remain responsible for completing their second-year credit hours by their second anniversary of admission to the Bar.