South Carolina CLE Requirements

In South Carolina, active status attorneys must complete 14.00 CLE credits every year to maintain good standing with the South Carolina Bar.

In addition, South Carolina attorneys must complete 2.00 legal ethics/professional responsibility credits every year and 1.00 CLE credit in Substance Abuse/Mental Health every two years.

Substance Abuse/Mental Health credit does not count toward ethical considerations credit, but it does count as general CLE credit.

South Carolina attorneys must report all 14.00 CLE credits by March 1.

The South Carolina compliance period is 1 year and runs from March 1 through the last day of February the following year.

NBI reports your credit to the South Carolina Commission on CLE and Specialization.

You can check your CLE credits online at the South Carolina Bar website.

Experienced attorneys can fulfill their South Carolina CLE requirement by completing courses approved and accredited by the South Carolina Commission on Continuing Legal Education and Specialization. Examples of accepted course formats include:

Live CLE (Minimum 6.00 Hours)

• In Person

Alternatively Delivered (Maximum 8.00 Hours)

• Live webcasts
• OnDemand
• Teleconference

South Carolina attorneys may carry over 14.00 CLE credits to the next compliance year, of which a maximum of 2.00 CLE credits can be legal ethics and professional responsibility credits. Substance Abuse/Mental Health credits and credit for alternatively delivered programs cannot be carried over.

Attorneys can earn up to 8.00 hours of their South Carolina CLE requirements with alternatively delivered courses.

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

• State Contact Information:
  • Physical Address: South Carolina Bar, 950 Taylor St., Columbia, SC 29201
  • Mailing Address: South Carolina Bar, P.O. Box 608, Columbia, SC 29202
  • Phone Number: 800-799-6653
  • Website: https://www.scbar.org/

• South Carolina CLE FAQs
  • South Carolina Live Webcast FAQ
  • South Carolina Ondemand CLE FAQ
  • South Carolina Live Seminar CLE FAQ

Newly admitted attorneys in South Carolina are exempt from CLE requirements for the reporting year in which they are admitted to the bar. New attorneys must complete an Essential Series course during their first compliance period, which begins on March 1 after admission.

Newly admitted attorneys in South Carolina are exempt from CLE requirements for the reporting year in which they are admitted to the bar. They must complete the Essential Series course offered by the South Carolina Bar. Credits earned from NBI courses during this exemption period may not be carried over into the first reporting period.

No. Except for the South Carolina Bar's Essential Series credits, CLE hours earned during the reporting year in which they were admitted cannot be carried forward to their first reporting year.

Your first reporting period begins on March 1 after you were admitted to practice law in South Carolina and ends on the last day of February the following year.

Yes. Before the end of their first required reporting year, newly admitted members must complete an Essentials Series course administered by the South Carolina Bar.

Hours earned by attendance at an Essentials Series course will be applied to the attorney's first required reporting year. Members who live and practice outside of South Carolina may take an Essentials Series course online. Otherwise, attorneys must complete the in-person course in Columbia.

Yes. The following newly admitted members are exempt from completing an Essentials Series course:

• Members called to active military duty and who elect to become Military Members under 410(h)(1)(E), SCACR.
• Inactive members who remain inactive through the end of the first required reporting year.
• Members who have been admitted to practice law in another jurisdiction for at least two (2) years prior to admission in South Carolina.
• Members who took the South Carolina Bar's Bridge the Gap Program prior to March 2013.