Are any attorneys exempt from CLE in Louisiana?

Yes — in Louisiana you can report CLE late by paying a delinquency penalty and submitting the missed credits, subject to fixed deadlines. Late reporting triggers a $150 delinquency fee (plus additional penalties if you have prior noncompliance).

Here is how Louisiana handles late CLE reporting:

• CLE credits must be earned by December 31, and attorneys must report them to their transcript by January 31.
• If you fail to report by January 31, you will be assessed a delinquency penalty of $150.
• If you have been noncompliant in prior years (within five years), an additional $50 per prior noncompliant year penalty may apply.
• You must make up any missing credit hours as soon as possible.
• If noncompliance continues, the MCLE Committee forwards your noncompliant status to the Supreme Court; after 60 days, if no compliance is shown, you may be certified as ineligible to practice law.
• An attorney certified ineligible may later seek reinstatement by submitting required CLE documentation and paying a nonwaivable reinstatement fee of $100 (in addition to delinquent fees).

Key Takeaway
Yes — Louisiana permits late reporting of CLE if you pay the delinquency fee and submit the missing credits by the cure deadlines, but persistent noncompliance may lead to ineligibility to practice until reinstated.

Yes — Louisiana allows carryover of excess CLE, up to 8 credits, but only for general credits (not ethics or professionalism).

This carryover is recognized in the MCLE Committee’s rules and Louisiana CLE FAQs.

Details & nuances

• The LSBA MCLE FAQs state: “Carry forward credits are considered IN-PERSON credits.” — which implies that carried credits must satisfy in-person format limitations.
• The LSBA Reporting Requirements page clarifies: “Additional online hours will not carry over.”
• The LSU CLE FAQ states plainly: “A maximum of eight (8) credit hours earned in a calendar year may be carried forward to the next calendar year — no farther. No carry forward of Ethics and Professionalism is allowed.”
• According to PLI’s CLE description, “a maximum of 8 general credits can be carried over; ethics and self-study credits cannot be carried over.”
• Louisiana’s annual CLE requirement is 12.5 hours (including 1 in ethics and 1 in professionalism).

Key Takeaway

Louisiana law allows up to 8 general CLE credits to carry into the next year — but not ethics, professionalism, or credits earned online beyond allowed limits.

No — Louisiana does not permit a general extension of time for CLE reporting beyond the stated deadline; noncompliance is handled via delinquency penalties and cure procedures rather than extension.

The Louisiana MCLE FAQ explicitly states “there are no extensions” for CLE reporting compliance.

Details & Explanation

• Louisiana attorneys must complete required CLE by December 31, and report those credits (or exemptions) by January 31 of the following year.
• The MCLE FAQ states that any member who fails to timely comply with earning hours or reporting compliance by the deadlines “shall be assessed a delinquency penalty of $150.”
• The FAQ further says, in direct response to whether extension is possible: “If I find that I am unable to complete my requirements prior to my deadline, may I be granted an extension of time? There are no extensions.”
• Members who remain noncompliant after deadline and notices may incur additional penalties, be reported to the Supreme Court, and become ineligible to practice until reinstated.

Key Takeaway

You cannot request an extension for CLE reporting in Louisiana — the deadlines are fixed, and late compliance must be remedied via penalties and the cure process, not extensions.

In Louisiana, CLE credit counts when the activity is approved under Rule XXX of the Louisiana Supreme Court, and may include live seminars, computer-based courses, teaching, authorship, law school courses, and service (e.g. bar examiner or committee work).

These options and their credit values are defined in Rule XXX and MCLE Committee regulations.

Approved activities that count

• Attendance at approved live or in-person CLE programs.
• Computer-based (technological) formats preapproved for MCLE credit under Rule XXX, up to four hours per year.
• Teaching or presenting at approved CLE programs (with written materials); different credit rates apply (six hours credit per instructional hour, or three hours if minimal materials).
• Teaching law school courses (ABA-accredited) qualifies; class hours convert by six CLE credit hours per academic credit.
• Authorship of legal publications or books on matters of law, if meeting standards under Rule 3.9; credit may be earned by publishing in law reviews or recognized publishers.
• Service as bar examiner, assistant bar examiner, or committee service (e.g. Louisiana Law Institute) up to specified caps (e.g. credit for certain service hours) under Rules 3.10 / 3.12.

Limits, carryovers & special rules

• Total required CLE per year is 12.5 hours, including at least 1 hour of ethics and 1 hour of professionalism.
• Newly admitted attorneys must complete 12.5 hours (including at least 8 hours in ethics, professionalism, or law office management) across the admission year and the following calendar year.
• Computer-based credit is capped at 4 hours per year.
• A minimum number of hours must be taken live: 8.5 hours live in-person programs required annually.
• Carryover: up to 8 credit hours (general) may carry forward to the next year; ethics and professionalism credit do not carry over.

Key Takeaway: Louisiana attorneys must earn 12.5 approved CLE hours per year. Credit may be earned via live programs, approved computer formats, teaching, authorship, law-school instruction, or service roles, within caps (e.g. 4 online hours, service credit caps, 8.5 live minimum), and carryover is limited to general credit only.

Yes – Louisiana requires at least 8.5 of the annual 12.5 CLE credits to be earned in person. The remaining 4.0 credits may be completed by computer-based methods such as live webcast, webinar, or on-demand recording, subject to the 4.0 hour cap.

Details

• Annual requirement – 12.5 total credits each year, including 1 ethics and 1 professionalism.
• In-person minimum – at least 8.5 credits must be attended in person.
• Computer-based allowance – up to 4.0 credits per year, which includes live webcasts, live webinars, and on-demand recordings. These do not count as in-person.
• Accreditation – computer-based activities must be approved under Rule XXX and count only within the 4.0 hour limit.

Key Takeaway

Louisiana mandates an in-person component – at least 8.5 credits must be taken in person, with no more than 4.0 credits available through live webcast or on-demand formats.

Louisiana provides no general exemption from MCLE for attorneys simply placed on inactive status.

Inactive attorneys (those who notify the LSBA and cease practice) are relieved from paying active dues and from trust-account reporting, but they remain subject to MCLE rules if they later resume active practice.

Details:

• Under Administrative Rule XVIII § 3, a lawyer in good standing may apply for inactive status by notifying the LSBA in writing; once inactive, the lawyer is no longer eligible to practice law and is not required to pay active dues or disciplinary assessments.
• The MCLE rules (Rule XXX) do not provide a blanket waiver of MCLE obligations for inactive status; obligations resume upon reactivation.
• A lawyer returning to active status must satisfy the MCLE requirements in force at that time, including any annual or cumulative credit obligations, and must file any required exemption statements or compliance forms (e.g. the MCLE Exemption Statement) as applicable.
• Inactive attorneys may use the MCLE Exemption Statement process (if eligible under the rules) when resuming compliance, but this is not an automatic CLE waiver.

Key Takeaway:
In Louisiana, being inactive does not eliminate MCLE obligations permanently; rather, CLE obligations are paused during inactivity but become enforceable again once the attorney returns to active status.