Are carryover CLE credits allowed in Wisconsin?

The CLE reporting deadline in Wisconsin is February 1 following the end of the two-year reporting period.

Attorneys must complete all required credits by December 31 of the reporting period and submit their report by February 1.

Wisconsin CLE Reporting Rules

• Reporting period: 2 years
• Compliance deadline: December 31 (complete all CLE)
• Reporting / certification deadline: February 1 via electronic filing
• Late fee: $100 late filing fee if reporting is delayed
• Requirement: 30 CLE credits per period, including 3 ethics hours (ethics must be live)

Key Takeaway: In Wisconsin, lawyers must finish their CLE by December 31 and report compliance by February 1.

Yes — Wisconsin allows late reporting of CLE compliance past the February 1 deadline, but it subjects you to a $100 late fee and potential further penalties.

Under SCR Chapter 31, lawyers who do not establish compliance by February 1 are assessed a late fee ($50 under some versions, but more recent CLE reporting rules provide for $100) and may face suspension if noncompliance continues.

Detailed Explanation

• SCR 31.03(1) requires lawyers to file CLE Form 1 under oath by the last day of the reporting period. SCR 31.03(2) states: “A lawyer who has not satisfied … by the close of business on the February 1 following the last day of the reporting period shall be assessed a late fee of $50.”
• However, the Wisconsin CLE Reporting document shows the current late penalty is $100 for failing to timely establish compliance (i.e. missing February 1) under Supreme Court Rules.
• The CLE Reporting PDF also describes circumstances triggering the late fee:
   • The CLE Form 1 is not timely filed.
   • A course used to meet the requirement is taken after the deadline.
   • The report fails to establish required credit or election of exemption or waiver.
• The rules allow you to amend your CLE Form 1 after filing—if you later obtain approved credits, you may submit an amendment to increase your credited hours.
• Wisconsin’s CLE website notes the late fee remains in effect and that reporting must still occur even if late.
• Wisconsin may also grant waivers or extensions for good cause (e.g. disability, hardship) under the CLE rules.

Key Takeaway

You can report CLE late in Wisconsin, but doing so triggers a $100 late-filing fee (or the fee prescribed under SCR 31) and puts you at risk of further disciplinary enforcement if you don’t remedy the deficiency promptly.

Yes — Wisconsin requires that at least half of CLE credits be earned in a “live” or interactive format. Specifically, at least 15 of the 30 required credits must be from live programs (in-person, live webinars or teleconferences), and all 3 ethics credits must be live.

Wisconsin CLE Format Rules

• Total requirement: 30 credit hours every 2 years.
• Live minimum: At least 15 credits must be live programming (including in-person, live webcasts, teleconferences).
• Ethics requirement: 3 ethics / professional responsibility credits must be taken live (not via on-demand).
• On-demand / prerecorded limit: Up to 15 credits may be earned via repeated on-demand programs.
• Carryover and deadlines: Attorneys may carry over up to 15 credits into the next reporting period (ethics credits cannot be carried over).

Key Takeaway: In Wisconsin, you must complete at least 15 live credits in every two-year cycle (including all ethics credits) — live webcasts or in-person events both qualify, but on-demand courses are restricted to the remaining credits.

Yes — judges in Wisconsin are subject to a distinct judicial education (CJE / JE) requirement that operates alongside, and separate from, the CLE obligations for attorneys.

Wisconsin Supreme Court Rule Chapter 32 establishes a continuing judicial education program that requires justices, appellate judges, circuit judges, commissioners, and municipal judges to earn credits over multi-year periods.

Details

• Under SCR Chapter 32, circuit court judges must attend the Wisconsin Judicial College at least once in every six-year term.
• The Office of Judicial Education administers the system: justices, appellate judges, circuit court judges and circuit court commissioners must earn 60 credits of approved judicial education during each six-year period.
• Reserve judges, municipal judges, and circuit court commissioners have analogous continuing judicial education requirements.
• The attorney CLE regime under SCR Chapter 31 requires attorneys (not judges) to complete 30 hours in a two-year period.
• Judicial education credits are tracked, approved, and reported separately from attorney CLE credits via the Judicial Education Office.

Key Takeaway

In Wisconsin, judges must satisfy a separate continuing judicial education program (60 credits per six years, plus orientation and periodic Judicial College attendance), distinct from the statewide CLE requirement imposed on attorneys.

Yes — attorneys in Wisconsin may submit CLE reports online via the Supreme Court’s CLE Reporting e-filing system.

This is the official mechanism for filing your Report of Compliance, adding courses, and electronically signing the form.

Details:

• Wisconsin’s Court System provides a CLE Reporting site where attorneys can register/login and file their CLE report online.
• On the CLE help page, the system allows you to “add course hours” for approved programs, request credit for out-of-state or nonapproved CLE, then “submit your final report of compliance … electronically with your pin number.”
• All attorneys must report electronically; paper submissions are no longer required.
• The system also maintains your transcript, displays credits already reported, and allows you to make corrections before final submission.
• The deadline for reporting is February 1 following the December 31 end of your biennial reporting period.

Key Takeaway
Yes — Wisconsin lawyers use the e-filing CLE Reporting portal to submit their CLE credit reports online, including entering course hours and certifying compliance.

In Wisconsin, you may submit CLE reporting (i.e. file your CLE Form 1) only after your two-year reporting period ends on December 31. The filing deadline is February 1 of the following year.

You cannot file compliance before December 31 — even though CLE hours earned earlier in the period accumulate, the formal reporting window opens only after the period’s close.

Key Details

• The reporting period is two years, ending December 31, tied to your year of admission (even-admit lawyers report in even years, odd-admit in odd years). SCR 31.01(7) & SCR 31.03(1)
• Lawyers must complete 30 CLE hours per reporting period, including at least 3 hours in ethics/professional responsibility. SCR 31.02(1)-(2)
• The CLE Form 1 must be filed on or before December 31 (end of the period) or — with the allowable extension — by February 1 of the next year. SCR 31.03(1) & (2)
• Lawyers admitted during a period may report up to 15 hours earned from admission through the end of the year, but ethics/EPR hours must occur after January 1 of the next period. CLE Reporting PDF § “Lawyers Admitted in Even-Numbered Years”
• Providers submit attendance and credit rosters promptly after each program; those credits feed into your record and are available for inclusion in your eventual reporting. (Wis. Courts CLE Reporting site)

Key Takeaway
In Wisconsin, you may only officially report CLE compliance after December 31, during the reporting window (by February 1). Credits earned earlier in the cycle accumulate and are eligible, but the reporting system doesn’t accept compliance filings before the period ends.