Do CLE requirements differ for part-time vs full-time attorneys in North Carolina?

You may begin having CLE attendance reported in North Carolina almost immediately after a program is completed — most CLE sponsors have 40 days to submit attendance to the NC CLE department.

If a sponsor fails to report, you can self-report your certificate of attendance, especially if contacted about a prior-year deficiency.

Key Details

• North Carolina’s CLE reporting period is two years, running March 1 through February 28 (or 29).
• Attorneys must complete 24 hours during each reporting period, including required content in ethics, technology, and professional well-being.
• CLE sponsors must report attendance within 40 days of the program.
• If needed, lawyers may forward certificates of attendance directly to the CLE department (mail, fax, email) to ensure prompt credit posting.
• You don’t wait until end of cycle — reporting of each completed course begins as soon as the sponsor (or you, in some cases) submits attendance.

Key Takeaway
In North Carolina, CLE credits begin being reported as soon as programs conclude and sponsors submit attendance (within 40 days). Your formal compliance occurs at the end of the two-year reporting period.

North Carolina attorneys must complete 24 CLE credit hours every two years. At least 4 of those hours must be in ethics, 1 hour in technology, and 1 in professional well-being.

Reporting Period & Cycle

• Reporting period: March 1 through February 28 (biennial)
• Carryover: up to 12 credit hours may be carried into the next reporting period (carryover hours count toward total but cannot satisfy ethics, technology, or well-being mandates)

Required Subcategory Hours

• Ethics: ≥ 4 hours in the cycle
• Technology: ≥ 1 hour
• Professional well-being: ≥ 1 hour

New Admittee Requirement

• A Professionalism for New Attorneys program must be completed in the first reporting period; credit counts toward the 24-hour requirement

Key Takeaway: North Carolina’s CLE cycle is two years, requiring 24 credits with minimums for ethics, tech, and well-being, and allows up to 12 general carryover credits.

North Carolina does not provide a grace period for CLE reporting — hours must be completed within the reporting period itself. Under Rule .1522(b), attorneys may finish hours by the last day of February (end of reporting year), but no extensions beyond that are allowed.

North Carolina CLE Timing & Grace Rule

• Reporting period (new rules): March 1 through the end of February.
• Under prior rules: attorneys were allowed to complete required hours by the last day of February following the reporting year; that window was termed a “grace period,” but no extensions beyond it could be granted.

Consequences of Missing Deadline

• Filing a compliance report after February’s end triggers a $75 late filing penalty.
• Noncompliance may be referred for suspension unless the attorney shows good cause within 30 days of notice.

Key Takeaway: North Carolina has eliminated a true post-deadline grace period — attorneys must finish CLE by the end of the reporting cycle (February) or face penalties and suspension proceedings.

Lawyers in North Carolina generally do not self-report CLE; approved CLE sponsors submit attendance to the State Bar within 40 days of the program. If a lawyer is asked to cure a CLE deficiency, they may self-report attendance (by mailing, faxing, or emailing certificates) to the CLE department.

Key Details:

• Most sponsors of CLE programs must report attendance directly to the NC State Bar CLE department within 40 days.
• If a lawyer receives a notice of a prior year’s deficit, they may self-report attendance via submission of the certificate(s) to the CLE department.
• The State Bar provides a “Report of Attendance at a CLE Program” form for sponsors.
• Attorneys must maintain records and certificates in case the Bar audits the compliance certificate.

Key Takeaway: In North Carolina, the reporting format is primarily sponsor-driven attendance submission, with attorneys only self-reporting in corrective or deficiency contexts.

Yes — North Carolina allows carryover of CLE credits, but only up to 12 hours and only toward general credit (not specialty requirements).

Per 27 N.C.A.C. 1D § .1518(c), members may “carry over up to 12 credit hours from one reporting period to the next reporting period,” but those carryover hours “may not be used to satisfy” the professional responsibility, technology, or professional well-being minimums.

Details & nuances

• North Carolina’s CLE requirement is 24 hours every two years (effective March 1, 2024), including 4 ethics (professional responsibility), 1 technology, and 1 professional well-being hour per period.
• Carried hours count toward the total 24-hour requirement but cannot fill mandated slots for ethics, technology, or well-being in the next period.
• The CLE FAQ confirms carryover: “Carry over into the next reporting period up to 12 total hours; however, Professional Well-Being, Ethics, and Technology will not carry forward but must be taken every reporting period.”
• Newly admitted attorneys may also carry over, but the carryover is similarly restricted to general credit.
• Excess carryover beyond 12 hours is not permitted, and unused carryover beyond the next period does not roll further.

Key Takeaway

North Carolina lets you carry over up to 12 hours of excess CLE into the next reporting cycle — but only as general credit, not toward ethics, technology, or well-being requirements.

No — North Carolina does not require in-person CLE, but it does require that CLE programs be “live or interactive,” which includes live webcasts and on-demand courses. Attorneys may satisfy all CLE credits via online or live webcast programs so long as they permit real-time interaction and meet the Board’s rules.

North Carolina CLE Overview

• Total requirement: 24 credit hours every 2 years, with at least 4 in ethics/professional responsibility, 1 in technology, and 1 in professional well-being.
• All credits may be earned online via live webcasts or previously recorded programs, as long as program interactivity and accreditation standards are met.
• For the “Professionalism for New Attorneys” program, live webcast is allowed, but strictly on-demand (non-interactive) formats are not sufficient unless a portion of the program is live.

Key Takeaway: In North Carolina, physical attendance is not required — live webcasts and approved virtual programs count as “live” credit under the state’s CLE rules.