What is the grace period for CLE reporting in Florida?

You can begin reporting CLE credits in Florida as soon as you complete a program and receive its reference number—Florida’s system allows self-reporting via the Member Portal using that code.
However, your formal compliance certification must align with your assigned three-year reporting period and be submitted by your deadline.

Details & Context

• Florida attorneys must complete 30 CLE hours every three years under Rule 6-10.3.
• After each CLE program, you receive a course reference number you can immediately enter via the MyFloridaBar Member Portal.
• These entries accrue in your CLE record for the compliance period.
• You cannot certify full compliance until your reporting period ends and you file the required affidavit or certification.
• Florida does not allow carryover of excess credits to the next cycle.
• Sprout Education provides the reference number and certification documentation promptly, so you can report the moment the system allows it.

Key Takeaway: In Florida, you can self-report individual CLE completions as soon as they’re done using their reference numbers, but your full cycle certification must wait until your reporting period ends.

Yes, at least one state — New York — requires a dedicated CLE credit in cybersecurity, privacy, and data protection. Other states are moving toward similar mandates through broader “technology CLE” requirements.

Current Cybersecurity CLE Requirements

• New York: Attorneys must complete 1 credit in cybersecurity, privacy, and data protection as part of their biennial CLE cycle (effective July 1, 2023).
• Florida: Requires 3 technology-related CLE credits every three-year cycle, which may include cybersecurity training.
• North Carolina: Requires 1 technology CLE credit annually, and cybersecurity courses may satisfy this requirement.
• New Jersey: Beginning in April 2025, attorneys must complete 1 technology CLE credit per biennial cycle, potentially including cybersecurity content.

Practical Implications

• Cybersecurity CLE is not yet universal but is becoming more common as part of broader technology-competence rules.
• Attorneys should confirm whether their state recognizes cybersecurity as a standalone requirement or as part of technology or ethics credits.
• Sprout Education tracks emerging CLE categories like cybersecurity and ensures attorneys meet both current and new compliance standards.

Key Takeaway: Cybersecurity CLE is required in New York and may be covered under technology CLE in states like Florida, North Carolina, and New Jersey, but it is not yet a universal mandate.

Florida attorneys must complete 30 CLE credit hours every 3 years, including at least 5 hours in Legal Ethics, Professionalism, Substance Abuse or Mental Health & Wellness (2 of which must be the mandated Florida Legal Professionalism course) and 3 hours in technology.
The Florida Supreme Court reduced the total requirement from 33 to 30 credits effective January 8, 2024.

Details

• Total requirement: 30 CLE credit hours per 3-year reporting cycle
• Legal Ethics, Professionalism, Substance Abuse, or Mental Health & Wellness: At least 5 hours total, including 2 hours from the required Florida Legal Professionalism course offered by The Florida Bar
• Technology: At least 3 hours of approved technology programs
• No carryover: Excess CLE hours cannot be applied to the next reporting cycle
• Reporting obligation: Members must self-report CLE completion via their MyFloridaBar Member Portal before their reporting deadline
• Newly admitted attorneys: Must also complete the Basic Skills Course Requirement (BSCR), which includes the Practicing with Professionalism course during their first year of admission

Key Takeaway

Florida attorneys must complete 30 CLE hours every three years — including 5 hours in Legal Ethics, Professionalism, Substance Abuse, or Mental Health & Wellness (with 2 hours from the mandatory Florida Legal Professionalism course) and 3 hours in technology — with all credits self-reported through the Bar’s online portal.

Attorneys in Florida self-report CLE credits via the MyFloridaBar Member Portal, entering the course reference number supplied by providers. The Florida Bar notifies each member of their reporting cycle and collects compliance via that online affidavit system.

Key Details:

• Providers issue a Florida Bar course approval code which the attorney enters in the portal.
• Members are emailed their reporting requirements and must log into their MyFloridaBar profile to submit completed credits.
• There is no separate paper form—everything is done digitally through the Bar’s online system.
• Attorneys must maintain their certificates and records in case of audit, even though the Bar does not require them to submit those directly.

Key Takeaway: Florida attorneys use an online self-reporting interface in their MyFloridaBar portal and input provider-issued approval codes—no separate paper reporting is required.

You report CLE (CLER) credits in Florida by logging into your MyFloridaBar Member Portal and self-reporting completed courses using the course reference numbers.
This reporting certifies your compliance with Florida’s three-year CLE cycle.

Overview of Florida CLE Reporting

Florida attorneys must complete 30 credit hours every three years, with at least 3 hours in technology and at least 5 hours in ethics/professionalism/substance abuse/mental health & wellness, including a 2-hour Florida Legal Professionalism course.
Excess credits cannot be carried forward into the next reporting cycle.
You will receive advance notice of your reporting deadline and must ensure all completed programs are posted to your CLER transcript before that date.

Steps to Report CLE in Florida

1. Complete all 30 required hours (including the sub-requirements) before your reporting deadline.
2. Log into your MyFloridaBar Member Portal.
3. Use each course’s reference number (from your certificate of completion) to post it to your CLE transcript.
4. If a course is not pre-approved, submit an Application for Unapproved Course Attendance Credit through the portal’s forms section.
5. If you earned CLE through Sprout Education or another provider, confirm that credits appear on your transcript—but remember, you must still self-report through your Bar portal.

Key Takeaway

In Florida, attorneys must self-report CLE credits by entering course reference numbers in their MyFloridaBar Member Portal before their reporting deadline. Sprout Education assists with proper documentation where allowed, but the attorney is responsible for submitting and certifying compliance.

Yes — but only in limited respects: Florida allows an extension for the Basic Skills Course Requirement (BSCR), not for the general CLE (CLER) reporting deadline.

The Florida Bar provides a BSCR Extension Request Form to defer completion of the basic skills requirement in certain hardship cases.

Details & Limitations

• The extension form explicitly states: “Please note that this is an extension form for your Basic Skills Course Requirements only. There are no extensions for CLER.”
• Under Florida policy, the Bar accepts “Undue Hardship Waiver Requests” for CLER exemptions or modifications, but that is not the same as a blanket extension of the reporting deadline.
• Florida’s CLE (“CLER”) rules require members to self-report credits online by their reporting period deadline; the Bar does not offer a general extension for CLER reporting.
• The Bar’s forms page shows “Petition for Removal of CLER Delinquency” and “Undue Hardship Waiver Request” but not an extension form for CLER itself.

Key Takeaway
You can request an extension for the Basic Skills Course Requirement in Florida, but not for general CLE (CLER) reporting — the reporting deadline stands, though you may seek hardship waivers or petitions for delinquency relief.