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California CLE Requirements for Attorneys

Everything you need to know about the California CLE rules and requirements.

California MCLE Requirements Overview

Credit Requirements

  • Total Credits: 25 credit hours, every three years
    • At least 4 hours in Ethics
    • At least 2 hours on Prevention and Detection Competence (1 of Wellness Competence is optional)
    • At least two hours of Elimination Bias in the Legal Profession (at least 1 of Implicit Bias)
    • At least 1 hour of Technology
    • At least 1 Hour of Civility in the Legal Profession

  • Credit Format: All 25 credits may be taken as Live Webinar or On Demand

  • Note: Newly licensed attorneys in CA can expect a proportional requirement during their initial compliance cycle.

Compliance & Reporting

  • CLE Deadline: January 31, every three years

  • Attorney Compliance: Attorneys must certify their compliance by logging into their My State Bar Profile and submitting a statement of compliance by February 1, immediately following their CLE deadline

  • Compliance Groups: Attorneys are assigned to a compliance group based on the first letter of the last name on their admit cards. The deadline to complete CLE credits is January 31 of the third year of the attorney’s reporting cycle. The groups are as follows:
    • Group 1: (A-G) — Compliance period: 2/1/22- 1/31/25
    • Group 2: (H-M) — Compliance period: 2/1/21 – 1/31/24  
    • Group 3: (N-Z) — Compliance period: 2/1/23 – 1/31/26

  • Attendance: SproutEd reports your attendance to The State Bar of California 60 days after course completion

Additional Info

  • Carryover Credit: Attorneys cannot carry over credits into the next reporting period

  • All credit hours may be completed online. All courses on SproutEd qualify for Participatory Credit

  • Half of the 25 MCLE hours must be in activities approved for what is called participatory MCLE credit. No more than 12.5 hours can be for self-study

  • Additional Requirement for New Attorneys: California State Bar’s New Attorney Training Program. This may be used to fulfill regular MCLE requirements if completed during the appropriate compliance period
    • Deadline: Within 1 year of an attorney’s admission to CA

CA CLE Requirements FAQs

Reporting Number: 20536

Attorneys are considered “experienced” in California if they are actively practicing law after completing their New Admission requirement.

Newly admitted attorneys are attorneys who are still in their initial compliance period. The initial compliance period begins in the month in which the attorney was admitted and ends when the compliance period ends for the attorney’s reporting group.

Attorneys admitted after February 1, 2018 are required to complete 10 hours of training under the New Attorney Training Program. The training must be completed within the first year of an attorney’s admission through the State Bar and covers:

  • 4 hours of legal ethics
  • 3 hours of basic skills
  • 1.5 hours on competency (substance abuse, mental health issues)
  • 1.5 hours on recognition and elimination of bias in the legal profession

Attorneys can complete all 25 credits on SproutEd.  All of SproutEd’s courses are approved for credit in California.  SproutEd’s Live Webinar and On-Demand courses satisfy California’s participatory requirement. 

Newly Admitted Attorneys must take the New Attorney Training Program through the California State Bar, but the remaining CLE hours can be completed on SproutEd.

The State Bar of California:

180 Howard St.
San Francisco, CA 94105
415-538-2000

Los Angeles Office:

845 S. Figueroa St.
Los Angeles, CA 90017-2515
213-765-1000

www.calbar.ca.gov

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