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Qualifying MCLE Activities for Providers

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Before allowing providers to issue Minimum Continuing Legal Education (MCLE) credit, the State Bar evaluates the provider’s plans to present to practicing attorneys.

To qualify as legal education, a program must pertain to rules, regulations, standards, and/or policies and be directly relevant to active attorneys licensed to practice law by the State Bar of California. A significant portion of the program's content must enhance the professional ability to practice law and be directly relevant to attorneys’ current knowledge of the law, including their obligations and professional standards.

For example, programs that help an attorney prepare for public speaking may not count because the central theme is something other than the practice of law. But a program on avoiding malpractice does count for MCLE credit because it deals with the professional standards attorneys are expected to maintain.

Additionally, a provider may request MCLE credit for welcoming remarks, introductions of speakers, closing remarks, and question and answer periods. 

For a program or activity that is one hour or more in length to be approved, substantive written materials relevant to the program or activity must be prepared and made available to attendees, either before or during the activity. Such materials must be relevant to the program’s subject matter and will be considered sufficiently substantive if they offer citations to or a discussion of any legal authority, published case law, statutes, law review articles, or other published research or commentary that augment the educational experience of attorneys.

Types of MCLE credit considered by the State Bar

General credit
Activities that qualify include courses that are directly relevant to active attorneys licensed to practice law in California. A significant portion of the program's content must enhance the attorney's professional ability to practice law and be directly relevant to the attorney's current knowledge of the law, including their obligations and professional standards. 

Other activities that may be eligible for general MCLE credit include those that provide education or practical instruction in:

  • The practice of law
  • Litigation or the management of a solo law practice 
  • Management of a law firm or corporate legal department 
  • The ethical management of client trust accounts
  • Law firm finances and attorney-client communications
  • Case management 
  • Effective calendaring 
  • The avoidance of malpractice

Legal ethics—subfield credit
Legal ethics must focus on the professional responsibility of attorneys and not on the ethics of business, corporate or government affairs, or society in general. For example, activities that educate attorneys on the state's Rules of Professional Conduct are eligible for MCLE legal ethics credit, but programs that focus on ethical dilemmas encountered in society, a business, or a nonlegal profession do not.

Make sure to cite the specific Rules of Professional Conduct for attorneys that the program relates to or discusses. 

Recognition and elimination of bias—subfield credit  
Activities that qualify include courses on any form of bias found in the legal profession or society in general. Activities that qualify for credit include education in the recognition and elimination of impermissible bias in the courtroom, law office, attorney-client relationships and relationships with other attorneys, legal and nonlegal employment, the workplace, hiring, managing, and terminating employees, and in housing, accommodations, and services.

Courses required by AB 1825—mandatory sexual harassment awareness and prevention training for personnel managers—are approved for elimination of bias credit.

Implicit bias—subfield credit
Activities that qualify include courses with a focus on implicit bias and the promotion of bias-reducing strategies to address how unintended biases regarding race, ethnicity, gender identity, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, or other characteristics undermine confidence in the legal system.  

Please see Section 6070.5 of the Business and Professions Code for additional information and detailed requirements. 

Competence issues—subfield credit
Approved activities must consist of education that identifies and discusses the detection of substance abuse, mental illness, or other mental or physical issue that impairs an attorney's ability to perform legal services with competence.

Courses that discuss or provide treatment for any of the mental, emotional, or physical issues that affect professional competence do not qualify for credit in this area. This includes programs primarily about alcohol and drug treatment, meditation, or other forms of stress management.

Legal Specialist—add-on credit
Activities that also focus on certain areas of law may be eligible for Legal Specialist Continuing Legal Education (LSCLE) in addition to MCLE credit, if they provide high-quality content in any of these 11 areas of the law: 

  • Admiralty & Maritime
  • Appellate 
  • Bankruptcy
  • Criminal 
  • Estate Planning, Trust & Probate
  • Family
  • Franchise & Distribution
  • Immigration & Nationality
  • Legal Malpractice 
  • Taxation
  • Workers' Compensation 

Online activities
Online activities may be eligible for either self-study or verified (participatory) credit. Providers must ensure that:

  • Activities offer attendees a reasonable opportunity to both view and participate in the program.
  • Credit is limited to the actual time spent in an online legal education activity.
  •  Attorneys can claim MCLE credit for speaking at or instructing in accordance with Rule 2.81. For example, an attorney who is an instructor of an online course may receive credit for the actual time spent speaking, multiplied by four.
  • Attendees are provided with written materials for all activities that are one hour or more in length.
  • Attendees are provided with an Evaluation Form along with information on how to return them, and the forms are retained for one year from the date of the activity.*
  • Attendees who successfully complete the online activity are provided with a Certificates of Attendance form that can be printed. The certificate must include the provider's name, title of the MCLE activity, date of activity, total hours awarded, any credits awarded for legal ethics, elimination of bias, implicit bias, or competence issues as a component of the topics of the online activity, and whether the activity is participatory or self-study. 
  • Attendees receive adequate advance written or electronic notification about accessing course materials.
  • Materials provided remain available and accessible online for at least 30 calendar days following the activity.
  • Record of Attendance is collected and retained for four years from the date of the activity.*
  • Copies of all written materials, agendas, and promotional materials are retained for four years from the date of the activity. * 

* Please note: copies of these documents may be requested by the State Bar at any time during the specified retention period.

Helpful hints to get your MCLE activity qualified for MCLE credit

Make sure that:

  • The activity is primarily aimed at attorneys admitted to practice law in California. Courses intended for paralegals or other professionals do not qualify.
  • The activity relates to legal subjects relevant to licensees of the State Bar or has significant current professional or practical content. 
  • The presenters of the MCLE activity have significant professional or academic experience related to its content. 
  • The promotional material state that the activity is approved for MCLE credit or that a request for approval is pending; specify the amount of time credits offered; and indicate whether any of the credit may be claimed for required MCLE in legal ethics, elimination of bias, implicit bias, or competence issues.
  • The written or electronic materials used are suitable and easily understood. All activities that are one hour or more must have substantive written materials available either before or during the activity. 
  • Materials provided online remain online for at least 30 calendar days following MCLE activity. 

Note: On and after January 1, 2022, providers are also required to meet, at a minimum, all of the following requirements, before they are approved to offer credit for activities addressing implicit bias (Business and Professions Code Section 6070.5 (a)):

  • The MCLE provider shall make reasonable efforts to recruit and hire trainers who are representative of the diversity of persons that California's legal system serves.
  • The trainers shall have either academic training in implicit bias or experience educating legal professionals about implicit bias and its effects on people accessing and interacting with the legal system.
  • The training shall include a component regarding the impact of implicit bias, explicit bias, and systemic bias on the legal system and the effect this can have on people accessing and interacting with the legal system.
  • The training shall include actionable steps licensees can take to recognize and address their own implicit biases.

Activities not acceptable for MCLE credit

  • A legal subject taught to nonattorneys
  • Programs or portions of an activity that teach attorneys how to improve marketing, develop new clients or increase revenue
  • Nonlegal functions such as business development, team building, committee meetings or any recreational activity
  • Writing for, to, or on behalf of a client in the regular practice of law
  • Programs that teach or enhance a person's ability to prepare and present an MCLE activity
  • Review and evaluation of the legal work of associates or other attorneys by more experienced attorneys (for example, performance evaluations or a mentoring program)
  • Programs that discuss pending court case or litigation, an appeal, or any client matter by the participants in the pending case, litigation appeal, or client matter
  • Activities primarily intended to market or sell the presenter's technology, products, services, or skills
  • Time spent in conducting a roll call or connecting to the teleconference
  • Online discussions or written comments posted on public forums
  • Courses on general business writing or basic English grammar
  • Informal discussion groups
  • Preparation for admission to practice law in any state, the District of Columbia, any territory of the U.S., or any foreign jurisdiction, or for time spent actually taking such examinations
  • Educational programs on mentoring new attorneys
  • Registering for a program or viewing vendor exhibits and demonstrations
  • Breaks or rest periods lasting more than five minutes, mealtimes without a scheduled speaker, receptions, evaluations, tours, certificates and awards, or vendor demonstrations
  • Networking, the use of social media to network or for marketing

Related links

  • MCLE Provider Rules

Contact information

For questions contact the State Bar at:

The State Bar of California
MCLE Providers
180 Howard Street
San Francisco, CA 94105
Email: providers@calbar.ca.gov

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