For a year after reporting MCLE compliance, a member must retain and provide upon demand and to the satisfaction of the State Bar the following: 

•     a provider’s certificate of attendance
•     a record of self-study that includes the title, provider, credit hours and date of each activity
•     proof of exempt status

Rule 2.73 adopted effective Jan. 1, 2008

You may sign into your My State Bar Profile page and navigate to the E-Learning Portal. Each MCLE course will offer a PDF-formatted certificate you may print or save, provided the courses haven’t expired. The State Bar only offers courses through the E-Learning Portal.

Please note we do not require copies of certificates for expired courses. We will have internal record of the courses you have completed via the E-Learning Portal as the direct provider. Also, the Portal will always have record of the courses you have completed, and you may view the list at any time.

This survey is entirely voluntary: you may decline to answer any question that you prefer not to answer.

No, MCLE Rule 2.54 allows attorneys in California employed by the State of California or federal government to keep the MCLE exemption if they are doing pro bono work for a qualified legal services provider. 

There are many places to look for interesting and rewarding pro bono work. Refer to the State Bar's Pro Bono Opportunities Directory to find programs by region or the California Pro Bono Portal to explore volunteer opportunities throughout the state.

Any questions regarding the MCLE Audit should be submitted to the State Bar’s MCLE Audit Team by submitting a Licensee Records and Compliance Inquiry. 

A Certificate of Good Standing must:

• Be issued by the entity that has the highest regulating bar admissions authority for that jurisdiction
• Contain your license number
• Indicate the date you were admitted to practice law in that jurisdiction
• State that you are currently in good standing
• Indicate your disciplinary history
• Contain an original ink signature, stamp, or seal from the jurisdiction
• Be issued within six months of the current application's submission

• Rule 9.44 of the California Rules of Court
• Title 3, Division 3, Chapter 4 of the Rules of the State Bar

• Contact the Office of Admissions at admissions@calbar.ca.gov or 800-843-9053

Failure to comply with State Bar fingerprinting rule requirements will result in the suspension of your license.

Approximately 100 legal service programs statewide receive IOLTA grants to provide much needed civil legal services to the most under-represented communities in California whose basic human needs are at stake, such as shelter, sustenance, safety, health, or child custody.

Many of the programs specialize in meeting the legal needs of particularly vulnerable groups such as children, homeless people, migrant workers, immigrants, Native Americans, persons with disabilities, seniors, and the institutionalized.

To initiate fee arbitration, you must complete a fee arbitration request form from the appropriate bar association and submit the filing fee set by the particular program. Find local fee arbitration programs here. Attach copies of any documents requested on the form. You should include information that specifically relates to the attorney's fees and costs and explain why you believe the attorney's fees are excessive or that no additional fees are owed. You will have an opportunity to present additional information at the arbitration hearing.

Supports the work of all other State Bar offices by providing a comprehensive range of facilities, administrative, and procurement services. The office manages office space for State Bar staff and tenants in San Francisco and Los Angeles. It provides administrative support services including document imaging and printing; mail and courier services; offsite file storage; meeting and conference support; and travel services. The office also manages the State Bar’s procurement and contracting process, ensuring compliance with competitive bidding requirements and other policies.

If you completed your test and received your certificate of completion, you do not need to do anything. If you need to complete a test, access a certificate of completion, or save a receipt after the fact, you need the Tester ID. If you cannot locate your ID, please contact us at feedback@calbar.ca.gov.

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The cost for drug testing varies by frequency and the type of test. Most tests are about $85 per test, which is paid to LAP’s contracted testing provider. The lab that is used for biological fluid collection, may assess an additional fee.

Arbitration hearings are informal, but you should obtain a copy of the rules of procedure from the program handling your fee dispute to educate yourself about the process.

The program will assign your dispute to a volunteer attorney arbitrator who must be licensed in good standing with the State Bar. Depending on the amount of your fee dispute, the panel will consist of one attorney arbitrator, or a three-member panel consisting of two attorney arbitrators and one nonattorney arbitrator.

You may be represented by a attorney, but it is not necessary. You can arrange for an interpreter to attend the hearing with you.

Both you and the attorney will have a chance to make statements, ask each other questions, and present evidence, such as letters, billing statements, or the fee agreement. You may also present witnesses, for example, someone who heard you and your attorney agree to the fee. If you have problems obtaining papers needed for the hearing from the opposing attorney, you may ask the arbitration panel to intervene.

If you think you will need moral support, ask the arbitrator if a family member or friend can accompany you to the hearing. Fee arbitration hearings may be closed to everyone else except the witnesses while they are testifying.

Most local bar programs don’t allow the arbitration hearing to be recorded or transcribed for confidentiality reasons.

Also, keep in mind that fee arbitration aims to determine if the fee amount is appropriate for the attorney’s work on your case. Arbitrators also consider the attorney’s performance in your case to reach their decision, but they cannot award any additional money for what may be attorney malpractice or professional misconduct.

If you choose to arbitrate, the attorney must do so in most cases. Exceptions include these situations:

• Fees set by law or the courts, such as the ordinary charges for probating a will, or attorney’s fees that a judge orders one spouse to pay the other in a divorce.
• Fees charged by an attorney who is not a member of the State Bar of California, who does not have offices in California, and who did the majority of the work for you out of state.
• Fee disputes in which you or the attorney filed a suit, and the attorney notified you of your right to arbitrate, using the required State Bar form, but you filed a suit or answered a suit in court before requesting arbitration.
• Fee disputes in which you are not the attorney’s client, unless you paid fees to the attorney for a client.

The State Bar offers information for attorneys on subjects such as starting a limited liability partnership, rules about starting a law corporation, and closing a practice.

All attorneys (except those on voluntary inactive status) report MCLE compliance by submitting a statement of compliance to the State Bar. Compliance must be reported through your My State Bar Profile. View more MCLE compliance information.

Exempt

Attorney employees of California Superior Courts

Attorneys employed by the State of California who pass judgment or opinion on the law as part of their job duties.

Law Clerks provided they are employed on a permanent or probationary basis

Attorneys employed by the military services (acting within the scope of their employment)

Nonexempt:

Attorneys employed by the University of California

Attorneys employed by the State Bar of California

District attorneys and public defenders

Annuitants, contractors, and consultants

Attorneys performing work on behalf of the State or Federal Government as part of their employment by a nongovernment entity.