Will you send me a reminder before my deadline? Will there be a reminder in My State Bar Profile?
No. The State Bar will not send a reminder before your NAT completion deadline. You are personally responsible for tracking and meeting your deadline.
If you do not complete NAT by your deadline, the State Bar will send you a notice of noncompliance. The notice will explain that you must complete NAT and pay any assessed noncompliance penalty to avoid being enrolled as inactive and becoming ineligible to practice law.
Because NAT is a onetime requirement, it may not appear in the same area of My State Bar Profile as your annual MCLE compliance obligations. Remember to:
Keep your email address and mailing address current with the State Bar,
Review your notifications in My State Bar Profile regularly, and
Complete NAT well before your deadline.
If I miss the deadline, how do I pay the noncompliance penalty?
If you do not complete NAT by your deadline, you will be assessed a noncompliance penalty, which may take up to 90 days to appear in My State Bar Profile. To pay the noncompliance penalty:
Select “Compliance Dashboard” in the top navigation menu.
In the “Annual License Fee Status” section, select “Pay your annual fees.”
Select “Calculate and pay my fees.”
Follow the instructions to pay any outstanding balance.
Even after a noncompliance penalty has been assessed, you are still required to complete NAT. If you do not complete NAT and resolve any assessed fees by the applicable deadlines, you may be enrolled as involuntarily inactive and become ineligible to practice law.
What is the New Attorney Training Program?
The State Bar of California’s New Attorney Training (NAT) Program is a mandatory online training program for all newly admitted California attorneys. It consists of nine State Bar–produced courses covering professional responsibilities and practical skills for practicing law. The courses may be completed in any order and at your own pace.
Topic
MCLE Credit
Attorney as an Officer of the Court—Civility and Pro Bono Legal Services
1.0 hour of Civility
Attorney Communication Duties
1.25 hours of Legal Ethics
Attorney Well-Being: The Bedrock of Competence
1.0 hour of Competence: Prevention and Detection
Attorney-Client Relationships
1.25 hours of Legal Ethics
Conflict Resolution, Interpersonal and Communication Skills, and Technology
0.75 hours of General
Elimination of Bias
1.0 hour of Elimination of Bias
Introduction to Law Practice Management Skills
1.0 hour of General
The Attorney as a Fiduciary of Funds and Property of Clients and Others
1.5 hours of Legal Ethics
The Duty of Confidentiality and Conflicts of Interest
1.25 hours of Legal Ethics
Can I claim MCLE credit for NAT courses?
The State Bar’s New Attorney Training is a separate requirement and is not MCLE. However, you may apply NAT course hours toward your MCLE requirements if you complete the hours during your first MCLE compliance period. (Rule 2.142.) Review your MCLE requirements, including any proportional requirement, to determine whether and how the NAT hours apply to your situation.
When is my deadline to complete NAT?
You must complete NAT by the last day of the month of your one-year anniversary as a State Bar licensee. (Rule 2.141.)
For example, if you were admitted on October 15, your deadline is October 31 of the following year. If you have a question about your deadline, complete the Licensee Records and Compliance Inquiry form.
How do I access the New Attorney Training?
The New Attorney Training Program courses can be accessed through My State Bar Profile. The fee to access all nine courses is $55. Fee waivers are not available.
Locate the e-learning section toward the bottom of the home page, and select “E-Learning Portal.”
On the E-Learning Dashboard’s top navigation bar, select “View Catalog.”
In the search box, type “New Attorney Training.”
Select “Add to Cart” and complete the checkout process.
After you purchase the courses, when you return to the E-Learning Dashboard, select “Not Started” to locate the course you want to start. Then, select the red + button to the right of the course title, and select “Launch.”
Can I get a fee waiver for the course?
No. Fee waivers are not available. The fee to access all nine NAT courses is $55.
Can I request an exemption or time extension?
There are no exemptions from the NAT requirement. (Rule 2.143.)
Time extensions are granted only in rare cases involving documented personal hardship. (Rule 2.144.) If you believe you have a qualifying hardship, submit the applicable State Bar request as soon as possible and ideally before your NAT deadline, if feasible.
Submitting a request does not excuse compliance unless the State Bar grants it. Do not delay beginning or completing NAT while awaiting a decision.
I’m a former Provisional Licensure Program (PLP) participant and was recently admitted. Do I need to take NAT again?
If you completed any portion of NAT while enrolled in the State Bar’s PLP, you are considered to have satisfied that portion of the NAT requirement and do not need to retake it. Make sure you complete all nine NAT courses by the deadline.
Check your E-Learning Portal to confirm that your completed courses are reflected. If a completed course does not appear in your record, contact elearning@calbar.ca.gov for assistance.
As a federal or state employee, am I exempt from completing NAT?
No. Although certain federal or state employees may be exempt from the general MCLE requirement, there are no exemptions from the NAT requirement for new licensees. (Rule 2.143.) You must complete NAT by your one-year admission anniversary deadline.
I had a bad experience with a Live Scan vendor. Can I report them to the State Bar?
Live Scan vendors are contracted through the DOJ and are not under the authority of the State Bar. Live Scan vendor complaints may be submitted to the State Bar, which will be sent to the DOJ. If you recently submitted your fingerprints through a DOJ-contracted Live Scan vendor and have had a negative experience, we encourage you to complete the Live Scan Vendor Complaint Form and email the completed form to the State Bar.
Will I be assessed fees from the State Bar?
Yes. The 2025 annual fees will be available to calculate and pay online through My State Bar Profile effective February 1, 2025.
What if I didn’t take enough courses during the compliance period?
Failure to complete the requirements during the compliance period will result in your having to make up the deficiency. You will have to submit all required hours to the online log and then submit the proof of compliance. You will also need to provide the audit submission cover sheet, a brief cover letter explaining why you were unable to complete the requirements during the compliance period along with the $205 deficiency fee for non-compliance by the deadline.
Do I send in the original certificates or the copies?
Photocopies are sufficient for the purposes of the audit. Hold on to your originals through the end of the year you report MCLE compliance.
What is the State Bar DEI Leadership Seal program?
The DEI Leadership Seal Program is an optional program that employers with California attorneys can participate in to signal their commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI).
As part of its 2022 Diversity Report Card, the State Bar of California published Calls to Action that legal employers and attorneys can implement to support greater DEI in the workplace. The DEI Leadership Seal program recognizes California legal employers that commit to and implement specific DEI action items.
Can legal departments or teams within a larger employer (like a corporation’s legal department, or a university’s law school) participate in the program?
Yes. Employers may choose to commit to and implement the Action Items for either their entire organization or only their legal department or team. If an employer commits to and implements the Action Items only for their legal department, only that department would be listed as a participating employer and eligible to use the DEI Leadership Seal on its materials.
My employer is a committed participating employer, but we have implemented at least five of the Action Items. Do we need to wait until June to receive the DEI Leadership Seal?
Committed participating employers who have implemented five or more Action Items and want to receive the DEI Leadership Seal before the June deadline must complete and submit a DEI Leadership Seal Tier Advancement Application and supporting documentation. There will be several opportunities throughout the year for committed employers to submit this documentation and receive the seal early. To be considered for tier advancement, please submit your application and supporting documentation.
3.5.1 Instead of the final declaration, I get an “Outstanding Reporting Requirements” warning that says, “Step 2: Account Registration is incomplete based on your responses in Step 1” and that I need to register client trust accounts maintained during the reporting period OR indicate why I am unable to provide account information using the options at the bottom of the Why am I getting this error?
Please check to make sure all of your accounts have been registered in Step 2. If all your accounts have been registered, the required account ending balance may be missing in Step 2. You must provide the account ending balance as of December 31 of the reporting period or the date the account was closed.
If all your accounts have been registered and each account has a balance, please review your responses in Step 1. If you chose multiple “Yes” answers requiring trust account registration, for example, in Step 1, in response to question 1 (IOLTAs), you selected “Yes, I will provide or update IOLTA (or similar pooled) account information, including the balance as of December 31, 2025, via My State Bar Profile …” and, in response to question 2 (non-IOLTAs), you also selected “Yes, I will provide or update non-IOLTA account information, including the balance as of December 31, 2025, via My State Bar Profile …,” based on your selected responses you are required to register both an IOLTA and a non-IOLTA trust account via My State Bar Profile. If you only have one trust account, please revise your response to either question 1 or question 2. A trust account can never be both an IOLTA and a non-IOLTA.
Similarly, if you selected multiple “Yes” responses requiring trust account registration to question 1 (e.g., “Yes, I will provide or update IOLTA account information, including the balance as of December 31, 2025, via My State Bar Profile” and “Yes, a firm or organization I am currently employed by or in practice with will provide or update IOLTA account information, including the balance as of December 31, 2025, via Agency Billing …”), based on your selected responses, you are required to register multiple IOLTAs via My State Bar Profile and Agency Billing. If you only have one IOLTA, please revise your responses to question 1 in Step 1.
2.3 Who is NOT required to complete the CTAPP reporting requirements?
The only licensees who are exempt from the annual reporting requirement are licensees who were on voluntary inactive status for the entirety of the reportable time period. All other licensees, including those who were active, suspended, or not entitled to practice law at any point in the reportable time period, are required to complete the CTAPP reporting requirements for that reportable time period.
2.11 I am a licensed attorney and also a nonlegal professional (e.g., probate trustee, investment advisor, real estate agent, business manager, etc.). Do the Rules of Professional Conduct (e.g., rule 1.15) apply, and do I need to report and register any trust account as part of CTAPP?
When a licensee performs both legal and non-legal professional services for a client, the licensee is subject to the Rules of Professional Conduct with respect to all of those services. (See Cal. State Bar Formal Opn. Nos. 1982-69, 1995-141, and 1999-154.)
Therefore, a key question is whether the licensee is performing legal services and, as a result, is subject to rule 1.15 and the other Rules of Professional Conduct. If not, and the licensee is merely a real estate broker who happens to be a lawyer, rule 1.15 may not apply. Similarly, if the licensee is a trustee but did not perform any legal services related to the creation of the trust and does not perform any legal services related to the trust, rule 1.15 may not apply. On the other hand, if the licensee is acting as both the real estate lawyer and broker, and the lawyer receives entrusted funds from, or for, the transaction, rule 1.15 would apply, and any accounts need to be reported and registered as part of the licensee’s CTAPP compliance. The same is true of lawyers providing other non-legal professional services, regardless of whether they, as a trustee, for example, report to the probate court.
If you have further questions on dual capacity, including whether you are responsible for complying with any of the requirements or prohibitions in rule 1.15, please contact the State Bar’s Ethics Hotline research service at 800-238-4427 (toll-free in California). The Ethics Hotline cannot provide legal advice, nor tell you how to comply with any of the CTAPP requirements, including whether to answer “yes” or “no” in any portion of the CTAPP reporting requirements.
3.2.3 I am a sole practitioner and have a legal entity (e.g., APC, Law Offices, etc.). For the questions in Step 1 (Annual Client Trust Account Reporting), do I answer that I will provide or update the account information via My State Bar Profile or that a firm will provide or update the account information via Agency Billing?
As a sole practitioner, you likely maintain the account yourself or have a bookkeeper maintain the account and have access to the account information (e.g., routing number, account number, balance, etc.). If so, you can provide or update the account information via My State Bar Profile.
The “firm or organization I am currently employed by or in practice with will provide or update the account information via Agency Billing” option is for lawyers who do not have access to the account information and who have a firm administrator who uses the State Bar’s Agency Billing platform, and the administrator will register the firm trust accounts on behalf of the firm lawyers. If this applies to you, you may select that answer in Step 1 and, in Step 2 (Account Registration), if the firm administrator has not already registered the account details, you will select the checkbox next to “My firm or organization administrator informed me that the IOLTA and/or Non-IOLTA account details will be reported by my firm or organization on my behalf through the State Bar's Agency Billing application. I understand that it is my responsibility to ensure that my CTAPP reporting is complete, including that my firm or organization reports any account details maintained on my behalf.” It is your responsibility to ensure that all necessary account details are registered, including the December 31 balance. You should be sure to confirm with your firm administrator that they will register the required information via the State Bar’s Agency Billing platform by the deadline.
3.4.2 The self-assessment asks about tasks that I do not personally perform (e.g., conducting a monthly reconciliation) but I believe other persons in my firm are responsible for those tasks. How do I complete those items in the self-assessment?
A subordinate lawyer may consult a supervisory lawyer to confirm that duties that are not personally performed are being properly discharged by others in the firm. For example, a subordinate lawyer may ask the attorney who manages the firm’s client trust accounts whether monthly reconciliations are performed on the client trust accounts.
Absent information to the contrary, the subordinate lawyer may reasonably rely on that guidance in completing the self-assessment.
Why am I required to report my pro bono hours to the State Bar?
The State Bar collects information on attorneys’ pro bono and reduced fee hours to better understand how these services are being provided across the profession. The data will be analyzed to identify trends, support efforts to expand access to legal services, and help address the justice gap. All reported data will be aggregated and not linked to individual attorneys.
Does the State Bar have a program for attorneys who only want to do pro bono work?
The State Bar’s Pro Bono Practice Program (PBPP) allows attorneys who would otherwise be inactive to maintain an active license, free of fees, to exclusively provide pro bono legal services in partnership with a pro bono legal services provider. To qualify for the PBPP, an attorney must maintain an active license, submit an application annually for the program, be certified as a pro bono practice attorney, and exclusively provide pro bono legal services through an approved or qualified pro bono services provider. For more information, see the Pro Bono Practice Program webpage.
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