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.
Activities that qualify for general MCLE credit must: (1) relate to legal subjects that are directly relevant to California attorneys, and (2) offer current, significant educational, professional, or practical content with the specific objective of increasing each participant’s professional competency as an attorney. Programs created primarily for nonattorney audiences (for example, general public, clients, or business staff) do not qualify and will not be approved for general MCLE credit. More on Standards for MCLE activity Approval.
Can I use my own Evaluation, Record of Attendance, and Certificate of Attendance or Completion forms?
Yes, provided that the forms contain the required information as outlined in the MCLE Provider Rules.
Does an assessment test need to contain a specific number of questions to be considered substantive and have the potential to qualify for MCLE credit?
The State Bar recommends a minimum of 10 questions per 30-minute activity segment to be considered substantive.
I want to complain about content in a State Bar–approved MCLE course. How do I do that?
Pursuant to rule 3.605 of the Rules of the State Bar, the State Bar does not intervene in disputes between a provider and an attendee or potential attendee. However, complaints that the State Bar receives regarding a provider are considered in assessing the provider’s compliance with State Bar certification rules. Please email your concerns to providers@calbar.ca.gov.
Submit a registration application, which includes an Application for Determination of Moral Character, to the State Bar with the appropriate fees. MJP registration applications are available online. The moral character application is available, but must be submitted with the MJP application, not separately.
Do MJP attorneys have a continuing education requirement?
Legal services attorneys and in-house counsel must comply with the same 25-hour MCLE requirement as licensed attorneys of the California bar within their first year of practice. The 25-hour requirement includes four hours of legal ethics, one hour of prevention, detection and treatment of substance abuse, and one hour of elimination of bias in the legal profession. Please refer to the appropriate rule of court and FAQ for additional information.
Am I allowed to maintain an office in California for the practice of law?
No. You are not allowed to establish or maintain a resident office or other continuous presence in California for the practice of law. You must maintain an office in a U.S. jurisdiction other than California in which you are licensed. (Rule 9.47 & 9.48)
What are the requirements for practicing as an MJP attorney?
An MJP attorney must be an active licensed attorney in good standing of the bar of at least one U.S. state, jurisdiction, possession, territory or dependency. The other requirements vary depending on the category. Please refer to the appropriate rule of court and FAQ for additional information.
What is the purpose of this program?
The Leadership Bank program recognizes financial institutions that elect to waive fees and pay the established compliance interest rate, thereby increasing funding for free civil legal aid to low-income Californians through the Interest on Lawyers’ Trust Accounts (IOLTA) program. Civil legal aid ensures that low-income individuals and families have access to attorneys and the legal system to address critical legal issues.
Can we use our own fingerprint cards?
No. Out-of-state attorneys and out-of-country attorneys must obtain fingerprint cards through the State Bar. The cards can be requested by logging into the MSBP. If the out-of-state fingerprint vendor is unable to process the cards issued by the State Bar, the attorney must contact FingerPrinting Card Request for further assistance. Failure to follow State Bar procedures may result in non-compliance with the fingerprinting rule.
My employer provides Live Scan services. Can I use their services or do I have to use an outside vendor?
You can use any Live Scan service as long as the vendor has a contract with the California DOJ to submit your fingerprints and can provide you with an ATI number.
When completing the Live Scan form, do I have to enter an alias?
Almost all active attorneys will need to be re-fingerprinted. The only exceptions are:
(1) attorneys for whom the State Bar has hard copy fingerprint cards. (Due to the State Bar’s previous retention policy of destroying fingerprint cards after 3 years, this applies only to a limited number of attorneys who applied from admission from outside California on or after July 1, 2014.)
and;
(2) attorneys who applied to the State Bar after July 1, 2017.
Your My State Bar Profile will indicate if you are required to be fingerprinted.
I was already fingerprinted when I applied for admission to the State Bar, so the State Bar should have my fingerprints. Why can't the State Bar just use those fingerprints to obtain my criminal record information?
The State Bar is not in possession of the majority of attorney fingerprints. As part of the moral character review process, applicants provide the State Bar with fingerprint cards or fingerprints are submitted electronically directly to the DOJ. A contract with the DOJ is required in order for the State Bar to receive subsequent notification of arrests and conviction information from the DOJ for attorneys admitted to the State Bar or multijurisdictional practitioners. The State Bar entered into this contract on July 1, 2017. As a result, the vast majority of attorneys will need to be re-fingerprinted.
A Subsequent Arrest Notification (SAN) services contract between the State Bar and the DOJ was finalized on June 28, 2017, effective July 1, 2017, to address the error of not securing SAN services on all persons admitted to the State Bar. Due to DOJ policies, the SAN services cannot be applied retroactively. Accordingly, the Supreme Court of California is requiring the resubmission of attorney fingerprints to the DOJ.
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