Frequently Asked Questions: MCLE & CLE

The MCLE Compliance Department does not keep track of the education an attorney has completed: Attorneys are responsible for keeping certificates of attendance and a record of self-study activities. These records should be used to tally hours.

Certificates of attendance list the overall amount of credit available for an activity and whether any credit is available for legal ethics, prevention of substance abuse, or elimination of bias in the legal profession. Contact the provider directly regarding lost certificates of attendance or if information about an activity is incomplete.

Provider Search: Telephone numbers for approved providers
Compliance Information: Recording Keeping Requirement

Attorneys who meet the exempt criteria must report compliance by claiming their exemption every compliance period. They should do so online by logging on to "My State Bar Profile." Without a statement of compliance, the State Bar has no way of determining whether or not an attorney was exempt for any particular compliance period.

The only time that a lattorney (or licensee) is not subject to the MCLE requirement is during the time s/he is officially on Inactive status. If the attorney remains an Active attorney, he/she is subject to the MCLE requirement, regardless of whether the attorney is practicing law.  See Inactive Status for more information.

If an attorney is Inactive for a portion of the compliance period, the MCLE education requirement is pro-rated, based on the number of months during the compliance period that s/he is subject to. (See Requirements)

Except in the case of an audit, an attorney should never send in any MCLE-related documentation unless specifically requested to do so by the State Bar (otherwise, it will be returned).

However, in the event that an attorney's compliance is audited, attorneys are required to maintain sufficient proof of compliance with the education requirement or of an exemption status for at least one year from the date they report compliance.

An attorney's compliance group never changes, even if a last name is changed. Attorneys always remain in the compliance group to which they originally were assigned. See Compliance Groups for more information.

If an attorney takes a CLE course while physically outside California, it can be counted toward California MCLE requirements. However, the education activity must be approved by an Approved Jurisdiction.

An education activity is participatory if a provider verifies the "participation." Provider verification consists of the following:

• the provider has the attorney sign in at the time of the activity (electronic sign-in is acceptable),
• the provider keeps a list of those who sign in, and
• the provider issues a certificate of attendance to attendees

Online courses, and some CD- and tape-based courses can count for participatory credit if they are verified by an approved provider. Contact the individual provider to verify that the program has been approved for participatory credit.

The State Bar does not have a list of low-cost MCLE programs, only a complete list of all approved providers. Attorneys may find the following resources useful in determining the most convenient and cost-effective method of fulfilling requirements:

• Online CLE (California Lawyers Association)
• A local bar association
• Provider websites
• Legal daily newspapers and practice magazines, which may advertise/list approved activities or offer self-assessment tests

Attorneys can fulfill up to one-half of their total required MCLE hours by utilizing self-study options and should consider:

• sharing self-study tapes with fellow practitioners
• contacting their county law library for approved tapes that can be checked out for self-study credit

There is no specific MCLE requirement for reactivation. An attorney will receive a 60-day notice to comply soon after reactivation. However, for attorneys who have been Inactive for two (2) or more years, previously accrued hours may have all been tolled off.

• For more information, see Inactive Status
• Transfer to Active form. 

If an attorney earns more than 25 hours during a compliance period, he/she cannot carry the excess hours forward to the next compliance period. [Rule 2.72(D)]

MCLE records should be kept at least one year from the date compliance is reported online. Records should be kept in the event that an attorney's compliance is audited. Go to Compliance Information for information on what records to keep.

Neither licensees nor providers report attendance at an approved activity to the State Bar of California. Rather, licensees are responsible for keeping track of their own education. Attorneys must keep the certificates of attendance that providers distribute when attending a participatory education activity. (Providers are required to keep a record for four years of licensee's attendance at provider's participatory activities. Duplicate certificates of attendance may be available from the provider.)

Please note that a personal CLE log of self-study education activities must also be maintained. See Compliance Information for Record Keeping Requirements.

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 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.

Participatory credit for watching or listening to an approved education activity recorded on electronic media is available if:

• the provider has the attorney sign in at the time of the activity and keeps a record of attendance;
• the program is approved for participatory credit; and
• provider gives the attorney a certificate of attendance.
   

Otherwise, an attorney receives self-study credit.

The following activities count only for self-study credit:

• Self-assessment tests
• Writing a legal article accepted for publication 

The following activities always count for participatory credit:

• "Live" education verified by a provider
• A law school class (whether taught or attended)
• Speaking or teaching at an approved MCLE education activity

If an activity or provider is approved by California, the provider is required to give a certificate of attendance for participatory education activities that lists total credit hours and the number of those total hours allocated to the special requirements (i.e. legal ethics; detection, prevention and treatment of substance abuse; and elimination of bias in the legal profession). An attorney can claim credit only for the amount of time actually attended.

For information about attending a participatory activity outside California, go to Approved Jurisdictions.

Providers are not required to give a certificate of attendance for approved self-study education, but they are required to specify the total amount of credit hours available and the number of those total hours allocated to the special requirement areas.

The proportional requirement rules specify that if a licensee is subject to the MCLE requirement for four months or less, s/he does not need to comply with the MCLE education requirement for that compliance period.

Thus, if an attorney was admitted in December and his or her Compliance Group's deadline is less than 2 months away, it is unnecessary to comply with the MCLE requirement for that compliance period. The next compliance period for this group begins on February 1, and an attorney can count only activities earned on or after February 1 toward the requirement for that next compliance period. (There is no carryforward of credit hours from one compliance period to the next. [Rule 2.72(D)])

You may claim credit only for education activities taken on or after the first day of the month in which you are admitted (sworn in) to The State Bar of California.