Georgia CLE Requirements

In Georgia, active status attorneys must complete 12.00 CLE credits every year to maintain good standing with the State Bar of Georgia. Attorneys 70 and older are exempt.

Georgia attorneys must complete all 12.00 required credits by December 31 of each year. In January of each year, you will receive an Annual Report showing the CLE credit earned for the prior year. You have until January 31 to make any corrections.

You have a grace period until March 31 during which you may make up CLE credit without paying a penalty. However, you must still file your Annual Report by January 31.

The CLE reporting period is 1 year and ends on December 31 for all Georgia attorneys.

NBI will report your credit to the Commission on Continuing Lawyer Competency. You can check your transcript on the State Bar of Georgia’s website.

Georgia attorneys can carry over 12.00 general CLE credits for one year. You may carry over a maximum of 2.00 ethics credits, 2.00 professionalism credits, and 3.00 trial hours credits.

You may earn all 12.00 of your required 12.00 CLE credits with distance learning Courses.

All Georgia attorneys must complete 1.00 credit in ethical considerations and 1.00 credit in professionalism every year. Trial attorneys must complete 3.00 trial hours credits every year.

Georgia attorneys who appear as sole or lead counsel in the Superior or State Courts of Georgia in any contested civil case or in the trial of a criminal case are subject to the MCLE requirement to complete 3.00 trial hours credits for that year.

No. In-program attendance verification is not required.

Newly admitted attorneys in Georgia must complete the State Bar of Georgia Transition Into Law Practice Program by December 31 of the first full calendar year after they were admitted. Completion of the Transition Into Law Practice Program satisfies Georgia CLE requirements for both the year of admission and the next succeeding year.

Keep in mind that the mandatory Transition Into Law Practice Program satisfies your Georgia CLE requirements for the year of admission and the following reporting year. You do not have to report additional CLE credits while you are participating in the Transition Into Law Practice Program. The first reporting period when you must report regular CLE credits ends on December 31 the second calendar year after your admission to the State Bar of Georgia.

Yes. In the year of admission, or in the next calendar year, new attorneys must complete the State Bar of Georgia Transition Into Law Practice Program. Completion of the Transition Into Law Practice Program will satisfy your Georgia CLE requirements for both the year of admission and the next succeeding year.

If you practiced law in another United States jurisdiction for two or more years immediately prior to admission to practice in Georgia, you may be exempted from completing the Transition Into Law Practice Program upon the submission of an affidavit to the Commission on Continuing Lawyer Competency within three months of admission.