Louisiana CLE Requirements

Active status attorneys in Louisiana must complete 12.50 CLE credits every year to maintain good standing with the Louisiana State Bar.

Louisiana attorneys must complete all 12.50 required credits by December 31 each year. Attorneys must report their credits by January 31 of the following year.

The compliance year is 1 year and ends on December 31 for all attorneys. If you are a new attorney, your first compliance period ends on December 31 of the year following your year of admission to the Louisiana State Bar.

Program sponsors will report your CLE attendance to the MCLE Committee. You may check your transcript online at the Louisiana State Bar Association website.

On or before December 1 of each year, the Committee will email you a preliminary report of compliance with MCLE requirements for that year. If your preliminary report is accurate, you don’t need to take further action. If your preliminary report is inaccurate, you have until January 31 of the following year to make corrections.

Louisiana attorneys can carry over 8.00 CLE credits to the following year.** No ethics or professionalism CLE credits can be carried over.

**Due to COVID-19, up to 8.00 excess hours earned in the 2019 compliance year may be carried forward to compliance year 2022 or 2023.

Attorneys in Louisiana can complete a maximum of 4.00 CLE credits each year with self study courses.

All Louisiana attorneys need 1.00 ethics credit and 1.00 professionalism credit every year. These credits cannot carry over. Ethics and professionalism credits may be earned through live or self study courses.

No. In-program attendance verification is not required.

Newly admitted attorneys in Louisiana must complete 12.50 hours of approved CLE between the date of admission and the end of the calendar year following the year of admission. At least 8.00 of those hours must concern legal ethics, professionalism, or law office management.

Yes. The regular rule for carryover credits applies. If you earn in excess of 12.50 CLE credits in your first reporting period, you may carry over up to 8.00 CLE credits to the following year.

Your first reporting period begins when you are admitted to practice law in Louisiana and ends on December 31 of the calendar year following the year you were admitted to the Louisiana State Bar.

Yes. You must complete 12.50 CLE credits by December 31 of the calendar year after you are admitted to practice law in Louisiana, and 8.00 of those credits must be in legal ethics, professionalism, or law office management.