General Louisiana Continuing Legal Education Credit Requirements
Active status attorneys in Louisiana must complete 12.50 CLE credits (including 1.00 ethics credit and 1.00 professionalism credit) every year to maintain good standing with the Louisiana State Bar.
Ethics and professionalism credits may be earned through live or computer-based courses. These credits cannot carry over.
Credit Hour: 60 minutes (rounded down to the 1/10 hour).
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.
NBI reports your credit to the Louisiana Mandatory Continuing Legal Education Committee of the Louisiana State Bar Association.
You may check your transcript online at the Louisiana State Bar Association website. On or before December 1 of each year, the MCLE Committee will email you a preliminary report of compliance with MCLE requirements for that year.
Experienced attorneys can fulfill their Louisiana CLE requirement by completing courses approved and accredited by the Continuing Legal Education Committee of the Louisiana State Bar Association.
Examples of accepted course formats include:
In-Person (Minimum 8.50 Hours)
- CLE classes Live In Person
Computer-based CLE (Maximum 4.00 Hours)
Louisiana attorneys may carry over 8.00 CLE credits to the following year.** No ethics or professionalism CLE credits can be carried over.
CLE credits can be earned through courses accredited by the Mandatory Continuing Legal Education Committee. Accepted formats include:
In-Person Programs (Minimum 8.50 Hours)
- Traditional classroom-based CLE sessions
Computer-Based Programs (Maximum 4.00 Hours)
Attorneys in Louisiana can earn a maximum of 4.00 CLE credits each year with computer-based courses.
No. In-program attendance verification is not required to receive CLE credit.
- State Contact Information:
- Address: Louisiana State Bar Association, 601 St. Charles Avenue, New Orleans, LA 70130
- Phone Number: (504) 566-1600
- Email Address: mcle@lsba.org/mcle
- Website: https://www.lsba.org/mcle
- Louisiana Bar Foundation: https://raisingthebar.org/about-us/
Are you newly admitted to the Louisiana State Bar? Here’s what you need to know:
Attorneys are considered newly admitted from the date of admission through the end of the following calendar year.
New attorneys in Louisiana must complete 12.50 CLE credit hours by December 31 of the calendar year following their year of admission.
At least 8.00 of those hours must concern legal ethics, professionalism, or law office management.
Newly admitted attorneys can meet their CLE obligations by participating in courses accredited by the Louisiana Supreme Court MCLE Committee, such as:
In-Person (Minimum 8.50 Hours)
Computer-based CLE (Maximum 4.00 Hours)
Yes. If you complete more than 12.50 credits during your first CLE period, you may carry over up to 8.00 general CLE credits into the next year.
Note: Ethics and professionalism credits do not carry over.
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 total CLE credits by the end of your first compliance period, including at least 8.00 hours in legal ethics, professionalism, or law office management.