In New York, how many CLE credits are required depends on how long you’ve been admitted: attorneys admitted more than two years must complete 24 accredited CLE hours every two years, while newly admitted attorneys must complete 32 hours spread evenly across their first two years of practice. Both totals come with mandatory subject-category minimums set by the New York State Unified Court System, so the raw number is only half the picture.
The 24 Hours for Experienced Attorneys
If you were admitted to the New York Bar more than two years ago, your biennial reporting cycle requires 24 credit hours in these categories:1Cornell Law Institute. New York Comp. Codes R. and Regs. Tit. 22 1500.22 – Minimum Requirements
- At least 4 hours of ethics and professionalism
- At least 1 hour of diversity, inclusion, and elimination of bias
- At least 1 hour of cybersecurity, privacy, and data protection
- 18 remaining hours in any approved category, including skills, law practice management, areas of professional practice, or more hours in the mandatory categories above2New York State Unified Court System. 22 NYCRR 1500 – Minimum Requirements
One useful overlap: up to 3 credit hours of cybersecurity content classified as “ethics” can count toward the 4-hour ethics and professionalism minimum.1Cornell Law Institute. New York Comp. Codes R. and Regs. Tit. 22 1500.22 – Minimum Requirements An attorney who takes 3 hours of cybersecurity-ethics and 1 hour of traditional ethics has satisfied the ethics requirement, and those cybersecurity-ethics hours still count toward the cybersecurity minimum as well.
Format is flexible. All 24 hours can be completed through on-demand audio or video, live broadcasts, live webcasts, or traditional in-person classes. No portion needs to be in person.3New York Courts. CLE Format Requirements
The 32 Hours for Newly Admitted Attorneys
Attorneys admitted to the New York Bar for two years or less complete a transitional program of 32 total credits, split evenly as 16 credits per year. Each of those two years carries its own category breakdown:4New York State CLE Board. An Overview of New York’s Continuing Legal Education Requirement
- 3 hours of ethics and professionalism
- 6 hours of skills
- 7 hours of law practice management, areas of professional practice, and/or cybersecurity (general)
The skills requirement is the strictest piece. Skills credits earned after December 31, 2025, must come from traditional live classroom instruction or fully interactive videoconference with group participation. Pre-recorded or on-demand programs will not count.4New York State CLE Board. An Overview of New York’s Continuing Legal Education Requirement Ethics and professional practice credits for newly admitted attorneys are not subject to that restriction.
The NYSBA’s Bridging the Gap program is built to the specification: a two-day course delivering 16 credits (7 professional practice, 6 skills, and 3 ethics), enough to satisfy one full year of the transitional requirement in a single sitting.
Earning Credit Through Pro Bono Work
New York lets attorneys earn CLE skills credits by performing qualifying pro bono legal services. The rate is one CLE credit for every two hours of pro bono work, capped at 10 credits per two-year reporting cycle. Half-credits are available, so a single hour of pro bono service still counts. These hours only generate skills credits, not ethics or any other category.
Carryover From One Cycle to the Next
Experienced attorneys who exceed 24 hours in a cycle can carry up to 6 excess credits into the following biennial cycle.
For attorneys moving from the newly admitted program into experienced status, the rules are more layered. Once your second-year requirement is satisfied, up to 6 excess credits from that second year can carry into your first experienced reporting cycle. Ethics and cybersecurity-ethics credits cannot carry over at all. Separately, up to 12 credits earned during your second year of admission can be applied directly toward your experienced CLE requirement, which lets you front-load the transition.5New York Courts. FAQs for Newly Admitted Attorneys Credits earned before admission or during your first year of practice do not carry over.
Who Owes No CLE at All
Four categories of attorneys admitted in New York are exempt from CLE:6Cornell Law Institute. New York Comp. Codes R. and Regs. Tit. 22 1500.5 – Waivers, Modifications and Exemptions
- Attorneys who did not give legal advice or provide legal representation to any person or entity in New York during the reporting period. Judicial or quasi-judicial functions, such as serving as an administrative law judge, do not count as practicing law for this purpose.
- Attorneys on full-time active duty in the United States Armed Forces, for the duration of their service.
- Out-of-state attorneys admitted only for a specific case or proceeding who maintain their office outside New York.
- Attorneys who have certified their retirement from practice under Section 468-a of the Judiciary Law.
Exemption is not silent. If you qualify as non-practicing, you still need to certify that status when you register.
What Happens If You Fall Short
New York is a self-reporting state. You certify your CLE compliance on your biennial Attorney Registration Statement and keep your certificates of attendance for at least four years from the date of each course.7New York Courts. Must I Send the CLE Board My CLE Certificates You do not submit the certificates with your registration, but if the CLE Board audits you, they are what proves your compliance. Attorneys who cannot produce certificates when audited are treated the same as those who never completed the courses.
Non-compliance after an audit is referred to the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court, which decides the consequence. Outcomes can include monetary sanctions or suspension from practice. An attorney suspended for CLE non-compliance must go through a full reinstatement proceeding to return to active status, which is considerably more work than finishing the credits on time.