Illinois MCLE Requirements: Hours, Reporting, and Exemptions

Every attorney licensed in Illinois must complete 30 hours of approved continuing legal education every two years, and the Illinois MCLE requirements set aside six of those hours for professional responsibility topics under Illinois Supreme Court Rule 794.¹ Miss the reporting deadline and you face late fees, a noncompliance notice, and eventual removal from the master roll of attorneys.

The 30 Hours You Owe Every Two Years

Of the 30 hours in each reporting period, at least six must cover professional responsibility subjects: professionalism, civility, legal ethics, sexual harassment prevention, diversity and inclusion, or mental health and substance abuse. Inside that six-hour block, at least one hour has to be diversity and inclusion training, and at least one hour has to address mental health or substance abuse.¹ The remaining four professional responsibility hours can come from any of the qualifying topics. The other 24 hours are general credits and can cover any accredited practice area.

There is one substitute for the full six-hour professional responsibility block: completing the yearlong Lawyer-to-Lawyer Mentoring Program approved by the Supreme Court Commission on Professionalism under Rule 795(d)(11).¹

Carrying Over Extra Hours

Earn more than 30 hours in a reporting period and you can carry up to 10 excess hours into the next cycle. Up to six of those carryover hours can keep their professional responsibility designation and count toward the six-hour requirement in the new period.¹ Carryover credits alone won’t cover the one-hour diversity and one-hour mental health minimums, though. You have to hit those sub-requirements fresh each period.

Reporting Groups and Deadlines

Rule 794(b) splits Illinois attorneys into two groups by last name:¹

Last names A through M: two-year period begins July 1 of an even-numbered year and ends June 30 of the next even-numbered year.
Last names N through Z: two-year period begins July 1 of an odd-numbered year and ends June 30 of the next odd-numbered year.

After your reporting period closes on June 30, you have 31 days to have a compliance report, a grace period request, or a valid exemption on file with the MCLE Board.² Miss that 31-day window and the noncompliance track begins.

Newly Admitted Attorneys

If you were recently admitted to the Illinois bar, your first year is different. Rule 793 gives you a separate initial requirement due within one year of admission:³

A Basic Skills Course of at least six hours covering trust accounts, client communications, record-keeping, and professional conduct. All six hours count as professional responsibility credit. You can substitute the Lawyer-to-Lawyer Mentoring Program.
Nine additional CLE hours in any subject area.
A report to the MCLE Board as required by Rule 796.

That comes to 15 hours in the first year. Attorneys admitted on or after January 1, 2028, must also complete at least half an hour of access-to-justice content inside the Basic Skills Course, covering topics like pro bono work, limited-scope representation, or unmet legal needs.³

Once you finish the newly admitted requirement, your first regular two-year reporting period under Rule 794 begins on the next July 1 that matches your last-name group.³

Who Is Exempt

Rule 791 excuses several categories of attorneys from the standard MCLE requirements:⁴

Attorneys on inactive or retirement status with the ARDC, including former voluntarily-removed status.
Attorneys serving as a justice, judge, associate judge, or magistrate of any federal or state court.
Illinois-licensed attorneys on active duty in the Armed Forces, until they return to civilian practice.

Attorneys who live and primarily practice in another state can also claim an exemption. Four conditions have to be met: membership in that state’s bar (or a limited license there), a primary office or residence in that state, a CLE requirement in that state, and proof of current compliance there.⁴

In rare cases the MCLE Board can grant a temporary exemption or a time extension for good cause. Whichever exemption applies, you still have to formally report your exempt status through the Board’s system. Being eligible isn’t the same as being on record.⁴

Ways to Earn Hours Beyond Seminars

You do not have to fill all 30 hours with courses. Rule 795 recognizes several other activities.

Teaching and Lecturing

Presenting at an approved CLE course earns credit for the actual presentation time on the first delivery. A repeat presentation of the same material earns half credit, and a third earns nothing. The larger benefit is on the preparation side: six hours of credit for every hour of actual presentation time spent preparing.⁵ A one-hour lecture with full preparation credit can net seven hours total.

Legal Writing and Publishing

Researching and writing a law-related article earns credit for the actual hours spent, if you keep contemporaneous time records. The article must be published during the reporting period and must focus on legal practice, ethics, diversity, or similar professional topics. The maximum credit for a single publication is half the total hours required for your reporting period, so up to 15 hours for a standard two-year cycle.⁵

Pro Bono Service

Under a pilot project launched in 2025, attorneys can earn one hour of MCLE credit for every two hours of pro bono work through Illinois Free Legal Answers, capped at five credits per two-year reporting period. Submit a credit request form in the same month you close a question on the platform.

How Compliance Is Reported

The MCLE Board tracks your credits through an online transcript system. When your credit list reflects that you have completed all required hours for the reporting period, the Board automatically enters a report of compliance on your behalf.² There is no submit button to click.

Your job is to check the transcript before your period closes. Log in to the MCLE Board’s website, open the “My MCLE” section, and confirm every course is posted with the right hours, including the professional responsibility subcategories. If a course is missing, follow up with the provider or the Board. Keep your Certificates of Attendance in case of an audit. Failure to receive a notice from the Board is not an excuse for missing a deadline.²

What Happens If You Miss the Deadline

If nothing (compliance report, exemption, or grace period request) is on file within 31 days of the end of your reporting period, the Board assesses a late fee. Attorneys who request a grace period extension within that 31-day window pay a smaller late fee than those who do nothing.² The dollar amounts are set by the MCLE Board’s fee schedule rather than fixed in the rule.

Grace Period

Attorneys who miss the initial deadline get 92 additional days from that deadline to finish their credits. The Board’s director sends a noncompliance notice to attorneys granted this extra time. After the 92-day grace period ends, you have another 30 days to file your compliance report and pay any outstanding late fees.² Newly admitted attorneys get 60 days instead of 30 after the grace period completion deadline.

Removal From the Master Roll

If you still haven’t complied by the grace period reporting deadline, the Board’s director refers your name to the Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission, and on that same date the ARDC removes you from the master roll.² Removal is not technically a disciplinary sanction, but you cannot practice law in Illinois while removed.

Reinstatement

Getting back on the master roll requires completing all the CLE hours you owe for every reporting period you missed, plus paying a reinstatement fee for each period of noncompliance. If you have been removed for three or more reporting periods, the credits and fees are capped at the three most recent periods. Excess hours earned during removal can only count toward the missed periods and do not roll forward to your current or future cycles.² Additional conditions and fees under Rule 756 may apply before the ARDC restores your license.

1
Supreme Court of Illinois. Illinois Supreme Court Rule 794 – Continuing Legal Education Requirement
2
Supreme Court of Illinois. Illinois Supreme Court Rule 796 – Enforcement of MCLE Requirements
3
Supreme Court of Illinois. Illinois Supreme Court Rule 793 – Requirement for Newly-Admitted Attorneys
4
Supreme Court of Illinois. Illinois Supreme Court Rule 791 – Persons Subject to MCLE Requirements
5
Supreme Court of Illinois. Illinois Supreme Court Rule 795 – Accreditation Standards and Hours