Indiana CLE requirements call for 36 hours of approved continuing legal education every three-year educational period, with at least six hours completed each calendar year and at least three hours devoted to legal ethics or professional responsibility over the full cycle. The rule is Indiana Admission and Discipline Rule 29, and surplus hours do not carry into the next period.1Indiana Rules for Admission to the Bar and the Discipline of Attorneys. Rule 29 Mandatory Continuing Legal Education
Hours, Ethics, and the Three-Year Cycle
Every active Indiana attorney earns 36 approved credit hours per three-year educational period. Six hours is the minimum for any single calendar year, so you cannot bank everything for year three and coast through years one and two. At least three of the 36 hours have to cover professional responsibility or legal ethics, and those ethics hours can either stand alone or sit inside a broader substantive course.1Indiana Rules for Admission to the Bar and the Discipline of Attorneys. Rule 29 Mandatory Continuing Legal Education
All credits for a single activity count toward one calendar year. You cannot split a program across two years, and excess hours do not roll over. If you finish 40 hours in one cycle, the extra four disappear when the new period starts.
Caps on Certain Credit Formats
Rule 29 limits how many hours of certain course types can count during one educational period:
- Non-legal subject matter courses (practice management, technology, and similar professional skills content that lacks substantive legal material): no more than 12 hours.
- Interactive distance education, meaning any course where you and the instructor are not in the same physical location: no more than 18 hours.
- In-house programs: no more than three hours.
The One-Time Applied Professionalism Requirement
If you were admitted to the Indiana bar after December 31, 1998, six of your 36 hours must come from an Applied Professionalism Program for Newly Admitted Attorneys accredited by the Commission.1Indiana Rules for Admission to the Bar and the Discipline of Attorneys. Rule 29 Mandatory Continuing Legal Education This is a one-time obligation during your first educational period. Given the 1998 cutoff, it effectively reaches every attorney who has not been practicing for more than about 25 years.
Credit for Teaching and Writing
Teaching an approved CLE course pays well in credit terms. You earn four hours for every hour you spend presenting, lecturing, or sitting on a panel. Authors who contribute written materials without presenting earn one hour for every four hours of preparation, capped at six hours total. If you attend other sessions at the same program, you also receive hour-for-hour credit as an attendee. One exception: speaking at programs aimed at non-attorneys does not earn credit.2Indiana Rules for Admission to the Bar and the Discipline of Attorneys. Mandatory Continuing Legal Education Guidelines
Who Is Exempt
Rule 29 excuses several categories of attorneys from the education and reporting requirements:1Indiana Rules for Admission to the Bar and the Discipline of Attorneys. Rule 29 Mandatory Continuing Legal Education
- Attorneys who have filed an affidavit of inactivity or retirement under Admission and Discipline Rule 2.
- Indiana judges, who follow Admission and Discipline Rule 28 instead.
- Members of the executive branch of the U.S. government, U.S. Senators, and U.S. Representatives while serving in office.
- Attorneys mobilized or deployed outside the United States, who can petition the Commission with their orders for an exemption of up to three years.
- Attorneys who file a verified petition demonstrating undue hardship.
The military and hardship exemptions require you to file paperwork and obtain Commission approval before they take effect.
How to Report Your Hours
Many CLE sponsors report attendance directly to the Commission, so check first before self-reporting. Ask the provider whether they handle it, because your transcript may already reflect hours you completed.3Indiana Judicial Branch. Report Legal Education Credits
If you need to report yourself, log in to the Indiana Courts Portal at courts.in.gov, open the “My Continuing Education” section, and choose “Report legal education credits.” The portal takes you through searching for the course, confirming its details, entering your attendance, and signing an affidavit of attendance.4Indiana Judicial Branch. My Continuing Education The same section includes a “Legal education summary” link that shows your current credit total, what you still need, and when your cycle ends.
Hold on to your certificates of attendance. If your records and the Commission’s ever disagree, those certificates are the fastest way to settle it. If you lose one, ask the course provider for a duplicate.
Late Fees and Administrative Suspension
The compliance deadline is December 31. On January 1, a $150 late fee automatically accrues against any attorney who has not met the annual or educational period requirements for the year just ended. The Commission sends notice of the fee by mail or electronically in February.1Indiana Rules for Admission to the Bar and the Discipline of Attorneys. Rule 29 Mandatory Continuing Legal Education You stay delinquent until the Commission has both proof of your completed courses and payment of the late fee.
The costs compound. For each consecutive year of noncompliance, the Commission adds a $100 surcharge on top of the $150 fee. Two consecutive years of noncompliance totals $400.
On May 1, the Commission sends the Indiana Supreme Court a list of attorneys who are still delinquent for immediate suspension. Once the Court enters the order, you cannot practice law in Indiana until you are formally reinstated.
Reinstatement After Suspension
Reinstatement requires a petition to the Commission and a $200 reinstatement fee, plus any surcharges owed. The required makeup work depends on how long you were out:1Indiana Rules for Admission to the Bar and the Discipline of Attorneys. Rule 29 Mandatory Continuing Legal Education
- Suspended one year or less: complete the hours needed to cure the original deficiency, plus six additional approved hours earned between the suspension date and the date you petition.
- Suspended more than one year: complete the deficiency hours plus 36 approved hours, with at least 12 of those earned in the 12 months before you file your petition. You also begin a new educational period on January 1 of the year you are reinstated.
The jump between the two tiers is steep. An attorney suspended for 13 months faces far more makeup work than one who resolves the problem at 11 months. If a February notice of noncompliance arrives, treat May 1 as a hard wall.