New York CLE requirements run on a two-year cycle: newly admitted attorneys complete 32 credit hours during their first two years at the bar, and every attorney after that completes 24 credit hours every two years. The rules sit in 22 NYCRR Part 1500, and the details that matter most in practice are the category breakdowns, the format restrictions on certain credits, and the reporting cycle tied to your birthday.
Newly Admitted Attorneys: 32 Credits in Two Years
Your first two years after admission are the transitional period, and the load is heavier than what comes later. You need 32 credits total, divided into 16 per year, with each year broken down by category:
- 7 credits in professional practice, law practice management, and/or cybersecurity (general)
- 6 credits in skills
- 3 credits in ethics and professionalism
Across the full 32 credits, at least 1 credit hour must be in cybersecurity, privacy and data protection, and you can satisfy that credit in either year. Up to 3 credits of cybersecurity-ethics coursework can count toward your 6-credit ethics total.1Legal Information Institute. New York Comp. Codes R. and Regs. Tit. 22 1500.12 – Minimum Requirements
Newly admitted attorneys are not required to complete any diversity, inclusion, and elimination of bias credits during the transitional period. That requirement kicks in only once you move to the experienced track.2New York Courts. FAQs for Newly Admitted Attorneys
Format Restrictions That Catch New Attorneys
Not every delivery format qualifies for every credit category, and this is where new attorneys most often slip up.
Ethics and professionalism credits, including cybersecurity-ethics, must be completed through a live classroom, a live webinar that allows questions, or a fully interactive videoconference. Prerecorded or on-demand programs do not count for ethics. Skills credits are tighter still: live classroom or fully interactive videoconference only.
The one category where prerecorded and on-demand programs are permitted is professional practice, law practice management, and cybersecurity (general). So if you complete an on-demand course that awards credits in both professional practice and ethics, only the professional practice credits count toward your requirement.3New York Courts. New York State CLE Board – Newly Admitted Attorneys Check the format before you register.
Experienced Attorneys: 24 Credits Every Two Years
Once you pass the two-year mark, the total drops to 24 credit hours per biennial cycle, distributed as follows:
- At least 4 credits in ethics and professionalism
- At least 1 credit in diversity, inclusion, and elimination of bias
- At least 1 credit in cybersecurity, privacy, and data protection
- The remaining 18 credits in any CLE category
Up to 3 credit hours of cybersecurity-ethics coursework can count toward your 4-credit ethics minimum.4Legal Information Institute. New York Comp. Codes R. and Regs. Tit. 22 1500.22 – Minimum Requirements Format restrictions are looser than for newly admitted attorneys, with most categories accepting prerecorded and on-demand programs, subject to the specific requirements the CLE Board sets for each accredited course.
Carrying Credits to the Next Cycle
If you earn more than 24 credits in a biennial cycle, you can carry over up to 6 excess credits to the next cycle. That ceiling applies regardless of how many extra credits you accumulated, so stockpiling 40 credits does not bank 16 for later.5New York Codes, Rules and Regulations. 22 NYCRR 1500.22 – Minimum Requirements
When You Report and How the Cycle Works
Your reporting cycle is tied to your birthday month and the year you were admitted. If you were admitted before January 1, 1982, or in an even-numbered year, you register in even-numbered years. If you were admitted in an odd-numbered year after 1982, you register in odd-numbered years. Either way, you file within 30 days of your birthday on the appropriate alternating year.
A subtlety that trips people up: the CLE reporting cycle and the registration cycle are not identical. When you file your registration, you are certifying compliance for the prior two-year period and registering for the next two. An attorney who registers in June 2026 is affirming CLE completion for the June 2024 through June 2026 cycle.6New York Courts. FAQs for Experienced Attorneys
Registration happens online through the Attorney Online Services portal. You complete an affirmation under penalty of perjury that you’ve met the CLE requirements for the reporting period. You are not uploading certificates at this stage; the affirmation is a confirmation that you have the documentation in your possession. If you are later audited and cannot produce the records, the fact that you checked the box will not protect you.7New York Courts. Biennial Attorney Registration
Earning Credit for Pro Bono Work
New York lets you earn CLE credit for providing free legal services to people who cannot afford a lawyer. The work must be done through a court assignment or through a program run by an approved pro bono CLE provider, and it must take place within New York State.
The ratio is 1 CLE credit for every 2 hours of eligible pro bono work, calculated in half-credit increments, up to a maximum of 6 pro bono credits per reporting cycle. Pro bono credits cannot be applied toward the ethics and professionalism requirement.8New York Courts. Pro Bono Legal Services CLE Credit
Who Is Exempt
Not every admitted attorney has to complete CLE. The following groups are exempt from the program entirely:
- Attorneys who do not practice law in New York during the reporting period, meaning they give no legal advice and represent no one in the state. Performing judicial or quasi-judicial functions, such as serving as an administrative law judge, does not count as practicing law for this purpose.9New York Courts. Not Practicing Law in New York
- Full-time members of the U.S. Armed Forces and members of New York’s military service on active duty.
- Out-of-state attorneys admitted pro hac vice for a specific proceeding in a New York court.
- Retired attorneys who have certified their retirement under Section 468-a of the Judiciary Law.
If you do not fall into one of these groups but face genuine hardship, the CLE Board can grant individual waivers or modifications case by case. You submit a written request explaining the circumstances.10Legal Information Institute. New York Comp. Codes R. and Regs. Tit. 22 1500.5 – Waivers, Modifications and Exemptions
Keeping Your Attendance Records
After you complete a course, the accredited provider verifies attendance and issues a Certificate of Attendance showing the course title, date, and specific credit categories earned.11New York State Unified Court System. Continuing Legal Education (CLE) Attendance Verification
You are personally responsible for keeping those certificates for at least four years from the date of each course.12New York Courts. Mandatory Continuing Legal Education – CLE Rules The state does not track credits for you. If you are selected for audit, the certificates are the only proof that counts. Create a folder, digital or physical, and drop each certificate in as you earn it.
What Happens If You Fall Short
If you are audited and cannot document compliance, or if you fail to complete the required hours, you’ll be referred to the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court in your judicial department. The Appellate Division has authority to take administrative action, which can include suspension from practice. An attorney suspended for CLE non-compliance faces a full reinstatement proceeding to get the license back, a significantly more involved process than making up the missing credits after the fact.
The practical risk arrives earlier than suspension. An attorney with a registration lapse cannot appear in court, file documents, or hold themselves out as authorized to practice. For solo practitioners and small-firm attorneys, that is an immediate income problem.