New York CLE reciprocity lets you satisfy your New York continuing legal education requirement with courses accredited by one of roughly 40 approved jurisdictions, without having to apply for individual course approval. The CLE Board accepts those credits automatically as long as the course meets New York’s accreditation standards and you keep the right documentation. The rules split those jurisdictions into two groups with different recordkeeping obligations, and the definition of “out-of-state” turns on course format in a way that catches many attorneys off guard.
Approved Jurisdictions: Group A and Group B
The authority for reciprocity sits in 22 NYCRR 1500.22(m), which recognizes CLE courses approved by another state or foreign jurisdiction that meets the CLE Board’s accreditation standards.1Cornell Law Institute. NY Comp Codes R and Regs Tit 22 1500.22 The Board publishes the qualifying list, which has been effective since November 1, 2014.
Group A: Alabama, Arkansas, Colorado, Delaware, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah, Virginia, and Wisconsin. The Law Society of Hong Kong is also in Group A. For courses from these jurisdictions, you do not have to independently retain the written course materials, because these states already require providers to distribute them.2NYCOURTS.GOV. Approved Jurisdiction List and Policy
Group B: Alaska, California, Florida, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Texas, Vermont, Washington, West Virginia, and Wyoming. For Group B courses, you must retain the written course materials the program distributed, in addition to your other documentation. If a Group B provider did not distribute written materials, the course will not satisfy the New York requirement regardless of the accreditation.2NYCOURTS.GOV. Approved Jurisdiction List and Policy
States not on either list include Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, and Michigan. A course accredited only by one of those states will not qualify automatically. To claim it, either the sponsor or you as an individual attorney must apply to the New York CLE Board for individual course accreditation.2NYCOURTS.GOV. Approved Jurisdiction List and Policy
What Counts as an Out-of-State Course
Reciprocity only applies to courses that qualify as out-of-state under New York’s definitions, and those definitions turn on format.
A traditional live classroom course is out-of-state when participants and faculty are physically located outside New York. A nontraditional course (online, on-demand, webinar, teleconference) is out-of-state when the sponsoring organization is headquartered outside New York.2NYCOURTS.GOV. Approved Jurisdiction List and Policy
This trips people up. If you sit in your Manhattan apartment and watch a prerecorded CLE from a California-based provider, that course is out-of-state, because the sponsor is headquartered in California. Reciprocity applies if California accredited it. If you watch a prerecorded course from a New York-headquartered provider while vacationing in Florida, that course is not out-of-state under New York’s rules, because the sponsor is based in New York. That one needs direct accreditation from the New York CLE Board.2NYCOURTS.GOV. Approved Jurisdiction List and Policy
The policy covers both traditional and nontraditional formats, so you are not restricted to in-person attendance at out-of-state seminars. Online courses from approved-jurisdiction providers qualify on the same terms.
Calculating Credits Under New York’s Standards
When you claim a reciprocal credit, you calculate the credit hours using New York’s rules, not the rules of the state where you took the course. New York counts 50 minutes of instruction as one CLE credit, awarded in half-credit increments. Some states use a 60-minute hour, so a course worth 3 credits in one of those states may translate to a different number in New York. Do the math before you report.2NYCOURTS.GOV. Approved Jurisdiction List and Policy
Category assignment is also on you. The out-of-state provider may label a course one way while New York would classify it differently. Compare the course description against the CLE Board’s category definitions and map each course accordingly.
Excess credits carry over. If you earn more than the 24 credits an experienced attorney needs in a biennial cycle, up to 6 excess credits carry forward to the next cycle, and this applies to reciprocal credits the same as it does to New York-accredited credits.3New York Codes, Rules and Regulations. 22 CRR-NY 1500.22 Minimum Requirements
Cybersecurity and Diversity Credits Through Reciprocity
New York’s newer mandatory categories, Cybersecurity, Privacy and Data Protection and Diversity, Inclusion and Elimination of Bias, can both be satisfied through out-of-state courses under the standard reciprocity conditions. The course has to be accredited by an approved jurisdiction, meet New York’s accreditation standards, and align with the CLE Board’s Program Rules and Regulations.4New York State Unified Court System. FAQs for Experienced Attorneys
The credit still has to fall into the right New York category. A course labeled “technology ethics” in another state might qualify as Cybersecurity Ethics in New York, but the CLE Board’s category definitions govern that determination, not the out-of-state provider’s label. New York permits up to 3 credits of Cybersecurity Ethics to count toward the 4-credit Ethics and Professionalism requirement; Cybersecurity General credits do not cross over into the ethics bucket.4New York State Unified Court System. FAQs for Experienced Attorneys
Pro Bono Credits Do Not Transfer
Pro bono CLE credit earned in another state does not come across. Under 22 NYCRR 1500.22(j), New York awards pro bono CLE credit only for uncompensated legal services performed through a court assignment or through a program accredited by the New York CLE Board. The reciprocity provision in subsection (m) covers CLE courses; it does not extend to pro bono service credits earned elsewhere.3New York Codes, Rules and Regulations. 22 CRR-NY 1500.22 Minimum Requirements
Documentation to Keep
New York’s CLE program is self-reporting. You don’t send certificates to the CLE Board when you finish a course. You retain documentation for at least four years from the date of the program in case of audit.4New York State Unified Court System. FAQs for Experienced Attorneys
For each out-of-state course claimed under the approved jurisdiction policy, keep all of the following:
- A certificate or record from the sponsor confirming your attendance and completion.
- Evidence that at least one approved jurisdiction accredited the course.
- Proof that written course materials were made available. For Group B courses, keep the actual materials.
- Proof that at least one attorney in good standing served on the faculty.
- For nontraditional formats (online, on-demand, teleconference), proof that the provider independently verified your completion.
Newly admitted attorneys claiming reciprocal credits also need proof that the course content was appropriate for newly admitted attorneys.2NYCOURTS.GOV. Approved Jurisdiction List and Policy
One documentation point worth flagging: the New York CLE Certificate of Attendance form cannot be used for approved jurisdiction credits. That form is only for courses directly accredited by New York. For reciprocal credits, whatever attendance record the out-of-state provider issues is what you rely on.5New York State Unified Court System. New York CLE Certificate of Attendance
Reporting Reciprocal Credits
Reporting happens through the Attorney Online Services portal during biennial registration. Every two years, within 30 days of your birthday, you file your registration and certify CLE compliance. The registration fee is $375.6New York Courts. Biennial Attorney Registration
In the CLE section, you enter your aggregated credit totals by category. There is no separate field for reciprocal credits, and you do not have to notify the CLE Board or the Attorney Registration office that you are claiming credits under the approved jurisdiction policy. You just include them in your totals.2NYCOURTS.GOV. Approved Jurisdiction List and Policy After submitting, verify your registration status through the public attorney directory rather than trusting the confirmation screen alone.
Consequences of Falling Short
Attorneys who fail to comply with CLE requirements have their names submitted to the Appellate Division “for appropriate action.”4New York State Unified Court System. FAQs for Experienced Attorneys The Board can grant waivers or modifications for undue hardship or extenuating circumstances, but you have to request those proactively.
Failing to file your biennial registration at all is a separate and more immediate problem. Under Judiciary Law ยง 468-a, attorneys who default on registration are subject to Appellate Division disciplinary action, and attorneys who do not register and pay all outstanding fees within 30 days of notice will be suspended by order of the Appellate Division.7New York Courts. Attorney Registration – Failure to Register May Result in Suspension Reinstatement after suspension is its own process and considerably more work than staying current.