Virginia CLE requirements call for every active and emeritus member of the Virginia State Bar to complete 12 hours of continuing legal education each year, with at least 2 hours in ethics or professionalism and at least 4 hours from live, interactive programs.1Virginia State Bar. MCLE Essentials The compliance year runs November 1 through October 31, and reporting is due by December 15. Miss either date and the fees start at $100 and climb toward administrative suspension.
The 12 Hours, Broken Down
Track the requirement in three buckets. At least 2 hours have to cover legal ethics or professionalism. At least 4 hours have to come from live, interactive programming where you can engage with the presenter in real time, whether in person or by interactive webinar. The remaining hours can be any approved combination of courses, teaching, or course preparation.1Virginia State Bar. MCLE Essentials
Well-being topics such as substance abuse, mental health, stress management, and work-life balance qualify for general CLE credit. A well-being program can also count for ethics credit if it addresses ethical considerations in the Rules of Professional Conduct or the reporting obligations those rules create.1Virginia State Bar. MCLE Essentials
The 4-hour live rule catches more people than the ethics rule does. Attorneys who lean on on-demand courses all year sometimes find themselves hunting for a live program in October.
Deadlines and What Missing Them Costs
The CLE year closes at 11:59 p.m. ET on October 31.2Virginia State Bar. MCLE Annual Compliance – General Information and FAQs Reporting is a separate step with its own schedule, and the fees escalate at each miss:
- October 31: All coursework must be finished. Falling short triggers a $100 non-compliance fee.
- December 15, 4:45 p.m. ET: Deadline to report all attendance credits. Missing this adds a $100 late filing fee.
- February 1, 4:45 p.m. ET: Final late reporting window. Missing this adds another $100 fee.
- Early to mid-March: Administrative suspension for anyone still out of compliance. Reinstatement costs $250, plus $50 for each prior MCLE suspension (capped at $500 in repeat-suspension fees).
These fees stack. An attorney who misses every deadline and gets suspended could pay $300 in delinquency fees on top of the $250 reinstatement charge. The December 15 reporting deadline applies to every attorney with a CLE requirement and covers each course attended or taught during the prior CLE period.2Virginia State Bar. MCLE Annual Compliance – General Information and FAQs
How to Report Your Credits
The simplest path is the VSB’s online Member Portal. You enter course information directly and get immediate confirmation. The online system stays open until 4:45 p.m. ET on December 15.3Virginia State Bar. MCLE Form 1 Instructions
If you cannot report online, or you need to report a course still pending approval, submit MCLE Form 1 (the End of Year Report) by mail to the MCLE Department at the Virginia State Bar with your certificates of attendance attached.4Virginia State Bar. Certifying Your MCLE Attendance Each approved course issues a certificate with a Virginia course ID.5Virginia State Bar. MCLE Form 1 End of Year Report
After submitting, check your online Member CLE Record to confirm the hours posted and your status reads compliant. Hitting submit is not confirmation.
Course Formats and Alternative Credit
Pre-Recorded Cap
Pre-recorded or on-demand courses give you scheduling flexibility, but no more than 8 of your 12 required hours can come from pre-recorded formats, and no more than 8 pre-recorded credits count in any single 12-hour window.6Virginia State Bar. Mandatory Continuing Legal Education Regulations The other 4 have to be live and interactive.
Teaching and Preparation
Teaching an approved CLE course earns credit based on time spent instructing. Preparing written materials or your own presentation for an approved course earns separate preparation credit, capped at four times the instructional minutes, and no single course can generate more than 8 preparation hours.6Virginia State Bar. Mandatory Continuing Legal Education Regulations Teaching credit is not available for law firm courses aimed at clients or prospective clients.7Virginia State Bar. MCLE Seeking Credit for Programs
Pro Bono Service
Starting May 1, 2026, attorneys can earn CLE credit through qualifying pro bono legal work at a rate of 1 credit hour for every 4 hours of service, up to 5 credit hours per reporting period.7Virginia State Bar. MCLE Seeking Credit for Programs This is a new program, and specific eligibility details will come from the VSB.
Carrying Over Excess Credits
Virginia allows a one-year carryover of excess hours. You can carry forward up to 12 hours total, but no more than 2 can be ethics or professionalism credits, and no more than 8 carryover hours (including no more than 2 ethics) can come from pre-recorded programs.6Virginia State Bar. Mandatory Continuing Legal Education Regulations
Carryover lasts one year only. Earn 20 hours in one period, and 12 satisfy the current requirement while up to 8 of the rest carry forward. Those carried hours expire at the end of the next period whether you used them or not, so plan your calendar accordingly.
Who Is Exempt
Not every Virginia bar member has to complete annual CLE.
- Newly admitted attorneys are exempt for the completion period in which they are first admitted. Your obligation begins on November 1 following admission, and your first reporting deadline is December 15 of the following year. Courses taken before admission earn no credit, but courses taken between admission and November 1 may carry over into your first required period.6Virginia State Bar. Mandatory Continuing Legal Education Regulations
- Inactive and retired members are not subject to the 12-hour requirement. Class changes can be requested through the Member Portal during annual dues renewal or by emailing the VSB Membership Department; some changes require additional documentation.8Virginia State Bar. Virginia State Bar – Membership Class Changes
- Patent, trademark, and copyright attorneys admitted solely for practice in patent, trademark, copyright, and unfair competition law under Virginia Code 54-42.1(2a) are exempt.1Virginia State Bar. MCLE Essentials
Emeritus members are not exempt. Emeritus status carries the same 12-hour obligation as fully active membership.1Virginia State Bar. MCLE Essentials
If You Get Suspended
Administrative suspension for MCLE noncompliance is not a disciplinary action in the traditional sense, but you still cannot practice law until you resolve it. Reinstatement requires completing and reporting any outstanding hours and paying every accumulated delinquency and reinstatement fee.2Virginia State Bar. MCLE Annual Compliance – General Information and FAQs Work performed during suspension could constitute unauthorized practice of law, which produces problems far larger than a fee.
The VSB processes these suspensions under Paragraph 19 of the Rules of Court.1Virginia State Bar. MCLE Essentials The $50 surcharge for each prior suspension discourages treating suspension and reinstatement as a routine cost of doing business. For an attorney with clients and active matters, even a brief gap in licensure creates cascading problems with court dates, filing deadlines, and client trust.