Annual Requirement
Unless exempt, all Alabama attorneys must earn at least 12.0 total MCLE credits (including 1.0 ethics) by December 31 of each year.
MCLE Compliance Report
Attorneys should regularly log in to their MyDashboard page on the ASB website to view detailed CLE transcripts for the current year and previous years. Course sponsors are given 30 days after course completion to report attorney credits to the Attorney Licensing Office. Any discrepancy with a CLE transcript should be reported to the course sponsor and the Attorney Licensing Office by emailing cle@alabar.org or calling (334) 269-1515.
Out of State Attorney Exemption
An attorney who resides and maintains a principal office for the practice of law in another state that requires Mandatory Continuing Legal Education (MCLE) and who can demonstrate compliance with the Mandatory CLE requirements of his or her principal state of practice is exempt from the annual MCLE requirement in Alabama (MCLE Regulation 2.7).
Attorneys claiming this exemption must submit a Regulation 2.7 Statement and $25 processing fee by February 15 for the prior program year.
MCLE Waiver Request
The MCLE Commission may waive MCLE requirements for a period of one year or longer upon a finding of undue hardship or of extenuating circumstances beyond the control of the attorney seeking such waiver which prevent him or her from complying in any reasonable manner with the MCLE requirements. Upon expiration of the waiver, the MCLE Commission may impose additional MCLE requirements as may be deemed appropriate under the circumstances. Those attorneys seeking a waiver of MCLE requirements must submit a MCLE Waiver Request.
Applying for MCLE Course Accreditation
If a course sponsor does not submit a course for accreditation, an attending attorney may submit the program for accreditation. However, no course submitted more than 60 days after the close of the program year (December 31) will be considered for accreditation.
In order to have a course reviewed for accreditation, an attorney must submit a completed Application for MCLE Course Accreditation, a detailed timed agenda of the program (including breaks and meals), speaker biographies and a $25 processing fee.
Deadlines and Penalties
- December 31
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Deadline for Completion of Credits
All credits must be completed by December 31. (MCLE Rule 3 and MCLE Reg. 7.2).
- February 15
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Deadline to correct MCLE Transcript (for courses completed by December 31)
Attorneys who receive a Notice of Non-Compliance must submit a transcript edited to reflect courses that were taken but not reported by December 31 to demonstrate timely compliance. If an MCLE Transcript is not corrected by this deadline, a Late Filing Fee of $100 will be assessed (MCLE Regulation 8.3).
Deadline to submit Deficiency Plan (for failure to complete required credits by December 31) and Late Compliance Fee
Attorneys who do not satisfy the annual MCLE requirement by December 31 must submit a Request for Deficiency Plan and a Late Compliance Fee of $100. The deficiency plan must include only courses chosen from the Approved Course Page which can be accessed from your member profile page.
If a Deficiency Plan is not submitted by this by this deadline, a Late Filing Fee of $100 will be assessed (MCLE Regulation 8.3) in addition to the Late Compliance Fee of $100.
- March 1
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Deadline to complete courses on an approved Deficiency Plan
Deadline to Request Extended Deficiency Plan (EXTRAORDINARY CIRCUMSTANCES ONLY)
If an approved Deficiency Plan is not completed by March 1, an attorney may submit a Request for an Extended Deficiency Plan, demonstrating good cause for failure to complete an approved Deficiency Plan. Such requests must be accompanied by a fee of $100.
- March 15
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Deadline to report completion of an approved Deficiency Plan
If completion of an approved Deficiency Plan is not reported by this deadline, a Late Reporting Fee of $100 will be assessed (MCLE Regulation 8.4). - April 1
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Deadline to report completion of an approved Extended Deficiency Plan
The MCLE Commission has no authority to resolve non-compliance issues after this deadline (MCLE Regulation 8.5).