The easiest way for attorneys to obtain MCLE credit in Alabama is for a course sponsor to request credit at least 30 days in advance of presenting a program. In order to have a course reviewed for accreditation, a sponsor must submit a completed Application for MCLE Course Accreditation, a detailed timed agenda of the program (including breaks meals, speaker biographies and a $50 processing fee.

1. Each activity must have significant intellectual or practical content and its primary objective must be to increase the participant’s professional competence as an attorney.  The activity should not be designed primarily for non-lawyers. (MCLE Rule 5.A.2)
2. Each activity must deal primarily with substantive legal issues, practice management, professional responsibility or ethical obligations of attorneys. Whenever possible, ethical implications of practice management subject matter shall be included.  (MCLE Rule 5.A.3)
3. Each activity must be conducted by an individual or a group qualified by practical or academic experience.  The program must be conducted substantially as planned, including the named advertised participants, subject to emergency withdrawals and alterations.  (MCLE Rule 5.A.5)
4. Thorough, high quality, readable and carefully prepared written materials must be made available to all participants, in hard copy or electronic medium, at or before the time of presentation of the activity, unless the absence of such materials is reasonable and has been preapproved by the MCLE Commission.  (MCLE Rule 5.A.6)
5. Sponsors of approved MCLE activities shall refrain from advertising or encouraging the use of their products or services during the activity. Sponsors shall seek participants’ opinions regarding their adherence to this policy. Failure to adhere to this policy shall be ground for withdrawal of accreditation of the MCLE activity.  (MCLE Regulation 4.4)
6. The cost of the activity must be reasonably related to the subject matter, instructional level and location. (MCLE Rule 5.A.8)
7. Approval may be given for activities where electronically recorded or reproduced material is used only if a qualified instructor is available to comment and answer questions at the time of the broadcast. Satellite and teleconference programs must have either telephone connections to the instructors at the broadcast location or an instructor present at the receiving site to comment and to answer questions.  (MCLE Rule 5.B)

   Web-based programs (on-demand/online) will be eligible for approval only if the participant’s attendance is randomly monitored and verified by the sponsor during the program.  (MCLE Rule 5.C)  The sponsor should also provide a means for the participants to ask questions by email with a reasonable time frame for a reply.

8. Program sponsors should limit “question and answer” segments or “participants idea sharing” segments without written materials or lecture direction to 15 minutes or less per day. Alternative learning methods may be submitted in advance to a program and reviewed for credit by the MCLE Commission. This does not apply to skills training programs.
9. MCLE credit will not be awarded for self-study programs. (MCLE Rule 5.D)