Florida Bar CLE Requirements: Hours, Exemptions, and Reporting

Florida Bar CLE requirements call for 30 credit hours of approved continuing legal education every three years, with 8 of those hours locked into specific subjects and the remaining 22 open as electives.¹ The Florida Supreme Court sets these standards through Rule 6-10.3 of the Rules Regulating The Florida Bar, and every active member is responsible for meeting them by an assigned compliance date.

The 30 Hours and the Three-Year Cycle

Every active Florida Bar member owes 30 CLE credit hours per three-year reporting cycle.¹ The Bar staggers its membership into reporting groups, so a portion of attorneys reach their deadline each year. Your compliance date falls on the last day of a particular month every third year and stays consistent throughout your career.

One thing catches people off guard. Excess credits do not carry over.² Complete 40 hours in one cycle and you still start the next at zero. Front-loading credits to bank them for a lighter future cycle is not a viable strategy, so plan to spread coursework across the three years.

What the 8 Required Hours Must Cover

Of your 30 hours, 8 must fall into designated subject categories. The other 22 are electives you can fill with courses relevant to your practice, whether real estate, litigation, family law, or anything else the Bar has approved.

Ethics, Professionalism, Substance Abuse, and Mental Health

At least 5 of your 30 hours must cover approved topics in legal ethics, professionalism, substance abuse, or mental health and wellness.² Within those 5 hours, you must complete the mandatory 2-credit-hour Florida Legal Professionalism course produced by The Florida Bar and approved by the Supreme Court of Florida.¹ No substitute course satisfies that particular piece. The remaining 3 hours in this category can come from any approved ethics, professionalism, substance abuse, or mental health program you choose.

Technology

At least 3 of your 30 hours must come from approved technology programs.³ These courses cover legal software, data security, electronic discovery, and digital management of client information. The Bar treats technology competence as a core professional obligation.

Extra Requirements for New Admittees

If you were recently admitted, you carry an additional obligation on top of the standard 30 hours. The Basic Skills Course Requirement under Rule 6-12.3 has two phases.⁴

Phase I: Complete “Practicing with Professionalism” within your first year of admission. Every newly admitted member has to do this regardless of age or years of practice elsewhere.
Phase II: Complete 21 credit hours of basic-level courses within your first three years of admission. These are Young Lawyers Division programs with titles beginning “Basic,” such as Basic Criminal Law or Basic Real Property.

Experienced lawyers coming in from another state get a partial break. If you are 36 or older and have practiced more than five years in another jurisdiction, you are excused from Phase II. You still complete Phase I and submit an exemption form confirming your prior experience.⁴

Earning Credit Through Pro Bono Work

Florida gives credit for pro bono legal service. Under Rule 6-10.3(h), you receive 1 general credit hour for every hour of pro bono service, capped at 5 credit hours per three-year cycle.⁵ These count only toward general elective credits and cannot replace your required ethics or technology hours. Monetary donations do not qualify.

Who Is Exempt

Rule 6-10.3(c) lists six categories of members exempt from the standard CLE obligation:²

Inactive members of The Florida Bar.
Full-time federal judiciary members prohibited from engaging in private practice.
Justices of the Supreme Court of Florida and judges of the district courts of appeal, circuit courts, and county courts, who follow separate judicial education requirements.
Members on active military duty, for the duration of their service.
Attorneys facing undue hardship, on petition to the Board of Legal Specialization and Education.
Nonresident members who live outside Florida and do not deliver legal services on matters governed by Florida law.

The first three are automatic, though you should confirm the exemption has been applied by contacting Membership Records.⁶ The other three require a formal exemption request. Any exemption lasts only as long as the qualifying condition. Return to active practice, move back to Florida, or leave the bench, and the CLE clock starts again.

What Happens If You Miss Your Deadline

Missing your compliance date is more than an administrative headache. If you fail to complete and report your 30 hours by the end of your reporting period, the Bar deems you delinquent under Rule 1-3.6.⁷ A delinquent member is prohibited from practicing law in Florida and loses the privileges of good standing.

Getting back in good standing depends on how long you have been delinquent. Under three years, you complete your missing credits, file a Petition for Removal of CLER Delinquency, and pay a $150 nonrefundable reinstatement fee.⁸ Between three and five years, you must complete 10 CLE credits for each year of delinquent status on top of the petition and fee. Five years or more brings a more involved reinstatement process that may require a petition to the Board of Governors, and the petition must disclose whether you practiced law during your delinquency, which opens its own disciplinary exposure.⁷

Reporting Your Credits

Florida attorneys self-report through the MyFloridaBar Member Portal. When you finish an approved program, use the course number from the course description to log it. Some providers report attendance directly to the Bar, but do not rely on that. Keeping your transcript accurate is your job.⁹

If a completed course does not appear in the system, enter the program details manually through the portal’s reporting tool. Check your transcript well before your compliance date and confirm that each required category shows as satisfied. Keep completion certificates for the full cycle in case of an audit. A last-minute scramble to prove you took a course two years ago is avoidable with basic record-keeping.

1
The Florida Bar. Continuing Legal Education Requirement (CLER)
2
The Florida Bar. Frequently Asked Questions About CLE Requirements
3
The Florida Bar. Professionalism CLE
4
The Florida Bar. Basic Skills Course Requirement FAQ
5
The Florida Bar. Pro Bono Service Request for CLE Credit
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The Florida Bar. Continuing Legal Education Requirement Exemption Request
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Florida Supreme Court. Rules Regulating The Florida Bar
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The Florida Bar. Petition for Removal of CLER Delinquency
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The Florida Bar. LegalFuel CLE FAQs