Continuing Legal Education
Active attorneys and attorneys registered for corporate status must complete 24 hours of accredited CLE activities every two years. Fulltime, part-time, and retired judges and magistrates must complete 40 hours of accredited CLE activities. Acting judges must complete 24 hours of accredited CLE activities every two years. Judges, acting judges, and magistrates also have a Judicial College requirement. CLE requirements are contained in Gov. Bar R. X and Gov. Jud. R. IV and are administered by the Commission on Continuing Legal Education and the Office of Attorney Services.
In July, the Supreme Court of Ohio adopted rule changes that will permanently remove the CLE self-study caps for attorneys, effective January 1, 2023. The changes will allow attorneys to comply with their biennial CLE requirements through approved self-study courses.
For attorneys with last names ending with M-Z who have a CLE requirement for the 2021-2022 compliance period ending December 31, 2022, the self-study caps were waived previously under the Administrative Order issued on September 22, 2021, allowing those attorneys to comply with the CLE requirements through approved self-study courses.
The amendments will also increase the self-study caps for judges and magistrates to 20 hours per compliance period and eliminate the separate cap for live webinars in future compliance periods. The first biennium that judges and magistrates will be subject to the new cap will be the 2023-2024 compliance period. The following clarifies the amendments and the self-study caps for judges and magistrates by compliance period:
- Judges and magistrates with last names ending with M-Z who have a CLE requirement for the 2021-2022 compliance period ending December 31, 2022, the self-study caps have been waived pursuant to the Administrative Order issued on September 22, 2021.
- Judges and magistrates with the last names ending with A-L who have a CLE requirement for the 2022-2023 compliance period ending December 31, 2023, are subject to the current self-study caps of 12 hours of self-study credit and 24 hours of live interactive webinar credit.
- Judges and magistrates with the last names ending with M-Z who have a CLE requirement for the 2023-2024 compliance period ending December 31, 2024, will be subject to the new 20 hour self-study cap.
Attorneys, judges, and magistrates are encouraged to confirm that self-study courses have been accredited in Ohio prior to attending. Pursuant to CCLE Reg. 409, only Sponsors can apply for accreditation of self-study activities.
Announcements and updates regarding COVID-19 and continuing legal education can be found here. Please check back for updates.
FAQ re: CLE Credit for attending training and serving as a poll worker
Notice Permitting Electronic Submission of Applications for CLE Accreditation on Temporary Basis
- Gov.Bar R.X (Continuing Legal Education)
- Attorney Continuing Legal Education Regulations
- Gov.Jud R.IV (Mandatory Continuing Legal Education for the Judiciary)
Contact Information
Supreme Court of Ohio
65 South Front Street, 5th Floor
Columbus, Ohio 43215-3431
Director:
Gina White Palmer, Esq.