As a newly admitted attorney, what are my MCLE requirements and deadlines?
Newly-admitted attorneys in Illinois have specific Newly-Admitted Attorney (“NAA”) MCLE requirements that differ from the two-year reporting period requirements.
Before starting the NAA requirements, click here to determine whether you are exempt from them.
Attorneys must report an exemption based on compliance as an out-of-state attorney by their NAA reporting deadline. If an attorney qualifies for any exemption based on an attorney’s ARDC registration records, the Board reports that exemption for the attorney.
If you are not exempt from the requirements, you need to:
- Complete an accredited Basic Skills Course or enroll in a mentoring program approved the Commission on Professionalism by your completion deadline.
- Click here for more information on finding an accredited Basic Skills Course. Depending on the accredited course you complete, you will receive a minimum of 6 hours of professional responsibility credit for completing a Basic Skills course.
- Click here for more information on finding a mentoring program approved by the Commission. You will receive a total of 6 hours of credit, including 4 hours of professional responsibility credit, 1 hour of diversity and inclusion credit, and 1 hour of mental health and substance abuse credit for completing the Commission on Professionalism's mentorship program.
- You also complete additional hours of Illinois-approved CLE credit to total 15 hours, including any amount of PR credit by your completion deadline.
- You can use both an accredited Basic Skills Course and an approved mentoring program to reach the 15 required hours.
- Click here for information on what types of courses and activities qualify for approved CLE credit.
- Report your compliance to the MCLE by your reporting deadline--reporting timely means no late fee is due.
- Click here for information on reporting your compliance by your reporting deadline.
To see your specific NAA deadlines, log in to the Board’s website here. After logging in, your NAA deadlines will appear below your full name.
The deadline to complete NAA requirement is one year after the last day of month in which you were admitted to the Illinois bar. Example: those admitted to the Illinois bar in May 2021 have May 31, 2022 as their NAA compliance deadline. The deadline to report your compliance is 31-days after that completion deadline.
The MCLE Board mails or emails you an Initial Notice about their NAA requirement, including your compliance and reporting deadlines, no later than the first day of the month before your completion deadline.
If you don’t meet these deadlines, you’ll incur a $250.00 late fee and ultimately risk removal from the Master Roll of Attorneys. Click here for more information on the consequence of failing to meet your NAA requirement deadline.
Going forward, your initial two-year reporting period begins on the July 1 after your newly admitted attorney completion deadline – in an even-numbered year for A-M last names and in an odd-numbered year for N-Z last names. Click here for more information on determining when your first two-year reporting period begins.
To locate this FAQ again, enter this FAQ number in the search FAQ box: A305.