Mandatory Continuing Legal Education
All Active lawyers are required to complete a minimum of 4 live interactive CLE credit hours each year. Traditional live “classroom” CLE programs count towards the live requirement. Programs delivered via teleconference or webcast where there is an opportunity to interact with the speaker in real time also qualify as live. Just make sure any course you take indicates it is approved for Virginia live interactive credit. Contact the course sponsor with any questions. A partial list of already approved teleconference and webcast CLE courses is available below under Current Virginia Approved Courses.
By October 31 of each year, all active lawyers must have completed 12 hours of continuing legal education, including 2 hours in ethics/professionalism and 4 hours from live, interactive programs.
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Deadlines & Fees
| Completion Deadline | October 31 | Non-compliance fee: $100 |
| Reporting Deadline | December 15 | Late filing fee: $100 |
| Late Reporting Deadline | February 1 | Additional late filing fee: $100 |
Calendar of all compliance deadlines – Deadlines are Eastern Time.
Current Virginia Approved Courses
- Course List Live and Pre-recorded Group Video Programs (PDF)
- Course List Telephone Webcasts (PDF)
- Accredited Sponsors (PDF) updated 8/26/20
- VSB Section, Committee, and Conference-Sponsored FREE Webinars (PDF)
- Virginia CLE – the commonwealth’s largest provider of approved CLEs
- Reciprocity Course approved under Rule 1A:1
Forms
- Form 1 – to report MCLE courses that cannot be reported online + instructions for compliance (pdf includes 60-Day Notice of Impending Suspension Instructions for Compliance)
- Form 2 – Certification of Attendance (pdf)
- Form 3 – Certification of Teaching (pdf)
- Applications for MCLE Course Approval
- Course Sponsor Application – Form 4 (pdf)
- Law Firm Application – Form 4 (pdf)
- Attorney Individual Application – Form 4 (pdf) More Information & FAQs
- Certifying Your MCLE Attendance
- FAQs about the 2012 MCLE Regulation Changes
- View the official Mandatory Continuing Legal Education Regulations as maintained by the Mandatory Continuing Legal Education Board
MCLE Opinions
- Opinion 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7 – Waivers
- Opinions 4, 9, 10 – Course Approval
- Opinion 8 – Taped Courses
- Opinion 11 – Advertisement by Sponsors
- Opinion 12 – Carryover Credit
- Opinion 13 – Legal Ethics
- Opinion 14 – Written Materials
- Opinion 15 – Vendor Programs
- Opinion 16 – Courses Presented Remotely (Course Presented by Distance Learning Methods)
- Opinion 17 – Law Office Management Programs
- Opinion 18 – Law Firm Sponsored Courses and Programs
- Opinion 19 – Lawyer Well-being
- Opinion 20 – Interpretive Guidance for Courses Approved under Va. Supreme Court Rule 1A:1(b)(3)
- Opinion 21 – Diversity and Elimination of Bias
Authority for the VSB’s mandatory continuing legal education is found in Part 6, Section IV, Rules of Supreme Court of Virginia, Paragraph 17 and the Virginia Code, Title 54.1, Chapter 39, Article 2. Failure to meet these obligations will result in accrual of delinquency fees and possible administrative suspension pursuant to Paragraph 19 of the Rules of Court.
According to § 54.1-3914 of the Code of Virginia any attorney who fails for two successive years to pay the annual fees shall forfeit his license to practice law in the commonwealth.
Updated: Jan 14, 2022