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MCLE Requirements

State Bar of California Minimum Continuing Legal Education (MCLE) Requirements

The State Bar of California requires attorneys to complete a total of 25 hours of approved credit every three years, including at least four hours of legal ethics, one hour on competence issues, and two hours dealing with elimination of bias. Of the two hours, at least one hour must focus on implicit bias and the promotion of bias-reducing strategies.

As part of their 25-hour requirement, attorneys can obtain a maximum of 12.5 hours of self-study credit. For the most up-to-date information on requirements, please visit the State Bar’s website.

The Alameda County Bar Association is a State Bar of California approved MCLE provider.

Did you know that the ACBA offers free streaming of past CLE programs? Watch at your convenience! 

For the foreseeable future, the Alameda County Bar Association will hold all programs and meetings virtually. Not only are we livestreaming 20-30 CLEs and social events each month (free as always for ACBA members), our back programming is also available for self-study credit.

If you already know your ProLearn account details, log in first. ProLearn works best with Chrome. Contact membershipassistant@acbanet.org if you have questions or if you want to know the status of a particular webinar. Usually programs are available within one month after the date.

Compliance Groups

The State Bar of California requires attorneys to complete a total of 25 hours of approved credit every three years, including no less than seven hours as follows:

  • At least four hours of legal ethics
  • At least one hour on competence issues
  • At least two hours dealing with elimination of bias. Of the two hours, at least one hour must focus on implicit bias and the promotion of bias-reducing strategies.

As part of their 25-hour requirement, attorneys can obtain a maximum of 12.5 hours of self-study credit.

Attorneys are divided into three compliance groups:

GROUP 1 (A-G)
Compliance period: 2/1/22−1/31/25
Deadline to report: Feb. 1, 2025
GROUP 2 (H-M)
Compliance period: 2/1/21−1/31/24
Deadline to report: Feb. 1, 2024
GROUP 3 (N-Z)
Compliance period: 2/1/20−1/31/23
Deadline to report: Feb. 1, 2023

Please see the State Bar of California website for more information about MCLE requirementscompliance groups, and reporting.

Free CLE is included in your ACBA Membership!

The ACBA offers free MCLE for members. MCLE classes, which previously cost an average of $20 to $65 depending on membership, are free to all members. The archive of past MCLE classes will be available to watch on-demand through the ACBA website, and will also be free to members. This is a value of more than $1,600!

Read more on the ACBA Blog

Check out our upcoming programs on our calendar: www.acbanet.org/calendar

We can help you keep track of your FREE MCLE

The Alameda County Bar Association, in concert with its sections, programs and committees presents several MCLE programs and special events each month.

As a courtesy, members can now view their ACBA MCLE history by going to My Page and clicking on My MCLE. Please note that attorneys are responsible for tracking their own hours, and for reporting their compliance to the State Bar of California. If audited by the State Bar of California, you will need to provide your certificates of attendance and your record of self-study activities. The MCLE history available on the ACBA website will not suffice. The State Bar of California provides a Personal MCLE Log form you can use to keep track of your credit hours.

ACBA MCLE Policy

Registrations are required for all MCLE programs and ACBA events. There is no guarantee that space will be available unless you have an advance registration. 

Program schedule is subject to change. Please note that in-person reservations can only be held for 5 minutes beyond the start time. At that time, seats are considered “no-shows” and may be given to other attendees.

The ACBA does not provide refunds for MCLE registration. However, registrations are transferable to another attendee for the same program.

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