Ohio
CLE Requirements: The Commission on Continuing Legal Education, Supreme Court of Ohio requires attorneys to complete 24 credits, including 2.5 credits in professional conduct, by December 31 every two years. Attorneys are limited to 12 credits of self-study per compliance period. Compliance periods are based on last names: A through L must complete their requirements in odd-numbered years; M through Z must complete their requirements in even-numbered years. A maximum of 12 credits may be carried over to the next compliance period. Beginning with the 2013/2014 compliance period, attorneys will no longer be required to file a final reporting transcript by January 31 for the two preceding years. For additional information, please see the FAQ page on the Commission on Continuing Legal Education, Supreme Court of Ohio website.
Effective July 1, 2019, Ohio attorneys may earn up to 24 credits per biennial compliance period via Live Interactive Webinars. Live Interactive Webinars are live webcasts that include at least two means of interactivity. Live interactivity may include any direct audience participation and audience response techniques such as the ability to ask a question of the live presenter (attendees can personally ask questions of speakers or can submit written questions to be asked of live speaker); interactivity via chat room accessible by the presenters and other program attendees; the ability for participants to make real-time comments and interact; real-time polling; real-time surveys; and live Q&A sessions. For more information on the rule change, please refer to Supreme Court Rule X, Section 5(E)(2) and Appendix I, Regulation 100(V) on the Supreme Court of Ohio website.
Learn about the specific requirements for newly-admitted Ohio attorneys.
Coronavirus update: In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, The Commission on Continuing Legal Education ("Commission") has waived self-study caps for judges, magistrates, and attorneys with last names beginning with M through Z for the 2021-2022 compliance period ending December 31, 2022.
The Commission on Continuing Legal Education ("Commission") had previously waived self-study caps for judges, magistrates, and attorneys with last names beginning with A through L for the 2020-2021 compliance period ending December 31, 2021. Previously, the Commission on Continuing Legal Education ("Commission") waived the self-study caps for those with the last names beginning with M-Z to complete the CLE requirements for the 2019-2020 compliance period ending December 31, 2020. Accordingly, all CLE requirements may be completed through approved self-study courses, including live interactive webinars, for both the compliance periods ending December 31, 2021 and December 31, 2022.
Rule Change for 2023: The Supreme Court of Ohio adopted rule changes to permanently remove the CLE self-study caps for attorneys, effective January 1, 2023. The changes will allow attorneys to comply with their biennial 24-credit CLE requirement through approved self-study courses.
Credits earned via self-study formats such as on-demand programs were previously capped at twelve credits per biennial 24-credit CLE compliance cycle. The self-study caps were waived under an order issued on September 22, 2021, allowing those attorneys to comply with the CLE requirements through approved self-study courses during the pandemic.
Completing Your Ohio Requirements with PLI: PLI and SEC Institute's live seminars and co-sponsored locations (Cincinnati, Cleveland, and Columbus) qualify as "live" credit. PLI and SEC Institute’s live webcasts qualify as Live Interactive Webinars. There is no limit to the number of credits an attorney can earn via live programs or live interactive webinars. View live and live interactve webinar CLE programs approved in Ohio.
PLI and SEC Institute's one-hour briefings, on-demand programs, MP3s, and MP4s qualify as "self-study" credit. Attorneys are limited to 12 credits of self-study per compliance period. View self-study CLE programs approved in Ohio.
PLI is a Sponsor with the Commission on Continuing Legal Education, Supreme Court of Ohio. Providers are required to submit applications for each program.
Attendance Reporting: PLI reports attendance to the Commission on Continuing Legal Education, Supreme Court of Ohio.