Accreditation and CLE Rules for Washington
National Academy of Continuing Legal Education has been approved for accredited sponsor status by the Washington State Board of Mandatory Continuing Legal Education. All courses offered by the National Academy of Continuing Legal Education have been directly approved by the WSBA. You can see our official approval letter here: WASponsor_Approval.pdf.
WA attorneys must complete 45 total MCLE approved credits every three years of which 6 hours must be in the area of ethics and at least 15 in the area of Law and Legal Procedure. Law and Legal Procedure (Black Letter Law) activities are defined as legal education relating to substantive law, legal procedure, process, research, writing, analysis, or related skills and technology approved for CLE credit. Attorneys may earn all 45 hours including 6 hours of ethics with the National Academy of Continuing Legal Education through multiple formats including DVDs, Audio CDs, Online & iOS/Android App formats.
WSBA members are divided into three MCLE reporting groups based upon year of admission.
Group 1: Admitted through 1975, 1991, 1994, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2009, 2012, 2015, 2016, 2019*
Group 2: Admitted in 1976 through 1983, 1992, 1995, 1998, 2001,
2004, 2007, 2010, 2013, 2017
Group 3: Admitted in 1984 through 1990, 1993, 1996, 1999, 2002,
2005, 2008, 2011, 2014, 2018*
The CLE deadline for Group 1 is Dec 31, 2019, for Group 2 is Dec
31, 2021 and for Group 3 is Dec 31, 2021. The deadline for reporting is Feb 1.
Attorneys may carry over a maximum of 15 credits including a maximum of 2 Ethics credits for a period of 36 months.
*Newly admitted members are exempt from reporting CLE credits for the year of their admission and the following calendar year. For example, if you were admitted in 2018, you would not report for the reporting period of 2016-2018 even though you are in Group 3. You would first report at the end of the 2019-2021 reporting period. Members admitted in 2019 will first report at the end of the 2020–2022 reporting period. When new members report at the end of their first reporting period, they may claim all CLE credits earned on or after their date of admission to the WSBA.
*Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the WA Supreme Court ordered a one-year extension of MCLE reporting for licensed legal professionals in 2018-2020 reporting period. Licensed legal professionals in the extended reporting period must complete earning their credits by Dec. 31, 2021, and must complete the certification of their credits by Feb. 1, 2022. This extension order encompasses all licensed legal professionals: lawyers, LLLTs and LPOs. The next reporting period will be a shortened two year reporting period: 2022-2023. WA Supreme Court Order
WA State Board of CLE
1325 4th Ave
Seattle, WA 98101-2539
(t) 206-733-5987
(f) 206-727-8313
https://www.wsba.org/for-legal-professionals/mcle
