What Are the CLE Requirements for Delaware Attorneys?
Delaware attorneys need at least 24 CLE credit hours every two years, including at least 4 ethics hours, and at least 12 must be earned in person at live courses.
The Delaware Commission on Continuing Legal Education administers the rules.
Deadlines fall on December 31 — even years for attorneys admitted in even years, odd years for odd-year admittees.
Newly admitted lawyers start January 1 of the year after admission and add seven Delaware State Bar Association Fundamentals courses; missing the deadline brings a fee ladder that ends in administrative suspension.
Verify before you rely on this
At a glance
The Delaware Commission on Continuing Legal Education, which administers the Delaware CLE rules.
At least 24 approved CLE hours every two years, including at least 4 ethics hours.
Two years ending December 31 — even years for attorneys admitted in even years, odd years for odd-year admittees.
At least 4 ethics hours, and at least 12 of the 24 hours must be earned in person at live courses; our research found no separate bias, wellness or technology requirement in the rules we read.
At least 12 hours must be live and in person, so the requirement cannot be completed entirely online; our research did not find stated limits for the remaining hours — ask the Commission.
CLE starts January 1 of the year after admission, plus seven Delaware State Bar Association Fundamentals courses by the end of the second compliance year.
A $150 delinquency fee, another $150 if not cured by March 1, another $200 if not cured by April 1; administrative suspension if still not cured by April 15.
How many CLE hours does Delaware require?
Delaware attorneys must complete a minimum of 24 approved CLE credit hours in each two-year period, and at least 4 of those hours must be in ethics.
A second requirement sits on top of the total: at least 12 hours must be earned by attending live courses in person, during the same two-year period.
Delaware CLE Rule 4(A) states both requirements.
“Each Attorney shall complete a minimum of 24 approved CLE credit hours during each two-year period. At least 12 of those credits must be earned by attending, in person, live CLE”
What specialty credits are required (ethics, bias, wellness, tech)?
Ethics is the only required subject our research found, at a minimum of 4 of the 24 hours; our research did not find separately mandated credits in bias, wellness or technology, so ask the Commission how it categorizes a specific course before you plan a compliance period around it.
Ethics hours also behave differently at carryover: they carry forward only as general credit.
When is the deadline and how do you report?
Delaware ties the CLE deadline to the year of admission.
Attorneys admitted to the Delaware Bar in even-numbered years complete their required credits by December 31 of even-numbered years, and attorneys admitted in odd-numbered years complete theirs by December 31 of odd-numbered years.
Compliance is certified on the annual registration statement.
What are the rules for newly admitted attorneys?
The CLE requirement for a newly admitted attorney begins on January 1 of the year after admission to the Delaware Bar.
From that start, newly admitted lawyers must attend seven Delaware State Bar Association 'Fundamentals' courses by the end of their second compliance year.
The courses include Lawyer-Client Relations, Family Law, Real Estate and Civil Litigation.
Can you complete CLE online or on demand?
At least 12 of Delaware's 24 required hours must be earned in person at live courses, so the requirement cannot be met entirely online or on demand.
That in-person floor is what the rule text states plainly; our research did not find stated limits on recorded webinars, on-demand downloads or other remote formats for the remaining hours.
Confirm how the Commission counts a specific course before you rely on it for the balance.
Carryover and exemptions
Delaware attorneys may carry forward up to 20 excess CLE hours into the next two-year period.
Ethics hours carry forward only as general credit, not toward a later period's ethics minimum.
Senior attorneys have a reduced requirement: a minimum of 12 approved CLE credit hours per two-year period, including 2 ethics hours and 6 in-person hours.
Our research did not capture how the Delaware rules define 'Senior Attorney' for this reduced requirement, so confirm your status with the Commission.
Beyond that reduced requirement, our research did not establish any other exemption categories, so direct questions about a different situation to the Commission.
What happens if you miss the deadline?
Under Delaware's amended CLE rules, a lawyer who misses the December 31 deadline is assessed a $150 delinquency fee, another $150 if the deficiency is not cured by March 1, and another $200 if it is not cured by April 1.
If the deficiency is still not cured by April 15, the attorney is administratively suspended.
The Commission's memo applies this amended enforcement structure first to the 2025 compliance year, so confirm the schedule in force for your cycle with the Commission.
“Each such Attorney shall be assessed a $150 delinquency fee.”
What This Page Does, and Doesn’t, Cover
This page summarizes the Delaware court rules, board and bar pages and other sources listed below, as read for this state-by-state CLE requirements series, current as of October 2026.
It is not a substitute for the instructions the Delaware Commission on Continuing Legal Education publishes.
For the rest of the picture in Delaware, see bar admission rules in Delaware.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can Delaware attorneys complete CLE online?
Not entirely.
At least 12 of the 24 hours in each two-year period must be earned in person at live courses, so Delaware's requirement cannot be completed fully online or on demand.
The rules state that in-person floor, but our research did not find stated limits on recorded or on-demand formats for the remaining hours; confirm with the Delaware Commission on Continuing Legal Education how it counts a specific course.
What happens if you miss the Delaware CLE deadline?
Delaware's amended rules set a ladder: a $150 delinquency fee after the December 31 deadline, another $150 if the deficiency is not cured by March 1, and another $200 if it is not cured by April 1.
An attorney still not cured by April 15 is administratively suspended.
The Commission's memo applies this structure first to the 2025 compliance year, so confirm the current schedule with the Commission.
How many ethics hours do Delaware attorneys need?
At least 4 of the 24 credit hours in each two-year period must be in ethics, under Delaware CLE Rule 4(A).
Ethics hours carry forward into the next period only as general credit, so surplus ethics hours do not satisfy a later period's ethics minimum.
Our research did not find separately required bias, wellness or technology credits in the rules we read.
When do new Delaware attorneys start CLE?
The requirement begins on January 1 of the year after admission to the Delaware Bar.
Newly admitted attorneys must also attend seven Delaware State Bar Association Fundamentals courses by the end of their second compliance year, with Lawyer-Client Relations, Family Law, Real Estate and Civil Litigation among them.
The even-year/odd-year December 31 deadline described above then applies.
Do senior attorneys in Delaware have a reduced CLE requirement?
Yes.
Delaware's rules set senior attorneys a minimum of 12 approved CLE credit hours per two-year period, including 2 ethics hours and 6 in-person hours.
Our research did not capture the rules' definition of 'Senior Attorney', so confirm whether you qualify with the Delaware Commission on Continuing Legal Education before counting on the reduced totals.
More Delaware Resources
Sources
- Delaware CLE rules (courts.delaware.gov) (retrieved 2026-10-02)
Sourced from the documents listed above.
Verified October 2026.
This is career information, not legal advice.
Confirm current rules with the Delaware Commission on Continuing Legal Education.