What Are the CLE Requirements for Kansas Attorneys?
Kansas attorneys registered as active need 12 CLE hours each compliance period — the year ending June 30 — including at least 2 hours of ethics and professionalism, under the requirements the state's CLE office publishes at kscle.gov.
Attendance is filed by July 31.
All 12 hours can be taken online, there is no cap on prerecorded programs, and up to 10 unused general hours carry forward.
Miss the deadline and a $75 noncompliance fee follows, along with forfeited carryover and no extensions.
Verify before you rely on this
At a glance
The state's CLE office, whose FAQ at kscle.gov is the source every fact on this page cites; our research recorded no fuller office name, so confirm the body at kscle.gov.
12 hours each compliance period for attorneys registered as active, including at least 2 hours of ethics and professionalism.
One year, ending June 30; attendance must be filed by July 31.
At least 2 hours of ethics and professionalism; the FAQ we read names no separate bias, wellness or technology hour.
All hours may be taken online, and there is no cap on prerecorded programs.
Not established in our research — ask the CLE office at kscle.gov.
A $75 noncompliance fee, forfeiture of hours you were anticipating for carryover, and no extensions.
How many CLE hours does Kansas require?
An attorney registered as active in Kansas must complete 12 hours of CLE each compliance period, and the compliance period is the year ending June 30.
At least 2 of those hours must be ethics and professionalism.
The figures come from the FAQ the state's CLE office publishes at kscle.gov, the official source this page cites.
What applies to attorneys who are not registered as active is not something our research recorded, so status questions belong with the CLE office.
“An attorney that is registered as active must complete 12 hours of CLE, including at least 2 hours of ethics and professionalism, by June 30, of each compliance period.”
What specialty credits are required (ethics, bias, wellness, tech)?
Kansas's named specialty is ethics and professionalism: of the 12 annual hours, at least 2 must be in those subjects.
The kscle.gov FAQ we read names no separate bias, wellness or technology requirement.
That is a statement about the page our research captured, not a guarantee that no other credit category exists, so confirm the current credit types with the CLE office before you build a compliance year around a non-ethics course.
When is the deadline and how do you report?
The compliance period ends June 30, and the 12 hours — including at least 2 hours of ethics and professionalism — must be completed by that date, with attendance filed by July 31.
The annual Kansas CLE fee is paid with the annual attorney registration fee by June 30: the FAQ records that CLE fees are combined with the Annual Registration fee with the Attorney Registration office.
The pages we read do not walk through the filing mechanics, so confirm how to submit attendance with the CLE office.
“CLE fees are combined with the Annual Registration fee with the Attorney Registration office.”
What are the rules for newly admitted attorneys?
Our research did not find a newly admitted attorney CLE rule for Kansas: the kscle.gov pages we read do not address the question, so it is open rather than answered either way.
That is a gap in our research, not a finding that Kansas has no such rule.
Attorneys planning a first compliance year should ask the CLE office what applies to them before relying on the general 12-hour requirement.
Can you complete CLE online or on demand?
Yes.
All Kansas CLE hours may be taken online, and the FAQ states there is no cap on prerecorded programming, so a compliance year can be built entirely from online and recorded courses as the page we read stands.
Because format rules can change, confirm the current treatment with the CLE office when you register for courses.
“There is no cap on prerecorded programming.”
Carryover and exemptions
Up to 10 unused general attendance credit hours may carry forward to the next compliance period.
Ethics hours beyond the 2 required carry only as general credit, so extra ethics hours do not bank as ethics.
Compliance in another state does not substitute either: the FAQ states Kansas CLE does not have reciprocity with any other state.
Our research did not record exemption categories on the pages we read, so exemption questions belong with the CLE office.
“may carry forward to the next compliance period up to 10 unused general attendance credit hours”
What happens if you miss the deadline?
An attorney who misses the June 30 completion deadline or the July 31 filing deadline will owe the noncompliance fee of $75 and forfeit any additional hours they may have been anticipating for carryover credit.
The FAQ records no extensions.
Because fees and process can change, confirm the current schedule with the CLE office.
“will owe the noncompliance fee ($75) and forfeit any additional hours you may have been anticipating for carryover credit”
What This Page Does, and Doesn’t, Cover
This page summarizes the Kansas 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 Kansas CLE office (kscle.gov) publishes.
For the rest of the picture in Kansas, see bar admission rules in Kansas.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do extra Kansas CLE hours carry over to the next year?
Up to 10 unused general attendance credit hours may carry forward to the next compliance period.
Ethics hours beyond the 2 required carry only as general credit, not as ethics.
Carryover is also conditional on staying compliant: an attorney who misses the June 30 or July 31 deadline forfeits hours they were anticipating for carryover credit, along with owing the $75 noncompliance fee.
Can I count CLE completed in another state toward Kansas?
No. Kansas CLE does not have reciprocity with any other state, according to the FAQ the state's CLE office publishes — complying with another state's CLE requirement does not satisfy Kansas's.
Whether a specific course taken elsewhere can earn Kansas credit is an approval question for the CLE office, not something our research recorded.
Do newly admitted Kansas attorneys have different CLE requirements?
Our research did not find one: the kscle.gov pages we read do not address a newly admitted attorney rule, so the question is open rather than answered either way.
That is a gap in the research, not a finding that Kansas has no such rule.
Ask the CLE office what applies in a first compliance year before relying on the general 12-hour requirement.
Is there a grace period or extension for Kansas CLE?
The FAQ we read records no extensions: missing the June 30 completion deadline or the July 31 filing deadline means the noncompliance fee of $75 and forfeiture of any hours you were anticipating for carryover credit.
If something puts your compliance at risk, the CLE office at kscle.gov is the body that can speak to your specific situation.
When do Kansas attorneys pay the CLE fee?
With registration.
The FAQ records that CLE fees are combined with the Annual Registration fee with the Attorney Registration office, and the combined payment is due by June 30.
The fee amount itself is not something our research recorded, so check the current amount with the CLE office when you register.
More Kansas Resources
Sources
- Kansas CLE — FAQ (kscle.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 Kansas CLE office (kscle.gov).