What Are the CLE Requirements for New Hampshire Attorneys?

New Hampshire lawyers must complete 720 minutes (12 hours) of CLE each reporting year.

The total is stated in minutes, and the specialty requirement sits inside it: at least 120 of those minutes (2 hours) must cover legal ethics, professionalism, or the prevention of malpractice, substance abuse or attorney-client disputes.

The requirement comes from New Hampshire Supreme Court Rule 53.1(B)(1).

The specialty block in the New Hampshire rule is one combined minimum, not separate category credits: at least 120 minutes (2 hours) of the annual 720 must cover legal ethics, professionalism, or the prevention of malpractice, substance abuse or attorney-client disputes.

Any of those topics counts toward the same 120-minute minimum, and those hours also count toward the 720-minute total.

Our research did not document separate bias, wellness or technology credit requirements in New Hampshire; to have that confirmed, New Hampshire Supreme Court Rule 53 and the NHMCLE office's FAQ are the places to check.

The reporting year runs June 1 to May 31.

The annual NHMCLE affidavit is filed between June 1 and July 1, the window just after the year closes.

Credits are entered in the Attorney Reporting Tool, reached through MyNHBar.

The NHMCLE office administers the program for the New Hampshire Supreme Court and is separate from the New Hampshire Bar Association's CLE operation.

Lawyers must also keep certificates of attendance for 2 years after the reporting year closes.

Our research did not confirm separate first-year CLE rules for newly admitted New Hampshire attorneys: whether a new admittee owes the full 720 minutes in the first year, or a reduced or deferred amount, is not established in the sources we read.

The NHMCLE brochure we read does not set out first-year rules.

Confirm the current requirement with the NHMCLE office or by reading New Hampshire Supreme Court Rule 53 before your first affidavit comes due.

Our research did not confirm a cap on online, recorded or on-demand CLE in New Hampshire: the NHMCLE brochure we read does not say whether any of the 720 minutes must be live or how many can be distance credits, so this page describes no limit.

One adjacent point is settled: New Hampshire no longer requires pre- or post-approval of CLE courses.

Confirm current format rules with the NHMCLE office or by reading Rule 53.

Whether unused New Hampshire CLE minutes carry into the next reporting year, and which lawyers are exempt from the requirement, are not established in our research.

The NHMCLE brochure we read does not answer either question, and this page will not fill the gap with another state's rules.

If you are planning a light reporting year, or your practice situation is unusual, ask the NHMCLE office or read New Hampshire Supreme Court Rule 53.

What the sources do document: the affidavit window runs June 1 to July 1, and certificates of attendance must be kept for 2 years after the reporting year closes.

What happens when an affidavit goes in late (a late fee, a grace period, a suspension) is not established in our research.

The NHMCLE brochure we read describes no penalty schedule, so this page describes none either; ask the NHMCLE office how it handles a late affidavit.

No. The NHMCLE office no longer requires pre- or post-approval of CLE courses, so lawyers choose their own courses and credits are entered in the Attorney Reporting Tool through MyNHBar.

That leaves the recordkeeping with the lawyer: the hours still have to add up to the rule's totals, and New Hampshire lawyers must keep certificates of attendance for 2 years after the reporting year closes.