What Are the CLE Requirements for North Dakota Attorneys?
North Dakota attorneys need 36 hours of approved continuing legal education coursework every three years, including 3 hours of ethics or professional responsibility.
Each three-year period ends June 30, and the Report of Compliance must be filed with the SBAND Commission for CLE by July 30.
A newly licensed attorney's first period begins on July 1 after initial licensure.
Our research did not establish whether North Dakota limits online coursework, any carryover or exemptions, or the consequences of a missed deadline.
Verify before you rely on this
At a glance
The SBAND Commission for CLE, the body North Dakota's continuing legal education rule names to receive each Report of Compliance.
36 hours of approved CLE coursework every three years, including 3 hours of ethics/professional responsibility.
Three years; each period ends June 30, with the Report of Compliance due July 30.
3 of the 36 hours must be ethics; those ethics hours may include diversity, gender-equity, disability-access and bias coursework.
Not established in our research — ask the SBAND Commission for CLE.
A newly licensed attorney's first period begins July 1 after initial licensure and ends June 30 three years later.
Not established in our research — ask the SBAND Commission for CLE.
How many CLE hours does North Dakota require?
North Dakota requires each attorney to complete 36 hours of approved continuing legal education coursework during each three-year reporting period, and 3 of those hours must be ethics or professional responsibility.
The rule phrases the total as a floor — not less than 36 hours of approved coursework — so 36 is the minimum a compliant cycle needs.
“shall complete not less than 36 hours of approved coursework in Continuing Legal Education during each three-year period”
What specialty credits are required (ethics, bias, wellness, tech)?
The one required credit type our research documents is ethics: 3 of the 36 hours must be ethics or professional responsibility.
North Dakota's rule says those ethics hours may include coursework related to racial and ethnic diversity, gender equity, disability access, and the elimination of bias in the profession, so a bias-focused course can count inside the ethics requirement rather than as an extra category.
Our research found no separate required wellness or technology credit in the rule pages we read — if a stand-alone category has been added, the SBAND Commission for CLE's current instructions control.
When is the deadline and how do you report?
Each three-year reporting period ends June 30.
The Report of Compliance must be filed with the Commission by July 30 after the period closes.
The rule also says a fee of up to $50 goes to the SBAND Commission for CLE, but our research did not establish what triggers that fee.
The reporting mechanic we can document is the report, its recipient and the deadline; the pages we read do not spell out course-approval paperwork or what records an attorney keeps, so treat the Commission's current instructions as the authority on those details.
“must be filed by each attorney with the Commission by July 30 after the close of each three-year reporting period”
What are the rules for newly admitted attorneys?
A newly licensed North Dakota attorney's first reporting period begins on July 1 after initial licensure and ends June 30 three years later.
What our research did not establish is the hour count for that first cycle: the rule pages we read set the period's start and end but do not state whether the full 36 hours are due in it or whether a reduced amount applies.
Confirm the first-cycle expectation with the SBAND Commission for CLE before you plan it.
Can you complete CLE online or on demand?
Our research did not establish how North Dakota treats online, recorded or on-demand coursework — whether the state caps non-live credits, requires a live component, or places no limit at all.
The requirement we can document is that the 36 hours be approved coursework, which speaks to approval rather than format.
Before you build a cycle around on-demand courses, confirm current format limits with the SBAND Commission for CLE.
Carryover and exemptions
Our research did not establish whether North Dakota lets hours earned beyond the 36-hour requirement carry into the next three-year period, and the rule pages we read do not document any exemptions.
Either answer can change how many hours the final year of a cycle actually requires, so ask the SBAND Commission for CLE before counting on either.
What we can document is the cycle itself: a 36-hour requirement, including 3 ethics hours, at the start of each three-year period.
What happens if you miss the deadline?
The rule sets the deadline — the Report of Compliance filed with the Commission by July 30 — but our research did not establish what follows if an attorney files late or not at all.
The pages we read do not describe extensions, penalties or how a missed report is cured, so we cannot document North Dakota's noncompliance path.
That question belongs with the SBAND Commission for CLE, which receives the reports.
What This Page Does, and Doesn’t, Cover
This page summarizes the North Dakota 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 SBAND Commission for CLE publishes.
For the rest of the picture in North Dakota, see bar admission rules in North Dakota.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do diversity, equity and inclusion courses count toward North Dakota's ethics CLE requirement?
They can.
North Dakota's rule says the 3 ethics hours may include coursework related to racial and ethnic diversity, gender equity, disability access, and the elimination of bias in the profession, so a bias-focused course can sit inside the ethics requirement.
In the rule pages we read, bias coursework is part of the ethics hours rather than a separate credit, and we found no stand-alone wellness or technology requirement either — confirm the current breakdown with the SBAND Commission for CLE.
Does North Dakota's CLE rule mention a fee?
Yes.
The rule states a fee of up to $50 goes to the SBAND Commission for CLE, but our research did not establish what triggers it — whether it accompanies the Report of Compliance, applies to late filing or covers something else.
What the rule does set for reporting is the deadline: each three-year period ends June 30, and the Report of Compliance must be filed with the Commission by July 30 after the period closes.
For what the fee covers and how it is paid, the Commission's instructions are the authority.
Does North Dakota allow online CLE credits?
Our research did not establish whether North Dakota caps online, recorded or on-demand coursework.
The rule pages we read require approved coursework — 36 hours every three years, including 3 in ethics — and do not spell out format limits, which makes approval the requirement we can document and format rules something to confirm.
Ask the SBAND Commission for CLE before you plan a compliance cycle made up entirely of on-demand courses.
Do extra North Dakota CLE hours carry over to the next period?
We could not confirm a carryover rule.
The North Dakota rule pages we read do not say whether hours earned above the 36-hour three-year requirement can be applied to the next period, so we cannot document one either way.
Because carryover changes how many courses the final year of a cycle requires, confirm it with the SBAND Commission for CLE before banking extra hours.
What happens if a North Dakota attorney misses the July 30 CLE deadline?
Our research did not establish the consequences.
The rule sets the July 30 filing deadline for the Report of Compliance, but the pages we read do not describe extensions, penalties or how a missed report is cured.
Because we cannot document the noncompliance path, that question belongs with the SBAND Commission for CLE, which receives the reports.
More North Dakota Resources
Sources
- North Dakota Rules for Continuing Legal Education, Rule 3 (North Dakota Court System) (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 SBAND Commission for CLE.