What Are the CLE Requirements for Texas Attorneys?
Texas requires active State Bar of Texas members to complete at least 15 CLE hours every compliance year, including 3 hours of ethics.
Your compliance year runs from the first day of your birth month to the last day of the month before it, and your birth month is a penalty-free grace period.
All 15 hours can be completed online, new lawyers get an initial 24-month period, and up to 15 hours carry over.
Verify before you rely on this
At a glance
The State Bar of Texas, whose MCLE requirement applies to its active members.
At least 15 CLE hours per compliance year for active members, including 3 ethics hours.
One year, from the first day of your birth month to the last day of the month before it; new lawyers get an initial 24-month period.
3 ethics hours; the requirement our research verified names no bias, wellness or technology credit.
No in-person requirement — all 15 hours may be completed online.
An initial 24-month compliance period starting with the first birth month after licensing.
Your birth month is a penalty-free grace period; then $100, $200 or $300 in noncompliance fees before suspension.
How many CLE hours does Texas require?
Active State Bar of Texas members must complete at least 15 CLE hours every compliance year, and 3 of those hours must be in ethics.
At least 12 of the 15 hours must be accredited CLE.
Up to 3 hours, including no more than 1 ethics hour, may be self-study.
Our research records the requirement for active members; how other membership statuses are treated is not established in our research, so confirm your status with the State Bar.
“Active members of the State Bar must complete a minimum of 15.00 hours (3.00 hours of which must be in ethics) of continuing legal education (CLE) every compliance year.”
What specialty credits are required (ethics, bias, wellness, tech)?
Ethics is the only specialty credit our research found in the Texas requirement: 3 of the 15 hours must be ethics, and the requirement we verified names no bias or technology hour.
A required mental-health or wellness hour is a claim our research could not confirm — we did not find one on the State Bar MCLE pages we read.
Because rules change, check the State Bar's current MCLE rules before you plan your year around a specialty credit that is not ethics.
When is the deadline and how do you report?
Texas ties the CLE clock to your birthday.
The MCLE compliance year runs from the first day of your birth month to the last day of the month before it, and your birth month itself is a penalty-free grace period after the year closes.
Our research did not establish how attorneys report completed hours — the form or attestation step — so confirm the reporting mechanics with the State Bar of Texas.
What are the rules for newly admitted attorneys?
Newly licensed Texas lawyers get a longer first cycle: their initial MCLE compliance year is a 24-month period, starting with their first birth month after licensing.
Our research did not establish how many hours fall due inside that first 24-month period, so confirm the first-cycle total with the State Bar of Texas before you plan it.
“For newly licensed attorneys, the initial MCLE compliance year is a 24-month period”
Can you complete CLE online or on demand?
Yes.
Texas has no in-person CLE requirement, and all 15 hours may be completed through online learning.
The rest of the requirement still applies — at least 12 of the 15 hours must be accredited CLE, and up to 3 hours, including no more than 1 ethics hour, may be self-study.
Our research did not establish how specific formats such as recorded on-demand courses are categorized, so check a course's accreditation with its provider or the State Bar.
“All 15.00 hours may be completed through online learning. There is no in-person CLE requirement.”
Carryover and exemptions
You may carry over a maximum of 15 credit hours, including 3 ethics hours, from one MCLE compliance year to the next.
On exemptions, our research did not establish whether Texas grants any or who would qualify, so direct exemption questions to the State Bar of Texas.
What happens if you miss the deadline?
Your birth month is a penalty-free grace period.
After it, MCLE noncompliance fees apply: $100 if received within one month after the birth month, $200 if received within two months, and $300 if received thereafter.
Our research records this fee schedule as applying before suspension; the suspension process itself is not established in our research, so direct questions about a delinquent transcript to the State Bar of Texas.
“$100 if received within one month after the birth month, $200 if received within two months after the birth month, and $300 if received thereafter”
What This Page Does, and Doesn’t, Cover
This page summarizes the Texas 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 State Bar of Texas publishes.
For the rest of the picture in Texas, see bar admission rules in Texas.
What Attorney Job Listings in Texas Show Right Now
From the 43 active attorney listings on LawFirmHires as of October 8, 2026.
Employers with the most openings
- Lone Star Legal Aid25
- U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants3
- Alexander Shunnarah Trial Attorneys2
- Bush & Bush Law Group2
Pay employers post
- 5% of attorney listings in Texas state any pay at all.
Benefits and work arrangement
- 21% hybrid; the rest are on-site
- Health Insurancenamed in 67%
- Dental & Visionnamed in 65%
- CLE Reimbursementnamed in 60%
- PTO / Paid Time Offnamed in 12%
Source: active attorney listings on LawFirmHires, updated daily. Pay figures use only listings that state pay (midpoint of each posted range). Benefits count listings that name the benefit; a listing that doesn’t mention one may still offer it.
Browse 43 jobs →Frequently Asked Questions
Does Texas require in-person CLE?
No. Texas has no in-person CLE requirement, and all 15 hours may be completed through online learning.
The rest of the requirement still applies: at least 12 of the 15 hours must be accredited CLE, and up to 3 hours, including no more than 1 ethics hour, may be self-study.
When does the Texas CLE compliance year start?
It starts on the first day of your birth month and ends on the last day of the month before it.
Your birth month is a penalty-free grace period after the year closes.
Newly licensed Texas lawyers start with an initial 24-month compliance period beginning with their first birth month after licensing.
Can I carry over extra Texas CLE hours?
Yes.
Texas permits attorneys to carry over a maximum of 15 credit hours, including 3 hours of ethics, from one MCLE compliance year to the next.
Hours beyond that maximum do not carry over, so check your transcript against the limit with the State Bar of Texas.
Is there a mental health or wellness CLE requirement in Texas?
Our research did not find one.
The requirement we verified is 15 hours with 3 in ethics; we found no wellness or mental-health hour in it, and no bias or technology credit appears in it either.
Because rules change, confirm the current credit requirements with the State Bar of Texas before you plan your hours.
Who has to complete CLE in Texas?
Active members of the State Bar of Texas must complete at least 15 hours, including 3 ethics hours, each compliance year.
Our research did not establish how any other membership status is treated under the MCLE rule, so direct membership-status questions to the State Bar of Texas.
More Texas Resources
Sources
- State Bar of Texas: MCLE requirements (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 State Bar of Texas.