Texas MCLE Requirements: What Attorneys Need to Know

For Texas attorneys, staying on top of your continuing legal education obligations is required for maintaining your bar license. Between court dates, client meetings, and everything else that comes with the job, it’s easy to lose track of the Texas MCLE rules.

We’ve broken down the Texas MCLE requirements into a simple guide so you can stay compliant—and maybe even get ahead of schedule.

Annual CLE Requirements in Texas

Every active member of the State Bar of Texas must complete 15 CLE hours each year. Of those 15 hours:

• At least 3 hours must be in legal ethics and professional responsibility.

• Up to 3 hours may be earned through self-study, but that can include only one of your legal ethics and professional responsibility credits.

• Up to 15 hours can be carried forward to the next reporting year, too!

CLE activities can include accredited live events, accredited on-demand video courses (like those offered by CLEcast), writing or teaching CLE material, and even mentoring in certain circumstances. Self-study includes reading legal articles or viewing non-accredited legal content. Want to see all the rules? Texas has them laid our for you.

Key Dates: When Is Your Compliance Due?

Texas has a unique rolling deadline system based on your birthday.

• Your compliance year begins on the first day of your birth month and ends one year later, on the last day of the month before your birth month.

• You have a grace period until the last day of your birth month to complete and report your CLE hours without penalty.

⚠️ Important: If you miss that grace period, late fees kick in, starting at $100 and increasing monthly. Continued non-compliance can result in license suspension.

How to Report Your CLEs

You are responsible for reporting your CLE credits. Most providers report attendance directly, but it's smart to log in to your My Bar Page and verify your records.

You can also manually report credits—especially for self-study or individually submitted out-of-state courses.

Special Rules for New Attorneys

If you're newly licensed, your first MCLE compliance year is 24 months long. You still need to complete the same 15 CLE hours during this period.

Make It Easy With CLEcast

At CLEcast, we offer affordable, on-demand CLE courses that are fully accredited in Texas—including ethics and professional responsibility. Whether you need to finish your 15 hours or just grab a few ethics credits before your deadline, we’ve got you covered.

We also have a package that has 15 credits, including 3 ethics to make it easy for you to get them all done in one place at a low price. Remember, they will roll over to the next year if that's more than you need this reporting period! Maybe you just need your ethics credits? We have a bundle for that, as well. Plus, we share our revenue with community nonprofits, so you are doing good while getting your CLE reporting done.

Still deciding? Try our free half-credit ethics CLE to experience CLEcast risk-free.

Get your credits. Support your community.

Learn. Earn. Give back.

Browse our Texas-approved CLEs at CLEcast.net/tx