Florida Newly Admitted CLE Requirements for Attorneys

A newly admitted attorney in Florida is one who is still in his or her initial CLE compliance period and has not yet completed the Basic Skills Course Requirement (BSCR).

All Florida attorneys must complete 30 credit hours every three years, including at least 3 in Legal Ethics, Substance Abuse, or Mental Illness Awareness, 2-hour Florida Bar Professionalism Course
and at least 3 in Technology.

All Newly Admitted attorneys in Florida must also complete the Basic Skills Course Requirement (BSCR), available through the Florida Bar. This program is a one-time requirement that is broken out into two phases. Phase I is a 7-hour program called “Practicing with Professionalism”, and Phase II is 21-hours of basic level Young Lawyers Division (YLD) courses.

Note: Newly admitted attorneys who are 36 and older and who have been practicing for more than five years in another state are not required to complete Phase II. In order to claim this exemption you would need to submit a BSCR Exemption Form.

The deadline for attorneys in Florida to complete their CLE requirement is assigned by the Bar.

Phase I of the Basic Skills Requirement Course (“Practicing with Professionalism”) must be completed within 1 year of being admitted to the Bar. 

Phase II must be completed by the end of the initial CLE reporting cycle.

Attorneys may receive CLE credit for attending courses that have been approved by the Florida Bar. Some accepted course formats include:

• Interactive CLE Activities (On Demand Online Video or Audio Courses, Teleconferences, etc.)
• Electronic Media (DVD, CD, MP3, etc.)
• Traditional classroom CLE seminars

The entire BSCR may be completed through programs provided by the Florida Bar. The course is available to be complete by attending live, in-person seminars or online programs.

New! Attorneys in Florida must now submit an Application for Course Attendance Credit along with a timed agenda or outline, speaker biography, and a certificate of completion to receive credit for courses that are not approved by the Florida Bar.

However, the BSCR must be fulfilled with these specific programs by the Florida Bar.

Attorneys must post their own credits to their member profiles using the course reference numbers found on their certificates.

Credits earned at the live, in-person “Practicing with Professionalism” event will be posted by the Florida Bar’s registration department, but attorneys must self-report any online courses completed for Phase I or Phase II.

Newly Admitted Florida Attorneys must take the Practicing with Professionalism Course, the Basic Skills Course Requirement, and the New 2-hour Professionalism course through the Florida Bar.

The remaining of the 30 CLE credits can all be completed via On Demand on Lawline! Our Florida course catalog can be found here.