When is your New York CLE due?
New York ties your CLE to your attorney registration: it's due within 30 days after your birthday, every other year. Your admission year decides whether you file in odd or even years. Enter both to get your exact date.
Runs in your browser. We don't collect or send what you enter.
Birthday, plus 30 days, every other year.
New York doesn't have one statewide CLE deadline. Your registration and CLE certification are due within 30 days after your birthday in your filing year. Each biennial period runs 24 months, birthday to birthday.
Admitted in an odd year, 1983 or later.
Admitted in an even year, or admitted in 1982 or earlier.
You look back and ahead
When you file, you certify CLE for the two years that just ended and register for the two years ahead. A June 2026 filing certifies the June 2024 – June 2026 CLE cycle.
Second calendar year after admission
New admittees first register within 30 days after their birthday in the second calendar year after admission. For example, someone admitted in 2025 first files in 2027.
File electronically
Since December 1, 2023, every New York attorney must file the biennial registration electronically, through Attorney Online Services. The fee is $375. Retired attorneys pay nothing but still file.
Sources: Attorney Registration FAQs · CLE FAQs for Experienced Attorneys · NYSBA on the e-filing rule
24 credits every two years.
You're an experienced attorney once you've finished your first two years of practice. Every biennial cycle you need 24 credits, including three required categories.
Ethics & Professionalism
Up to 3 of these can be Cybersecurity, Privacy and Data Protection–Ethics.
Diversity, Inclusion & Elimination of Bias
Required every cycle since July 1, 2018.
Cybersecurity, Privacy & Data Protection
General, Ethics, or half of each. Applies if you re-register on or after July 1, 2023. Only courses taken on or after January 1, 2023 count.
Any category
Areas of Professional Practice, Skills, Law Practice Management, or extra credits in the required categories.
On-demand is fine. Experienced attorneys can earn all 24 credits from recorded or on-demand courses. Keep your certificates for 4 years. New York runs on self-reporting, so you certify on the registration form and only send certificates if you're audited.
32 credits in your first two years.
For the first two years after admission you need 32 transitional credits, 16 per year, due by the second anniversary of your admission. This deadline is separate from your registration due date.
| Each year | Credits | Format rules |
|---|---|---|
| Ethics & Professionalism | 3 | Live, fully interactive, or a live broadcast with Q&A. No on-demand. |
| Skills | 6 | In person or fully interactive. After December 31, 2025, Skills must be a traditional live classroom or a fully interactive group videoconference. |
| Law Practice Management / Areas of Professional Practice / Cybersecurity–General | 7 | On-demand allowed. |
| Cybersecurity, Privacy & Data Protection | 1 over the two years | If you were admitted on or after July 1, 2023. |
Pro rata: if you practiced in New York for only part of your first two years, you need 1.5 transitional credits per month practiced. Carryover: up to 8 excess credits from Year 1 into Year 2, and up to 6 into your first experienced cycle (Ethics doesn't carry over). CLE FAQs for Newly Admitted Attorneys
Missed the deadline? Here's what happens.
Being short on CLE credits and failing to register are two different problems with two different fixes. Here's what to do for each, in order of urgency.
Request an extension of time
If you can't finish your credits within 30 days after your birthday, the CLE Board says to request an extension of time. Credits you earn during an approved extension count toward the cycle you're catching up on.
For undue hardship, such as illness or disability, you can apply for a waiver or modification of the requirement. CLE Board FAQs
File now: it's the bigger risk
Judiciary Law § 468-a says noncompliance with registration "shall constitute conduct prejudicial to the administration of justice" and shall be referred to the Appellate Division for disciplinary action. File through Attorney Online Services as soon as you can.
You can register online even if you're behind by up to five biennial periods. If you're further behind, call the Attorney Registration Unit at (212) 428-2800. § 468-a
Don't certify credits you don't have
The registration form asks you to certify compliance. If you're not in compliance, say so and request an extension. The CLE Board may submit the names of noncompliant attorneys to the Appellate Division for appropriate action.
It shows up when you need it
Registration delinquencies tend to surface at the worst time: when you apply for admission elsewhere, need a certificate of good standing, or a client or court checks your status. Getting current first saves trouble later.
The situations the forms don't explain well.
Birthday before your 2nd anniversary
You register first, within 30 days after your birthday, and certify the credits you have. You must still finish all 32 newly admitted credits by your second anniversary of admission.
You don't practice in New York
You still register and pay the $375 fee. New York has no inactive status. If you didn't practice New York law at all during the cycle, you're exempt from NY CLE for that cycle. Details
Practiced part of the cycle
If you practiced in New York for only part of a cycle, the requirement is prorated: 1 credit for each month in which you practiced, or 1.5 credits per month for newly admitted attorneys.
Retired
Retired means not practicing in any respect and not planning to. Retired attorneys file with a retirement certification, pay no fee, and are exempt from CLE. Full-time judges are also treated as retired for registration.
Military service
Attorneys on full-time active duty in the U.S. Armed Forces are exempt from CLE during that service. They still register.
Extra credits
Experienced attorneys can carry up to 6 excess credits, in any category, into the next cycle. For newly admitted attorneys, see the carryover rules above.
Admitted in 1982 or earlier
You're an even-year filer, whatever year you were admitted.
Leap-day birthday
The rules don't address February 29. Our tool uses February 28 in non-leap years, the earliest reading. Confirm with the Attorney Registration Unit at (212) 428-2800.
Moved or changed your name
Address changes must be filed within 30 days, online, not by phone. Name changes go through the Appellate Division where you were admitted. Registration FAQs
All 24 New York credits, on demand.
TalksOnLaw courses carry New York CLE credit across Ethics and Professionalism, Diversity, Cybersecurity, and Areas of Professional Practice, taught by leading law professors and judges. Newly admitted? On-demand counts toward Areas of Professional Practice, Law Practice Management, and Cybersecurity–General.
New York CLE deadline questions.
When is my New York CLE due?
Experienced attorneys certify their CLE on the biennial attorney registration, which is due within 30 days after your birthday every other year. Whether you file in odd or even years depends on the year you were admitted. Newly admitted attorneys have a separate deadline: all 32 transitional credits are due by the second anniversary of admission.
Do I file in odd or even years?
Attorneys admitted in an odd year from 1983 on register in odd years. Attorneys admitted in an even year, or in 1982 or earlier, register in even years.
How many CLE credits do I need?
Experienced attorneys need 24 credits every two-year cycle: at least 4 in Ethics and Professionalism, 1 in Diversity, Inclusion and Elimination of Bias, and 1 in Cybersecurity, Privacy and Data Protection. The other 18 can be in any category. Newly admitted attorneys need 32 transitional credits over their first two years, 16 per year.
My birthday comes before my second admission anniversary. Which deadline applies?
Both. You file your first registration within 30 days after your birthday in the second calendar year after admission, and you certify the credits you've actually completed so far. You're still responsible for finishing the newly admitted requirement by your second anniversary of admission. CLE Board FAQ.
What if I miss the 30-day window?
File as soon as you can. Failing to register is professional misconduct under Judiciary Law § 468-a and can be referred to the Appellate Division for discipline. Being short on CLE credits is a separate problem with its own fix: ask the CLE Board for an extension of time.
I don't practice in New York. Do I still have to register?
Yes. Every attorney admitted in New York must register every two years, even if they practice elsewhere. New York has no inactive status. If you didn't practice law in New York at all during the cycle, you're exempt from New York CLE for that cycle and say so on the form.
I'm retired. Do I still file?
Yes, but there's no fee. Attorneys who certify they're retired (not practicing law in any respect and never intending to again) pay nothing but must still file the registration with that certification. Retired attorneys are exempt from CLE.
How much does registration cost?
$375 per biennial registration. $60 goes to the Lawyers' Fund for Client Protection, $50 to the Indigent Legal Services Fund, $25 to the Legal Services Assistance Fund, and the rest to the Attorney Licensing Fund.
Can I carry over extra credits?
Experienced attorneys can carry up to 6 excess credits, in any category, into the next cycle. Newly admitted attorneys can carry up to 8 excess credits from Year 1 into Year 2 and up to 6 into their first experienced cycle. Ethics credits don't carry over from the newly admitted cycle.
Is this site run by the New York courts or the State Bar?
No. New York CLE Due Date is a free guide published by TalksOnLaw. Always confirm your obligations with the New York State CLE Board and the Attorney Registration Unit. This isn't legal advice.
Where this comes from
- NY CLE Board: FAQs for Experienced Attorneys
- NY CLE Board: FAQs for Newly Admitted Attorneys
- Completing the CLE section of the Attorney Registration form
- Not practicing law in New York
- Attorney Registration: Frequently Asked Questions
- Judiciary Law § 468-a
- NYSBA: OCA changes to the attorney registration requirement
Reviewed October 2026. New York CLE Due Date is a free guide published by TalksOnLaw. It isn't affiliated with the New York State Unified Court System, the CLE Board, or the New York State Bar Association, and it isn't legal advice. Rules change, so confirm your obligations with the official sources above.