Frequently Asked Questions for Attorneys

Yes. CLE hours may be earned via in-person or distance-learning format. Distance learning includes both online programs and “real-time” or “streamed” seminars; the program must have interactive components.

The Commission requires all distance learning to have a tracking mechanism and attendance certification by the provider. This includes webinars, recorded online sessions, and audio-only sessions.

Each attorney must complete a total of 15 hours of CLE per year, consisting of no less than 12 General hours and three Ethics/Professionalism (E/P) hours. All E/P credit is designated as Dual credit. Dual credit is first applied as E/P credit, and any remaining credit is applied as General credit.

Tennessee no longer requires a minimum number of in-person hours. All hours may be earned online.

Absolutely! The Commission must receive a completed Annual Report Statement (ARS) and any fees due by March 31 each year. Failure to file an ARS may result in financial penalties.

The Commission will file an ARS for any attorney who has earned all required hours and paid all outstanding fees. 

No. Placing a law license on inactive status with the Board of Professional Responsibility does not excuse the CLE requirement. See Regulation 2B.1. 

An attorney who lives outside Tennessee and does not practice Tennessee law may be eligible to claim the non-resident exemption on the Annual Report Statement sent in February. 

An attorney who is not practicing law in any jurisdiction and who has placed their license on inactive status with the Board of Professional Responsibility may request inactive status with the CLE Commission by completing the Request for Inactive Status form found in the Attorney Forms section of the website. The form may be submitted online, emailed to info@cletn.com, or mailed to our office. See Regulation 2B.2.

Yes, up to one full year’s worth of both General hours (12) and Ethics/Professionalism hours (3) can be carried forward to the next compliance year. Hours earned during a year in which an attorney is exempt may be carried forward only to succeeding year, only to the extent they would have carried forward had the attorney not been exempt. See Regulation 4A.

If you were sworn in prior to September 1, you must complete the full 15-hour CLE obligation for the year. If you were sworn in on or after September 1, your CLE obligation begins the year after you were activated.

The Commission awards 12 General credits and 3 Dual credits for passing the bar examination of any state or upon passage of the Uniform Bar Examination. You will receive CLE credit for passing the bar in the first year you have a CLE obligation.  See Tenn. Sup. Ct. R. 21 § 4.06. Attorneys who pass the February Tennessee bar exam receive full CLE credit for that year and must earn CLE starting the following year. Because July Tennessee bar exam results are typically released in October, attorneys who pass the July bar exam do not have a CLE obligation that year, but they are provided full CLE credit the following year. 

Attorneys who pass the UBE administered by another state receive bar exam credit when they become licensed in Tennessee, provided the bar exam was within the last two years.

You can receive bar exam credit only once in any compliance year. If you received credit for passing the Tennessee bar exam this year, you will not be able to receive credit for the bar exam you passed in another state.

An attorney can also receive up to one year’s CLE credit for completing a bar exam preparation course, but their attendance must be verified by the provider of the course. Please keep in mind that an attorney cannot receive both bar review course credit and bar passage credit in the same year. See Tenn. Sup. Ct. R. 21 §§ 4.06, 4.08(f).

YES! Ignoring pending attendance can cost you money.

CLE compliance means you have earned your hours or claimed an exemption, AND all fees have been paid.

If you owe posting fees for pending attendance ($2 per credit hour), you are not in compliance and will be assessed noncompliance fees if deadlines pass.

Log into your account. You have three choices:

(1) Pay the $2/hour attendance fees and receive credit for all the hours. Please keep in mind that you can carry forward only one year’s worth of hours.

(2) Reduce the number of hours by editing the hours in your online account and then pay the corresponding attendance fee.

(3) Delete all of the pending attendance hours, and the fees due will also be deleted.

Please note that pending attendance is NOT counted toward the 15-hour requirement, nor is it eligible to be carried forward, until is it paid for and becomes attendance rather than pending attendance.

Yes. You need to ensure that you have paid all noncompliance fees and that the hours you included on the Affidavit get reported by the provider and appear on your account. It is the attorney’s responsibility to ensure attendance is timely and accurately reported in order to avoid fines and possible suspension of their license.

Non-accredited courses submitted by attorneys for approval are not eligible for an Affidavit of Compliance.

Yes. You can earn your CLE credits anywhere in the world as long as the course has been accredited by CLE Commission.

If the course has not been accredited in Tennessee, you or your provider will need to get the course accredited for you to receive CLE credit. First, confirm that your provider has not sought and will not seek accreditation of the course. If the provider won’t accredit the course, follow these steps to seek accreditation.

Courses may be accredited after the attorney has participated in the session.

The Supreme Court typically enters the final Suspension Order in mid-August. Attorneys have until August 10 to submit compliance records to the Commission. The Court enters the Order at its discretion. See Tenn. Sup. Ct. R. 21 § 7.07.

Tennessee’s compliance year for CLE runs from January 1 through December 31.   See Tenn. Sup. Ct. R. 21 § 3.01.

Please do not confuse the compliance year with the Board of Professional Responsibility’s licensing year, which is based on your birthday. The CLE Commission and the BPR are separate agencies of the Tennessee Supreme Court.

The CLE compliance year runs from January 1 to December 31. Hours must be completed by 11:59:59 p.m. on December 31, or you will be assessed a $100 penalty.

Your provider will report your attendance based on when you COMPLETE a course. If you begin a one-hour course at 11:45 p.m. on 12/31 and complete it at 12:45 a.m. on 1/1, that hour is considered earned on 1/1. The Commission defers to the provider for confirmation of when a course is completed. Please keep in mind that providers in different time zones may have varied reporting policies.

If you are assessed the $100 noncompliance fee but qualify for an exemption, you can avoid the penalty by claiming the exemption on your Annual Report Statement, which you will receive in February after the close of compliance year. Your exemption must be received by March 31 to avoid the $100 late penalty.

• December 31 – Deadline for earning hours without $100 late fee.
• February 28 – The Annual Report Statement (“ARS”) is emailed to attorneys.
• March 31 – The ARS must be completed and submitted to the Commission via the website for attorneys reporting hours or claiming an exemption. 
• April 30 – Notices of Non-Compliance sent certified mail to noncompliant attorneys who have  insufficient hours or owe fees.
• May 31 – Deadline for establishing compliance by filing the Affidavit of Compliance or claiming a valid exemption.  Compliance means the hours necessary for compliance have been earned or a valid exemption has been claimed and all fees have been paid.  Failure to comply with this deadline will result in the imposition of the $200 continuing noncompliance penalty.
• June 1 – $200 late fee assessed to noncompliant attorneys who have not filed Affidavit of Compliance and paid all fees due.
• June 28 – Draft Suspension Order sent by certified mail to noncompliant attorneys.
• August 10 — Deadline for filing Affidavit of Compliance and paying all fees to avoid being included on the Suspension Order submitted to the Tennessee Supreme Court.
• August 15 – Commission submits Suspension Order to the Tennessee Supreme Court. Attorneys not in active status with BPR are placed in suspended status and assessed a $500 suspension fee. Upon entry of the Suspension Order by the Court, a $500 suspension fee is assessed to noncompliant, active status attorneys, and those attorneys are moved to suspended status.

Yes, but only if the attorney is no longer practicing law in any U.S. jurisdiction. To apply for inactive status, complete the Request for Inactive Status online, mail it to our office, or email it to: info@cletn.com. 

Before resuming the practice of law in any U.S. jurisdiction, attorneys are required to make up any CLE missed during the last five years. 

“The Commission shall recognize the following exemptions:

(a) Nonresident attorneys from other jurisdictions who are temporarily admitted to practice for a case or proceeding shall not be subject to [Rule 21];

(b) Members of the Armed Forces on active duty shall not be subject to this Rule. Any attorney claiming active duty military exemption shall provide to the Commission a copy of his/her military orders in order to qualify for exemption. An attorney who leaves active duty military service prior to September 1st of the compliance year shall not be entitled to the military exemption for that year. This exemption shall be claimed by completing the pertinent section on the Annual Report Statement and filing the Statement with the Commission;

(c) An attorney shall not be subject to the requirements of the Rule after age seventy (70), upon claiming application of the exemption. This exemption shall not include the calendar year in which the attorney becomes seventy (70) years of age. However, any attorney who reached age sixty-five (65) on or before December 31, 2014, shall also be eligible for exemption from the requirements of this Rule pursuant to the age-related exemption granted by the version of Rule 21 in effect on December 31, 2014 upon filing an application with the Commission. This exemption shall be claimed by completing the pertinent section on the Annual Report Statement and filing the Statement with the Commission;

(d) An attorney who is licensed to practice law in Tennessee but who resided outside of the State and did not practice Tennessee law during the compliance year may request an annual exemption from [Rule 21]. This exemption shall be requested annually by completing the pertinent section on the Annual Report Statement and filing the Statement with the Commission;

(e) Full time Tennessee law school professors who did not engage in the practice of law during the compliance year shall not be subject to [Rule 21].

This exemption shall be claimed annually by completing the pertinent section on the Annual Report Statement and filing the Statement with the Commission;

(f) An attorney holding an elective office in the Executive or Legislative branches of government and who is prohibited by law from practicing law or who certifies that s/he has not practiced law during the compliance year is exempt while holding such office.

This exemption shall be claimed annually by completing the pertinent section on the Annual Report Statement and filing the Statement with the Commission.

(g) All Justices, Judges, and Magistrate Judges of the federal system shall not be subject to the requirements of [Rule 21] in view of their required comparable continuing legal education programs.

This exemption shall be claimed annually by completing the pertinent section on the Annual Report Statement and filing the Statement with the Commission.”

Tenn. Sup. Ct. R. 21 § 2.03

Yes. Exceptional relief is provided only for the compliance year(s) specified in the Commission’s grant of such relief. It is not ongoing.

Attorneys are not automatically exempt, but may be eligible to claim one of the exemptions enumerated in Tennessee Supreme Court Rule 21, Section 2. Other than the age exemption, exemptions must be claimed annually after the December 31 close of each compliance year by filing an online Annual Report Statement (ARS). Failure to timely file an ARS may result in financial penalties or suspension of an attorney’s law license.

The Commission recognizes the following exemptions:

“(a) Nonresident attorneys from other jurisdictions who are temporarily admitted to practice for a case or proceeding shall not be subject to [Rule 21];

(b) Members of the Armed Forces on active duty shall not be subject to [Rule 21]. Any attorney claiming active duty military exemption shall provide to the Commission a copy of his/her military orders in order to qualify for exemption. An attorney who leaves active duty military service prior to September 1st of the compliance year shall not be entitled to the military exemption for that year. This exemption shall be claimed by completing the pertinent section on the Annual Report Statement and filing the Statement with the Commission;

(c) An attorney shall not be subject to the requirements of [Rule 21] after age seventy (70), upon claiming application of the exemption. This exemption shall not include the calendar year in which the attorney becomes seventy (70) years of age. However, any attorney who reached age sixty-five (65) on or before December 31, 2014, shall also be eligible for exemption from the requirements of [Rule 21] pursuant to the age-related exemption granted by the version of Rule 21 in effect on December 31, 2014 upon filing an application with the Commission. This exemption shall be claimed by completing the pertinent section on the Annual Report Statement and filing the Statement with the Commission;

(d) An attorney who is licensed to practice law in Tennessee but who resided outside of the State and did not practice Tennessee law during the compliance year may request an annual exemption from [Rule 21]. This exemption shall be requested annually by completing the pertinent section on the Annual Report Statement and filing the Statement with the Commission;

(e) Full time Tennessee law school professors who did not engage in the practice of law during the compliance year shall not be subject to [Rule 21].

This exemption shall be claimed annually by completing the pertinent section on the Annual Report Statement and filing the Statement with the Commission;

(f) An attorney holding an elective office in the Executive or Legislative branches of government and who is prohibited by law from practicing law or who certifies that s/he has not practiced law during the compliance year is exempt while holding such office.

This exemption shall be claimed annually by completing the pertinent section on the Annual Report Statement and filing the Statement with the Commission.

(g) All Justices, Judges, and Magistrate Judges of the federal system shall not be subject to the requirements of [Rule 21] in view of their required comparable continuing legal education programs.

This exemption shall be claimed annually by completing the pertinent section on the Annual Report Statement and filing the Statement with the Commission.”

Tenn. Sup. Ct. R. 21 § 2.03.

Possibly. Placing a law license on inactive status with the Board of Professional Responsibility does not automatically excuse the CLE requirement. See Regulation 2B.1. An attorney who places his or her license on inactive status with the Board of Professional Responsibility but has not placed his or her license on inactive status with the Commission is still subject to the annual CLE requirement (12 General hours and 3 Ethics/Professionalism hours).

An attorney who lives outside Tennessee and does not practice Tennessee law may be eligible to claim the non-resident exemption on the Annual Report Statement sent in February. This exemption must be claimed on an annual basis.

If an attorney with an inactive law license is not practicing law in any jurisdiction, he or she may request inactive status with the CLE Commission by completing a Request for Inactive Status form found in the Attorney Forms section of the website. (The form may be completed online, mailed to the Commission, or emailed to info@cletn.com.)  See Regulation 2B.2.

To become INACTIVE with the CLE Commission: (1) you cannot practice law in any U.S. jurisdiction and (2) your law license must be inactive with the BPR.

Placing your license in inactive status with the Board of Professional Responsibility (BPR) does not automatically eliminate your CLE obligation. Attorneys must also request inactive status with the CLE Commission by filing a “Request for Inactive Status.” Attorneys who go inactive with the Commission do not receive Progress Reports or Annual Report Statements and have no CLE obligation while inactive. There is no limit to the length of time an attorney may be inactive with the CLE Commission.

An attorney who is inactive with the CLE Commission and wishes to resume the practice of law in any U.S. jurisdiction must earn and report CLE credits sufficient to meet the requirements of the years while inactive, up to a maximum of five years, prior to having their license reinstated. For example, if you were inactive for three compliance years, you would need to make up three years of CLE. If you were inactive for twelve compliance years, you would need to make up five years’ worth of CLE.

The NON-RESIDENT EXEMPTION is available to attorneys who are not practicing law in Tennessee but live and practice in another jurisdiction. To claim the non-resident exemption, you must have lived outside of Tennessee during the compliance year and have not practiced Tennessee law during the compliance year. Your status with the BPR is irrelevant. For example, your status with the BPR could be active, inactive or even suspended, and you still may be able claim the non-resident exemption if you qualify.

Attorneys who qualify must file an Annual Report Statement each year and claim the non-resident exemption after the close of the compliance year and before March 31. Failure to either annually report hours to the Commission or to annually claim a valid exemption could result in financial penalties and ultimately the suspension of your law license in Tennessee.

There is no limitation on the number of years you can claim the non-resident exemption, and you do not need to make up CLE when you no longer qualify for the exemption. You simply need to earn your CLE beginning with the year you are no longer eligible to claim the non-resident exemption.

No, if you practiced Tennessee law, even briefly, you cannot claim the exemption for the year. Remember that providing counsel and advice counts as the practice of law.

No.  The age exemption is not automatic.  It must be requested.  An attorney is eligible to claim the age exemption by filing a request with the CLE Commission in the compliance year after they turn 70. The exemption may be requested on the Annual Report Statement or by submitting a Request for Age Exemption form via email or mail. See Tenn. Sup. Ct. R. 21 § 2.03(c).

Disabled attorneys have the same obligation to earn CLE or to file a valid exemption under Tennessee Supreme Court Rule 21 § 2.03. While there is no specific exemption for disabled attorneys, any attorney may file for exceptional relief for a modification of the requirements or a substitute program. Requests are approved or disapproved on an individual basis. See Tenn. Sup. Ct. R. 21 § 3.02.

Attorneys who are on disability status with the BPR are placed on inactive status with the Commission and are required to make up CLE hours to return to active status.

If you qualify for an exemption, you may claim it after the compliance year ends (on December 31) when you file your Annual Report Statement. The Commission sends out Annual Report Statements by the end of February each year.

To avoid penalty, you must claim your exemption by March 31. If you fail to claim your penalty by the deadline, you will be assessed a $100 noncompliance fee.

To avoid further penalty, you must pay the $100 noncompliance fee and claim your exemption (or complete your hours) by May 31. If you fail to do so, you will be assessed an additional $200 continuing noncompliance fee.

Attorneys who remain noncompliant after the May 31 deadline may be placed on the draft Suspension Order, submitted to the Tennessee Supreme Court on July 1, and ultimately may be suspended in August.

To return to active status from either inactive or suspended status, an attorney must earn and report CLE credits sufficient to meet the requirements of the years while inactive or suspended, to a maximum of 5 years, prior to having their license reinstated. Thus, if an attorney is inactive for 2 years, they must make up 2 years of CLE credit. If an attorney is inactive for 10 years, they must make up 5 years of CLE credit.

Because the CLE Commission and the Board of Professional Responsibility are separate agencies, attorneys are also advised to check independently with the Board of Professional Responsibility on applicable provisions of the rules administered by that organization.

Finally, please note that being suspended by or becoming inactive with the Board of Professional Responsibility does not automatically exempt an attorney from CLE obligations. However, an attorney who is already inactive with the Board of Professional Responsibility and who does not actively practice law in any United States jurisdiction may request inactive status with the CLE Commission during the years they are not practicing. See Reg. 2B.

“CLE Commission” is sufficient.  Please include your BPR number on the check or in the correspondence accompanying the check so funds are properly applied.

You will owe a $100 non-completion fee, and you will still be required to complete the required hours.  The hours you earn following the close of the compliance year will first go toward your prior year shortage, then will count toward the new compliance year.

The CLE compliance year runs from January 1 to December 31. Hours must be completed by 11:59:59 p.m. on December 31, or you will be assessed a $100 penalty.

Your provider will report your attendance based on when you COMPLETE a course. If you begin a one-hour course at 11:45 p.m. on 12/31 and complete it at 12:45 a.m. on 1/1, that hour is considered earned on 1/1. The Commission defers to the provider for confirmation of when a course is completed. Please keep in mind that providers in different time zones may have varied reporting policies.

If you are assessed the $100 noncompliance fee but qualify for an exemption, you can avoid the penalty by claiming the exemption on your Annual Report Statement, which you will receive in February after the close of compliance year. Your exemption must be received by March 31 to avoid the $100 late penalty.

Whether payment is required by the provider or an attorney, the two dollar ($2.00) per credit hour posting fee must be paid before the attendance will be counted toward compliance. 

Absolutely, but attorneys must complete all CLE hours for the previous compliance year and pay all outstanding fees.

If CLE hours are not immediately reported by the provider, the Commission will accept an Affidavit of Compliance (AOC) from the attorney to hold a suspension in abeyance until the provider reports the hours. If hours listed on an AOC are not reported within 30 days of attendance, the attorney will be subject to suspension.

The Affidavit of Compliance is acceptable only for courses that are previously accredited in Tennessee. Unaccredited courses may not qualify for credit and are not permissible on the AOC.

• December 31 – Deadline for earning hours without $100 late fee.
• February 28 – The Annual Report Statement (“ARS”) is emailed to attorneys.
• March 31 – The ARS must be completed and submitted to the Commission via the website for attorneys reporting hours or claiming an exemption. 
• April 30 – Notices of Non-Compliance sent certified mail to noncompliant attorneys who have  insufficient hours or owe fees.
• May 31 – Deadline for establishing compliance by filing the Affidavit of Compliance or claiming a valid exemption.  Compliance means the hours necessary for compliance have been earned or a valid exemption has been claimed and all fees have been paid.  Failure to comply with this deadline will result in the imposition of the $200 continuing noncompliance penalty.
• June 1 – $200 late fee assessed to noncompliant attorneys who have not filed Affidavit of Compliance and paid all fees due.
• June 28 – Draft Suspension Order sent by certified mail to noncompliant attorneys.
• August 10 — Deadline for filing Affidavit of Compliance and paying all fees to avoid being included on the Suspension Order submitted to the Tennessee Supreme Court.
• August 15 – Commission submits Suspension Order to the Tennessee Supreme Court. Attorneys not in active status with BPR are placed in suspended status and assessed a $500 suspension fee. Upon entry of the Suspension Order by the Court, a $500 suspension fee is assessed to noncompliant, active status attorneys, and those attorneys are moved to suspended status.

Fees can be waived only when they were erroneously assessed and the attorney was in CLE compliance by the stated deadline. Compliance means all hours were earned and all fees were paid.  See Tenn. Sup. Ct. R. 21 § 7.

An attorney may request a waiver of fees in exceptional circumstances by completing the Exceptional Relief Request. See Tenn. Sup. Ct. R. 21 § 2.04.

To initially register your legal specialization, send a copy of the letter you received from the certifying agency to: info@cletn.com (or mail it to our office).

You do not need to complete any other forms initially, but you will need to renew your registration annually with us.  

You can advertise your specialization as long as you remain current with the Certification Board and annually register your certification with the CLE Commission.

You cannot advertise that you are certified by the Tennessee Commission on CLE because the Commission no longer certifies attorneys in legal specialties.

All changes to your mailing address, email address or telephone number must be made through the Board of Professional Responsibility’s attorney portal. The Commission cannot update your contact information.

The Commission receives weekly updates from the Board of Professional Responsibility (BPR). If attorney contact information is correct with the BPR, the Commission will automatically import the changes.

Under Tennessee Supreme Court Rule 9, attorneys must update contact information with the Board of Professional Responsibility within 30 days of any change.

Incorrect contact information does NOT mitigate your CLE obligation.

The Commission sends mail and email messages to the correspondence addresses registered with the Board of Professional Responsibility. Attorneys must maintain current contact information with the BPR. Also, attorneys should consider adding info@cletn.com to their address books to avoid messages going into junk mail folders.