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.
