Approved Jurisdiction List and Policy

Effective December 6, 2013 Through October 31, 2014

Under New York’s Approved Jurisdiction policy, so long as certain requirements are satisfied, New York attorneys may count towards their New York CLE requirement credit earned through participation in out-of-state courses accredited by a New York Approved Jurisdiction. The policy applies to both traditional live classroom-format and nontraditional-format courses (online, DVD, teleconference, etc.). Traditional live classroom-format courses are out-of-state if they take place outside of New York State. Nontraditional-format courses are out-of-state if the sponsor organization is headquartered outside of New York State.

NEW YORK APPROVED JURISDICTIONS, effective December 6, 2013

Group “A” (jurisdictions that require written materials for every CLE course):

Alabama Louisiana Oklahoma
Arkansas Mississippi Oregon
Colorado Nevada Rhode Island
Delaware New Hampshire South Carolina
Georgia New Mexico Tennessee
Indiana North Carolina Utah
Kansas North Dakota Virginia
Kentucky Ohio Wisconsin
    Law Society of Hong Kong

 

Group “B” (jurisdictions that do not require written materials for every CLE course):

Alaska Maine Texas
California* Minnesota Vermont
Florida Missouri Washington
Hawaii Montana West Virginia
Idaho Nebraska Wyoming
Illinois New Jersey  
Iowa Pennsylvania Law Society of England and Wales
(Solicitors Regulation Authority)**

 

* This jurisdiction requires written materials only for courses that are more than 60 minutes in length.

** This jurisdiction requires written materials only for courses that are at least 60 minutes in length.

 

Requirements for Claiming Credit for an Out-of-State Course Under New York’s Approved Jurisdiction Policy

An attorney claiming credit for an out-of-state course must retain the following documentation for a period of at least four (4) years:

EXPERIENCED ATTORNEYS (admitted to the New York Bar for more than two years)

NEWLY ADMITTED ATTORNEYS (admitted to the New York Bar for two years or less)

Please note that, generally, newly admitted attorneys may not earn CLE credit for nontraditional-format courses. Additional Information.

 

To calculate and report credit (for all attorneys)

  • calculate the number of credits earned according to New York standards
  • refer to the category of credit definitions to determine the appropriate category(ies) for the credits
  • when you file your Attorney Registration form, include these credits when computing the total number (and categories) of CLE credits completed (there is no need to notify the CLE Board or Attorney Registration that you are claiming credits under New York’s Approved Jurisdiction policy)

 

Additional Information for Sponsors and Attendees of Out-of-State CLE Courses

  • If an out-of-state course is not accredited by a New York Approved Jurisdiction, New York CLE accreditation of the course may be sought either by the sponsor of the course (Application for Sponsoring Organization) or by an individual attorney who attended or otherwise participated in the course (Application for Attorney Participant). (Please note that if the sponsor is not able to independently verify attorneys’ attendance at the course, the course will not be accredited.)
  • All courses that take place in New York State – that is, traditional live classroom-format courses held in New York State and nontraditional-format courses offered by provider organizations whose headquarters are located in New York State – must be accredited by the New York State CLE Board in order for an attorney to earn CLE credit for the course.
  • Credit may be claimed only in a manner consistent with New York’s CLE Rules and Regulations — for example, credit may not be claimed for marketing, networking and/or business development courses, or for text-only courses.
  • Even though a course sponsor may be able to state that New York’s Approved Jurisdiction policy applies, the sponsor may not state that the course has been accredited by New York and may not issue the official New York CLE Certificate of Attendance.
  • The Approved Jurisdiction policy may apply even if the course is not accredited by the jurisdiction in which it takes place. So long as the course takes place outside of New York State and is accredited by any New York Approved Jurisdiction, the policy applies.
  • For additional information on New York’s Approved Jurisdiction policy, please refer to section 6 of the CLE Board Regulations and Guidelines.
  • For questions, please contact CLE staff at [email protected], or by telephone at 212-428-2105 or toll free from outside of New York City at 1-877-NYS-4CLE

 

Effective July 1, 2004 through December 5, 2013

 

Under New York’s Approved Jurisdiction policy, so long as certain requirements are satisfied, New York attorneys may count towards their New York CLE requirement credit earned through participation in out-of-state programs accredited by a New York Approved Jurisdiction. The policy applies to both traditional live classroom-format courses and to nontraditional format courses (online, DVD, teleconference, etc.). Below is a list of New York’s Approved Jurisdictions and an explanation of the policy.

New York Approved Jurisdictions

Alabama Louisiana Oregon
Arkansas Mississippi Pennsylvania
California* Nevada Rhode Island
Colorado New Hampshire South Carolina
Delaware New Mexico Tennessee
Georgia North Carolina Utah
Indiana North Dakota Virginia
Kansas Ohio Wisconsin
Kentucky Oklahoma Law Society of Hong Kong

 

 Law Society of England and Wales
(Solicitors Regulation Authority)**

* Approved only for courses exceeding 60 minutes in length

** Approved only for courses at least 60 minutes in length

 

Traditional live classroom format — An attorney may apply credit earned if:

  • the course takes place outside of New York State;
  • the course is accredited by a New York Approved Jurisdiction (see list below);
  • the attorney obtains from the course sponsor documentation that the course is accredited by a New York Approved Jurisdiction (such as a statement on the certificate of attendance, or a letter or e-mail from the sponsor indicating the jurisdiction that accredited the course); and
  • the attorney obtains from the course sponsor a certificate of attendance which should indicate the attorney’s name, the title, date and location of the course, the number of credits earned and the categories of credit. (Note: The official New York CLE Certificate of Attendance may not be used, as it is to be used only for courses that have been accredited by the New York State CLE Board. Uniform certificates or other documentation issued to all attorney attendees are generally acceptable.)

A newly admitted attorney (an attorney admitted to the New York Bar two years or less) must also obtain from the course sponsor documentation that the level of difficulty of the course is appropriate for newly admitted attorneys.

Attorneys and course sponsors often ask whether a course must take place in the jurisdiction that has granted the accreditation. (For example, may an attorney claim credit earned for a course taken in New Jersey if it was approved by Virginia, a New York Approved Jurisdiction.) So long as the course takes place outside of New York State and is accredited by any New York Approved Jurisdiction, the policy applies.

Nontraditional formats (online, DVD, teleconference, etc.) — An attorney may apply credit earned if:

  • he/she is an experienced attorney (admitted to the New York Bar for more than two years);
  • the course is offered by an organization that is headquartered outside of New York State;
  • the course is accredited by a New York Approved Jurisdiction (see list below);
  • the attorney obtains from the course sponsor documentation that the course is accredited by a New York Approved Jurisdiction (such as a statement on the certificate of attendance, or a letter or e-mail from the sponsor indicating the jurisdiction that accredited the course);
  • the attorney can show that the sponsor of the course verified the attorney’s completion of the course (for example, the attorney may keep a copy of the form on which the attorney reported a code embedded in a DVD, or a copy of the sponsor’s description of its procedures for verifying an attorney’s completion of a course); and
  • the attorney obtains from the course sponsor a certificate of attendance which should indicate the attorney’s name, the title, date and location of the course, the number of credits earned and the categories of credit. (Note: The official New York CLE Certificate of Attendance may not be used, as it is to be used only for courses that have been accredited by the New York State CLE Board. Uniform certificates or other documentation issued to all attorney attendees are generally acceptable.)

Reminders —

  • Although a course sponsor may be able to state that New York’s Approved Jurisdiction policy applies, the sponsor may not state that the course has been accredited by New York.
  • An attorney may count towards her/his New York CLE requirement credit earned through the Approved Jurisdiction policy without notifying the CLE Board. The attorney should simply include those credits when computing the total number of CLE credits completed, and keep the documentation described above for a period of at least four (4) years in case of audit.
  • Credit may be claimed only in a manner consistent with New York’s CLE Rules and Regulations. For example, credit may not be claimed for marketing, networking and/or business development courses, or for text-only courses (no audio component).
  • If a course does not fall under New York’s Approved Jurisdiction policy, New York CLE accreditation of the course may be sought either by the sponsor of the course (Application for Sponsoring Organization) or by an individual attorney who attended the course (Application for Attorney Participant). (Please note that, for nontraditional format courses, if the provider does not have a procedure to verify an attorney’s participation, the course will not be accredited; an affirmation or other statement by an attorney attesting to the attorney’s completion of the program is not sufficient.)
  • All courses that take place in New York – that is, traditional live classroom-format courses held in New York State and nontraditional format courses offered by provider organizations whose headquarters are located in New York State – must be accredited by the New York State CLE Board in order for an attorney to earn CLE credit for the course.

For additional information on New York’s Approved Jurisdiction policy, please refer to section 6 of the CLE Board Regulations and Guidelines.