South Carolina CLE Requirements

South Carolina CLE requirements apply to active members of the South Carolina Bar unless an exemption applies. The baseline rule is 14 approved CLE hours each reporting year, with the reporting year running from March 1 through the last day of February.

For attorneys and firm administrators, South Carolina is a good example of why CLE tracking needs category-level detail. The total-hours requirement, LEPR requirement, periodic substance abuse/mental health/stress-management requirement, and delivery-format limits should each be tracked separately.

South Carolina attorneys generally need 14 CLE hours every reporting year. At least 2 of those hours must be devoted to legal ethics/professional responsibility, usually referred to as LEPR.

At least once every two reporting years, a member must also complete 1 CLE hour devoted exclusively to substance abuse, mental health issues, or stress management and the legal profession. That SA/MH credit is part of the general CLE requirement and does not satisfy the LEPR requirement.

The South Carolina CLE reporting year runs from March 1 through the last day of February. The reporting deadline is March 1, so a practical tracker should treat late February and March 1 as a tight compliance window rather than a vague annual reminder.

South Carolina providers may report attendance, but attorneys remain responsible for compliance reporting and should check their transcript or compliance report before the March 1 deadline.

South Carolina limits online, telephone, and other alternatively delivered programming. The current Track CLE summary is that up to 8 hours may be online or telephone distance learning, which means attorneys should distinguish live/in-person credit from alternatively delivered credit before they assume a full 14-hour package will satisfy the rule.

Carryover can help, but it has category limits. Excess hours over the 8-hour online/telephone cap do not carry, only limited LEPR can carry, and SA/MH credit does not carry into the next two-year SA/MH cycle.

Newly admitted South Carolina lawyers are exempt from CLE requirements during the reporting year in which they are admitted. The first required reporting year begins on March 1 after admission.

Before the end of that first required reporting year, newly admitted members generally must complete the South Carolina Bar Essentials Series in addition to the ordinary CLE requirements, unless a listed exemption applies.

The most common South Carolina CLE tracking mistakes are missing the March 1 filing deadline, counting SA/MH credit as LEPR, overcounting online or telephone CLE, and applying carryover without checking category restrictions.

Noncompliance is not just a reminder problem. The Commission regulations describe automatic suspension for active members who are neither exempt nor excused and who fail to comply by the stated date, with reinstatement requiring proof of compliance and fees.