How to Apply for Accreditation of a CLE Program
Information for Sponsors
General Information
What are the basic requirements of a CLE program?
What is the general procedure for applying for accreditation
of a CLE program?
Additional instructions for programs that take place within the
state of Ohio
Additional information for programs that take place outside the
state of Ohio
How can I obtain application forms?
Which application form should I submit?
Applying for accreditation of a special program (sometimes called
"in-house")
Applying for accreditation of a self-study activity
Credit for Ethics, Professionalism, and Substance Abuse
Established sponsor status
Sponsor obligations
Accurately reporting attorney credits
Maintaining records
Instructions on reporting credits to the CLE office
Credit for special ("in-house") programs
Credit for self-study programs
Managing the activity presentation to ensure accurate credit
reporting
Additional notes and guidelines
Thank you for sponsoring continuing legal education programs that will help Ohio attorneys meet their CLE obligations under Rule X of the Supreme Court Rules for the Government of the Bar of Ohio.
The information given in all sections below is a very general overview of the requirements relating to approval of CLE programs. Please see Rule X and its associated Regulations for the actual wording of the requirements, and for additional information and details.
Rule X and the Regulations contain quite specific requirements. In addition, by applying for accreditation of a CLE program, sponsors agree to take on numerous obligations.
For these reasons, we strongly suggest that all sponsors familiarize themselves with Rule X and the Regulations before submitting any applications.
Many organizations ask us how they can become "an accredited provider" of CLE in Ohio. Though some other states use this term, Ohio does not. You do not have to apply to become a provider (or sponsor) in order to apply for accreditation of an individual CLE program.
We don't actually accredit providers or sponsors, nor do we accredit courses that can then be presented over and over without application. What we do accredit is an activity that is going to take place on a certain date and in a certain city.
Each time you wish to present the activity, you must submit a separate application. (However, if you have several definite dates and cities scheduled, you may put them all on one application-as long as all dates are for the same calendar year.)
After a sponsor has been submitting applications for a substantial period of time, and has "established" itself with the Commission-meaning that its programs and applications consistently meet all of the CLE requirements-it may apply to become what is called an "Established Sponsor." (See below.)
If you have questions, please contact our office.
What are the basic requirements of a CLE program?
- The activity must be directly related to the practice of law (not indirectly related).
- The activity must deal with subjects that will maintain and improve the quality of legal services.
- The primary objective of the program must be to improve the participant's professional competence as an attorney or judge.
Generally, this means that the program must have been designed to educate attorneys or judges. In some cases, however, you may apply for accreditation of an activity on an interdisciplinary basis. (Please see below.)
- The activity must have significant intellectual or practical content.
- The activity must be an organized program of learning, not an informal gathering or business meeting.
- The program must be at least one full hour of substantive instruction time (60 minutes), not including such things as breaks, meals, keynote speeches, business meetings, program evaluation, or opening and closing remarks.
- Written materials must be provided at the program and there must be a writing surface available.
- If the program is a video or audio presentation, an expert moderator must be present to answer questions. Please provide the name and credentials of the expert moderator.
- Telephone-only programs are not eligible for CLE credit in Ohio. In certain very special cases we may be able to approve an application for a telephone program if the sponsor can certify to us that it meets all requirements of Regulation 407 or 409. Please contact us for further information.
What is the general procedure for applying for accreditation of a CLE program?
Please submit an application packet, including an application form and all required attachments (listed on the form). Please do not send the full set of materials unless requested to do so.
We will review the application. The general turnaround time is about one month, but it may be longer during busy times of the year. You can help by insuring that you have filled out the application form completely and have submitted all required attachments.
In general, incomplete applications are returned to the applicant with a request for additional information.
If you wish to know whether your program has been received, please use Certified Mail, Federal Express, or a similar service that provides a tracking service.
To check if your upcoming program has been approved, please check our Web site. The Approved Activities List is updated continuously throughout the day. If your upcoming program has been approved, you will find it on the list. (Past programs and pending applications do not show on the Web site.)
After approval, we will send you an approval letter. The approval letter will include an Ohio Activity Code, which is an ID number that identifies that particular CLE activity. Please reference the Activity Code in all correspondence and communication with this office.
The approval letter will also tell you how many hours your program has been approved for, and in what categories (general, ethics, professionalism, or substance abuse).
The letter will also give you detailed wording that may be used in your advertising materials. Please note that you may not advertise that your program has been approved. Credits must be submitted within 30 days of the activity. Reporting the credits is one of your responsibilities as a sponsor.
If your application is denied, we will send you a denial letter, which also will reference the Ohio Activity Code. The letter will give the reasons for denial, citing the applicable sections from the Rule and Regulations. You may request reconsideration of the denial within 30 days after the date of the letter.
Additional Instructions for Programs that take place within the state of Ohio
For any program that takes place within the state of Ohio, the complete application, with all required attachments, must be received in our office at least 60 days in advance.
The application must be accompanied by a non-refundable $25 application fee.
Sponsors will be charged an additional non-refundable $100 fee for late applications. Please note that payment of the late fee does not guarantee approval of the program, nor does it guarantee that approval will be received by the program date.
Additional Info for Programs that take place outside the state of Ohio
For programs that take place outside the state of Ohio, the complete application, with all required attachments, must be received in our office within 60 days after the program takes place.
If you wish pre-approval, the application should be submitted at least 60 days before the program takes place.
No sponsor application fee (or late fee) is required for programs that take place outside the state of Ohio.
How can I obtain application forms?
You may download application forms from our Web site. Forms are also available by mail. Please telephone our office to request them.
Which application form should I submit?
- Please submit Form 6 if the primary audience of your program is a general group of attorneys and not your own employees, clients, or others associated with your firm or agency. Form 6 is also appropriate for most membership organizations, such as bar associations, Inns of Court, or trade associations.
- Please submit Form 8 if the primary audience of the program is your own employees, clients, or other attorneys who are associated with your firm or agency. Form 8 should also be used if all of the speakers are associated with your firm or agency. This type of program is considered to be a "Special Program," also sometimes called an in-house program. (See detailed Special Program requirements below.)
- Please note that if you are presenting a program primarily for the education of one firm or agency's employees, clients, or associates, then you cannot submit the application for accreditation. In our terms, the firm itself is the sponsor and must submit Form 8, with the signature of a representative of the sponsor.
- If your program is not primarily designed for attorneys, but you wish to apply on an interdisciplinary basis, please also submit the supplementary Form 13 (in addition to Form 6 or 8 ).
- Submit Form 10 if you are applying for a Self-Study activity. (See detailed self-study requirements below.)
Applying for Accreditation of a Special Program (sometimes called "in-house")
Please submit Form 8, available from our Web site or by mail.
Special Programs have specific requirements, as follows:
- One or more speakers shall not be a member, partner, or employee of the sponsoring organization.
- At least 25 percent of the seating must be made available to attorneys and judges not associated with the organization in any way. (Please note that clients are considered to be "associated.")
You may apply for a variance from one of those requirements, but not both. This means that at least one of the above requirements must be met.
In order to request a variance, please write us a letter identifying which variance you are requesting. Please include a statement of the reasons why you feel that your program should be granted a variance.
Please note that if confidential information is being discussed at your program, then the program is not eligible for CLE credit in Ohio.
The above information is only a very brief, general description of the requirements for accreditation of a Special Program. We suggest that you familiarize yourself with Rule X, Regulation 407, before submitting any application, as sponsors are responsible for meeting all requirements of the Regulation. Please call us with any questions.
Applying for Accreditation of a Self-Study Activity
Because the requirements for self-study activities are quite detailed, we strongly suggest that you review Rule X, Regulation 409, and also telephone our office for information before submitting any application.
The application for requesting accreditation of a self-study activity is Form 10, available from our Web site or by mail.
Form 10 must be received in our office at least 60 days in advance of the date you wish approval to be effective. Each form must be accompanied by a $25 application fee.
Please note that approval is for the balance of the calendar year only. For subsequent calendar years, you must apply with the complete application packet, including the $25 fee.
Some specific requirements for accreditation of self-study programs are as follows:
- The Sponsor shall have a means by which it can identify the Attendees actually engaged in the Self-Study Activity.
- The Sponsor shall provide a means of verification of competency, such as a test.
- The Sponsor shall certify that the Attorney or Judge engaged in the Self-Study Activity has actually participated in the Self-Study Activity for an amount of time equivalent to the number of CLE credit hours requested.
Form 10 includes questions relating to the three points listed above. Please provide a detailed description of the ways in which your program meets these requirements.
Please answer each question individually, even if you find that you are repeating information. We need to be able to clearly see how your program meets each requirement.
Form 10 does not give you enough space in which to provide the amount of detail we need. Please attach at least one separate (typed) sheet of paper, which includes complete answers.
Attorney credits for self-study programs must be reported electronically to the Commission by the Sponsor on a monthly basis.
The above information is only a very brief, general description of the requirements for accreditation of a self-study program. Again, we suggest that you familiarize yourself with Rule X, Regulation 409, before submitting any application, as sponsors are responsible for meeting all requirements of the Regulation. Please call our office with any questions.
Credit for Ethics, Professionalism, and Substance Abuse
If you wish to request credit for ethics, professionalism, or substance abuse, your program must meet the following standards:
- Ethics must be related to Ohio's Code of Professional Responsibility, the ABA Model Rules, or other disciplinary rules for attorneys.
- Professionalism must be related to "A Lawyer's Creed" and "A Lawyer's Aspirational Ideals," or concepts and situations addressed in those publications. (See CLE Professionalism Guidelines, available on our Web site.)
- Substance abuse education must include causes, prevention, detection, and treatment alternatives.
When submitting applications for credit in these areas, please be certain that the materials you submit clearly show that the program is eligible according to these standards.
Also please clearly mark on the time schedule those sessions that you wish to have considered for ethics, professionalism, or substance abuse.
"Established Sponsor" status may be granted, upon application, to sponsors who have demonstrated to the Commission, generally over a period of years, that its programs and applications consistently meet the standards of quality set forth in Regulation 406.
Sponsors who are primarily providers of Special Programs or self-study programs are not eligible for Established Sponsor status.
Established Sponsor status entitles the Sponsor to presumptive approval of CLE activities, other than New Lawyer Training programs and self-study programs.
Established Sponsors must submit a "Request for Announcement" for each activity 30 days in advance of the activity, and must pay a $400 annual fee.
Please note that it is the responsibility of the Established Sponsor to submit only programs that they have reason to believe are eligible for CLE credit under Rule X. If an Established Sponsor has any question about a program, the sponsor should contact the CLE office before submitting the application.
In addition, please remember that established Sponsor status can be revoked for failure to comply with all requirements of Rule X.
For detailed information, please see Rule X, Regulation 404.
By submitting an application for accreditation of a CLE program, you are taking on numerous obligations. Those obligations are as follows:
Accurately Reporting Attorney Credits
It is your responsibility to accurately report the attorneys' attendance and teaching credit to us. We rely on you to keep records of each Ohio attorney's actual participation in the activity you have sponsored. This requirement applies equally to programs that take place within and outside the state of Ohio.
Requests for credit for programs that took place inside the state of Ohio must be received in our office within 30 days after the program took place.
If you requested pre-approval of a program that took place outside the state of Ohio, then requests for credit must be received within 30 days after the program took place.
If you requested post-program approval of a program that took place outside the state of Ohio, then requests for credit must be received within 30 days after you receive approval of the program.
You are required to maintain accurate and complete records of each CLE program for at least two years following the program. You also need to keep this information readily available for at least two years, in case any attendee (or this office) has a question.
These records must include (at a minimum) the title, date, and location of the program, the activity code of the program, the Supreme Court of Ohio Registration numbers of each attendee, and the amount and type of credit each attendee is entitled to receive.
Instructions on Reporting Credit to the CLE Office
Electronic Reporting
A sponsor portal has been created for sponsors to submit CLE attendance credits electronically through a spreadsheet. A login and password will need to be obtained to login to the sponsor portal and submit credits. If this is your first time submitting credits through the spreadsheet, please contact our office to receive a password. If you have forgotten your password, click on the “Forgot Password” link to have a new password emailed to you. After you have logged into the portal, click on “Download Excel Spreadsheet” and follow the prompts. To login to the sponsor portal go to https://www.supremecourt.ohio.gov/attysvcs/cle/sponsorportal.
Credit for Special ("In-House") Programs
For a Special Program, the credit form you submit for each attendee depends on whether or not the individual is associated with your firm.
Any attorney who is associated with your organization in any way (including clients) should receive in-house credit. Please check the in-house box on the sponsor spreadsheet indicating the attorney should receive in-house credit.
Any attorney who is not associated with your organization in any way should receive regular CLE credit.
Teaching credit for Special Programs is reported using the standard Form 2.
Please remind in-house attendees (including clients) of the 12-hour cap on in-house credit. Only 12 hours per biennium of in-house credit will count towards the attorney's CLE requirement.
Credit for Self-Study Programs
Attorney credits for self-study programs must be reported to the Commission by the Sponsor on a monthly basis. You cannot leave this up to the individual attorneys. Credits must be submitted electronically through the sponsor portal https://www.supremecourt.ohio.gov/attysvcs/cle/sponsorportal
Managing the Activity Presentation Site to Ensure Accurate Credit Reporting
Please note that the Ohio Activity Code must not be released to the attorneys until the program is over.
This means that you should not print the Activity Code on any materials that you hand out to the attorneys before or during the program.
However, if an attorney wishes to leave early (and has attended at least one hour), you may give the Activity Code to the attorney when he or she leaves. Make sure that the attorney has completed and signed the sign-in sheet indicating the correct attendance hours.
Please have a monitor in the room to ensure that attorneys are present for the entire time that the program is taking place. Unscheduled absences of 15 minutes or longer should be deducted from the attorney's credit.
A sign-in/sign-out sheet is highly recommended. This sheet should include a place for the attorney to print their name as well as sign it. It should also include a spot for their Ohio Registration Number, and space to indicate time in and time out.
You are responsible for certifying to us that all attorney credit requests are accurate.
Additional Notes and Guidelines
Please remember that CLE programs must be directly related to the practice of law-not indirectly related.
Example #1: If you are planning to present a program on time management, the program must be directed specifically toward lawyers. It cannot be a general time management program that only incidentally is being presented to a group of lawyers.Example #2: Programs providing instruction in computer programs such as Word or Power Point must be designed specifically for lawyers. We will not give CLE credit for any portion of the program that provides general computer instruction.
We do not give credit for any program that takes place during the consumption of a meal. Please allow 30 minutes for a box lunch or continental breakfast, 45 minutes for a buffet, and 60 minutes for a meal with servers.
We do not give credit for keynote speeches, or "speeches" in general. Please remember that every session of your program must be an organized program of learning, similar to a class in school or college.
In general, if written materials are not being provided for a particular session, we will not give credit for it.
We do not generally give CLE credit for programs on marketing or "rainmaking." The reason for this is contained in Regulation 406(A) and (B). We do not feel that the primary purpose of marketing or rainmaking programs is to "improve the participant's professional competence as an attorney," or that such programs are designed to "maintain and improve the quality of legal services in Ohio."
PDF files may be viewed, printed, and searched using the free Acrobat® Reader
Acrobat Reader is a trademark of Adobe Systems Incorporated.