Continuing Legal Education (CLEs)

Continuing Legal Education (CLEs)

THE DEADLINE FOR SUBMITTING PROOF OF REQUIRED CLE CREDITS IS EVERY TWO (2) YEARS ON THE ANNIVERSARY OF THE DATE ON WHICH THE EXAM WAS SUCCESSFULLY PASSED.  

Certificates of Attendance or Certificates Awarding CLEs credit are required to be submitted with the application to verify the CLE meets NFPA’s guidelines as outlined below.

Approved CLE providers for individuals (applications and renewals)
• A current NFPA-member association
• Bar associations (Examples: ABA, ATLA, local bar associations or MCLE programs approved by a local bar).
• Any court within the US
• Inns of Court
• A military JAG School or military paralegal program
• NALA
• AAfPE or ABA-approved Paralegal Programs
•In house substantive CLEs (law firms or corporations)
•Any CLEs that are approved for attorneys
• **Professional substantive legal seminar providers (e.g. NBI, Lorman, etc) who have obtained NFPA-approval for individual CLE courses. 

The following CLEs would need approval
• CLE credit for instructing, speaking or guest lecturing
• CLE credit for publishing articles
• CLE credit for paralegal certification exam writing
• CLE for Pro Bono service. (Pro Bono services must be of substantive nature and must be certified by an affidavit completed by the supervising attorney, program or agency coordinator or firm).
• **To submit for approval on these CLEs, please use the NFPA Association CLE application, here.

CLE Certificates must be submitted that comply with the following:
**Please note: You will no longer be able to submit 3rd party CLEs to NFPA for review and approval in order to include with your application or renewal. However, other options for CLE approval that are available include:
• Individuals can seek approval of their third-party CLEs through their local bar association or local NFPA association before they submit a certification renewal application.
• CLE vendors can submit their CLE courses for approval to NFPA through the CLE provider application process here.

DO:

  1. Submit 12 hours of CLE Certificates to renew the RP® Credential, with two hours being an Ethics OR DEI Course.
  2. Submit 8 hours of CLE Certificates to renew the CRP™ Credential, with two hours being an Ethics OR DEI Course.
  3. Submit CLE Certificates that were attended, or completed in the case of a webinar, within the two years since the last renewal. Example: If the renewal date is 06/01/2020, then all CLEs must have been completed between 06/01/2018 and 06/01/2020
  4. Submit CLE Certificates that are NFPA-approved courses. Courses are approved if the certificates include verification ON THE CERTIFICATE that they are approved by one of the above listed approved providers. An email from one of these organizations verifying the CLE approval may also accompany the CLE Certificate as an alternative form of verification. 
  5. Submit CLE Certificates that include the name of the Renewal Applicant as the attendee or participant; handwritten or printed on the document is acceptable.
  6. Submit CLE Certificates that include the number and type of CLE awarded by one of the NFPA-approved organizations. Example: General CLE 1.0 hours or Ethics CLE 2.0 hours
  7. Submit CLE Certificates


DON’T:

  1. Submit CLE Certificates that do not total 12 CLEs required for the RP® Credential Renewal. 
  2. Submit CLE Certificates that do not total the 8 CLEs required for the CRP™ Credential Renewal.
  3. Submit CLE Certificates that were completed more than two (2) years from the renewal date.
  4. Submit CLE Certificates that don’t include the number and type of CLEs awarded.
  5. Submit CLE Certificates that don’t identify the attendee or participant.
  6. Submit CLE Certificates that do not include approval by one of the NFPA-approved organizations identified previously.
  7. Submit CLEs. receipts, print screens of other organizations CLE databases or copies of CLE course descriptions instead of the CLE Certificates. 
  8. Submit third-party CLE Certificates NOT approved by one of the NFPA-approved organizations listed previously. They must state the organizations approval on the Certificate in order to qualify.


Dual Credential Renewals
Those paralegals in good standing holding both the CRP™ and the RP® credentials may use the same CLE hours required in the renewal process, as long as they were obtained within the two year time period preceding their renewal date. Evidence of meeting the continuing legal education requirements for each credential must be submitted with the correct online Renewal Forms and can be located under Paralegal Certification and then Renewing your Credential. Certificates of Attendance are the required proof to verify attendance at a seminar. 

The same requirements for the CLE Certificates noted previously apply.

CLE Provider Approvals
NFPA Member Associations who wish to have their events advertised for NFPA CLE credit, please apply here.
All other CLE providers who wish to have their events advertised for NFPA CLE credit, please apply here.

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