Compelling On-Demand Illinois Attorney Continuing Legal Education

Yes. The Illinois MCLE Board has approved Real Estate Institute as an Accredited CLE Provider. As a result, CLE programs offered by Real Estate Institute are presumptively approved for general MCLE credits. Any courses offered for professional responsibility or ethic credit are separately approved by the Commission on Professionalism of the Supreme Court of Illinois.

Illinois Supreme Court Rules 790 through 797 establish Minimum Continuing Legal Education ("MCLE") requirements for Illinois attorneys. Each attorney admitted before October 1, 2011 is required to complete 30 hours of CLE activity, including 6 hours of professional responsibility credit, during the current two-year reporting period in effect in Illinois. Hours need not be allocated evenly over the two-year reporting period.

Please see the chart below for your requirement:

Last Names Beginning with N-Z

• 2-Yr Reporting Period Begins:  7/1/2021 through 6/30/2023
• CLE Required: 30 Hours

Last Names Beginning with A-M

• 2-Yr Reporting Period Begins:  7/1/2022 through 6/30/2024
• CLE Required: 30 Hours

Yes. Attorneys are required a total of six (6) Professional Responsibility ("PR") credits. For all two-year reporting periods ending June 30, 2019, and after, those six PR credits must include a minimum of one hour of accredited Mental Health & Substance Abuse and another hour of Diversity & Inclusion. 

Yes. If you were admitted before July 1, 2008, you may carry over a maximum of 10 credit hours; however professional responsibility hours carry over as general hours. These 10 hours may be carried over only to satisfy the next consecutive period’s requirements.

If you were admitted on or after July 1, 2008, you may carry over a maximum of 10 credit hours, including professional responsibility hours. These 10 hours may be carried over only to satisfy the next consecutive period’s requirements.

Starting with the 2021-2023 reporting period, attorneys will be able to check how many credits they have earned via their online transcript, which is located in their "My MCLE" portal. If all the requirements are met within the attorney's designated reporting period, the MCLE Board will file a compliance report on the attorney's behalf. For additional information, please click here to be directed to the IL MCLE Board's FAQ website.

Once you enroll in an online CLE course, you will receive a username and password that provides access the online presentation(s) and written course materials. After viewing the course in its entirety, you must submit an affidavit of course completion to Real Estate Institute.

The affidavit may be submitted online, at which time you will be required to state that you have viewed the entire presentation as of the date of submission. All affidavits must be submitted to Real Estate Institute within thirty (30) days of course completion. Once we receive the affidavit, we will process the information and issue a certificate of completion for the course within two (2) business days. Certificates of completion will be delivered to attorneys by e-mail.

Yes. You may be completely exempt from the MCLE requirements if you meet an exemption on the last day of the reporting period or for at least 365 days of the period . You are able to claim a partial exemption of half of the CLE required hours, if you meet an exemption for more than 60 days during the reporting period but less than 365 days. The exemptions are:

• Inactive or Retired: All attorneys while on inactive or retirement status under Supreme Court Rules 756(a)(5) or (a)(6). If an attorney chooses to return to active status, the attorney must complete the deferred CLE requirement within 24 months of resuming active status. (Rule 791(e).)
• Disability Inactive: All attorneys on disability inactive status under Supreme Court Rules 757 or 758. If an attorney chooses to return to active status, the attorney must complete the deferred CLE requirement (Rule 791(e).)
• Judicial: All attorneys serving in the office of justice, judge, associate judge, or magistrate of any federal or state court.
• Certain Attorneys Working or Employed in the State or Federal Judiciary: All attorneys who by virtue of their office or employment in the state or federal judiciary, are prohibited by the Supreme Court of Illinois or the federal judiciary from actively engaging in the practice of law.
• Military: All attorneys licensed to practice law in Illinois who are on active duty in the Armed Forces of the United States, until their release from active military service and their return to the active practice of law.
• Out-of-State: Certain out-of-state attorneys are exempt if they meet specific exemption requirements.
• MCLE Board Exempted: Attorneys exempted temporarily by the MCLE Board due to extreme hardship in the form of illness, financial hardship, or other extraordinary or extenuating circumstances beyond the attorney’s control.

Yes, but Illinois attorneys may not earn credit for the same course within one year (365 days). Credit may be earned for the same course after one year has passed.

Our recorded audio/video presentations require a high-speed internet connection and are compatible with most modern web browsers on desktop, laptop, and tablet devices.

The presentations may also be played on some small-screen mobile devices (like smartphones), but we strongly discourage use of these devices because your playback experience can be affected by device limitations.

You are not required to load special apps or other software components.

No. Our presentations are online, on-demand presentations that may only be viewed while your computer or mobile device is connected to the internet

For additional information, please visit the frequently asked questions section of the IL MCLE Board website by clicking here.

Per the IL MCLE Board rules, attorneys must maintain their certificate of completion (and/or other compliance documents) until the course is reflected on the attorney's online transcript and for a minimum of three years after the attorney's reporting period.

Beginning with the 2021-2023 reporting period, the attorney's transcript located in their online "My MCLE" portal is their report for the two-year reporting period. Once all requirements have been posted to the attorney's transcript (within their reporting period) the IL MCLE Board will file a compliance report on the attorney's behalf. These credits must appear on the attorney's transcript no later than July 31, otherwise the attorney will be subject to a $250 late fee. For additional information, please click here to be directed to the IL MCLE Board's FAQ website.

Newly-admitted attorney's, or NAAs, have a specific set of IL MCLE requirements which differ from the traditional two-year reporting period. For more information on NAA requirements, please click here to be directed to the IL MCLE Board's website.

Note: Unless otherwise contacted by the IL MCLE Board or ARDC, attorneys should refrain from mailing, emailing, or faxing their certificates of completion or other MCLE-related documentation.

No.  If you are at least 18 years of age and are admitted to practice law by the Illinois Supreme Court, you are exempt for having to complete any real estate pre-license education.  You must still pass a state exam before applying for the license.

All qualifying attorneys must complete an Illinois Real Estate Examination Registration form along with providing a photocopy of their ARDC card. This form can be e-mailed to PSI at the provided address in the form.

 To access this form in the PSI Candidate Handbook, please click here and refer to page 21. For further questions about the exam, please contact PSI directly at (855) 340-3893 or examschedule@psionline.com.

All newly-admitted attorneys ("NAA") have specific MCLE requirements different from the regular two-year reporting periods. Please refer to the IL MCLE Board's website by clicking here to determine if you are exempt from these rules.

For NAAs who are not exempt:

1. Complete an accredited Basic Skills Course or enroll in a mentoring program approved by the Commission on Professionalism by your specified deadline (which Real Estate Institute does not offer)
2. Complete additional hours of approved CLE credit to total 15 hours, which includes any amount of Professional Responsibility (PR) credit by your specified deadline
3. Report your compliance to the IL MCLE Board by your reporting deadline. Additional information can be found by clicking here.
   

For more information regarding NAA requirements, please click here to be directed to the IL MCLE Board's website.

The abbreviated information provided in this post has been sourced from the IL MCLE Board website. 

If an attorney's transcript does not reflect the IL MCLE requirements for their reporting period by July 31, the attorney will be granted a grace period until November 30 and assessed a $250 late fee. The attorney's transcript must reflect their compliance by the grace period completion date of October 31 (or report an out-of-state exemption). Late fees must be paid by November 30. If you fail to pay the late fee or your transcript does not reflect your compliance of November 30, the attorney's name will be removed from the Master Roll for MCLE on December 1.

For additional information, please click here to be directed to the IL MCLE Board's website.