The timing, plainly
When are bar dues and CLE actually due?
Earlier than the printed dates, in practice. CLE has to be completed and then reported — and reporting cycles, hour counts, and category requirements are set by each jurisdiction, so your bar’s site is the source. Dues and registration land on the bar’s own cycle, separately. The reason lawyers treat these dates with respect: missing them doesn’t just cost a late fee — it can end in administrative suspension, which is public, reportable, and miserable to explain, entirely disconnected from the quality of your work. And every additional admission — the second state, the federal courts — multiplies the dates. For a small firm there’s no compliance department watching; the calendar is the compliance department.
CLE completion and CLE reporting are separate steps, dues run on their own cycle, and each jurisdiction you’re admitted in keeps its own clock. Administrative suspension for a missed date is public — and preventable with a reminder.
Where it sits in the year
Ordered from this month — this is the shape of it on a timeline.
How many CLE hours do lawyers need?
It varies by jurisdiction — totals, cycle lengths, and required categories like ethics all differ, and some jurisdictions have no CLE requirement at all. Your bar’s site is the only reliable answer, checked at the start of the cycle rather than its final week.
What happens if I miss the dues or CLE deadline?
Late fees at best; administrative suspension at worst — and a suspension is public record even when it’s purely paperwork. Reinstatement means fees and compliance proof. See our guide on letting a license lapse for the general shape; your bar sets the specifics.
Do inactive admissions still need attention?
Usually yes — inactive or retired status often still carries a fee or a filing, and letting one lapse entirely can make returning harder. Every admission you hold deserves a line on the timeline, whatever its status.
The date is the easy part. Remembering is the product.
Reviewal keeps windows like this on one page — the whole year of them — and emails you before each one opens. Your calendar handles what's today; this is the layer above it. Free to start: 40 events, 3 sections, reminders included.
Tracking this in a spreadsheet or calendar today? See exactly what changes: vs. a spreadsheet · vs. calendar reminders