Status Transfers

If you are not practicing law and you would like to be exempt from the CLE requirements, you can elect to change your CLE status to “Voluntary Restricted Status” by doing the following:

1. Request Restricted Status through OASIS (click the CLE drop down menu, then CLE Forms and Requests, then Transfer from Active CLE Status to Restricted CLE Status), or

2. Email or mail your request to our office

See Rule 12A for more information about Restricted Status.

Note: While you are on restricted status, you are unable to report CLE credit using the online OASIS reporting system. If you choose to report CLE attendance, you must submit a paper affidavit (Appendix V: Affidavit of CLE Transfer).

If your license is on “Restricted Status” for CLE purposes and you want to transfer back to “Active Status,” follow the instructions below.

1. Attend CLE courses. Attend the number of accredited CLE course hours you would have been required to attend if you had continued on active status, up to a maximum of 90 hours (per Rule 12C). [Or see Discretionary Transfer section below.]

a. Credits must include 3 Ethics credit hours and 2 Elimination of Bias credit hours

b. The credit requirement is pro-rated and can be calculated to MONTH and YEAR (15 credits per year or 1.25 credits per month; the CLE reporting year ends June 30th)

Examples:

• Attorney A was due to report in 2005. Attorney A would need to submit 90 credits hours.
• Attorney B was due to report in 2014, but did not submit any credits towards the 2014 reporting requirement. Attorney B is requesting transfer in December 2015. Attorney B owes 45 credits for the 2014 period, plus 1.25 credits for each of the 18 months between July 1, 2014 and December 2015 for a total of 67.50 credits.
• Attorney C was due to report in 2013, and reported 20 credits towards the 2013 reporting period. Attorney C is also requested transfer in December 2015. Attorney C owes 25 credits for the 2013 reporting period plus 1.25 credits for each of the 30 months between July 1, 2013 and December 2015 for a total of 62.5 credits.

c. Courses must meet the Standards for Course Approval in CLE Rule 5. If the course is not listed in OASIS, you will need to mail in a copy of the course agenda along with your affidavit.

d. You can report up to 30 “on-demand” credits toward your transfer requirement, as long as the hours were completed on or after the effective date of the on-demand rule, 1/1/2021 (see Rule 6D).

2. Report your CLE hours via the Affidavit of CLE Transfer

3. Pay transfer fee by check payable to the Minnesota Board of CLE and mail to the Board office. Amount owed:

a. $125 if transferring from Voluntary Restricted status (VR) to Active Status

b. $250 if transferring from Involuntary Restricted status (IR) to Active Status. The CLE office will ask the Minnesota Supreme Court to issue an order restoring your license to active status.

4. Mail or email the completed affidavit, any applicable course materials, and your transfer fee to the Board office

5. Check your lawyer license payment status. Click here for instructions on how to transfer your registration status to “Authorized.” Changing your CLE Status to active does not automatically change your license payment status to “authorized” to practice. You may also need to pay license fees to the Minnesota Lawyer Registration Office in order to change your license from “noncompliant status” to “active status (authorized).”

6. You will receive a notice from this office or from the Supreme Court when your license has been returned to active status. You may not practice until your license is on active status.

Note: While you are on restricted status, you are unable to report CLE credit using the online OASIS reporting system. You must submit a paper affidavit (Appendix V: Affidavit of CLE Transfer).

A lawyer on restricted status may request a “discretionary transfer” under CLE Rule 12 when the lawyer has completed a minimum of 45 credit hours (including 3 Ethics and 2 Elimination of Bias credits) during the 3 years immediately preceding the transfer. The request should be mailed to the CLE office along with:

1. The Affidavit of CLE Transfer

2. Payment of the transfer fee by check payable to the Minnesota Board of CLE

a. $125 if transferring from Voluntary Restricted status (VR) to Active status

b. $250 if transferring from Involuntary Restricted (IR) status to Active status (the CLE office will ask the Minnesota Supreme Court to issue an order restoring your license to active status)

If the Director approves your request, your license will be transferred to active status and the CLE office will give you a date on which the balance of the required CLE hours, if any, must be completed and reported to this office.

See Rule 12C(2)(b) of the Rules of the Minnesota State Board of Continuing Legal Education for additional information.

To transfer to retired status, complete the retirement section on the Lawyer Registration statement and submit it to the Lawyer Registration department of this office by mail or online.

To transfer from retired status to active status, follow the same instructions as those listed above for Transferring from Restricted Status to Active Status. You must also change your status with the Lawyer Registration Office.

See Rule 14 for more information.