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CLE Requirements by State · DE

Delaware CLE Requirements for attorneys

24 credit hours every 2 years, reported every 2 years. Verified against the DE bar or court authority.

Delaware at a glance

Total CLE required24 credit hours every 2 years
Ethics requirement4 hrs
Reporting cycleEvery 2 years
Online CLE acceptedLimited; verify current cap
Accreditation routeApproved (Commission on CLE)

Note: Historically emphasizes in-person/interactive; verify online cap.

Verify current DE requirements at the source ↗

How Delaware compares

Annualised, that is 12 hours per year, exactly at the national median of 12 hours per year.

Delaware does not carry a separate wellness or mental health category. Wellness and secondary trauma training is generally applied toward the general credit requirement here. That is not a lesser category: it is the largest one. Of the 51 United States jurisdictions, 16 recognise wellness or mental health credit specifically and 16 mandate bias or inclusion credit, which means most attorneys satisfy this kind of training as general hours.

Why wellness credit is worth the hours in Delaware

Delaware requires 24 hours every 2 years, of which 4 are earmarked for ethics. That leaves roughly 20 hours every 2 years that you choose the content for. Those are the hours in question.

The evidence: it arrives early, not late

National research found 28 percent of attorneys screening positive for depression, 19 percent for anxiety, and 21 percent for problematic drinking. The finding that surprised the profession was where the risk concentrated: among younger attorneys and those in their first ten years. The prior assumption ran the other way. It is shaping the careers of the people a firm has most recently invested in.

Where it concentrates in Delaware

Exposure is not evenly distributed across a bar. It follows the material. Court reporters, clerks, and interpreters process the same testimony with none of the professional distance the advocate's role provides. Court interpreters voice it in the first person. Firms and offices in Delaware doing court staff and interpreters carry more of this than a general commercial practice does, and their training needs differ accordingly.

These are competence issues, not comfort issues. They surface as missed deadlines, degraded judgment on live matters, ethics complaints, and the departure of lawyers a firm has already paid to train. If Delaware is going to require the time anyway, it can be spent on the thing that is measurably breaking.

See what burnout actually costs a legal organization →

Delaware CLE questions

How many CLE hours does Delaware require?

Delaware requires 24 credit hours every 2 years. Of that, the ethics requirement is 4 hrs. The reporting cycle runs every 2 years.

Does Delaware accept online CLE?

Limited; verify current cap. Rules on self-study versus live or interactive formats vary, and newly admitted attorneys are often held to stricter requirements than experienced ones. Confirm with the accrediting authority before enrolling.

Can wellness or secondary trauma CLE count in Delaware?

Delaware does not maintain a separate wellness or mental health credit category. Such programming is generally applied toward general credit. Many states permit self-application of general credit using a certificate of attendance; confirm the process with the accrediting authority.

Who accredits CLE in Delaware?

Approved (Commission on CLE). Requirements change, so verify directly with the issuing authority before relying on any summary, including this one.

Other jurisdictions

District of Columbia · Florida · Georgia · Connecticut · Colorado · California

Search and filter all 51 jurisdictions →

Delaware requires the hours. We teach what matters.

Accredited, live CLE in secondary traumatic stress, burnout, and professional resilience, delivered by 41 lawyers, judges, physicians, and psychologists. In person and virtual, nationwide.

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