15 credit hours per year, reported every year (june 30). Verified against the MO bar or court authority.
| Total CLE required | 15 credit hours per year |
|---|---|
| Ethics requirement | 3 hrs (ethics / professionalism / malpractice) |
| Reporting cycle | Every year (June 30) |
| Bias / EDI credit | 1 hr explicit/implicit bias, diversity, inclusion or cultural competency |
| Online CLE accepted | Yes, up to 6 hrs on-demand |
| Accreditation route | Approved (MCLE) |
Note: Live webinar credit is unlimited; on-demand capped at 6.
Missouri requires 15 hours every year. That matches thirteen of the 46 jurisdictions that mandate CLE, the most common requirement in the country.
Missouri mandates specialized credit in bias, equity, or inclusion. 1 hr explicit/implicit bias, diversity, inclusion or cultural competency Missouri does not currently carry a separate wellness or mental health category, so wellness training here is generally applied as general credit. Trauma-responsive content frequently satisfies bias and inclusion requirements as well, because understanding how trauma shapes client behavior, testimony, and courtroom conduct is directly relevant to serving diverse populations. Confirm the fit with the accrediting body before enrolling.
Missouri requires 15 hours each year, of which 3 are earmarked for ethics. That leaves roughly 12 hours each year that you choose the content for. Those are the hours in question.
The 2026 national study of 39,036 lawyers found that 47.5 percent reported high or very high work-related burnout, and that moderate or higher symptoms of depression, anxiety and stress ran at 21.6, 20.4 and 18.9 percent. The earlier 2016 study had found something that surprised the profession: 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.
Exposure follows the material rather than the job title, and it is not only the attorneys and advocates who carry it. Criminal defense carries measurably elevated exposure. The research found criminal lawyers scoring significantly higher on secondary trauma measures than non-criminal lawyers, a gap attributed to case material and client contact rather than caseload alone. Firms, offices, and courts in Missouri whose work runs through material like this carry more of it 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 Missouri is going to require the time anyway, it can be spent on the thing that is measurably breaking.
Missouri requires 15 credit hours per year. Of that, the ethics requirement is 3 hrs (ethics / professionalism / malpractice). The reporting cycle runs every year (june 30).
Yes, up to 6 hrs on-demand. 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.
Missouri 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.
Approved (MCLE). Requirements change, so verify directly with the issuing authority before relying on any summary, including this one.
Accredited, live CLE in secondary traumatic stress, work-related burnout, and career sustainability, delivered by 41 lawyers, judges, physicians, psychologists, and coaches. In person and virtual, nationwide.
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