Credit Reciprocity Table

If you want to know if a free CLE accredited in one jurisdiction is likely to be accepted in your jurisdiction under "Reciprocity" rules, you have a couple of resources to consult.

 1. The rules-based "CLE Reciprocity Table" assembled by Gina's CLE Blog at http://ginascleblog.typepad.com/ginascleblog/credit-reciprocity-table-.html lays out the rules in a simple rules-based format, e.g. If the CLE educator is an American Bar Association Accredited Law School, then Alaska, Arkansas, Idaho, Maine, Mississippi, Missouri, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Oregon, Texas, Utah, Washington and West Virginia will presumptively approve the credit.

 2. The state-by-state "CLE Reciprocity" table by BaranLaw at http://www.barancle.com/mcle/guide-cle-reciprocity/ takes another approach: it lists each state and the reciprocity requirements associated with each.

The tables do not necessarily agree in all aspects. Take the State of Washington. The table from Gina's Law Blog says that Washington gives credit reciprocity to CLEs provided by any ABA Accredited law school. The BaranLaw table describes the "Comity" rule which enables Washington State lawyers who practice out of state to satisfy their Washington requirements in those states, under certain conditions. Each is describes a case which is both valid and omitted by the other.
 
If a course is not granted credit through reciprocity (and you're not eligible for comity), don't give up hope; you might be able to apply for credit directly with your state's credit-granting authority. For example, in my state of Washington, you can fill out a "Form 1" online and count on getting a response within a couple of weeks;however, that's a subject for another post.
In the end, you'll may have to contact your credit-granting authority, but at least the tables above may help you get your quest for free CLE going!