Providers Seeking Course Approval

New Mexico MCLE Provider Portal Instructions

The State Bar of New Mexico MCLE Program accepts course approval requests and attendance reporting through the online MCLE Provider Portal.

Course Approval Requirements – Rule 18-203(B) NMRA

Under Rule 18-203(B) NMRA, accredited institutions and program providers must ensure that each course has significant intellectual or practical content designed to increase an attorney’s professional competence. The curriculum must relate to legal subjects or to the attorney’s practice of law, including ethics and professionalism where appropriate. Presenters must be qualified by practical or academic experience, and legal subjects should generally be taught by attorneys. Program faculty must include at least one lawyer, judge, or full-time law professor. Providers must also distribute thorough, high-quality, current written materials to participants at or before the time the course is offered. Only those portions of a program specifically approved for ethics and professionalism credit may be used to satisfy that requirement.

Providers are encouraged to review Rule 18-203 NMRA in full prior to submitting a course for approval.

Credit Types – Rule 18-204 NMRA

Live program credit is awarded at one (1) hour for each sixty (60) minutes of actual instruction time. Instruction time may include lectures, panel discussions, question-and-answer periods, film presentations, or organized video or audio programs with a moderator present.

Self-study courses must include attendance verification measures. When submitting a course for Self-Study (On-Demand) approval, providers must include a description of the procedures and/or technology used to verify attendance and attentiveness.

Speakers at accredited or approved programs may receive credit for both preparation time and presentation time, subject to the limits set forth in Rule 18-204 NMRA. Providers are responsible for calculating and including any applicable teaching credits when submitting the attendance report. Speakers receive the course credit earned, plus three (3) additional teaching credit hours for each hour taught.

Accessing Your Provider Portal

Providers may create one or more user accounts for their organization through the Provider Portal.

To activate your user account:

1. Go to www.sbnm.org.
2. Select “Login” or ”My Dashboard” in the upper right-hand corner.
3. Click “Forgot Password” to set your password.
4. Follow the on-screen instructions for first-time logon (instructions are provided on the left side of the screen).

Once your initial user account is set up, you may:

• Add additional user accounts
• Submit courses for approval
• Submit attendance lists
• Make required payments

How to Create a New Provider

If your email address is not found, you may add your information by accessing the New Provider Portal.

• Enter your provider name and select Search. If the provider is not found, select the Click Here button to create a new provider account.

o Complete all required fields and select Create Account.
o If you are unable to log in immediately, please email license@sbnm.org

Submitting a Course

You may submit a single course or, if available for your provider account, a list of multiple courses.

1. Go to www.sbnm.org and select Login in the upper right-hand corner.

2. Log in using the user account you created.

3. After logging in, click your name in the upper right-hand corner to access your Dashboard.

4. From the right-hand column of the Dashboard, select MCLE Provider Portal.

5. Select:

• Submit New Course to submit a single course, or
• Submit New Course List to submit multiple courses, if available for your provider account.

To Submit Attendance

1. Log in using the process described above.

2. Select MCLE Provider Portal from the right-hand column of the Dashboard.

3. Download and complete the required Attendance Reporting Spreadsheet (Excel format), available in the Provider Portal.

• Do not modify the formatting or structure of the spreadsheet, as changes may cause errors in our system.
• Be sure to include the Course ID, Course Name, and Attend Date for each course.
• The Course Name must exactly match the Course Name listed in your Provider Portal to ensure the attendance is applied to the correct course.
• Please do not include suffixes (e.g., Jr., Sr., III) in the Last Name field.

4. Select Report Attendance to upload the completed spreadsheet and submit payment of the required filing fees

If you need additional assistance, please contact us at license@sbnm.org.