One of the first things you may choose to do once you pass the California Bar Examination is to attend a swearing-in ceremony where multiple attorneys take the attorney oath at the same time. Taking the oath is not just a ritual. It is required for admission to practice law in California.
But if you are unable to attend such a ceremony, there are a number of officials in California who are authorized to administer the oath, including:
If you currently live outside of California, it is not necessary for you to return to take the attorney’s oath. An affidavit taken in a foreign country to be used in California, may be taken before an ambassador, minister, consul, vice consul or consular agent of the United States or before any judge of a court of record having a seal in such foreign country. (Code Civ. Proc. § 2014.)
When an affidavit is taken before a judge or a court in another state or in a foreign country, the genuineness of the signature of the judge, the existence of the court and the fact that such judge is a member thereof must be certified by the clerk of the court, under the seal thereof. (Code Civ. Proc. § 2015.) Affidavits and oaths made by military personnel are governed by California Civ. Code § 1183.5.