The State Bar of California
  • Log in
  • News
  • Forms
  • Contact
Attorneys:
  • For Attorneys
  • |
  • MCLE & CLE
  • |
  • Conduct & Discipline
  • |
  • Ethics
  • |
  • Legal Specialization
  • |
  • Volunteer
  • Public
    • Need Legal Help
      • Look Up a Lawyer
      • Using a Certified Lawyer Referral Service
        • Certified Lawyer Referral Services Directory
          • LRS FAQs for Consumers
          • File a Complaint about an LRS
          • How to Become a Certified LRS
      • Free Legal Help
    • Complaints & Claims
      • How to File a Complaint
        • Before You File
        • Why File a Complaint
        • Attorney Complaint
        • After You File
        • Después de presentar una queja
        • Nonattorney Complaint
        • Discipline Referral
      • Unauthorized Practice of Law Complaint
        • After You File
        • Después de presentar una queja por práctica no autorizada
      • Fee Disputes
        • FAQ
      • Client Security Fund
        • Client Security Fund Application Process
        • Application Instructions
      • Lawyer Referral Service Complaints
        • Certified Lawyer Referral Service Complaints
        • Uncertified Lawyer Referral Service Complaints
      • FAQ
    • Free Legal Information
      • Before Selecting an Attorney
        • Finding the Right Lawyer
        • What a Certified Lawyer Referral Service Can Do for You
        • Your Initial Consultation
      • Working with an Attorney
        • What to Expect from Your Attorney
        • How to Work with Your Lawyer
        • What to Expect Regarding Fees and Billing
        • How to Avoid Problems
      • Resolving Problems
        • Problem with a Lawyer
        • Lawyer Fee Dispute
          • Lawyer Fee Dispute FAQ
        • Client Security Fund
      • Unauthorized Practice of Law
        • Avoiding Fraud by Immigration Consultants
        • Práctica no autorizada de la abogacía
        • Evite el fraude por parte de los consultores de inmigración
      • For Immigrants
        • Buscando ayuda con asuntos de inmigración
        • Immigration Legal Services Providers
        • Proveedores de servicios legales de inmigración
      • Legal Help After a Disaster
      • For Veterans & Service Members
      • Legal Services Fraud Alert for Homeowners
        • Alerta a Propietarios Referente al Fraude de Servicios Legales
      • Legal Services Fraud Alert for Renters
        • Alerta a Arrendatarios Referente al Fraude de Servicios Legales
      • Legal Guide Pamphlets
      • FAQ
    • Discipline
      • Attorney Discipline
      • Nonattorney Actions
      • Discipline Statistics
      • Look Up a Lawyer
    • Public Trust Liaison
      • Intermediario de Confianza Pública
    • En español
  • About Us
    • Our Mission
      • Protecting the Public
        • Regulation Overview
        • Public Comment
          • Public Comment Guidelines
          • Public Comment Archives
            • 2023 Public Comment
            • 2022 Public Comment
            • 2021 Public Comment
            • 2020 Public Comment
            • 2019 Public Comment
            • 2018 Public Comment
            • 2017 Public Comment
              • 2017-12
            • 2016 Public Comment
            • 2015 Public Comment
            • 2014 Public Comment
            • 2013 Public Comment
            • 2012 Public Comment
            • 2011 Public Comment
            • 2010 Public Comment
        • Reports
        • Public Records
      • Promoting Justice in California
      • Promoting Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
        • DEI Leadership Seal Program
          • State Bar DEI Leadership Seal Progress
          • DEI Leadership Seal Application
    • Who We Are
      • Board of Trustees
        • Roster
        • Meetings
        • Audit Committee
          • Roster
        • Executive Committee
          • Roster
        • Finance Committee
          • Roster
        • Regulation and Discipline Committee
          • Roster
        • Public Comment Guidelines
        • Remote Participation Tips
        • Supreme Court Appointments
        • Board Task Forces
      • Committees
        • Meetings
        • Ad Hoc Commission on the Discipline System
          • Roster
        • Blue Ribbon Commission
          • Resources
          • Roster
        • California Board of Legal Specialization
        • Client Security Fund Commission
          • Roster
        • Committee of Bar Examiners
          • Committee of State Bar Accredited and Registered Schools
            • Roster
          • Law School Council
            • Roster
        • Committee on Professional Responsibility and Conduct
        • Committee on Special Discipline Case Audit
          • Roster
        • Council on Access and Fairness
          • Roster
        • Judicial Nominees Evaluation
          • Background
          • Appointments
          • Review Committee of the Commission on Judicial Nominees Evaluation
          • Roster
          • FAQ
          • JNE Demographics Reports
        • Lawyer Assistance Program Oversight Committee
          • Roster
        • Legal Services Trust Fund Commission
          • Roster
        • Privacy Law Group
      • Archived Committees
      • Staff
      • State Bar Holidays
    • News
      • Fact Sheets
      • Reports
      • Multimedia
      • California Bar Journal Archive
    • Careers
      • Make a Difference
      • Develop and Grow
      • Benefits
      • Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
      • View All Job Listings
      • Salary
    • Business Opportunities
      • Previous Opportunities
  • Attorneys
    • For Attorneys
      • About Your State Bar Profile
        • Fees & Payment
          • Agency Billing
          • Annual Fees FAQs
          • Voluntary Contributions
          • Fees and Charges
        • Status Changes
        • Address Change
        • Reporting Requirements
        • Certificate of Standing
      • Fingerprinting Rule Requirements
        • For In-State Attorneys
        • For Out-of-State Attorneys
        • For Out-of-Country Attorneys
          • Out-of-Country Deadline Extension Request
        • Multijurisdictional Practitioner
        • FAQ
        • Penalty Schedule
        • Limited Accommodations
        • Glossary
      • Lawyer Assistance Program
        • Voluntary LAP for Attorneys
        • Voluntary LAP for Law Students and Applicants
        • Monitored LAP
        • LAP Resources
        • LAP FAQ
      • Mandatory Fee Arbitration
        • Approved Programs
        • Forms & Resources
        • Arbitration Advisories
      • Opening and Managing Law Office
        • Insurance Programs
        • Limited Liability Partnerships
          • Forms
          • Rules
        • Law Corporations Program
          • Forms
          • Rules
        • Revoking Law Corporation
      • For Judges
      • FAQ
    • MCLE & CLE
      • Requirements
        • Types of MCLE Credit
        • Proportional Requirement
        • MCLE Recordkeeping
        • Attorney Exemptions
        • Attorney Exemptions FAQ
        • Approved Jurisdictions
        • Education Approval
          • Evaluate Credit
          • MCLE Credit Request
        • New Admittees
        • Inactive or Not Eligible Status
        • Out-of-State Residents
        • Good Cause Modification
      • Compliance
        • Who Must Report Compliance
        • Compliance Groups
        • Audit FAQ
      • New Attorney Training Program
      • E-Learning Portal
      • MCLE Providers
        • Provider Search
        • Single Activity Providers
        • Multiple Activity Providers
        • Provider Record Keeping
        • Qualifying Activities
        • ADA
      • MCLE Self-Study
        • MCLE Self-Study FAQs
      • CLE
        • CLE Self-Study
      • Rules
        • Rules Specific MCLE Credits
      • FAQ
    • Conduct & Discipline
      • Lawyer Regulation
      • Self-Reporting FAQ
      • State Bar Court
      • Client Trust Accounting & IOLTA
        • Client Trust Accounting Handbook
        • Client Trust Accounting Resources
        • Client Trust Account Protection Program
        • CTAPP FAQ
        • CTAPP Training
        • Client Trust Account and IOLTA Registration
        • IOLTA Guidelines for Attorneys
        • IOLTA FAQ
        • IOLTA-Eligible Banks
        • Interest Rates
      • Rules
        • Rules of the State Bar
          • Title 1 Global Provisions
          • Title 2 Rights and Responsibilities of Licensees
          • Title 3 Programs and Services
          • Title 4 Admissions and Educational Standards
          • Title 5 Discipline
          • Title 6 Governance
          • Title 7 Miscellaneous
          • Appendixes
          • New and Amended Rules
        • Rules of Professional Conduct
          • Current Rules
            • Chapter 1. Lawyer-Client Relationship
            • Chapter 2. Counselor
            • Chapter 3. Advocate
            • Chapter 4. Transactions with Persons Other than Clients
            • Chapter 5. Law Firms and Associations
            • Chapter 6. Public Service
            • Chapter 7. Information About Legal Services
            • Chapter 8. Maintaining the Integrity of the Profession
          • Previous Rules
        • Selected Legal Authority
          • Constitution Excerpts
          • The State Bar Act
          • California Rules of Court
          • Statutes
      • Ethics
        • Hotline
        • Opinions
          • 2009-176 to Present
          • 1998-152 to 2008-175
          • 1992-126 to 1997-151
          • 1988-96 to 1991-125
          • 1984-76 to 1987-95
          • 1979-48 to 1983-75
          • 1971-24 to 1977-47
          • 1965-1 to 1970-23
        • Rules Spotlight Videos
        • Ethics Schools
          • Class Schedule
          • Ethics School FAQ
        • Ethics & Technology Resources
          • Ethics Opinions Related to Technology
          • Ethics Articles on Technology
          • Online Participatory MCLE Programs
          • Online Communication
          • Electronic Files
          • Law Firm Websites
          • Social Media
          • Internet/Email Scams
          • Miscellaneous
        • Senior Lawyers Resources
          • Rules
          • Opinions
          • Publications
            • Wellness Guide
          • Articles
          • MCLE
          • Links
          • Closing a Law Practice
          • Contact Us
          • Attorney Surrogacy
        • ADA Claims Information
        • Judicial Ethics
        • Attorney Civility and Professionalism
        • Publications
          • Ethics News
          • Ethics News Archive
          • Hotliner Articles
            • Archives
          • Pub 250
          • Compendium on Professional Responsibility Index
        • Committees
          • COPRAC
            • Education
              • Ethics Symposium
            • Opinion Requests
            • Rules
            • Roster
          • Rules Revision
            • Rules Commission 2017
              • Summaries
              • Proposed Rules
              • Roster
            • Rules Commission 2014
              • Action Summaries
              • Meetings
              • Roster
    • Ethics
    • Legal Specialization
      • About Certified Specialization
      • Becoming a Certified Specialist
        • Exam Information
          • Exam Preparation Information
          • Laptop Computers
          • Testing Accommodations
      • Current Certified Specialists
      • Legal Specialty Areas
      • Specialist Search
      • MCLE Requirements for Certified Specialists
      • Education Providers
      • Governance
        • Board of Legal Specialization
          • Roster
      • Rules & Standards
        • Advertising
      • FAQ
    • Volunteer
      • Special Master
        • FAQ
        • Rules
        • List
  • Admissions
    • Requirements
      • Registration
      • Education
        • Pre-Legal Education
          • College Equivalency Education
        • Legal Education
          • Fixed Facility
          • Correspondence or Distance Learning
          • Law Office or Judge's Chamber
          • Foreign Education
            • Foreign Law Degree
      • Social Security Exemption
      • Attorney Applicants
    • Examinations
      • Dates and Deadlines
      • Safelisting Tips for Email
      • California Bar Examination
        • Feb 2023 California Bar Exam
        • Laptops for Bar Exam
        • February 2023 Bar Exam FAQs
        • Instructions for Essay Questions and Performance Test
        • February 2023 Admittance Ticket Bulletin
        • Testing Centers
        • Hotel Information
        • California Bar Examination Scope
        • Exam Results
          • Bar Exam Pass List
        • Past Exams
        • Grading
        • Scaling
        • Refund of Fees Policy
        • Virtual Oath Packet
        • Attorney's Oath
      • First-Year Law Students' Examination
        • October 2022 First-Year Exam
        • October 2022 First-Year Exam FAQs
        • Admittance Bulletin
        • Exam Results
        • First-Year Exam Grading and Scope
      • Multistate Professional Responsibility Examination
      • Requesting Testing Accommodations
      • Exam Administration
        • Becoming a Grader
        • Becoming a Proctor
    • Moral Character
      • Moral Character Statement
      • Governing Law
      • Process
      • Factors and Conduct
      • Further Investigation and Informal Conferences
      • Guidelines
    • Special Admissions
      • Multijurisdictional Practice (MJP) Program
        • MJP Program Requirements and Process
        • MJP Program Types
      • Pro Hac Vice
      • Out-of-State Attorney Arbitration Counsel (OSAAC)
      • Foreign Legal Consultants (FLC)
        • FAQ
        • Foreign Legal Consultants List
      • Practical Training of Law Students
      • Provisionally Licensed Lawyers
        • Search
    • Law School Regulation
      • Law Schools
      • Committee of Bar Examiners Meetings
        • Minutes
        • Minutes Archive
        • Roster
      • Exam Statistics
  • Access to Justice
    • Initiatives
      • California Justice Gap Study
        • Justice Gap Study Survey Data
        • California Law Student Survey Data
      • Publications
      • Leadership Banks
    • Pro Bono
      • Pro Bono Directory
        • Central Coast and Eastern Sierra
        • Central Valley Area
        • Los Angeles Area
        • Sacramento and Northern California
        • San Diego and Imperial Valley
        • San Francisco Area
        • Statewide
      • Pro Bono Practice Program
      • Volunteer Opportunities to Assist Veterans and Service Members
      • Volunteer After a Disaster
      • FAQ
    • Grants
      • Legal Aid Funding
      • 2022 Grant Recipients
    • Diversity & Inclusion
    • Lawyer Referral Services
    • Financial Institutions
      • IOLTA-Eligible Financial Institutions
  • About Your State Bar Profile
    • Fees & Payment
    • Status Changes
    • Address Change
    • Reporting Requirements
    • Certificate of Standing
  • Fingerprinting Rule Requirements
    • For In-State Attorneys
    • For Out-of-State Attorneys
    • For Out-of-Country Attorneys
    • Multijurisdictional Practitioner
    • FAQ
    • Penalty Schedule
    • Limited Accommodations
    • Glossary
  • Lawyer Assistance Program
    • Voluntary LAP for Attorneys
    • Voluntary LAP for Law Students and Applicants
    • Monitored LAP
    • LAP Resources
    • LAP FAQ
  • Mandatory Fee Arbitration
    • Approved Programs
    • Forms & Resources
    • Arbitration Advisories
  • Opening and Managing Law Office
    • Insurance Programs
    • Limited Liability Partnerships
    • Law Corporations Program
    • Revoking Law Corporation
  • For Judges
  • FAQ
Seal of The State Bar of California The State Bar of California

How to Order a Certificate of Standing

Share on Facebook
Share on Twitter
Share on LinkedIn
Share with Email
  • What is a Certificate of Standing?
  • Ordering online
  • General guidelines
  • Three types of certificates available

What is a Certificate of Standing?

The State Bar issues a single-page Certificate of Standing to verify an attorney's name, bar number, admission date, current status, any name or status changes and any public discipline, as of the date of the certificate. The ultimate recipient decides how long they consider the certificate valid. Note that the State Bar does not use the term "good standing" since this may vary by jurisdiction. This document is not the frameable admission certificate issued by the Office of Admissions.

Ordering online

Order your Certificate of Standing online

Read information on the three kinds of certificates you can order.

After entering your online order for a standard, notarized and/or complaint check certificate for an individual attorney, payment options include:

  • Pay online by credit card (U.S. or international)
    OR
  • Pay by mailed check by printing out an order summary page to send with your payment check.

General guidelines

  • For a $25 fee, you may request up to a maximum of three certificates per attorney, in any combination as listed below.
  • Certificates will usually be sent out within 2 to 3 business days of receipt of your request (regardless of shipping method selected).
  • Note: We are not able to fax or email copies of original certificates unless no other delivery option is available.
  • If you choose to pick up your completed certificates (available only in San Francisco),  DO NOT come for them until we notify you, by email or phone, that they are ready.
  • If you pay by check, please include all charges shown as your "Total Cost" in your payment check. Make the check payable to the State Bar of California and note your bar number on it.
  • The online ordering site allows up to nine certificates to be ordered at a time for any one attorney, and will calculate the total cost accordingly.
  • You may enter separate certificate orders for more than one attorney. Select "mail check" for each and mail all their order summary pages together with one check covering their combined costs and listing all bar numbers.
  • Don't send FedEx, Norco or other courier envelopes or waybills. The State Bar uses its own shipping.

Notes for ordering the Certificate of Standing online

  1. If you pay online, have your credit/debit card handy when starting your online order.
  2. Review your final order carefully since payment is non-refundable. Make sure you don't need the California Supreme Court's certificate of standing instead.
  3. Once you click pay online, you will leave the State Bar website and enter a third party vendor's payment site. For security reasons, the payment site may time out due to inactivity, and you will have to fill out the order application again.
  4. After you have paid and the payment is processed, a confirmation notice will appear on your computer. Print out this confirmation notice – it will serve as your receipt. You will not receive a separate email confirming your payment.
  5. If you selected the option to mail a check, you will get an order summary page to print out and send along with your check. Keep a copy of this page as a receipt. If you have already selected a payment method and change your mind, return to the "payment" page to select another option.

For questions or technical problems, email the State Bar at AttorneyRegulation@calbar.ca.gov or call 888-800-3400.

Three types of certificates

  • Standard Certificate of Standing (most commonly required)
    This certificate includes the attorney’s full name, bar number and date of admission, name or status changes (dates of inactive, not eligible, etc. status), administrative actions and public disciplinary history.
     
  • Notarized Certificate of Standing for Foreign (non-U.S.) Jurisdiction (rarely required)
    This is a standard Certificate of Standing that is notarized, as is occasionally required by foreign country jurisdictions. It is NOT required by U.S. state bars or supreme courts. You DO NOT need a separate notarized certificate to accompany a complaint check or standard certificate for another U.S. state bar or supreme court. Please allow slightly longer processing time for certificates requiring notarization.
     
  • Complaint Check Certificate of Standing (order only if it is specifically required by another jurisdiction)
    This is a standard Certificate of Standing with the addition of any confidential complaint information that may have been filed against you (also called "grievance" or "disciplinary history" letter). This information is often required if you are applying for admission to another state bar, so be sure to check the wording of the instructions you have received with your application so that you order the proper type of certificate.

We do not complete other jurisdictions' forms or questionnaires about complaint status or provide separate "disciplinary history" letters apart from our Complaint Check Certificate of Standing. So if complaint information is required for your application, order only the Complaint Check Certificate of Standing.

A complaint check certificate already contains a standard Certificate of Standing. It does NOT need a separate standard or notarized Certificate of Standing to accompany it, and when sent to another U.S jurisdiction, it does NOT require notarization.

A complaint check certificate of standing may only be requested by the attorney who is the subject of the complaint check, and will be released only with his/her signed authorization. When you place your order online, download the authorization form as instructed, and then either email, fax or mail it, as indicated, along with the required identification document.

Alternatively, you can follow the prompts to sign in to your online My State Bar Profile and sign electronically to authorize your complaint check certificate.

For security reasons the complaint check certificate may only be sent to another state bar or supreme court's bar examiners/admissions office or to the attorney who is the subject of the complaint check at his/her official address of record with the State Bar.

For additional questions about the procedure for obtaining State Bar Certificates of Standing, call the State Bar at 888-800-3400 or email AttorneyRegulation@calbar.ca.gov.

California Supreme Court Certificate of Standing

Some jurisdictions (such as the U.S. Supreme Court) require a certificate from the California Supreme Court. The requesting entity will usually use the term, “a certificate from the highest court you are a [licensee] of,” or indicate that it should not be from the State Bar. 

These kinds of certificates are obtained directly from the Supreme Court with a written request and a $1 fee (dollar bill or check payable to Clerk of the Supreme Court of California). Send your request, payment and self-addressed stamped envelope to:

California Supreme Court
350 McAllister St., Rm 1295
San Francisco, CA 94102

For questions call the Supreme Court at 415-865-7000.

Bar Seal
Protecting the public & enhancing the administration of justice.
  • Public
  • About Us
  • Attorneys
  • Admissions
  • Access to Justice
  • News
  • Forms
  • Careers
  • Staff Log in
  • San Francisco (Main Office)
    180 Howard St.
    San Francisco, CA 94105
    415-538-2000
  • Los Angeles
    845 S. Figueroa St.
    Los Angeles, CA 90017
    213-765-1000
Copyright © 2023 The State Bar of California
  • FAQ
  • User Policies
  • Contact
  • Share on Facebook
  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on LinkedIn