Out-of-Country Deadline Extension Request

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Active attorneys who are residing outside the United States are required to have their fingerprints taken by a licensed fingerprinting service and submit the hard copy fingerprint cards to the State Bar by December 1, 2019. The timely deadline to be fingerprinted was April 30, 2019 after which the State Bar began to assess penalties in accordance to the State Bar’s penalty schedule. To avoid being placed  on Involuntary Inactive status and being listed in State Bar records as “Not Eligible to Practice,” attorneys must be fingerprinted on or before December 1, 2019.

If fingerprinting services are not provided in the jurisdiction where the attorney is physically located, or the attorney is able to provide evidence of the inability to access or afford such services, the attorney must notify the State Bar by following the instructions provided below. 

Out-of-Country Deadline Extension Accommodation 

An Out-of-Country Deadline Extension provides an opportunity for an attorney residing outside of the United States to request additional time to submit fingerprints to the California Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) without incurring any penalty.

Attorneys requesting an extension must submit an Out-of-Country Deadline Extension Request form postmarked or emailed by December 1, 2019, or be subject to penalties. Attorneys can submit the completed form via email to FPaccommodation@calbar.ca.gov or mail a signed copy to the State Bar at the following address:

State Bar of California
Office of Attorney Regulation and Consumer Resources
Attention: Out-of-Country Deadline Extension Request
180 Howard Street 
San Francisco, CA 94105

The form will require the attorney to submit the following information:

  1. Proof of address of current residence and duration of time residing at the address
  2. Current position, employer's name, and address
  3. Proximity to known fingerprinting vendor
  4. Reason for inability to access vendor by December 1, 2019
  5. Plan to obtain fingerprints through arrangements to travel to:
    a. local vendor or;
    b. travel to the US or;
    c. if you have no such travel plans, an explanation as to that fact
  6. Expected dates of travel to obtain fingerprints
  7. Requested time frame for extension

Out-of-Country Extension Request Review Process

Extension requests will be assessed on a case-by-case basis. The attorney will be notified via email once the request has been received and when the request is granted or denied or whether additional information is needed. Any questions regarding the process should be sent to FPaccommodation@calbar.ca.gov.

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