Fresh Start Settlement Program

The Fresh Start Settlement Program was a one-year offer and compromise program that ended on December 31, 2025. It enabled current and former licensees to settle certain outstanding debt consisting of discipline costs, client security fund reimbursement, monetary sanctions, and judgments for less than the amount owed. The Board of Trustees determined there was good cause for this program to enhance repayment rates while mitigating the consequences of debt for current and former licensees. Visit the FAQ for more information.

If you entered into a Fresh Start settlement agreement and did not complete your settlement payment(s) in full by December 31, 2025, your settlement is void, and the original balance remains due to the State Bar, less any payments made.

Discipline costs, monetary sanctions, CSF reimbursements, and judgments owed to the State Bar by current and former attorneys who did not participate in the program, or did not reach or complete a settlement through the program, remain due to the State Bar. 

Please contact collections@calbar.ca.gov if you have questions regarding outstanding debt owed to the State Bar or visit the FAQ for more information.