If you answer “Yes” to the Screening Question indicating that you are responsible for complying with any of the requirements or prohibitions governing the safekeeping of funds of clients and other persons under rule 1.15 of the California Rules of Professional Conduct, you must maintain a trust account—or have one maintained on your behalf—to receive and hold the entrusted funds. Therefore, you must answer “Yes …” to at least one Step 1 question. The answer you choose depends on who will be registering the account with the State Bar.

For example, if you select “Yes, I will provide or update IOLTA/non-IOLTA account information, including the balance as of December 31, 2025, via My State Bar Profile …” in response to either question 1 and/or question 2, you must complete all CTAPP reporting requirements and register a corresponding IOLTA, non-IOLTA, or both, depending on the question(s) to which you select this answer, in Step 2 (Account Registration) in My State Bar Profile.

If you select “Yes, a firm or organization I am currently employed by or in practice with will provide or update the account information via Agency Billing, including the balance as of December 31, 2025” in response to either question 1 and/or question 2, you must complete all CTAPP reporting requirements. A firm or organization can only register a corresponding IOLTA, non-IOLTA, or both, depending on the question(s) to which you select this answer, via the State Bar’s Agency Billing platform. Regardless of whether you select this answer, it remains your responsibility to ensure that all necessary account details are registered, including the December 31 balance. You should be sure to confirm with your firm or organization administrator that they will register the required information via the State Bar’s Agency Billing platform by the deadline.

If you select “Yes, however, I am no longer employed by or in practice with the firm or organization. I understand that I am not required to register trust accounts that are maintained by a firm or organization that I am no longer employed by or in practice with as of December 31, 2025” and you did NOT also select any of the other “Yes …” answers, you do not have to register any accounts in Step 2 (Account Registration). You are not required to register accounts that are maintained by a firm or organization that you are no longer in practice with as of December 31, 2025. If there are no other accounts that you maintained or were maintained on your behalf, you may proceed to Step 3 (Self-Assessment).

You may choose as many “Yes” answers to the same question as are applicable to your situation. You may not simultaneously select a “Yes” and “No” answer to the same question. If you choose multiple “Yes” answers requiring trust account registration, you must have multiple trust accounts registered in Step 2. For example, if you choose “Yes, I will provide or update IOLTA account information, including the balance as of December 31, 2025, via My State Bar Profile …” and “Yes, a firm or organization I am currently employed by or in practice with will provide or update the IOLTA account information, including the balance as of December 31, 2025, via Agency Billing …” in response to question 1, you must have two IOLTA accounts registered in Step 2, one registered via My State Bar Profile and one registered via Agency Billing.

Your responses to questions 1 (IOLTA) and 2 (non-IOLTA) in Step 1 should never be “No …” and “No …” because you answered “Yes” to the Screening Question indicating that you were responsible for complying with any of the requirements or prohibitions governing the safekeeping of funds of clients and other persons under rule 1.15 of the California Rules of Professional Conduct.

Please see the tables, below, to see the Account Type and the Application Type (the application through which the account must be registered) (see Image 1) for each response to the Step 1 questions.

Image 1. My State Bar Profile Step 2 Account Registration Grid

Image

The CTAPP self-assessment questions can be viewed in the CTAPP self-assessment preview.

Law firms and organizations can complete only one step of the requirements for the lawyers who work for them, which is registering trust accounts on their behalf. Even if the firm registers the account on behalf of the lawyer, the lawyers must still log in to My State Bar Profile and complete the initial report of whether they maintained a client trust account or one was maintained on their behalf, the self-assessment, the certification that they are knowledgeable about and in compliance with the rules regarding the safekeeping of funds, and the declaration.

If the firm or organization that you are currently employed by or in practice with is registered with the State Bar’s Agency Billing platform, the firm or organization may register the client trust accounts on the lawyer’s behalf. However, the State Bar must receive the trust account registration data by the reporting deadline. If you or your firm or organization fail to report this information by the deadline, you will be assessed a noncompliance penalty.

Please contact your firm or organization administrator to confirm whether they will report the trust account registration data on your behalf. The firm must identify, via the Agency Billing platform, each licensee who is covered by the firm’s submission of account information on behalf of the firm’s lawyers.

Lawyers can determine whether their firm has reported account information on their behalf during the CTAPP registration process in My State Bar Profile or, if they have already completed their individual reporting requirements, by clicking on the “View a Summary of your CTAPP Annual Reporting” link on the CTAPP Annual Reporting tile on the Compliance Dashboard page.

Attorneys are expected to track their own hours for the purposes of this reporting requirement. Some law firms require their attorneys to track this time already. A nonprofit with whom the attorney provides pro bono legal services may assist in tracking hours.

Attorneys are asked to report pro bono and reduced fee hours as a range (e.g., 1–5 hours, 6–10 hours, 11–19 hours, etc.). Attorneys will also be able to select 0 hours or less than 1 hour of pro bono or reduced fee legal services hours, or select the checkbox if you did not track your hours or you prefer not to answer.

This resource walks you through reporting pro bono hours on My State Bar Profile.

If you are still experiencing issues, send an email to elearning@calbar.ca.gov. In your email, please include the following information:

• Name
• Bar Number
• Course you are experiencing issues with
• Screen title (if applicable)
• Screenshot (if applicable)
• Description of the problem

Yes, each installment payment is subject to a 2.5% service fee. However, no additional interest will be charged.

You will automatically receive a receipt via email after you remit payment. Please ensure that you complete the final step and submit the application.  Please do not click "Print Receipt" since it will eject you from the application and prevent you from submitting it. If you accidentally click the link before submitting your application, please contact the Office of Admissions at prohac@calbar.ca.gov or 800-843-9053. 

Yes. Paralegals and assistants must create their own account in the Office of Admissions' Applicant Portal using their own credentials (email address and name). Once the paralegal or assistant has access to the Applicant Portal, they may submit a PHV application with the fee on behalf of the out-of-state attorney.

A licensed California attorney may also submit a PHV application on behalf of the out-ofstate attorney. The California attorney must sign into the Applicant Portal using their credentials or contact the Office of Admissions at 800-843-9053 to reset their login information for the Applicant Portal.  

Yes. If you are named either individually or jointly with a client or other party, you must report the sanctions.

Yes, you need an account to purchase and access courses. 

• Nonattorneys: Create a new account or log in using your existing credentials.
• Attorneys: Log into My State Bar Profile , access the e-Learning Portal, and go to the “Catalog” to view available courses