Submit a registration application, which includes an Application for Determination of Moral Character, to the State Bar with the appropriate fees. MJP registration applications are available online. The moral character application is available, but must be submitted with the MJP application, not separately.

Legal services attorneys and in-house counsel must comply with the same 25-hour MCLE requirement as licensed attorneys of the California bar within their first year of practice. The 25-hour requirement includes four hours of legal ethics, one hour of prevention, detection and treatment of substance abuse, and one hour of elimination of bias in the legal profession. Please refer to the appropriate rule of court and FAQ for additional information.

No. You are not allowed to establish or maintain a resident office or other continuous presence in California for the practice of law. You must maintain an office in a U.S. jurisdiction other than California in which you are licensed. (Rule 9.47 & 9.48)

An MJP attorney must be an active licensed attorney in good standing of the bar of at least one U.S. state, jurisdiction, possession, territory or dependency. The other requirements vary depending on the category. Please refer to the appropriate rule of court and FAQ for additional information.

Neither licensees nor providers report attendance at an approved activity to the State Bar of California. Rather, licensees are responsible for keeping track of their own education. Attorneys must keep the certificates of attendance that providers distribute when attending a participatory education activity. (Providers are required to keep a record for four years of licensee's attendance at provider's participatory activities. Duplicate certificates of attendance may be available from the provider.)

Please note that a personal CLE log of self-study education activities must also be maintained. See Compliance Information for Record Keeping Requirements.

Compliance pending status means the active attorney will not be penalized because the State Bar received evidence the attorney attempted to comply with the Fingerprinting Rule Requirements. However, the fingerprints have not been successfully processed by both the DOJ and FBI. The attorney may be asked to re-submit fingerprints if the State Bar does not receive confirmation the fingerprints were processed successfully by the DOJ/FBI.

No. You must use a California Live Scan vendor that is contracted to submit your fingerprint to the California DOJ. For more information, please go to Fingerprinting Rule Requirements for Out-of-State Attorneys.

Providing a social security number is not legally required; however, DOJ procedures recommend providing the social security number on the Live Scan form. Further, many Live Scan vendors will refuse to submit your information without a social security number.

If you are uncomfortable with a Live Scan vendor retaining your social security number, we recommend redacting the number from the Live Scan form after the Live Scan vendor enters your information into the Live Scan software for transmission to the DOJ. The Live Scan vendor will then retain the redacted Live Scan form for their records. If a social security number is not provided, processing can be delayed.

No. Attorneys who live out-of-state can request hard copy fingerprint cards from the State Bar to be mailed to their preferred location. The cards can be completed at any fingerprint processing location within the jurisdiction in which they are located. For more information go to Fingerprinting Rule Requirements.

The State Bar will receive criminal record information from both the DOJ and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). This information specifically includes a summary of arrests, pretrial proceedings, the nature and disposition of criminal charges, sentencing, incarceration, court-ordered rehabilitation conditions, and release. The DOJ will send the State Bar notification of subsequent California arrests and the disposition of those arrests. At this time, the FBI will not send notification of out-of-state arrests to the State Bar.

When logging credit for published articles, it is not necessary to put in a provider number on the summary log. The provider will be the name of the publication and the course will be the article title. This is self-study credit. When you submit your proof of compliance, articles should be noted on your self-study log along with the date of publication (or submission if publication is pending). Again please note the name of the publication and the title of the article.

In order to be eligible for MCLE the article must meet the following conditions:

1. have contributed to the attorney’s legal education
2. have been published or accepted for publication
3. have not been prepared in the ordinary course of employment or in connection with an oral presentation at an approved educational activity

No. But all bar members, both inactive and active, must pay annual fees.

Your official date of admission is considered the day you take your oath. Your membership fees will be calculated based on that date, and you should be able to access a fee statement within 30 days. Your fees will be due 45 days from the day you get your invoice. More information concerning fees is available through the State Bar website. If you have additional questions about fees after reading the material on the website, contact Member Records at 888-800-3400.

If an attorney takes a CLE course while physically outside California, it can be counted toward California MCLE requirements. However, the education activity must be approved by an Approved Jurisdiction.

That is fine, as long as the law practice relationship between the entities is acknowledged on the application.

Once your audit is complete, you will receive a letter confirming your successful completion of the administrative portion of the audit.   

We will only accept a sign-in sheet if it includes the name of the course, course provider, date of activity and the number of MCLE hours afforded to attendees.

Every member of the bar must report continuing education credits even if he or she is new to the bar. The amount of MCLE you must complete is based on the date of your admission and begins accruing on the first day of the month in which you are sworn in as an active member of  the bar.

If you have questions about MCLE requirements, read the MCLE FAQ or contact the Member Services Center at 888-800-3400.

No, not at this time unless specifically requested. The State Bar is in the process of acknowledging receipts of OSAAC Certificates. Also keep in mind that many arbitrators and/or arbitral panels accept the listing of the State Bar's name, address, and declaration of payment on a proof of service as sufficient proof that the State Bar has been served.

You may claim credit only for education activities taken on or after the first day of the month in which you are admitted (sworn in) to The State Bar of California.

A Special Master accompanies a peace officer serving a warrant. The Special Master informs the party being served of the specific items being sought and gives that person an opportunity to voluntarily provide the items requested. If the items are not voluntarily produced, the Special Master conducts a search in the areas indicated in the search warrant. All items, whether produced voluntarily or seized, are then sealed until a court hearing is held to determine if the items are privileged. Special Masters receive a handbook describing the program in greater detail.