Unless exempt (see FAQ 2.3, above), California licensees, regardless of where they practice, must still comply with the CTAPP reporting requirements. To answer Step 1 (Annual Client Trust Account Reporting) questions, licensees must determine whether they are responsible for client funds and funds entrusted by others under the provisions of rule 1.15 of the California Rules of Professional Conduct. (See Rules Prof. Conduct, rule 8.5.) If so, because rule 1.15 of the California Rules of Professional Conduct requires attorneys who handle trust funds to hold those funds in one or more client trust accounts labeled as a “Trust Account,” or words of similar import, the licensee must answer “yes” to at least one of the CTAPP Annual Client Trust Account Reporting questions of whether they maintained any trust accounts under Business and Professions Code section 6211, subdivision (a) where the interest is paid to the State Bar, also known as an Interest on Lawyers’ Trust Account (IOLTA) or trust accounts under Business and Professions Code section 6211, subdivision (b) where the interest is payable to a client or other person, also known as non-IOLTA trust accounts, and complete the remaining CTAPP requirements.

Only if the licensee is not responsible for any client funds and funds entrusted by others under rule 1.15 of the California Rules of Professional Conduct may the licensee answer “no” to the CTAPP Annual Client Trust Account Reporting questions. 

For information on reporting an IOLTA account outside California, please refer to CTAPP FAQ 4.3, below.

Yes. Some categories of attorneys are exempt from reporting pro bono hours. However, even licensees who are exempt from reporting their pro bono hours must declare their exemption status in My State Bar Profile. The reporting requirement applies to active licensees, including participants in the State Bar’s Pro Bono Practice Program. The reporting requirement does not apply to:

• Licensees employed by an organization primarily engaged in the provision of pro bono legal services, including qualified legal services projects and qualified support centers, legal aid organizations, and nonprofit public benefit corporations.
• Full-time employees, officers, or elected officials of the State of California, political subdivisions, or the federal government. This includes city and county employees (such as public defenders), trial court attorneys employed by the judicial branch, and employees of tribal governments and the University of California. Attorneys working for state governments outside California are not included in this exemption.
• Licensees whose current employer prohibits them from performing pro bono legal services (if declared on their My State Bar Profile by selecting the corresponding checkbox under this option).

For more information, see Business and Professions Code section 6073.2.

You must fulfill the pre-legal education requirements that apply to students who attend law school. This includes at least two years of college work or equivalent intellectual achievement by attaining a score of 50 or higher on specified College-Level Examination Program (CLEP) examinations, as detailed on the College Equivalency Education webpage.

Your pre-legal and any completed legal education will be evaluated upon submission of your LOS application. You must register with the Office of Admissions, and the Registration Application must be approved before you can submit an LOS application. When submitting your Application for the Law Office Study Program, you must submit your official, sealed undergraduate transcripts, CLEP scores, or a course-by-course evaluation of your foreign study from an approved credential evaluation agency if you have foreign undergraduate study. All official, sealed legal education transcripts must also be submitted before your participation in the LOS Program can be approved.

All sealed official transcripts must be mailed to the Los Angeles Office of Admissions. Electronic transcripts are not acceptable.

You must submit a semi-annual report to the State Bar within 30 days after completion of each six-month period of study through the LOS Program. A semi-annual report submitted 31–60 days after completion of the six-month study period is subject to a late fee as set forth in the Schedule of Charges and Deadlines. Semi-annual reports submitted after 60 days will not be accepted nor receive credit. 

Your participation in the LOS Program will be terminated if you fail to submit a semi-annual report within a year of your last provided semi-annual report.

You must submit your semi-annual reports through the Applicant Portal. To submit a semi-annual report (i.e., Law Office Study Session):

• Log in to your Applicant Portal.
• Scroll down to “My Applications.”
• Click on the case number associated with your approved Application for the Law Office Study Program.
• Under Law Office Study Sessions, click “New.”
• Provide the requested information and click “Save.” A LOS Session ID will be created.
• Click on the new LOS Session ID number. Upload a completed LOS Session Semi-Annual Report Cover Sheet; your six graded exams, each with an appended LOS Session Exam Cover Sheet under the files section; and any other supporting documentation. Ensure the LOS Session Semi-Annual Report Cover Sheet has the correct dates and the total hours studied for the period.
• Click “Pay Now” and follow the steps to submit the study session.

Your device may be referring to an earlier memory cache (version) of the course and may not be refreshing correctly. Try carrying out each of these options until you resolve the issue: 

1. Clear your browser’s memory cache/history.
2. Try using a different Internet browser. The following are optimal:
   Windows 7/10: Google Chrome, Internet Explorer 11 or above
   iOS: Safari
3. Try launching the course on a different device.

The plan allows attorneys to spread their total fee into smaller, manageable payments while ensuring compliance with their financial obligations.

Missed payments should be made up immediately. Failure to do so may result in your removal from the payment plan, and your outstanding balance becoming immediately due.

No. However, you may submit Certificates of Admission or Certificates of Good Standing for each court to which you are admitted in lieu of listing each court and your standing in that court.  

No. You must have a Supervising Lawyer who is committed to supervising you by May 31, 2026. However, you are still permitted to change supervisors, if the need arises, and in compliance with rules 9.49(e)(7)-(8), by submitting a PLP Employment Update application in the Applicant Portal with a declaration from each new Supervising Lawyer. You may not work at any organization unless you have submitted a declaration from a Supervising Lawyer with that organization, and the State Bar has approved your PLP Employment Update. 

Pursuant to the California Rules of Court, rule 9.49(d)(1)(C), you must complete the legal ethics courses of the New Attorney Training Program within 30 days of the date of approval of your PLP application if you did not have a passing MPRE score on file when you submit your PLP application.  

If you take the MPRE in August 2025, you may wish to apply for the PLP once your passing MPRE score has been uploaded to your Applicant Portal. We anticipate that scores from the August 2025 administration of the MPRE will be uploaded by the end of September. Please note that you must have designated California to receive your MPRE score and have your accurate NCBE number and Social Security Number in the Applicant Portal for the State Bar of California to upload your MPRE score.  

Client Trust Accounting (CTA) School provides an overview of the California Rules of Professional Conduct and relevant provisions of the State Bar Act and Rules of the State Bar relating to client trust accounting. The course is designed to help attorneys understand their fiduciary responsibilities, avoid common trust accounting violations, and maintain compliance. It is self-paced and available 24/7 on the State Bar’s E-Learning Portal. It replaces the previously offered live sessions.

The general requirement is that the report must be made within 30 days of the time you have knowledge of the triggering event.[1] Exceptions:

• If you have been newly licensed in another state or federal jurisdiction, or if your license in another jurisdiction has been terminated, you must report it on or before February 1 of each year.[2]
• If you employ a person who is disbarred, resigned, involuntarily inactive, or suspended, you must report it to the State Bar prior to or at the time the employment commences.[3]

Reporting duties are not stayed while a sanction order is on appeal.[4]

Use the search bar or filter by subject to browse relevant courses. 

Please contact our support team via email at elearning@calbar.ca.gov. Please note, response times may take up to 48 hours. 

State Bar investigations and inquiries are, by statute, confidential. The complaint becomes public when disciplinary charges are filed against an attorney in State Bar Court. By law, however, any other pending investigations involving the same attorney must remain confidential at that point. If it is determined that public protection is seriously at stake in a particular case, the Chief Trial Counsel does have the authority to publicly reveal a pending investigation.

Under limited circumstances, the Board of Trustees, or the Chief Trial Counsel and Chair of the Board of Trustees, may waive confidentiality, but any public disclosure will remain limited to confirming the fact of a complaint or investigation; a brief factual summary to identify the subject matter of the complaint or investigation; and the status of the complaint or investigation.

If criminal conduct is suspected, the State Bar may also refer the matter to a law enforcement agency for investigation and potential prosecution.

While there is no requirement to provide pro bono hours, the State Bar encourages attorneys to provide at least 50 hours of pro bono legal services annually. However, any amount will have a positive impact on the individuals and groups served.

Attorneys are also encouraged to contribute financial support to nonprofit organizations that provide pro bono legal services, especially those attorneys who are unable to directly render services. Options include making a contribution directly to a legal aid organization or donating to the Greg E. Knoll Justice Gap Fund through your annual fee statement, or at any other time in Agency Billing or My State Bar Profile. See the Pro Bono Resolution on the State Bar’s website. 

The types of ethical questions that the Ethics Hotline can assist with include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Conflicts of interest
• Communication with the represented person
• Duties of confidentiality and competence
• Advertising and solicitation
• Fee arrangements and client trust accounting
• Withdrawal from representation of a client
• Other issues under the California Rules of Professional Conduct and Business and Professions Code

Staff can provide citations to relevant rules, cases, and ethics opinions (State Bar or local bar associations).

Prior to adopting any rules, the Board is required to issue the proposal for a public comment period. The Board will then review feedback and decide whether to adopt the proposal, revise it, or send it back to staff or the Working Group for further work.

A Certified Law Student whose certification has been revoked may request reconsideration of the revocation. The request must be in writing and submitted to the State Bar within 15 days of the applicant’s receipt of the notice of revocation. Any arguments or evidence in support of the request must be submitted with the request through the Applicant Portal. Within 60 days of receipt of the request, the State Bar will provide the applicant with a written decision. The decision constitutes the final action of the State Bar.

No. You may only use the title “Certified Law Student” in connection with your activities performed under the program. You may not claim in any way to be a licensee of the State Bar of California.