The convicted attorney, the district attorney and the court are each required, by law, to notify the State Bar any time that an attorney is arrested and charged with a crime or criminally convicted. These overlapping requirements help assure that the State Bar will be notified. When the State Bar receives such a report, the information is forwarded to the State Bar Court. Then it is handled in several different ways, depending upon the nature of the conviction.

If the attorney is convicted of a felony, they are placed on interim suspension pending a disciplinary hearing on the merits in State Bar Court. Attorneys convicted of a misdemeanor also are put on interim suspension if the crime involved "moral turpitude" by its very nature. Some crimes, such as theft, are designated by law as crimes involving moral turpitude.

But if the attorney's misdemeanor conviction does not by its very nature involve moral turpitude, they face a hearing in State Bar Court to determine the discipline, if any, to be imposed in the case.

Yes. An active licensee who met one of the exemptions in Business and Professions Code section 6073.2(d) for part of the year, but at any point in the year does not meet that exemption, is still required to report the amount of pro bono service hours provided in the past year. Even licensees who are exempt from reporting their pro bono hours must declare their exemption status in My State Bar Profile.

No. The Ethics Hotline provides research assistance, not binding opinions. Advisory opinions can be requested through the Committee on Professional Responsibility and Conduct.

Fees have not been set. By law, the program must be self-funded through certification fees. Attorney license fees may not be used to support the program.

State Bar staff is drafting recommendations for the Board of Trustees with guidance from an ADR Working Group of experts. The Working Group, its subgroups, and staff develop and review proposals, refine them, and will prepare a tentative proposal for preliminary public comment. The Working Group and staff will consider revising the proposal in light of the comments and will then submit their recommendations to the Board, which will then issue the proposal for another public comment period before deciding on adoption.

You may request to add or change a Supervising Attorney at the same employer/agency by submitting a “Certified Law Students Extension – Supervising Attorney Change” application, a Supervising Attorney Declaration form from each new supervising attorney, including the fee set forth in the Schedule of Charges and Deadlines through the Applicant Portal, prior to the commencement of the supervision period.

No. You are ineligible to participate in the program if you are licensed to practice law in any U.S. jurisdiction.

On the end date of your study session, the State Bar will send your supervisor an email asking about your progress over the last six-month study period. Your supervisor is required to attest whether you have demonstrated sufficient academic progress to continue to the next study session for each six-month period. If your supervisor does not provide a positive attestation or fails to provide one, your participation in the program will be terminated, unless the requirements of State Bar rule 4.29(N)(1)–(2) are met.

You will be given a due date by which you must respond to each request from the State Bar/CPA reviewer. It is important to communicate proactively if you need more time, as deadlines are designed to keep the review on track.

To qualify for an exemption, supporting documentation must show gross revenue (gross receipts) before expenses are deducted of $150,000 or less. The supporting documentation is generally Schedule C of the attorney’s tax return. There is no appeal process because the criteria is objective.

Prior to the March 30, 2026, deadline, you can make changes to your pro bono hours reporting by going to My State Bar Profile, navigating to the Summary tab (located on the top navigation bar), and selecting “Edit your Pro Bono Hours” from the Pro Bono Hours tile (located about three-quarters of the way down the page).

You can email the State Bar and request a copy of your DOJ/FBI rejection notice. These notices include information on the reason why the DOJ and/or FBI rejected your fingerprints. The State Bar reviews each response and provides attorneys with a rejection email that summarizes the reason for the rejection and details the necessary steps to successfully resubmit fingerprints.

The IOLTA Program is a department within the State Bar of California that administers IOLTA accounts, as well as two other sources of funding for free civil legal aid to low-income and indigent people: the California Equal Access Fund and the Greg E. Knoll Justice Gap Fund.

The State Bar initiated the IOLTA Program due to the lack of resources available for indigent clients who are in need of civil legal services. The substantial amount of money the program generates makes it possible for hundreds of thousands of these people to get the legal help that they need every year.

A 21-member Legal Services Trust Fund Commission appointed by the State Bar's Board of Trustees and the Chief Justice (on behalf of the Judicial Council of California) oversees the Trust Fund Program. Two-thirds of the commission members are attorneys and one-third are public members.

At least two of the 21 members must be "indigent persons" as defined by law. Three judges serve as non-voting advisors to the commission.

The Commission determines the eligibility of programs applying for funding, reviews recipients' budgets for compliance with the law, and monitors and evaluates the activities of programs receiving Trust Fund Program grants.

Please only submit letters printed on official letterhead. They may be scanned and sent as an attachment to the Licensee Records and Compliance Inquiry form.

The State Bar's Office of Information Technology is responsible for ensuring all data obtained and stored is kept secure and confidential. The data collection and storage process meets industry standards for retaining information in a secure and confidential manner. Survey data is stored on a secure server behind a firewall in a location accessible only by State Bar staff.  All State Bar surveys are subject to the following confidentiality statement: 

• Use of survey results: If published, survey results will be presented by the State Bar in an anonymous and aggregate summary format only.  

• Confidentiality: The State Bar takes reasonable measures to maintain the confidentiality of individual responses and will not disclose those responses to third parties unless we are legally required to do so.  

• Data handling: All participant information will be stored securely and will only be accessed by authorized State Bar personnel. We adhere to applicable laws and regulations regarding the collection, use, and protection of personal information. 

• Informed consent: By participating in this survey, you acknowledge that you have read and understood this notice. You agree to the handling of your information as described above. Your participation in this survey is completely voluntary, and you may choose not to answer any specific question or withdraw from the survey at any time. 

California Rule of Court Rule 9.9.5, requires all active attorneys to be re-fingerprinted. This is done to ensure that the State Bar is in compliance with Business and Professions Code Section 6054, which requires the State Bar to receive notifications of attorney arrests and convictions from the California Department of Justice (DOJ).

For the past 30 years the State Bar has been statutorily required to receive notification of subsequent arrests and convictions from the DOJ. Until 2018, the State Bar was out of compliance with this statutory mandate.

The only way for the State Bar to come fully into compliance is to re-fingerprint licensed attorneys. Although attorneys were fingerprinted at the time of admission to the State Bar, unfortunately neither the State Bar nor the DOJ retained those fingerprints for future notification services.

We apologize for our previous failure to comply with a statutory mandate, and for any inconvenience that may result from the re-fingerprinting attorneys will need to undergo. However this is a new State Bar focused on regulation and public protection. This Rule of Court enables statutory compliance and reflects the State Bar’s commitment to protecting the public.

Attorneys in the Pro Bono Practice Program may volunteer with a qualified legal services provider, a certified lawyer referral service, a court-based self-help center, or a nonprofit that provides free legal services to or on behalf of indigent Californians and has been approved by the State Bar as a pro bono legal services provide from the purposes of the Pro Bono Practice Program. See more information here.

A “qualified legal services provider” is one that receives funding from the State Bar’s Legal Services Trust Fund (IOLTA) Program. For a current list of grantees see theLegal Services Trust Fund Recipientson the State Bar’s website.

The State Bar's statutory mission includes support of efforts for greater access to, and inclusion in, the legal system. This office takes the lead on many of the agency's access to justice and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives. The State Bar is California's largest legal aid funder, and this office distributes over $100 million annually in grants to more than 100 legal aid organizations statewide. The office also leads development of policy initiatives and collaborates with other organizations working to expand legal services access for all Californians. These efforts include encouraging pro bono participation; supporting a statewide Disaster Legal Services Response network; studying law school attrition data and working with law schools to develop improved approaches to student retention. The office also oversees the State Bar's DEI Leadership Seal program, which recognizes California legal employers that commit to implementing or are already implementing actions that further DEI in the workplace. 

All foreign-language documents must be accompanied by an English translation by a certified translator; the original foreign-language documents must also be submitted. 

Your My State Bar Profile will indicate the steps you must take to satisfy the fingerprinting rule requirement. Compliance with the Rule will be effective on the date you submit proof that you were fingerprinted pursuant to the State Bar’s instructions. For more information go to your My State Bar Profile.