The State Bar is unable to provide advice concerning the completion requirements of law school applications, including whether disclosure of certain criminal matters is required. An applicant should consult the law school concerning the completion requirements for its application.

Yes. The moral character application requires disclosure of all debt that is delinquent at the time the application is submitted. Applicants must also disclose all incidents of student loan default, even if the loan is current at the time the moral character application is submitted.

Yes. The moral character application requires the disclosure of applications submitted to any jurisdiction for admission to practice law including, but not limited to, applications to be admitted by examination, on motion, or on diploma privilege; applications for reinstatement to a State Bar; and applications for determination of moral character. All submitted applications must be disclosed regardless of whether you were admitted, including applications that are withdrawn or otherwise did not result in a final determination.

Yes. Current and past employers are contacted during the moral character investigation.

Yes. Prior to submitting your moral character application, certain fields are editable by you. The editable fields are visible on each type of record. 

If you cannot edit the information on the application, you should upload a document (Word, PDF, etc.) with the correct information to any file upload section.

The notice of the adverse determination will provide you with the date on which you may submit a new Application for Determination of Moral Character. You are encouraged to engage in affirmative rehabilitative activities during the period you must wait to reapply. 

Alternatively, you may choose to request administrative review by the Committee of Bar Examiners. If you request review by the Committee, the date on which you will be eligible to reapply may change, as it will be determined by the Committee in the event it issues an adverse determination.

The only licensees who are exempt from the annual reporting requirement are licensees who were on voluntary inactive status for the entirety of the reportable time period. All other licensees, including those who were active, suspended, or not entitled to practice law at any point in the reportable time period, are required to complete the CTAPP reporting requirements for that reportable time period.

When a licensee performs both legal and non-legal professional services for a client, the licensee is subject to the Rules of Professional Conduct with respect to all of those services. (See Cal. State Bar Formal Opn. Nos. 1982-69, 1995-141, and 1999-154.) 

Therefore, a key question is whether the licensee is performing legal services and, as a result, is subject to rule 1.15 and the other Rules of Professional Conduct. If not, and the licensee is merely a real estate broker who happens to be a lawyer, rule 1.15 may not apply. Similarly, if the licensee is a trustee but did not perform any legal services related to the creation of the trust and does not perform any legal services related to the trust, rule 1.15 may not apply. On the other hand, if the licensee is acting as both the real estate lawyer and broker, and the lawyer receives entrusted funds from, or for, the transaction, rule 1.15 would apply, and any accounts need to be reported and registered as part of the licensee’s CTAPP compliance. The same is true of lawyers providing other non-legal professional services, regardless of whether they, as a trustee, for example, report to the probate court.

If you have further questions on dual capacity, including whether you are responsible for complying with any of the requirements or prohibitions in rule 1.15, please contact the State Bar’s Ethics Hotline research service at 800-238-4427 (toll-free in California). The Ethics Hotline cannot provide legal advice, nor tell you how to comply with any of the CTAPP requirements, including whether to answer “yes” or “no” in any portion of the CTAPP reporting requirements.

The State Bar collects information on attorneys’ pro bono and reduced fee hours to better understand how these services are being provided across the profession. The data will be analyzed to identify trends, support efforts to expand access to legal services, and help address the justice gap. All reported data will be aggregated and not linked to individual attorneys.

The State Bar’s Pro Bono Practice Program (PBPP) allows attorneys who would otherwise be inactive to maintain an active license, free of fees, to exclusively provide pro bono legal services in partnership with a pro bono legal services provider. To qualify for the PBPP, an attorney must maintain an active license, submit an application annually for the program, be certified as a pro bono practice attorney, and exclusively provide pro bono legal services through an approved or qualified pro bono services provider. For more information, see the Pro Bono Practice Program webpage.

You may request to study under a different attorney or judge by submitting a new LOS application, the required documentation, and the fee in the Applicant Portal at least 15 days prior to beginning study with the new supervisor. The new application must include a completed declaration signed by the new supervising attorney or judge and a new law study outline.

If you change the attorney or judge under whom you are studying during a six-month study period, you must submit a report from your previous attorney or judge that indicates all study completed with that person, along with the semi-annual report fee in the Applicant Portal, within 30 days of beginning study with the new attorney or judge. Within 30 days of completion of the six-month study period, you will also have to submit a semi-annual report reflecting the study conducted under the new attorney or judge that covers the remainder of the six-month study period.

The LMS does not update completion progress in real time. Course completion will likely appear in your account the day following completion.

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]