Find a Certified Lawyer Referral Service Check Attorney Profile
No. The State Bar is unable to extend the period to request administrative review. The CBE will decide whether to accept an untimely request for administrative review.
The CBE will review your request and your application. The CBE may take any action it deems appropriate, including but not limited to granting you a positive determination, requesting more information, extending an offer of abeyance, or rendering an adverse determination.
If the CBE declines to grant you a positive determination, it will decide how long you must wait before you may submit a new Application for Determination of Moral Character, which could be the same or different from the time that was set by State Bar staff when it made the initial determination.
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 (CBE). If you request review by the CBE, the date on which you will be eligible to reapply may change, as it will be determined by the CBE in the event it issues an adverse determination.
Please call 415-538-2450 and ask to speak with the Moral Character Person of the Day. Please be prepared to email a screenshot if the issue cannot be resolved over the phone. Some issues may take more time to resolve if technical assistance is necessary.
Some applicants have traveled extensively in the past three years and have numerous addresses to report on the moral character application. You are encouraged to provide as much information pertaining to each residence as can be reasonably recalled. You are responsible for the complete and accurate reporting of information on the application to the best of your ability, and the failure to provide complete responses could result in a delay in the processing of the application.
You must disclose all residences for the past three years, regardless of how long you resided at the location.
No. You are only required to disclose the addresses of the places you have lived within the past three years, including college and law school residences.
No. Some references may not be contacted. You may wish to remind your references to check their email spam folders periodically and to use the Google Chrome internet browser, if possible, when submitting the questionnaires to avoid potential technical issues.
Report military enlistment in the “Current/Previous Employment section” and the “Military Services” section of the moral character application. List your last duty station, supervisor, date of enlistment, and date of discharge (or the date you left active duty if you are currently on inactive status). An applicant who is discharged from active duty must also provide a DD-214 military discharge document that clearly indicates the type of discharge.
Contact the employer and attempt to obtain the information. If you do not remember your supervisor’s name or your supervisor is no longer with the business, please enter "Human Resources" into the Full Name of Supervisor field and enter the appropriate information into the Email Address of Supervisor and Phone Number of Supervisor fields.
If the company is no longer in business (defunct), contact information will not be required once you indicate that the company is no longer in business.
Do NOT use your own email address or phone number.
The State Bar does not refer clients to lawyers or provide legal advice. We provide a directory of certified Lawyer Referral Services in your area who may be able to help you find a lawyer. Please see our Find Legal Professionals section for resources. The State Bar also publishes free legal information for consumers.
If you believe your lawyer has done something wrong, you can file a complaint with the State Bar. Complaints may be submitted online or by mail. If you have questions or need assistance in completing the form, call the State Bar’s Attorney Complaint Hotline at 800-843-9053. For more information on reporting a lawyer to the State Bar and handling other problems, read the legal guide If You Have a Problem with an Attorney.
If you have a complaint about a certified or uncertified LRS, you can file a complaint against the service with the State Bar. In order to promote public protection, the State Bar will review your complaint to determine if the LRS has violated Business and Professions Code Section 6155 and State Bar Rules.
For more information on certified lawyer referral services, contact LRS@calbar.ca.gov.
The due date is by March 30, or the next business day if that date falls on a weekend or holiday, each year during the annual license renewal process. The 2025 annual deadline is April 1, 2025. If you miss the deadline, you will be charged a penalty ($103 for active attorneys, $31 for inactive attorneys).
Activities that qualify for general MCLE credit must: (1) relate to legal subjects that are directly relevant to California attorneys, and (2) offer current, significant educational, professional, or practical content with the specific objective of increasing each participant’s professional competency as an attorney. Programs created primarily for nonattorney audiences (for example, general public, clients, or business staff) do not qualify and will not be approved for general MCLE credit. More on Standards for MCLE activity Approval.
IOLTA stands for Interest on Lawyers’ Trust Accounts. Attorneys deposit client funds that they plan to hold briefly, or that are too small to earn interest for the client, into larger shared accounts. Over 73,000 attorneys make deposits in approximately 49,000 IOLTA accounts in California. As of September 2019, IOLTA accounts hold nearly $5 billion. Any interest earned on these accounts is paid by financial institutions to the State Bar, which in turn distributes those funds as grants to qualified nonprofit civil legal organizations throughout the state.
Refer to the State Bar’s IOLTA FAQ page for more information.
Rule 8.3 states that a lawyer shall report “without undue delay.” Rule 8.3 comment [3] provides that the lawyer must report as soon as the lawyer reasonably believes that reporting will not cause material prejudice or damage to the interests of a client of the lawyer or a client of the lawyer’s firm. The Comment also provides that the lawyer should consider other applicable rules, such as rules 1.4 (the duty to communicate); 1.7(b) (material limitation conflict); 5.1 (responsibilities of managerial and supervisorial lawyers); and 5.2 (responsibilities of a subordinate lawyer).
A lawyer can file a complaint anonymously. If a lawyer submits a complaint through the online tool, the lawyer will receive a reference number that they could later use to prove they made a submission. However, if a lawyer submits a complaint using other methods (such as an email from an anonymous email address or by sending the complaint through the mail), there will be limited proof of a submission.
The online complaint tool has required fields in which the complainant must enter data to progress. However, the complainant can input “anonymous” and other nonidentifying information in the required fields.
If a lawyer submits an “anonymous” complaint but includes information that would identify the complainant, it is possible that that information will ultimately be available to the respondent.
There are three types of reports:
All New Attorney Training Program courses qualify for participatory credit.
Yes. However, you may only apply to become a Registered Military Spouse Attorney or a Registered Legal Aid Attorney if you have not taken and failed the California bar exam within five years immediately preceding the initial application to register under the rule.
Items listed in the Admittance Ticket Bulletin are allowed without prior approval. The Admittance Ticket Bulletin can be found on the First-Year Law Students’ Examination webpage. Items not listed in the bulletin will require approval through the testing accommodations process. If the bulletin is not yet available for the exam you intend to take, refer to the bulletin for the prior administration of the exam; however, please note that the bulletin is subject to change.
If you are a PLL or a Supervising Lawyer, please send an email to provisionallicensure@calbar.ca.gov to share any concerns, challenges, or feedback about your experience in the PLP. While this is not a formal complaint process, we value your input and feedback.
Staff who review the submissions may:
• Reach out to your supervisor, with your permission, to discuss with them the concerns you are having;
• Connect you with the Lawyer Assistance Program (LAP) to get career counseling;
• Connect you with professional associations or your law school to assist in locating a new Supervising Lawyer;
• Pursuant to rule 8.4.1, if you believe your Supervising Lawyer has engaged in discrimination, harassment, or retaliation, we will direct you to the complaint process and provide assistance, as needed; or
• Collect data to understand systemic issues, etc
If the State Bar Court determines that a PLL is culpable of conduct that would result in discipline if they were fully licensed by the State Bar, or if the PLL is sanctioned for misconduct by any court or professional licensing authority, the provisional license terminates, and the matter is referred to moral character.
The court must approve your application in order for you to appear as PHV in a case. While the State Bar's Applicant Portal may show that your PHV case is "approved," this refers to the internal processing of your application and should not be taken as the court's approval of your appearance as PHV.
No. Unlike the Original PLP, the sunset date for the Pathway PLP was extended to December 31, 2025, for all participants. In other words, those who are still awaiting a positive moral character determination or an MPRE score of 86 or above can continue in the program. Additionally, the application for the Pathway PLP was reopened, and new participants who satisfy the eligibility requirements can apply through December 31, 2023. Applications will not be accepted after that date.
No, if you have not received an 86 or higher on the MPRE at the time of your acceptance into the program, you must complete the legal ethics portion of the New Attorney Training within the first 30 days of being licensed as a PLP. If you do not complete this within the required time frame, you will be terminated from the program.
No. California Rule of Court 9.49.1(b)(3) defines “legal practice” as “the provision of permitted legal services to clients in compliance with rule 9.49(f) and (g).” Rule 9.49(g) states that legal services to clients include, but are not limited to, “appearing before a court or administrative tribunal, drafting legal documents, contracts or transactional documents, and pleadings, engaging in negotiations and settlement discussions, and providing other legal advice and counsel, provided that the work is performed under the supervision of a Supervising Lawyer.”
Please note that the rules require that services be provided to a client for those hours to count toward the admission requirements. Assignments such as conducting research can count when that research is being used to draft legal documents or to provide legal advice to a client. Assignments that do not involve providing services to a client, such as training, while helpful, are not considered “legal practice” under the rules.
If the State Bar Court determines that a PLL is culpable of conduct that would result in discipline if fully licensed by the State Bar, or if the PLL is sanctioned for misconduct by any court or professional licensing authority, the provisional license terminates. In addition, the matter is referred to moral character.
If an undisclosed arrest is discovered during the processing of a moral character application, the applicant may be asked to provide related information; however, if the arrest was not required to be disclosed on the moral character application, the nondisclosure will not impact the determination.
Maybe. If you disclose a delinquent debt, you must provide a current credit report. A credit score summary is not acceptable in lieu of a complete credit report.
You must disclose all professional licenses that include a character or fitness determination component (i.e., questions concerning convictions or disciplinary matters). Examples of professional certifications that typically include a character or fitness component include licensure as a Certified Public Accountant, Patent Practitioner, Real Estate Salesperson or Broker, Notary Public, Teacher, and security clearance certifications.
Report military enlistment in the “Current/Previous Employment section” and the “Military Services” section of the moral character application. List your last duty station, supervisor, date of enlistment, and date of discharge (or the date you left active duty if you are currently on inactive status). An applicant who is discharged from active duty must also provide a DD-214 military discharge document that clearly indicates the type of discharge.
You cannot delete a document once it is uploaded. If you upload a document in error, please upload a statement that clearly identifies the relevant document and indicates if the document should be deleted.
The CBE will review your request and your application. The CBE may take any action it deems appropriate, including but not limited to granting you a positive determination, requesting more information, extending an offer of abeyance, or rendering an adverse determination.
If the CBE declines to grant you a positive determination, it will decide how long you must wait before you may submit a new Application for Determination of Moral Character, which could be the same or different from the time that was set by State Bar staff when it made the initial determination.
CTAPP is a proactive regulatory program designed to:
Need additional help? Visit our Contact Us page for additional resources.