Admission to Practice

Qualifications

Civil Local Rule 11-1 provides that the Bar of this court consists of attorneys of good moral character who are active members in good standing of the State Bar of California. Attorneys must also certify that they have knowledge of the Federal Rules of Civil and Criminal Procedure and Evidence, the Rules of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and the local rules of this court. Furthermore, attorneys must possess familiarity with the Alternative Dispute Resolution programs of the court and an understanding and commitment to abide by the Standards of Professional Conduct of this court set forth in Civil Local Rule 11-4.

Admission Procedures

Petitions for admission must be submitted electronically in the CM/ECF system with payment made online via Pay.gov.

The electronic application procedure consists of three steps:

1. Register as an ECF user in the Northern District of California through PACER.
2. Log into CM/ECF and select “Petition for Bar Membership” event under “Civil” and “Attorney Admissions”). All necessary information will be entered directly into ECF, no separate PDF will be filed. When prompted, pay via Pay.gov.
3. Once your petition has been reviewed by a deputy clerk, you will receive an acknowledgment of your admittance (or notification of any problem) by email (generally within two business days).

Verifying Admission to the Bar of this Court

To verify your admission, you may visit the newly admitted attorneys page. Newly admitted attorneys and their admission dates are posted within two weeks after the Clerk’s Office receives their qualifying petitions.

Contacting Attorney Admissions

To obtain forms by mail or email, for information on past admissions, or for all other questions, please email us at admissioninfo@cand.uscourts.gov, or call the Attorney Admissions Deputy Clerk at 415-522-2060.