Pro Hac Vice Appearance
As provided in Civil Local Rule 11-3, an attorney who is not a member of the Bar of the Northern District of California, but who is an active member in good standing of the bar of another United States court or of the highest court of another state or the District of Columbia, may appear in an action in this district only after he or she has completed the procedures for appearing pro hac vice. (Separate procedures govern pro hac vice appearances at the United States Bankruptcy Court.) In preparation for practice in this court, counsel are advised to familiarize themselves with the Local Rules of the Northern District of California.
Admission Procedures
The application must be submitted electronically in the CM/ECF system with payment made online via Pay.gov. Any pro hac vice application submitted in paper must be accompanied by a cover letter addressed to the Clerk of Court explaining why electronic filing of the application was not feasible.
The application procedure consists of four steps:
- Register as an ECF user.
- Download and complete electronically all portions of the Application for Admission of Attorney Pro Hac Vice(.pdf); enter your name in the blank in the proposed order space at the bottom of the form. With the exception of applicants admitted to practice in the District of Columbia, a pro hac vice applicant must include a specific court to which he or she is admitted to practice (that is, a specific federal district court or highest state court).Attach a true and correct copy of a certificate of good standing or other similar official document issued by the appropriate authority governing attorney admissions for the relevant bar; the certificate or other document must be dated no more than one year prior to the date of application for admission.On the Proposed Order, do not insert the date.Please check the forms to be sure all fields are correct, complete and readable before e-filing!
- E-file the application in CM/ECF (using Motions – General -> Pro Hac Vice) using the ECF login and password for the attorney who seeks to be admitted, and when prompted pay via Pay.gov. Review our Pay.gov information page before beginning this step.
- Your authorization to practice begins upon the docketing of the judge’s order granting your application. There is no specific timetable for this to occur.
- Following admission, all papers submitted for filing shall include the annotation “appearance pro hac vice,” immediately following the identifying information required by Civil Local Rule 3-4.
Verifying Admission to the Bar of this Court
To verify your admission, you may check the docket in your case beginning the day after you submit your application and proposed order. Your authorization to practice begins upon the docketing of the judge’s order granting your application.
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.