Attorney Registration Forms

Instructions

Pursuant to Rule VI of the Supreme Court Rules for the Government of the Bar, every attorney registered for active or corporate counsel status is required to register with the Supreme Court on a biennial basis. Each biennium begins on the first day of September in each odd-numbered year.

To be considered timely, you must register for the 2023/2025 attorney registration biennium on the Attorney Services Portal on or before Sept. 1, 2023. If you do not register for the 2023/2025 attorney registration biennium by the Sept. 1, 2023 deadline, you will be assessed a $100 late fee. Furthermore, if you do not register within 60 days of the filing deadline, you will be suspended from the practice of law. See Gov. Bar R. VI.

If you were recently admitted to the practice of law, you must register on or before the thirtieth day from the date of your admission to avoid a late fee and possible suspension from the practice of law. For additional information, please go to our “FAQ for Newly Admitted Attorneys”.

Follow these instructions to complete your Certificate of Registration:

• File a Certificate of Registration for each biennium during which you were admitted to the practice of law. Certificates of Registration for the 2001/2003, 2003/2005, 2005/2007, 2007/2009, 2009/2011, 2011/2013, 2013/2015, 2015/2017, 2017/2019, and 2021/2023 biennia are available online. If you need to file a Certificate of Registration for earlier biennia, contact the Office of Attorney Services.
• Type or print clearly all information on the Certificate of Registration.
• Complete the IOLTA information on the bottom of the form.
• Sign the Certificate of Registration in blue ink.
• Make a copy of the Certificate of Registration for your records.
• If registering for active or corporate status, enclose with the Certificate of Registration a check or money order in the appropriate amount made payable to the Supreme Court of Ohio. The registration fee for 2001/2003 is $250; the fee for 2003/2005 is $275; the fee for 2005/2007 is $300; and the fee for 2007/2009, 2009/2011, 2011/2013, 2013/2015, 2015/2017, 2017/2019, 2019/2021, and 2021/2023 is $350. If you are submitting your 2017/2019 Certificate of Registration after Sept. 1, 2017, also include a $50 late fee.
• Mail the original Certificate of Registration and the registration fee to:

The Supreme Court of Ohio
Office of Attorney Services
65 South Front Street, 5th Floor
Columbus, OH 43215

Attorneys registering for active or corporate counsel status may choose to make a $50 voluntary contribution for deposit into the Attorney Services Fund and use to fund civil legal aid services for low-income or disadvantaged populations in Ohio. Attorneys making this contribution should check the appropriate box on the 2015/2017 Certificate of Registration and add the $50 voluntary fee to their total payment.

Attorneys may register for Emeritus Pro Bono status if they meet certain requirements, including having engaged in the practice of law for 15 years and being in good standing. An attorney registered for Emeritus Pro Bono status may perform limited legal services only in association with a pro bono organization as set forth in Gov. Bar R. VI, Section 8. An attorney seeking to register for Emeritus Pro Bono status must submit a current Certificate of Registration; an Emeritus Pro Bono registration fee of $75 (check or money order only), payable to the Supreme Court of Ohio; Emeritus Pro Bono Attorney Registration and Certification; and Certification of Pro Bono Organization. For forms and additional information on Emeritus Pro Bono registration, please visit Emeritus Pro Bono and Gov. Bar R. VI, Section 8.

Because we require an original signature, we will not accept registrations by fax or as an email attachment. Approximately two weeks after receiving your Certificate of Registration for active status, the Office of Attorney Services will mail your registration card. If you register for inactive or corporate status, you will receive a written notification of registration. You may also register online on the Attorney Services Portal.

The information you provide on the Certificate of Registration will be placed on the computer system of the Supreme Court's Office of Attorney Services and will be used for the purposes of administering the functions of these offices. All information provided will be a public record, except (1) e-mail addresses and (2) residence addresses unless you do not provide a valid office address. See Gov. Bar R. VI, Sec. 15.

At the direction of the Supreme Court, the Certificate of Registration solicits information about the race and ethnicity of all registered attorneys. You are asked to identify your race(s) from the following groups: American Indian or Alaska Native, Asian, Black or African American, Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, and White. You may check all categories that apply. You are also asked to note whether you are of Hispanic/Latino ethnicity.

The Certificate of Registration includes a separate portion for registration of escrow/trust accounts that are, or should be, Interest on Lawyers' Trust Accounts (IOLTA) or Interest on Trust Accounts (IOTA). Please identify each escrow/trust account in which the funds of two or more clients or third parties have been deposited by you, by your law firm, or by an ancillary business related to the practice of law in which you are a principal; detail for each account the account number, financial institution, the city in which the financial institution is located; indicate whether the account is established by you or your firm; and the type of account. If you do not maintain an IOLTA or IOTA account, please check the appropriate box at the bottom of the form. For answers to frequently asked questions, visit www.ohiojusticefoundation.org.

Rule VI requires you to keep the Office of Attorney Services apprised of your current residence and business addresses or other changes of information on the Certificate of Registration. You can update your record online, or you can mail or fax your changes with your signature to the Office of Attorney Services, 65 South Front Street, 5th Floor, Columbus, Ohio 43215-3431; Fax: 614.387.9323.

There is no fee to change your status from active to inactive. Once you are registered for inactive status, you will no longer have a registration requirement, but you are required to keep the Office of Attorney Services apprised of any address or other changes of information.

Thank you for your registration. If you have any questions, please contact the Office of Attorney Services by telephone at 614.387.9320 or by email at attyreg@sc.ohio.gov.