Attorney Registration FAQs

To log on to the online site you will need your attorney registration number and your password. If you have forgotten your password, go to Forgot Password and click on the link for lost or forgotten passwords.

If you do not know your attorney registration number, you may look it up in the Attorney Directory Search.

After you have accessed the site, you should review the information we have on file for you on the Home page. If you need to change or correct your record, go to the Edit Info page and fill in the appropriate fields. After you have made the changes, click “Submit.” The changes should appear immediately on the Home page and the public attorney directory. Please note that the following are not deemed to be public record: (1) your email address and (2) your residence address unless you do not provide a valid office address.

You can view your attorney registration record; change your contact information; register and pay your registration fees; change your registration status; view your continuing legal education transcript; and submit and make changes to your transcript (limited availability).

If you would like to submit a name change, complete the Attorney Name Change Form.

Go to Register Online and follow the directions. You will be required to provide information regarding your IOLTA accounts or if you are exempt from IOLTA reporting, the reason for your exemption. Registration and late fees must be paid by credit card (MasterCard, VISA, and American Express only).

You must pay applicable registration fees (including, but not limited to, $400 for active or corporate status) by ACH or credit card (MasterCard, VISA, American Express or Discover) or by allowing a third party (your employer) to pay separately on your behalf by credit card, ACH, or ISTV using the Agency Billing feature. After you have completed your registration and chose agency billing, please direct the third-party payor here: https://www.supremecourt.ohio.gov/AttySvcs/AttyReg/AgencyBilling

If you are registering for the current biennium, your registration should appear after we have completed processing, which is usually the next business day. If you are registering for a future biennium, your registration will appear on September first of the new biennium.

Please contact the Office of Attorney Services at 614.387.9320, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. – 5 p.m.

The Office of Attorney Services maintains registration records of attorneys admitted to the practice of law in Ohio. These records include the attorney's name, business address and phone number, attorney registration number, registration status, gender, date of birth, and law school attended. This office also is responsible for the biennial registration of attorneys admitted to the practice of law in Ohio.

All attorneys admitted to the practice of law in Ohio and non-Ohio attorneys registered for corporate counsel status under Gov. Bar. R. VI, Section 6 (see Corporate Status Registration).

Within 30 days of their admission, newly-admitted attorneys must file a Certificate of Registration and, if registering for active status, pay the required registration fee. Failure to register and pay the registration fee timely will subject the attorney to a $100 late fee and possible suspension from the practice of law. Additional information for new attorneys can be in the Newly Admitted Attorneys FAQ.

Active Attorneys and Emeritus Pro Bono Attorneys
On or before the first day of September in each odd-numbered year, attorneys registering for active status must file a Certificate of Registration and pay the required registration fee.

Inactive Attorneys
Inactive attorneys are not required to register biennially. However, they are required to keep their contact information (residence and office addresses, office telephone number, and residence or office email address) current.

Registration for the 2023/2025 biennium opens on June 29, 2023 and closes on Aug. 31, 2023. Registration must be completed online. Here is a summary of changes from previous biennia.

The registration fee is $400 for active, corporate counsel, and military spouse attorney statuses. The registration fee is $75 for emeritus pro bono attorneys. Registration fees are non-refundable.

A $100 late fee will be assessed against all attorneys who submit their registrations after the Sept. 1, 2023 deadline.

Attorneys who do not register within 60 days of the filing deadline will be suspended from the practice of law.

Inactive attorneys may not engage in the practice of law. Specifically, an inactive or retired attorney shall not

• be entitled to practice law in the state of Ohio
• hold himself or herself out as authorized to practice law in Ohio
• hold nonfederal judicial office in Ohio
• occupy a nonfederal position in Ohio in which the attorney is called upon to give legal advice or counsel or to examine the law or pass upon the legal effect of any act, document, or law
• be employed in the Ohio judicial system in a position required to be held by an attorney
• practice before any nonfederal court or agency in this state on behalf of any person except himself or herself

An attorney admitted to the practice of law in Ohio may register for Emeritus Pro Bono status if the attorney:

• Has been engaged in the practice of law for 15 years;
• Is in good standing;
• Has not resigned from the practice of law in Ohio, resigned from the practice of law in Ohio with discipline pending, or permanently retired from the practice of law in Ohio;
• Has not voluntarily or involuntarily relinquished the attorney’s license to practice law in another jurisdiction to avoid discipline or as a result of discipline imposed by a relevant authority;
• Has not been disciplined for professional misconduct within the past 10 years or been disbarred by another jurisdiction

An attorney seeking to register for Emeritus Pro Bono status must submit the following:

• Current Certificate of Registration;
• $75 Emeritus Pro Bono registration fee (check or money order only) payable to the Supreme Court of Ohio;
• Emeritus Pro Bono Attorney Registration and Certification;
• Certification of Pro Bono Organization.

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.

Yes.  An attorney registered for Emeritus Pro Bono status is required to comply with continuing legal education requirements for attorneys on active status.

You may change your registration status for the current biennium through the Attorney Services Portal. You will need your attorney registration number and password to log in.

ATTENTION: Before you change your registration status, be sure to contact the Commission on Continuing Legal Education to determine what effect, if any, this may have on your continuing legal education obligations. Also, if you are changing your status from active to inactive, be sure to read Gov. Bar R. VI, Sec. 5 to ensure that you qualify for such status.

No; once a biennium has ended, you cannot change the status under which you had been registered for that biennium.

You should notify the Office of Attorney Services immediately of any change of address and other information. You may make these changes to your own record by going to the Online Attorney Portal or you may use the Attorney Name Change Form. Your email address is not considered to be public. Your residence address is not considered to be public unless you do not provide a valid office address.

Please use the Change of Information and Replacement Card Form to report a name change. Name changes must be accompanied by a copy of the appropriate name change document, such as marriage license, divorce decree, court order, etc.

An attorney who is admitted to the practice of law in another state, but not in Ohio, and who is employed by a nongovernmental employer may register for corporate status by submitting a completed Certificate of Registration, Corporate Questionnaire, and affidavit of employer, and paying the applicable registration fee. A corporate attorney may not practice before any court or agency in Ohio on behalf of his or her employer or any person except himself or herself, unless granted leave by the court or agency. A corporate attorney may perform legal services in Ohio solely for a nongovernmental employer as long as the attorney is an employee of that employer.

Registration under corporate status is effective and may be renewed only as long as the attorney is employed by a nongovernmental employer. Attorneys registered for corporate status must comply with the same registration and continuing legal education requirements as active attorneys. Attorneys admitted to the practice of law in Ohio are not eligible for corporate status.

For more information about corporate counsel status and to request materials to register for corporate status, please go to Corporate Status Registration.

Certificates of Good Standing are issued by the Office of Attorney Services. You may request a Certificate of Good Standing and view additional information regarding issuance of these certificates by visiting the Supreme Court of Ohio website.

You may visit the online directory of attorneys or contact the Office of Attorney Services at attyreg@sc.ohio.gov or 614.387.9320.

The Office of Attorney Services has a summary of disciplinary action that may have been taken against an attorney by the Supreme Court. For more in-depth attorney disciplinary information, you should contact the Supreme Court's Clerk's Office. The Clerk's Office can also tell you if a disciplinary matter has been or currently is pending against an attorney before the Supreme Court.

Registration fees and penalties collected under Gov. Bar R. VI constitute the Attorney Services Fund. Moneys in the fund are used for the following purposes:

• investigation of complaints brought under Gov. Bar R. V or Rule II of the Supreme Court Rules for the Government of the Judiciary
• investigation of alleged unauthorized practice of law pursuant to Gov. Bar R. VII
• support of the Lawyers' Fund for Client Protection, established under Gov. Bar R. VIII
• support of the activities of the Commission on Continuing Legal Education pursuant to Gov. Bar R. X
• any other purposes considered necessary by the Supreme Court for the government of the bar and the judiciary of Ohio
• any other activities related to the administration of justice considered necessary by the Supreme Court

On or before Nov. 1 of each year, the Administrative Director prepares and submits to the Supreme Court a report on the activity of the Attorney Services Fund. To review the current Annual Report, go to the Supreme Court of Ohio Publications page.

You may contact us at:

Office of Attorney Services
Supreme Court of Ohio
65 South Front Street
Columbus, Ohio 43215

Telephone: 614.387.9320
Facsimile: 614.387.9323
Email: attyreg@sc.ohio.gov

PMBR stands for “proactive management-based regulation.” The Office of Disciplinary Counsel’s free, online, on-demand PMBR course will assist attorneys in developing ethical infrastructures to improve the delivery of legal services and client relations and assist in preventing violations of the Ohio Rules of Professional Conduct.

No. PMBR does not go into effect until January 1, 2025. The PMBR course will not be available until early 2025.

Beginning with the 2025-2027 registration biennium, attorneys who are engaged in the private practice of law (as defined in amended Gov.Bar R. VI(1)(B)) must either maintain professional liability insurance or complete the PMBR course.

The Supreme Court’s amendments to Gov.Bar R. V and Gov.Bar R. VI may be found at the following link: https://www.supremecourt.ohio.gov/ruleamendments/documents/PMBR%20(As%20Adopted).pdf

The effective date is Jan. 1, 2025. Beginning with the 2025-2027 registration biennium, attorneys who are engaged in the private practice of law (as defined in amended Gov.Bar R. VI(1)(B)) must either maintain professional liability insurance or complete the PMBR course.

For every registration biennium beginning with 2025-2027, attorneys who are engaged in the private practice of law (as defined in amended Gov.Bar R. VI(1)(B)) must either maintain professional liability insurance or complete the PMBR course.

No. An attorney who purchases professional liability insurance does not have to complete the PMBR course; however, the attorney must provide proof of insurance to the Office of Disciplinary Counsel.

The Office of Disciplinary Counsel will offer the course online and on-demand in early 2025. The PMBR course will be approximately three hours and available for CLE credit.

The PMBR course will be free for all attorneys admitted to the practice of law in Ohio.

Yes, all attorneys admitted to the practice of law in Ohio will be able to take the PMBR course for CLE credit.

Yes, you may change your answers through the PMBR tab in your attorney portal.

Only active attorneys who are “engaged in the private practice of law” must satisfy the PMBR requirements. Under amended Gov.Bar R. VI(1)(B)(5), attorneys who are “no longer practicing law in any capacity” are not “engaged in the private practice of law.”

Attorneys who only perform legal work for family members are “engaged in the private practice of law” for purposes of amended Gov.Bar R. VI(1)(B)(5). Accordingly, these attorneys must satisfy the PMBR requirements.

Attorneys registered as active who are “employed by an organizational client or governmental entity” and “[do] not represent clients outside that capacity” are not “engaged in the private practice of law” and therefore not subject to the PMBR requirements. See amended Gov.Bar R. VI(1)(B)(2).

Full-time judges and magistrates are not “engaged in the private practice of law” and therefore not subject to the PMBR requirements. See amended Gov.Bar R. VI(1)(B)(2).

Part-time judges and magistrates who also represent clients in their own practice are “engaged in the private practice of law” for purposes of amended Gov.Bar R. VI(1)(B)(5). Accordingly, these attorneys must satisfy the PMBR requirements.

Please direct all PMBR inquiries to the Office of Disciplinary Counsel via email to: PMBR@odc.ohio.gov or via phone at: 614.387.9700.

If you have already been sworn in to the practice of law in Ohio, you must notify the Office of Attorney Services of your name change. You may use the Attorney Name Change Form to provide this notification.

If you have not yet been sworn in, you should contact the Office of Bar Admissions at 614.387.9340 with your name change.

Once you have been admitted to the practice of law and your registration has been processed by the Office of Attorney Services, you may request a certificate of good standing. For additional information regarding certificates of good standing, please visit Certificates of Good Standing.

You must register with the Office of Attorney Services after you have been sworn in as an attorney. After taking your oath of office, you will be provided with registration information.

Yes. All newly-admitted attorneys are required to file a Certificate of Registration and pay the applicable registration fee.

Pursuant to Gov. Bar R. VI, Sec. 3, attorneys admitted to the practice of law in Ohio are required to register with the Office of Attorney Services within 30 days of the date of admission and, if registering for active status, also pay the appropriate registration fee. Attorneys registering for inactive status are not required to pay a registration fee, but are nevertheless required to file a Certificate of Registration within 30 days of the date of admission. Attorneys who do not file their registration and pay all applicable fees by the deadline will be assessed a $100 late fee and may be subject to suspension from the practice of law.

To register, you will need your applicant number and password, both of which are included in your new attorney registration materials. You will be required to pay your registration fees by credit card (VISA, MasterCard, or American Express only) or ACH. For further instructions on using online registration, please refer to your new attorney registration materials or contact us at 614.387.9320.

Inactive attorneys may not engage in the practice of law until such time as they change their status to active. Specifically, an inactive attorney may not:

• Practice law in the state of Ohio

• Hold himself or herself out as authorized to practice law in Ohio

• Hold nonfederal judicial office in Ohio

• Occupy a nonfederal position in Ohio in which the attorney is called upon to give legal advice or counsel or to examine the law or pass upon the legal effect of any act, document, or law

• Be employed in the Ohio judicial system in a position required to be held by an attorney

• Practice before any nonfederal court or agency in Ohio on behalf of any person except himself or herself

Yes. If you wish to change your registration status, all you need to do is go onto the Attorney Services Portal and pay the registration fee. If you change your registration status, be sure to contact the Commission on Continuing Legal Education to determine your New Lawyers Training and continuing legal education requirement.

Your registration materials must be submitted within 30 days of the date of admission. If you do not file your registration and pay all applicable fees by the deadline, you will be assessed a $100 late fee and may be subject to suspension from the practice of law.

As an attorney, you are required to identify each escrow/trust account in which the funds of two or more clients or third parties have been deposited by you, your law firm, or an ancillary business related to the practice of law in which you are a principal. As part of your registration, you are asked to provide information regarding Interest on Lawyers' Trust Accounts (IOLTA) and Interest on Trust Accounts (IOTA). The information you provide relating to your accounts and any applicable exemptions will be forwarded to the Ohio Access to Justice Foundation and will not be maintained by the Office of Attorney Services.

If you need help completing the IOLTA/IOTA portion of the Certificate of Registration, please contact the Ohio Access to Justice Foundation at 614.715.8560 or at www.ohiojusticefoundation.org.

You will receive an electronic attorney registration card after you register for active status on the Attorney Services Portal. You can also download and print your card from the portal by clicking on the “Receipts” button. If you are registering for inactive status, you will not receive an attorney registration card, but you will receive a confirmation email of your registration and your attorney registration number.

Attorneys authorized to practice law in Ohio are required to register on or before September first of every odd-numbered year. Registration information is emailed in June of each registration year.

If you have already been sworn in to the practice of law in Ohio, you must notify the Office of Attorney Services of any change of address (residence and business) and other registration information. You may make the changes online.

If you have not yet been sworn in, you should contact the Office of Bar Admissions at 614.387.9340 with any change of address or other information.

Please visit the New Lawyer Training FAQs and the Lawyer to Lawyer Mentoring Program.

• Attorney Registration, please contact the Office of Attorney Services at attyreg@sc.ohio.gov, or visit the website.

• New Lawyers Training, please contact the Commission on Continuing Legal Education at ccle@sc.ohio.gov, or visit the website.

• Lawyer to Lawyer Mentoring Program, please visit the Commission on Professionalism.

• Swearing In Ceremony for new attorneys, please contact the Office of Bar Admissions at Admissions@sc.ohio.gov, or visit the website.

An attorney registered for corporate counsel status may perform legal services in Ohio solely for a nongovernmental employer as long as the attorney is an employee of a qualified employer. A corporate attorney may not practice before any court or agency in Ohio on behalf of his or her employer or any person except himself or herself, unless granted leave of the court or agency.

A qualified employer is defined as a nongovernmental employer, the business of which is lawful and consists of activities other than the practice of law or the provision of legal services.  A qualified employer shall include the employing entity, or its organizational affiliates, including entities that control, are controlled by, or are under common control with the employer; employees, officers, and directors of such entities. Gov. Bar R. VI, Sec. 6(A)(2).

An attorney who is admitted to the practice of law in another state, the District of Columbia, or a U.S. territory, but not in Ohio, and who is employed by a qualified employer and has a systematic and continuous presence in Ohio as permitted in Prof. Cond. R. 5.5(d)(1), shall register for corporate counsel status.

An attorney may apply for corporate counsel status registration by submitting the following (which can be requested from the Office of Attorney Services by emailing attyreg@sc.ohio.gov):

Certificate of Registration;
A Corporate Counsel Questionnaire;
An Affidavit of Employer; and
A non-refundable $500 application fee and the applicable registration fee, to:

Office of Attorney Services
Supreme Court of Ohio
65 South Front Street, 5th Floor
Columbus, Ohio, 43215-3431

Attorneys also must submit a certificate of good standing from each jurisdiction in which the attorney has ever been admitted. The certificate must be dated no earlier than 60 days prior to submission of the corporate counsel application.

The registration fee is determined by the date the attorney began or will begin to provide legal services for a nongovernmental employer (“Start of Ohio Practice” date) as provided by the attorney and verified by the employer. (Please see Fee Schedule, below.)

Fee Schedule for 2021/2023 Biennium

• Start of Ohio Practice date: Sept. 1, 2021 - Aug. 31, 2022 - $350
• Start of Ohio Practice date: Sept. 1, 2022 - April 30, 2023 - $175
• Start of Ohio Practice date: May 1, 2023 - Aug. 31, 2023 - No Fee

Fee Schedule for 2023/2025 Biennium

• Start of Ohio Practice date: Sept. 1, 2023 - Aug. 31, 2024 - $400
• Start of Ohio Practice date: Sept. 1, 2024 - April 30, 2025 - $200
• Start of Ohio Practice date: May 1, 2025 - Aug. 31, 2025 - No Fee

To avoid a $100 late fee, corporate counsel status registrations must be received by the Office of Attorney Services within 30 days of the attorney’s Start of Ohio Practice date.

An attorney admitted to the practice of law in Ohio is not eligible for corporate counsel status registration. Furthermore, corporate counsel status registration does not apply to an attorney admitted to the practice of law in another state, in the District of Columbia, or a U.S. territory, but not in Ohio, who is employed by or associated with, or a partner in a law firm. Until such attorney is admitted to the practice of law in Ohio, the attorney shall not practice law in Ohio, hold himself or herself out as authorized to practice law in Ohio, or practice before any nonfederal court or agency in Ohio on behalf of any person, except himself or herself, unless granted leave of the court or agency. The law firm may include the name of the attorney on the letterhead only if the letterhead includes a designation that the attorney is not admitted in Ohio.

Yes. An attorney registered for corporate counsel status is required to comply with continuing legal education requirements for attorneys on active status.

If you are admitted to the practice of law in another state, in the District of Columbia, or a U.S. territory, but not in Ohio, and you perform legal services in Ohio for your employer and you fail to register for corporate counsel status within 180 days of providing legal services in Ohio or you do not qualify for such registration, you shall be referred for investigation of the unauthorized practice of law and you may be precluded from applying for admission without examination.

An attorney registered for corporate counsel status shall file Notice of Termination of Corporate Counsel Status with the Office of Attorney Services in writing upon termination of employment with the employer.

Please refer to Gov. Bar R. VI , Sec. 6, or contact the Office of Attorney Services by telephone (614.387.9320) or email.