Certificates of Standing

What is a Certificate of Standing?

The State Bar issues a single-page Certificate of Standing to verify an attorney's name, bar number, admission date, current status, any name or status changes, and any public discipline, as of the date of the certificate. The ultimate recipient decides how long they consider the certificate valid. Note that the State Bar does not use the term "good standing" since this may vary by jurisdiction. This document is not the frameable admission certificate issued by the Office of Admissions.

Three types of certificates

  1. Standard Certificate of Standing (most commonly required)
    This certificate includes the attorney’s full name, bar number and date of admission, name or status changes (dates of inactive, not eligible, etc. status), administrative actions, and public disciplinary history. 
     
  2. Complaint Check Certificate of Standing (order only if it is specifically required by another jurisdiction)
    This is a standard Certificate of Standing with the addition of any confidential complaint information that may have been investigated against you (also called "grievance" or "disciplinary history" letter). This information is often required if you are applying for admission to another state bar, so be sure to check the wording of the instructions you have received with your application so that you order the proper type of certificate.

    We do not complete other jurisdictions' forms or questionnaires about complaint status or provide separate "disciplinary history" letters apart from our Complaint Check Certificate of Standing. Therefore, if complaint information is required for your application, order only the Complaint Check Certificate of Standing; no additional standard certificate is required.

    A complaint check certificate of standing may only be requested by the attorney who is the subject of the complaint check and will be released only with their signed authorization. For security reasons, the complaint check certificate may only be sent to another state bar or supreme court's bar examiners/admissions office or to the attorney who is the subject of the complaint check at their official private email address designated for State Bar communications, or mailing address on record with the State Bar. Complaint check certificates will not be sent to any other email or address.
     
  3. Notarized Certificate of Standing for Foreign (non-U.S.) Jurisdiction (rarely required)
    This is a standard Certificate of Standing that is notarized, as is occasionally required by foreign country jurisdictions. It is NOT required by U.S. state bars or supreme courts. Please allow slightly longer processing time for certificates requiring notarization.

How to order a Certificate of Standing

Order your Certificate of Standing online

Standard and Complaint Check Certificates are now electronic and will be sent via email. Notarized Certificates will continue to only be sent via U.S. Mail or UPS. 

  • Fees for Certificates of Standing are $40 per certificate.
  • Payments can be made either online by debit or credit card (U.S. or international) or by mailed check.
  • Payment is nonrefundable. Review your final order carefully.
  • If you have selected a payment option and change your mind, return to the Payment page to select another option. 
  • Electronic certificates can be printed or forwarded, so multiple orders of the same type are not necessary.
  • The online ordering site allows up to three certificate types (Standard, Complaint Check, and/or Notarized) to be ordered at a time for any one attorney and will calculate the total cost accordingly.
  • When ordering Complaint Check Certificates of Standing, follow the prompts to sign in to My State Bar Profile in order to electronically authorize your complaint check certificate. Alternatively, you can download the authorization form as instructed, then either email or mail it, as indicated, along with the required identification document.
  • You may enter separate certificate orders for more than one attorney. Select "mail check" for each and mail all their order summary pages together with one check covering their combined costs and listing all bar numbers.
  • Certificates are usually sent within 10 to 12 business days of receipt of your request. Please note that pickup option is not available.

Pay online

  • Have your credit or debit card handy when starting your online order.
  • Once you click pay online, you will leave the State Bar website and enter a third-party payment site. For security reasons, the payment site may time out due to inactivity, and you will have to fill out the order application again.
  • After you have paid and the payment is processed, a confirmation notice will appear on your computer. Please print out this confirmation note–it will serve as your receipt.

Pay by mailed check

  • If you select the option to mail a check, an order summary page will display. Please print this out and send along with your check. Keep a copy of this page as a receipt.
  • Please include all charges shown as your “Total Cost” in your payment check. Make the check payable to the State Bar of California and note your bar number on it.

If you have questions about the procedure for obtaining State Bar Certificates of Standing, fill out the Licensee Record and Compliance Inquiry form or call 888-800-3400.


California Supreme Court Certificate of Standing

Some jurisdictions, such as the U.S. Supreme Court, may require a “certificate from the highest court you are a [licensee] of” or indicate that it should not be from the State Bar. These kinds of certificates are obtained directly from the California Supreme Court, with a written request and a $1 fee (dollar bill or check payable to Clerk of the Supreme Court of California). Send your request, payment, and self-addressed stamped envelope to:

California Supreme Court
350 McAllister Street, Room 1295
San Francisco, CA 94102

For questions call the Supreme Court at 415-865-7000.