Eligibility Requirements for Applications for Admission on Motion by Qualified Out-of-State Attorneys
In accordance to C.R.C.P. 203.1 those applying for licensure to practice law in Colorado must adhere to the following General Provisions:
- Application Forms. All applications for a license to practice law in Colorado shall be made on forms furnished by the Office of Attorney Admissions. The application forms shall require such information as is necessary to determine whether the applicant meets the requirements of these rules, together with such additional information as is necessary for the efficient administration of these rules. Applicants must answer all questions completely, and must provide all required documentation. The Office of Attorney Admissions may, in its discretion, reject an incomplete application or place an incomplete application on hold until all required information is produced.
- Confidentiality. Information contained on applications for a license to practice law in Colorado shall be deemed confidential and may be released only under the conditions for release of confidential information established by C.R.C.P. 211.1.
- Duty to Supplement. (a) Applicants must immediately update the application with respect to all matters inquired of. This duty to supplement continues in effect up to the time an applicant takes the oath of admission. Updates must be reported in a manner consistent with the Office of Attorney Admissions’ requirements. (b) Failure to timely supplement a pending application may result in the denial of the application, a review of such failure as a character and fitness issue, or if the person has already been admitted to the practice of law in Colorado, discipline or revocation of the person’s license to practice law.
- Fees. All applicants must pay a fee in an amount fixed by the Supreme Court. The fee must be paid when the application is submitted.
- Admission to the Bar. An applicant who qualifies for admission under this rule, and who meets the character and fitness requirements set forth in C.R.C.P. 208, shall be admitted to the practice of law in Colorado in the manner prescribed by these rules.
- Disbarred Out-of-State Attorneys. A person who has been disbarred from the practice of law in another jurisdiction, or who has resigned pending disciplinary proceedings in another jurisdiction, other than reciprocal action based upon a Colorado disbarment, is not eligible to apply for admission to the practice of law in Colorado until the person has been readmitted in the jurisdiction in which the person was disbarred or resigned.
- Suspended Out-of-State Attorneys. A person who has been suspended for disciplinary purposes from the practice of law in another jurisdiction, other than reciprocal discipline based upon Colorado discipline, is not eligible to apply for admission to the practice of law in Colorado until the period of suspension has expired and the person has been reinstated to the practice of law in the jurisdiction in which the person was suspended.
- Mandatory Professionalism Course. All applicants under these rules, unless otherwise exempted, must complete the required course on professionalism presented by the Office of Attorney Regulation Counsel in cooperation with the Colorado Bar Association - CLE. Continuing legal education credit will be applied to the attorneys’ first compliance period pursuant to C.R.C.P. 250.2(1). Any fees received for the course shall be divided equally between the Colorado Bar Association - CLE and the Office of Attorney Regulation Counsel to pay for administering the course and to fund the attorney regulation system. Credit for completion of the professionalism course will be valid for eighteen months following completion of the course. Applicants under C.R.C.P. 205 temporary practice rules are not required to take this course.
In accordance with C.R.C.P. 203.2(1), admission On Motion is available to those applicants meeting the following qualifications:
- Have been admitted to practice law in another jurisdiction of the United States through examination;
- Hold a J.D. or LL.B. degree from a law school approved by the Council of the Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar of the American Bar Association at the time the applicant matriculated or graduated;
- Have been primarily engaged in the active practice of law in one or more other jurisdictions in the United States for three of the five years immediately preceding the date upon which the application is filed;
- Establish that the applicant is currently a member in good standing in all jurisdictions where admitted;
- Establish that the applicant is not currently subject to attorney discipline or the subject of a pending disciplinary matter in any jurisdiction, and is current with all continuing legal education requirements;
- Establish that the applicant possesses the character and fitness required of all applicants for admission to the practice of law in Colorado as set forth in C.R.C.P. 208; and
- Pay the required application fee.
*Attorneys who were licensed on the basis of diploma privilege are not eligible to file for admission On Motion. To be eligible an applicant must have passed a bar exam.
*A bar exam can be the Uniform Bar Examination (UBE) or a state-issued exam.
*United States jurisdictions includes the District of Columbia.
*The rules for On Motion applicants were recently updated and effective July 1, 2021.
On Motion applicants may be required to receive a passing score on the Multistate Professional Responsibilities Exam (MPRE). See C.R.C.P. 203.2(5). Click
here for more information.
Successful completion of the six-hour course on professionalism (within six months of admission to practice law in Colorado) presented by the Office of Attorney Regulation Counsel in cooperation with the Colorado Bar Association. See C.R.C.P. 203.3(4). Click here for more information.
Pursuant to C.R.C.P. 211.3(1) and (2), an On Motion applicant must “take the oath of admission prescribed by the Supreme Court” no more than eighteen months following the application is approved by the Colorado Supreme Court.