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ALABAMA STATE BAR ADMISSION OFFICE

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Bar License Issuance Procedure

Applicants often ask how long it takes to receive their bar license after the Admissions Department approves their application. Below is an outline of the certification and license issuance process.

  • Once the Admissions Department approves the applicant for admission, the Admissions Department submits the applicant’s name to the Clerk of the Supreme Court of Alabama.
  • The Clerk’s office adds the applicant’s name to its Roll of Attorneys and mails an admission certificate directly to the applicant. (The Certificate of Admission, which is the frameable document with the signature of each justice, is available upon request. To request this frameable document, please click, Certificate Request.)
  • The Supreme Court of Alabama then returns written confirmation to the Admissions Department that the Court indeed admitted the applicant.
  • The Admissions Department then enters the applicant’s date of admission into the applicant’s file and provides the newly admitted lawyer’s name to the Alabama State Bar’s IT Department.
  • The Alabama State Bar’s IT Department issues a bar identification number via email, directly to the admittee. This occurs approximately 7 to 14 days after the Admissions Department certifies the applicant’s name to the Supreme Court of Alabama.
  • Included with the bar identification number is a welcoming message from the Alabama State Bar’s Licensing and Regulatory Department describing the bar license fee requirements, MCLE requirements, and member benefits.
  • The licensing year runs from October 1 to September 30 of every year. Anyone admitted after October 1 is not assessed the licensing fees until the beginning of the next licensing year, after their date of admission. Payment of the fee generates the license/bar card. In the meantime, a newly admitted lawyer may request a certificate of good standing, through their Alabama State Bar member dashboard, anytime proof of licensure is required. New admittees are fully licensed and eligible to practice in Alabama.
  • Newly admitted lawyers are exempt from the MCLE requirements through December 31 of their year of admission.
  • To obtain an Alabama Attorney Code for state court filings, please contact the Administrative Office of Courts at 866-954-9411 (Select option 1 and then option 3).