***ALL ATTORNEY LICENSING FILINGS MUST BE DONE ELECTRONICALLY.***

If you are an attorney admitted in Vermont, you should submit attorney licensing filings through the Attorney Portal, instructions for which can be found here.  If you are having trouble submitting your filing through the Portal, or if you are an attorney not admitted in Vermont, you should submit attorney licensing flings through eFiling, instructions for which can be found here

 

The licensing of attorneys in Vermont is governed primarily by Administrative Order No. 41, which includes provisions for each licensing status available to attorneys, as well as for initial licensure, license renewal, pro hac vice licensure, and license relinquishment.

 

If you are not admitted to the Bar of the Vermont Supreme Court and would like to apply for admission, see the Admission to the Vermont Bar page.

Licensing for Newly Admitted Attorneys

If you are an attorney licensing for the first time, you must complete and submit the certification of oath and the Attorney Licensing Statement, both of which will be provided to you by the Office of Attorney Licensing after you have been approved for admission by the Vermont Supreme Court.

The oath must be administered by a justice of the Vermont Supreme Court, Vermont Superior Court judge, Vermont probate judge, Vermont magistrate, Vermont assistant judge, clerk or deputy of the Court, or clerk or court operations manager of the Vermont Superior Court; or a justice, judge, or other equivalent judicial officer of another U.S. jurisdiction.  To qualify to administer the oath, the justice/judge/magistrate/judicial officer cannot be retired.

You will receive your license card within two weeks after submission of the Attorney Licensing Statement and certification of oath.

After receiving your license card, you must comply with the email reporting requirements specified in Administrative Order No. 44.  You will also be subject to post-admission first-year requirements as well as the general mandatory continuing legal education requirements applicable to all attorneys.

First-Year Requirements for Newly Admitted Attorneys

Learn about about the first-year CLE and mentorship requirements for newly admitted attorneys.

Attorney License Renewal and Relinquishment

All licensed attorneys, including those on Inactive status, must renew their license to practice law every two years on or before June 30 or be subject to administrative suspension of their license.  (If you do not know your reporting year, please see the list of attorneys in good standing, below.)  When it is time to renew your license, you will receive a reminder email at the email address you have given in the Attorney Portal.

To renew your license, you must file an Attorney Licensing Statement and pay the licensing fee through the Attorney Portal.

As part of the renewal process, you must certify that you are in compliance with the Rules for Mandatory Continuing Legal Education.  For more information on those Rules, please visit the Mandatory Continuing Legal Education page.

If you wish to retire from the practice of law or otherwise relinquish your license, you should submit the Notice of License Relinquishment through the Attorney Portal.  Alternatively, you can complete the Notice of License Relinquishment form below and submit it either through eFiling or via email to the Office of Attorney Licensing, JUD.AttyLicensing@vermont.gov.

Changes to Licensing Status (including Reinstatement from Administrative Suspension)

Change in Licensing Status

If you wish to change your licensing status in the middle of a reporting period, please submit a Request for Change in Licensing Status (below) via eFiling, instructions for which can be found here.

Note that if you are seeking to change to Active status from Inactive status, you are subject to the following:

MCLE Requirement: If you have been on Inactive status for the last three years or more or are on Special Waiver status (you previously changed to Inactive status prior to completing the MCLE requirement for the reporting period), you must complete the full MCLE requirement described in Rule 3 of the Rules for Mandatory Continuing Legal Education (available here) within the two years immediately preceding the date that you wish to become Active.

Fees: You must pay $250 (the difference between the Active fee and the Inactive fee).

Reinstatement from Administrative Suspension
If you wish to reinstate your license from administrative suspension, please send an email requesting the change (with a requested effective date) to the Office of Attorney Licensing at JUD.AttyLicensing@vermont.gov.  We will respond and detail the steps you will need to take to reinstate your license.

Pro Hac Vice Licensure

If you are licensed and in good standing in at least one other state or the District of Columbia and are not currently suspended or disbarred in any state or the District of Columbia, you may obtain a pro hac vice license to appear in a Vermont court in a single case.  To do so, complete the Pro Hac Vice Application:

and submit it, along with an original Certificate of Good Standing (dated within three months of the Pro Hac Vice Application) and the $200 fee, through eFiling.  Instructions on how to use eFiling can be found here: Attorney Licensing eFiling Guide.

Within ten (10) business days, a pro hac vice licensing card (pdf) will be emailed to you as well as to the Vermont sponsoring attorney.  The licensing card must be filed in the court in which the case is pending along with a motion to allow the pro hac vice appearance by your sponsoring attorney. The court will notify you once the sponsoring attorney's motion is granted. See V.R.C.P. 79.1(e), V.R.Cr.P. 44.2(b), V.R.F.P. 15(e), V.R.P.P. 79.1(d), and V.R.A.P. 45.1(e) on the Vermont Statutes Unannotated and Vermont Court Rules LexisNexis site.

If your case is appealed, you do not have to pay another pro hac vice fee to appear in the Supreme Court. However, the Vermont sponsoring attorney must file a motion in the Supreme Court to allow your pro hac vice appearance there. See V.R.A.P. 45.1(e) on the Vermont Statutes Unannotated and Vermont Court Rules LexisNexis site.

Pro Bono Emeritus Licensure

If you are admitted in Vermont or any other U.S. jurisdiction and wish to “semi-retire” from the practice of law, you can do so through Pro Bono Emeritus licensure.  This limited license allows you to practice law for or on behalf of persons of limited means under the auspices of a nonprofit organization, without fee or expectation of fee.  Licensing fees and mandatory continuing legal education requirements are reduced for Pro Bono Emeritus licensees.  Also, attorneys admitted in other states can obtain a Pro Bono Emeritus license without getting admitted to the Vermont bar.

For more information on the pro bono emeritus licensing rule, see Section 11 of Administrative Order No. 41.

If you are admitted to the Vermont bar and wish to change to Pro Bono Emeritus Status, you should file a request for status change, as described above.

If you are not admitted to the Vermont bar and wish to be licensed in Vermont as a Pro Bono Emeritus attorney, you should complete the Pro Bono Emeritus license application:

and submit it, along with an original Certificate of Good Standing (dated within three months of the Application) and the $75 fee, through eFiling.  Instructions on how to use eFiling can be found here: Attorney Licensing eFiling Guide.

For more information on pro bono opportunities, visit the Vermont Bar Association’s page on pro bono opportunities and its list of pro bono programs, or call Mary Ashcroft, VBA Legal Access Coordinator, at (802) 223-2020.  You can also call Sam Abel-Palmer, Executive Director of Law Line Vermont, at (802) 383-2213.

Appearance by a Legal Intern

A person who is not yet licensed to practice law in Vermont may appear as legal counsel in a Vermont court (with possible restrictions), if certain eligibility requirements are met.  Those requirements, along with the rules pertaining to the authorized activities of the legal intern and the responsibilities of the supervising attorney, are laid out in Part VI of the Rules of Admission.  The Rules of Admission are available here: https://www.vermontjudiciary.org/attorneys/admission-vermont-bar.

Legal interns who meet the eligibility requirements and wish to appear on behalf of a Vermont state agency can fill out and submit the following to the requisite court:

Legal interns who meet the eligibility requirements and wish to appear on behalf of a client other than a Vermont state agency can fill out and submit the following to the requisite court:

Attorneys in Good Standing

A list of all attorneys in good standing is available below.  Note that  all licenses expire on June 30 of the renewal year listed on the report.

Certificates of Good Standing

Certificate of Good Standing/Certificate Suitable for Framing

A Certificate of Good Standing will certify that an attorney is not suspended or disbarred and is current on licensing fees and CLE credits. The Certificate will also include the attorney’s date of admission. 

To request a Certificate of Good Standing or a Certificate Suitable for Framing, you should file a request and pay the appropriate fee through the Attorney Portal.  If you are having trouble filing your request through the Portal, you can complete the appropriate form below:

and submit it, along with the appropriate fee, through eFiling.  Instructions on how to use eFiling can be found here: Attorney Licensing eFiling Guide.  Certificates can be either mailed or emailed to you, but will not be sent via certified mail.

Disciplinary History

If you need your disciplinary history, you must send a request by email to jud.attylicensing@vermont.gov or by mail to:

Brandy Sickles
Office of Attorney Licensing
Costello Courthouse
32 Cherry Street, Suite 213
Burlington, VT 05401

There is no fee for a disciplinary history.

Fees

The fees associated with attorney licensing can be found on the fee schedule approved by the Court Administrator’s Office. 

Limited Emergency Pro Bono Law License (LEPL) for Inactive and Non-Resident Attorneys

Limited Emergency Pro Bono Law License (LEPL) for Inactive and Non-Resident Attorneys

 

The purpose of Vermont Supreme Court Emergency Order Promulgating Administrative Order No. 54 is to increase access to legal services to flood victims by relaxing the court rules that apply to the attorney licensing process in certain circumstances. In particular, the emergency order eases the process to obtain an active law license for two groups: (1) Vermont lawyers with inactive law licenses and (2) out-of-state lawyers. A “Limited Emergency Pro Bono Law License” authorizes a licensee to provide pro bono legal services solely for matters related to the Flood Emergency until such time that the Court directs. Administrative Order 54 is linked HERE