The QR code on the SCOTUS Bar Application is required, with no exceptions. The QR code is embedded in the form in the bottom right corner of the first and second pages and will expand as data is entered. The latest Adobe Reader 7.0.5 software must be used when downloading the application.
Be sure to write your name, city, and state on the application as you wish it to be listed on your Certificate, as that is how it will be recorded onto the official Court record and cannot be altered.
A positive response to Questions 12 (a)(b)(c)(d) requires additional documentation. Please submit this documentation when submitting your completed application to the HLS Alumni Relations Office.
Enter your First Name and Last Name on the top of the back page electronically.
The applicant signature for certification may be inked or scanned.
Application signature for certification on the second page of the SCOTUS Application for Admissions to Practice Form" />
Statement of Sponsors must be completed electronically.
Sponsor signatures may be inked or scanned.
The office addresses for the sponsors must be completed electronically.
Applicant signature for the Oath of Admission section may be inked or scanned.
Leave the motion for admission section blank, as our group will participate in open court.
Open the SCOTUS Bar Application via the link provided in your confirmation email, or open from here. Download or Save the PDF from your browser to your desktop. Do not complete the form in your web browser.
View a Sample Application. Once you complete your application, your application QR codes should be of similar size to the Sample Application.
Yes. You must put your preferred name in the first box on the first page of the application. Your choice may include nicknames, married names, maiden names, etc. However, once the application is submitted to the Court, it is recorded and may not be altered.
The standard certificate evidencing admission contains the following words “ In the year of the Lord , two thousand…” An alternative certificate omits the underlined words.
You only need one Certificate of Good Standing from the highest state court. You may choose which certificate to obtain, but note that you must have been a member of that state/commonwealth/territory/possession/the District of Columbia Bar for at least three years.
Your Certificate of Good Standing must come from the highest state court, and it varies by state/commonwealth/territory/possession/the District of Columbia. Do not submit a Bar Association Certificate instead of the clerk’s certificate. The only exceptions are for the District of Columbia Court of Appeals (DC Bar) and the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York: 1st, 2nd, 3rd, & 4th Division. Electronic/digital certificates with visible seals will be accepted, though the Admissions Offices recommends obtaining and submitting the original paper certificate.
All paperwork must be dated within one year before the Swearing In Ceremony. This includes Certificates of Good Standing and signatures of application sponsors.
No. You must be barred in a U.S. state/commonwealth/territory/possession/the District of Columbia or have reciprocity with a state bar.
If you are applying for admission to the Bar with HLS, you will be registering for the entire event and be present in Washington, D.C., for the ceremony. However, if you are uninterested in the ceremony, you can apply independently to the U.S. Supreme Court Bar. Directions for applying on your own can be found here.
You can use the Harvard Law School alumni directory function in Amicus to connect with alumni who are members of the U.S. Supreme Court Bar.
No, your sponsors do not have to be present – unless you want them to be your guest. Existing members of the SCOTUS Bar may be able to attend through special access to a SCOTUS Bar member-only section of the courtroom. Existing Bar members should contact the SCOTUS Admissions Office to confirm the availability of this benefit.
You would need to be admitted in a separate motion at the Court or by written motion in absentia. In either case, you could not participate with the HLS alumni group in the Swearing In Ceremony.
The $200 application fee is payable to the U.S. Supreme Court to process the Bar Admission application. This fee will be collected in your online registration form through the HLS Alumni Relations Office. No additional fees are associated with this program.
No. Admission is perpetual.If you can no longer attend, immediately alert the HLS Alumni Relations Office . The HLS Alumni Relations Office will notify the Court of your inability to participate in person with the HLS alumni group and how you plan to proceed with admission. Participants must choose how to proceed: A) Proceed via written motion with the HLS alumni group; no further action is needed. B) Apply independently of the HLS alumni group as an individual. The HLS Alumni Relations Office will mail back your completed application and issue a refund ($200 application fee paid in the registration form). Additional details are here. The HLS Alumni Relations Office can only issue refunds or return applications if notified of cancelation before February 28, 2025. Should an applicant not be able to attend and alert the HLS Alumni Relations Office after March 1, 2025, option A will be exercised for the applicant.
No. We recommend that you take alternative transportation to the Court. The nearest public parking is the Union Station Parking Garage (50 Massachusetts Avenue NE, Washington, D.C., ~ half-mile away).
There is no dress code required for guests.
Per Court rules, each person being sworn into the U.S. Supreme Court Bar is allowed one guest who can sit and witness the Swearing In Ceremony in the main courtroom. The guest policy is set and at the discretion of the Court. Should guest policies change, the HLS Alumni Relations Office will notify applicants.
Yes. No guest under the age of six may attend the Swearing In Ceremony in the main courtroom.No, all HLS alumni applicants and their guests must arrive together at the designated time provided by the HLS Alumni Relations Office.
Yes. Be prepared to go through multiple security screenings upon entering the building and the main courtroom. The HLS alumni participants and guests will move through these screenings together.
You may bring personal items into the building, but all items must be checked into a private locker before entering our breakfast reception room and the main courtroom. Electronic devices are allowed in the building but must be checked into a private locker. Bringing bags at most 12 inches x 12 inches is advised to ensure items fit into the locker.
Following the Swearing In Ceremony, the HLS alumni applicants and guests will depart the main courtroom and return to the lockers to retrieve personal items before exiting the building.
No, taking a camera, cell phone, tablet, smartwatch, laptop, etc. (anything with a recording function) is prohibited in the main courtroom. However, electronics are allowed in the building but must be placed into your private locker before breakfast in the reception room. The HLS Alumni Relations Office will provide a photographer to capture images before and after the ceremony on the event day.
The HLS Alumni Relations Office will provide a detailed briefing before the event to prepare you and your guest for the day’s activities. Arrival/departure time and location, details on breakfast at the Court, ceremony expectations, and obtaining your SCOTUS Bar Certificate of Membership will be communicated in that briefing. All event details are subject to change by the SCOTUS and its Admissions Office.
