Ohio
Common questions
Can a lawyer be admitted in Ohio without taking the bar exam (admission on motion)?
Admission on motion available. Active practice at least 1,000 hrs/yr for 5 of past 7 yrs (part-time option effective Apr. 1, 2024); JD from U.S. Dept. of Education-recognized accreditor; foreign-educated need 30 credit hrs at ABA school within 48 months; citizen or resident alien; NCBE character investigation and local bar interview; fee $1,500 plus NCBE fees; MPRE not mentioned
Does Ohio accept a transferred Uniform Bar Exam score?
Accepts transfer: 270+ within 5 years; MPRE 85+; Ohio Law Component (OLC) 80%+; fee $750; character and fitness approval
What are the pro hac vice requirements and fee in Ohio state courts?
Local counsel: Yes: active Ohio attorney in good standing who agreed to associate must be named in motion Fee: $500 annual registration with Supreme Court of Ohio
Admission on motion
- Requirements
- Active practice at least 1,000 hrs/yr for 5 of past 7 yrs (part-time option effective Apr. 1, 2024); JD from U.S. Dept. of Education-recognized accreditor; foreign-educated need 30 credit hrs at ABA school within 48 months; citizen or resident alien; NCBE character investigation and local bar interview; fee $1,500 plus NCBE fees; MPRE not mentioned
- Years of practice
- at least 1,000 hours per year for five out of the last seven years
- Reciprocity
- Ohio does not require reciprocity
- Reciprocity states
- None: stated in the source documents (stated in source)
- Fee
- $1,500
- Rule
- Gov. Bar R. I, Sec. 10 (per search; not opened)
- UBE score transfer
- Accepts transfer: 270+ within 5 years; MPRE 85+; Ohio Law Component (OLC) 80%+; fee $750; character and fitness approval
- UBE minimum
- 270
- UBE score window
- within five years of the date of your application
- MPRE
- 85, no time parameters within which score must be earned
- Other routes
- Temporary admission for military or military spouse attorney
- Foreign attorneys
- Yes, foreign-educated applicants eligible with ECE/WES course-by-course evaluation
- Military spouse
- Yes, temporary admission available for military or military spouse attorneys
State-court pro hac vice
- Rule
- Gov. Bar R. XII (pro hac vice registration)
- Local counsel
- Yes: active Ohio attorney in good standing who agreed to associate must be named in motion
- Limits
- No more than 3 new proceedings per calendar year (appeals and consolidations of previously represented matters excluded)
- Fee
- $500 annual registration with Supreme Court of Ohio
- Procedure
- Online PHV portal: Affidavit of Applicant, then Certificate of PHV Registration (valid calendar year); file certificate, Motion for Permission to Appear Pro Hac Vice, and Affidavit of Out-of-State Attorney with tribunal; file Notice of Permission with timestamped order in PHV account within 30 days; renew by Jan. 31
Language from the source documents
13 quoted passages
On motion
Have primarily engaged in the active practice of law for at least 1,000 hours per year for five of the past seven years;supremecourt.ohio.gov
On-motion rule
Pursuant to Gov. Bar R. I, Section 10, an attorney who is admitted to the practice of law in another jurisdiction may be eligible for admission to the Ohio Bar without examination.supremecourt.ohio.gov
UBE transfer
Uniform Bar Exam (UBE) Score Meets or exceeds 270 and earned in an administration of the UBE that occurred within 5 years of the date of your application for admission in Ohio.supremecourt.ohio.gov
Other routes
An applicant may apply for temporary admission to the practice of law in Ohio as a military or military spouse attorney pursuant to division (B) of this section if all of the following concerning the applicant apply:supremecourt.ohio.gov
Pro hac vice rule
Effective Jan. 1, 2011, out-of-state attorneys seeking permission to appear pro hac vice in an Ohio proceeding must first register with the Supreme Court of Ohio’s Bar Admissions Section pursuant to Gov. Bar R. XII .supremecourt.ohio.gov
Local counsel
Yes, Gov.Bar R. XII , Sec. 2(A)(6)(e), requires that a motion for permission to appear pro hac vice name “an active Ohio attorney, in good standing, who has agreed to associate with the out-of-state attorney.”supremecourt.ohio.gov
phv_limits
An attorney who has been granted permission to appear pro hac vice may participate in no more than three proceedings under this rule in the same calendar year the application is filed.supremecourt.ohio.gov
Years of practice
The applicant must show that they have primarily engaged in the active practice of law for at least 1,000 hours per year for five out of the last seven years.supremecourt.ohio.gov
UBE minimum score
if they have earned a UBE score that meets or exceeds the minimum score of 270 required by the Board of Bar Examiners.supremecourt.ohio.gov
UBE score window
The UBE score must be earned in an administration of the UBE that occurred within five years of the date of your application.supremecourt.ohio.gov
MPRE
Minimum passing MPRE score85 Are there any time parameters within which an MPRE score must be earned or achieved?Noncbex.org
Foreign attorneys
Applicants that obtained their undergraduate and/or law degree abroad must submit a course-by-course evaluation from either Educational Credential Evaluators (ECE) or World Education Services (WES) demonstrating that they have completed:supremecourt.ohio.gov