Pro Hac Vice Information

Under Gov.Bar R. XII, the pro hac vice registration requirements apply in proceedings involving “an adjudicative matter pending before a tribunal.” A tribunal is defined as a “court, legislative body, administrative agency, or other body acting in an adjudicative capacity.” Acting in an adjudicative capacity occurs when “a neutral official, after the presentation of evidence or legal argument by a party or parties, will render a binding legal judgment directly affecting a party’s interests in a particular matter.”

No, the Supreme Court of Ohio does not have jurisdiction over federal matters. The federal court’s local rules should be consulted for pro hac vice procedure in that court.

Online registration is available on the PHV Portal. Step-by-step instructions for online registration are available.

After creating an account, the attorney can submit a registration application in the portal. The attorney is required to upload an Affidavit of Applicant along with the registration application. The Affidavit of Applicant must include the attorney’s jurisdictions of licensure, be properly signed and notarized, and it must contain the same information provided on the online registration.

After the Office of Bar Admissions approves the application and affidavit, a Certificate of PHV Registration will be issued via email, enabling the attorney to seek permission to appear in Ohio matters.

Effective November 2024, attorneys are required to include their SSN as a unique account identifier. There is no way to bypass this requirement. The SSN provided must belong to the attorney seeking pro hac vice registration and should never belong to the attorney’s support staff. The number will be stored in a hidden format for security purposes, and Supreme Court of Ohio staff will only be able to view the last four digits for account verification purposes.

The attorney’s office email address on file will be the primary email used, and it must be unique. The attorney is also encouraged to add a residential email address as a secondary method of account validation should login credentials ever be forgotten, however, the secondary email must also be unique. Attorneys are cautioned against listing their assistant’s email address on their account.

Attorneys are required to file an Affidavit of Applicant with their online PHV registration. That affidavit should not be confused with the Affidavit of Out-of-State Attorney, which is submitted to the local tribunal along with a motion for permission to appear pro hac vice.

Pursuant to Gov.Bar R. XII, Section 2(A)(5), only an attorney representing an amicus curiae in support of an indigent defendant in a criminal matter may request a fee waiver. The fee waiver may be requested using the registration application in the PHV portal. If granted, the waiver does not apply to other proceedings in which the attorney requests permission to appear pro hac vice.

Yes, Gov.Bar R. XII, Section 2(A)(7), 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.”

After the Office of Bar Admissions approves a registration application, the attorney will receive an email confirmation with a downloadable Certificate of Pro Hac Vice Registration. That certificate is valid for the entire calendar year and will be used when seeking permission to appear in Ohio matters during that year. The email is sent to the attorney’s office email address on file. The certificate is also available to download in the attorney’s PHV account on the PHV Registration page.

No, the out-of-state attorney must still file a motion for permission to appear pro hac vice with the local tribunal, and the tribunal ultimately determines whether the motion should be granted or denied.  The motion must include the Certificate of Pro Hac Vice registration and an Affidavit of Out-of-State Attorney. Note: This affidavit is not the same as the Affidavit of Applicant that is filed with the Supreme Court of Ohio, Office of Bar Admissions.

Pursuant to Gov.Bar R. XII, Section 2(A)(6), an attorney may receive permission to appear in no more than three new proceedings in a single calendar year. Appeals, transfers, and consolidations do not count toward the annual limitation if the attorney participated in the initial proceeding. A case that carried over from the past year also does not count towards the annual limitation

No. In Ohio, pro hac vice certification is valid for the calendar year and a certificate enables the attorney to appear in up to three new proceedings for every year of registration.

Questions pertaining to your motion or the proceeding itself must be directed to the appropriate clerk’s office or the local tribunal itself. The Office of Bar Admissions is unable to answer any questions regarding local court procedure.

Yes. Attorneys seeking permission to appear pro hac vice in a Supreme Court case must comply with both Gov.Bar R. XII, which governs pro hac vice registration, and Rule 2.02 of the Supreme Court Rules of Practice, which governs admission pro hac vice in cases before the Court. The Office of Bar Admissions oversees pro hac vice registration, while the Supreme Court Office of the Clerk receives motions for permission to appear pro hac vice (for Supreme Court cases only). If the case is not before the Supreme Court of Ohio, the motion for permission to appear is filed with the tribunal that will hear the case.

If the local tribunal grants the motion for permission to appear pro hac vice, the attorney must file a Notice of Permission in their online account and upload a copy of the court order within 30 days of the order being granted. Failure to do so will result in the attorney’s automatic exclusion from the practice of law in Ohio, and a petition will be required for reinstatement. See Gov.Bar R. XII, Section 4.

Yes. Gov.Bar R. XII, Section 5(B), requires an attorney to notify the Office of Bar Admissions by the renewal deadline (January 31) if they were granted permission to withdraw or if a case concluded in the prior year. Failure to do so will result in the attorney's automatic exclusion from the practice of law in Ohio and a petition requesting reinstatement will be required.

Notice of conclusion is provided in the PHV portal by going to Cases on File, selecting ‘Edit’ next to the appropriate case, uploading a copy of the timestamped court order concluding the matter or granting the attorney's withdrawal, and listing the date that the court issued the order. Note: Attorneys must wait until the local court grants their motion to withdraw or issues a decision concluding the case to submit notice in the PHV portal; simply filing a motion is not sufficient, it must be ordered by the local court.

Yes. If an attorney continues to appear in a proceeding as of the first day of a new calendar year (January 1), the attorney shall renew their registration and pay the renewal fee through the PHV Portal by the renewal deadline of January 31. Failure to comply with this requirement will result in the attorney's automatic exclusion from the practice of law in Ohio, and a petition will be required for reinstatement. See Gov.Bar R. XII, Section 5. The Office of Bar Admissions will send an email in December with details about renewal. Note: Attorneys who are not appearing in any matters as of January 1 are not required to renew.

Attorneys who are obligated to renew for the new year must do so by January 31 in order to be timely.  Failure to comply with this requirement will result in the attorney’s automatic exclusion from the practice of law in Ohio, and a petition will be required for reinstatement. Attorneys who are not required to renew under the Rule may renew their registration at any time without penalty.

A status of “Excluded” indicates that the attorney has failed to comply with one of the requirements of Gov. Bar R. XII, and as a result, they are excluded from the practice of law in Ohio.  When an attorney is excluded, some of their access in the PHV portal is limited. Additionally, a letter of exclusion is sent to the local tribunal(s) of record informing them of the attorney’s status and the public PHV directory will reflect that the attorney is excluded. The attorney must submit a Petition for Reinstatement in order to repair their status.

If an attorney has been excluded for failing to comply with the requirements of the Rule, they must submit a petition in the PHV portal requesting reinstatement. The petition should include an explanation as to why they failed to comply with the requirement and should be accompanied by specific documentation depending on the circumstances for exclusion.

If the petition is granted, an email will be sent to the email address on file stating that the attorney is no longer excluded. The Office of Bar Admissions will also send a letter to the relevant tribunal(s) that the attorney has been reinstated. Until the petition is granted, the attorney is excluded from the practice of law in Ohio and may not appear in any Ohio matters or practice Ohio law in any way.

Yes. An approved petition will effectively leave the attorney in good standing. An attorney with an active PHV registration will return to “Registered” status, and an attorney with no active registrations will return to “Not Registered” status. If an attorney does not submit a Petition for Reinstatement, they will remain in “Excluded” status until they take the necessary steps to repair their status. The attorney’s status is visible to the public in the PHV directory.