Fifth Circuit Seal
Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals
Hon. Jennifer W. Elrod, Chief Judge
Lyle W. Cayce, Clerk of Court

Application and Oath for Admission

How to apply for admission — or readmission — to the bar of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.

Effective June 24, 2019, the Fifth Circuit no longer accepts paper applications. All admissions and readmissions must be submitted electronically, following the steps below.

New Admission

For attorneys applying for membership in the Fifth Circuit Bar for the first time. New admissions are submitted through PACER.

  1. Complete the Application and Oath for New Admissions form.
  2. Obtain a Certificate of Good Standing from a federal or state court or bar of which you are a member.  Certificates of Good Standing must be issued within 30 days of the application date.
  3. Log in to PACER and register for admission to the Fifth Circuit bar. If you do not already have a PACER account, you must register first. Follow the instructions for submitting an attorney bar application via PACER.
  4. A certificate confirming your admission to the Fifth Circuit Bar will be sent to you by U.S. Mail.

A Certificate of Good Standing is not required if you were initially admitted to a state bar or state supreme court within 30 days of your application, or if you are an attorney working for the U.S. Government or U.S. Judiciary. Newly admitted attorneys should provide documentation of bar admission.

Readmission

For former members who did not timely renew. Readmissions are submitted through CM/ECF and require an active Fifth Circuit e-filer account — if you do not have one, follow the New Admission process above instead.

  1. Complete the Application and Oath for Readmission form.
  2. Obtain a Certificate of Good Standing from a federal or state court or bar of which you are a member.
  3. Log in to CM/ECF. From the Utilities menu, select Bar Admission, then follow the on-screen instructions to upload your Application and Oath and Certificate of Good Standing. Submit and pay the fee at PACER.
  4. A certificate confirming your readmission to the Fifth Circuit Bar will be sent to you by U.S. Mail.