APPLICATION & REGISTRATION INSTRUCTIONS

To qualify for admission to the US Supreme Court Bar, an applicant must have been admitted to practice in the highest court of a US State, Commonwealth, Territory or Possession, or the District of Columbia for a period of at least three years immediately before the date of application; must not have been the subject of any adverse disciplinary action pronounced or in effect during that three-year period, and must appear to the Court to be of good moral and professional character.

ABA membership is not required. Only lawyers who are not already members of the U.S. Supreme Court bar may apply.

How to Apply

Lawyers applying for bar admission to the Supreme Court of the United States are required to download the Supreme Court Bar Application, review the following information, and register on this webpage. Bar admission applicants are required to pay a $200 bar application fee. This fee is included in the $750 registration fee that you will pay when you "register now" after reviewing the below information. 

  1. Download the Application Checklist with step-by-steps instructions and a diagram to ensure you fill out the application correctly. 
  2. Download the bar application, fill it out completely, and print

    a. Please make sure to download the application from the web before filling it out to ensure that the QR code appears on the bottom right corner of the application correctly. It is recommended to first download the latest version of Adobe Reader then open the downloaded bar application from Adobe.

    b. If you have trouble getting the QR code to appear, try downloading the Sample Application with QR Code and replace the prefilled data with your own.
  3. Request a Certificate of Good Standing from the state supreme court or highest court of the state you are licensed in (not your state bar). It must be issued less than one year from the date the application is submitted.
  4. Find two sponsors to sign or e-sign your application. Sponsors are lawyers previously admitted to the U.S. Supreme Court Bar who are not related to the applicant by blood or marriage. 
  5. Once completed, mail (overnight or certified mail is recommended) your materials to arrive by March 31, 2026, to:   
    Attn: 2026 Supreme Court Trip
    American Bar Association
    Elle Wiles - Senior Lawyers Division
    321 North Clark Street, 21st Floor
    Chicago, IL 60654
  6. Click "Register Now" below to complete your registration and pay the $750 fee. 

Please note:

These instructions differ on this webpage from the ones found on the website of the Supreme Court of the United States.

Why do the instructions differ?

The ABA Senior Lawyers Division was assigned a specific deadline by the U.S. Supreme Court Bar Admissions Office for submitting original forms, certificates and bar application fees for the 50 lawyers to be admitted on June 4th.

A Movant will be provided for you.

Bar applicants will not need to ask a member of the U.S. Supreme Court bar to serve as the Movant during the bar admission ceremony.

Cannot locate a second sponsor?

Search www.lawyers.com for the names of lawyers you know in your community, place of worship, through practice, law school, social events, in government office, etc., who are members of the U.S. Supreme Court bar. ABA staff are not allowed to assist with locating a sponsor to sign the bar application.

More questions?

Review our FAQs.