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Bar Admission
Since 1951, over 37,000 lawyers have been admitted to membership in the Bar of the United States Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces. A lawyer who seeks admission to the Bar of the Court must be a member of the Bar of a Federal court or the highest court of a State, Territory, Commonwealth, Possession, or the District of Columbia. Practice by the Bar will be governed by Rule 15 of the Rules of Practice and Procedure of this Court.

Application for Admission to Practice | Download a Fillable PDF

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Rule 13. Qualifications to Practice

(a) No attorney may practice before the Court unless the attorney is admitted to the Bar of the Court or appears pro hac vice by leave of the Court. See Rule 38(b).

(b) To be admitted to the Bar of the Court, an attorney must be a member in good standing of the Bar of the highest court of a State, the District of Columbia, or a Territory, Commonwealth, or Possession of the United States.

(c) Each applicant must file an application for admission on the form prescribed by the Court. The application must include an application fee in an amount prescribed by Court order and a certificate of good standing from the presiding judge, clerk, or other appropriate officer of the court specified in (b) above, or the Bar of such court. The certificate of good standing must be an original, unless the jurisdiction only issues electronic certificates, and must be dated within ninety days of the date of the application.

(d) If the documents submitted demonstrate that the applicant possesses the necessary qualifications and that such applicant's private and professional character appear to be good, the Clerk notifies the applicant and he or she may be admitted without appearing in Court by subscribing a written oath or affirmation. If the applicant so elects, a member of the Bar of the Court may make an oral motion for admission in open court. Upon admission, the Clerk issues a wallet-size admission card and a certificate of admission suitable for framing to the attorney.

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Note 1: The fee for the Bar application is now $55, and you can pay using a credit card, check, or money order. Along with the payment or payment receipt, the applicant must send this completed form, and an ORIGINAL SIGNED certificate of good standing from the court mentioned in question 10. The certificate of good standing must be dated within ninety days of the application date.

Note 2: To pay by credit card, go to https://link.clover.com/urlshortener/YQMbZC for access to the Payment Portal. If you choose to pay by credit card, make sure to include the credit card receipt with your Bar application package.

Note 3: To pay by check or money order, checks/money order is made payable to the Clerk of the Court, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces (USCAAF). A $25 processing fee will be charged for returned checks or insufficient funds (NSF). Applications that are enroute to us via USPS or surface mail with the previous Bar application fee will be honored until 1 Oct 2026.

Note 4: Group Applications: When sending in group applications for an in-court admissions ceremony, a point of contact (POC) must be given to USCAAF for processing and coordination. The POC is responsible for making sure that all necessary documents and payment methods are included with the group package. To effectively review and process applications, packages should arrive at least 2 weeks before the requested swearing-in date. Mail is checked off-site before it reaches USCAAF, which can cause delays of up to 2 weeks or more.

The mailing address for the submission of application is:

Clerk of the Court
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces
450 E Street, NW
Washington, D.C. 20442-001

(Updated 9/2/2026)