NEW YORK SUPREME COURT APPELLATE DIVISION

GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS

Please read these General Instructions carefully and retain them for future reference.

The application for admission forms are uniform among the four Appellate Division Departments in New York

State and are to be used by both applicants who have passed the New York State Bar examination and applicants ap-

plying for admission on motion without examination.

Strict compliance with these instructions is required. Incomplete, defective or carelessly prepared application

papers will occasion delay and may result in the rejection of the application.

This paragraph is applicable only to applicants who have taken the New York State Bar examination. In

the Second, Third and Fourth Judicial Departments, the application papers required by these instructions may be

filed at any time after you have taken the Bar examination, regardless of whether or not the results of the Bar exam-

ination have been issued. In the First Judicial Department, the application papers may be filed only after you have

received notification that you have passed the examination and have been certified to the First Judicial Department.

The application and any further materials in connection therewith required by the Appellate Division and its Com-

mittees on Character and Fitness must be filed by you within three years from the date of the letter sent by the New

York State Board of Law Examiners notifying you that you have passed the Bar examination (see 22 NYCRR

520.12).

This paragraph is applicable only to applicants for admission on motion without examination (see 22

NYCRR 520.10). The application papers required by these instructions should be filed only after you have been in-

formed by the Appellate Division that you qualify for admission on motion.

In addition to the sanctions provided in article 210 of the Penal Law of the State of New York, any false statement

contained in your papers, or any failure to disclose any material fact, may result in the denial of your application for

admission; or, if you have been admitted before the discovery thereof, in the revocation of your license to practice

law.

You must answer all questions fully, truthfully, accurately, and legibly. If the space provided is insufficient for

a complete answer, the answer may be given on a rider which should be signed by you, specifying by number the

question to which it relates. Please avoid the use of riders, if possible.

Only fully completed applications will be accepted for filing. You will be furnished the following official forms

to complete an application: an application for admission questionnaire, good moral character affidavits, employment

affidavits, and law school certificates. When you file your application for admission, it should include the fol-

lowing and be arranged in the following order: (1) copy of the letter or notice of certification from the State Board

of Law Examiners (further explained below); (2) application for admission questionnaire; (3) two affidavits of good

moral character; (4) employment affidavits or letters (see application for admission questionnaire question number

7); (5) certificates of good standing and grievance letters from jurisdictions in which you have been admitted to

practice (see application for admission questionnaire question number 10); and (6) any other papers you desire to

submit.

A complete application will also include a form certificate from your law school(s)

; this form is mailed by

you to the law school and then mailed directly by the law school to the appropriate Appellate Division filing office

listed on the form (see application for admission questionnaire question number 5).

GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS: Application for Admission to Practice as an Attorney and Counselor-at-Law in the State of New York

APPLICATION FOR ADMISSION TO PRACTICE AS AN ATTORNEY

AND

COUNSELOR-AT-L AW IN THE STATE OF NEW YORK

NEW YORK SUPREME COURT

APPELLATE DIVISION

Revised: March, 2011

he Appellate Division and its Committees on Character and Fitness reserve the right to request additional in-

ormation and documentation from you, other than that listed in these instructions or specifically requested in the

questionnaire.

NOTE: You should especially have available and be prepared to submit or exhibit any or all of the following:

birth certificate; certified copy of court order changing name; naturalization papers; visa and other immigration pa-

pers; copy of military honorable discharge (for example, United States form DD-214); copies of police and court

records regarding any criminal matter you disclose; copies of relevant court pleadings, orders and judgments, in-

cluding those pertaining to divorce and domestic relations matters; copies of bankruptcy petitions and discharges;

and records concerning denials or revocations of licenses the procurement of which required proof of good character

(other than Bar applications).

Letter or notice of certification from the State Board of Law Examiners. Every applicant for admission

on examination must file a copy of the letter or notice from the State Board of Law Examiners certifying the appli-

cant for admission to one of the four Appellate Division Departments. Applicants seeking admission in the First Ju-

dicial Department shall file a copy of the letter or notice with the questionnaire. Applicants seeking admission in the

Second, Third and Fourth Judicial Departments shall file the letter or notice with the questionnaire unless the ques-

tionnaire is filed prior to the applicant’s receipt of such letter or notice, in which event the letter or notice shall be

filed promptly after the applicant’s receipt thereof. The letter or notice is proof of the applicant’s passage of the

written Bar examination and of the Multistate Professional Responsibility Examination. Every application for ad

mission on motion without examination

must include the letter from the New York State Board of Law Examiners

certifying that the applicant possesses the legal education necessary for admission on motion without examination.

The requisite copy of this letter is normally provided directly to the appropriate Appellate Division Department by

the State Board of Law Examiners.

The BOLE ID# can be located on correspondence sent to you by the New York State Board of Law Examiners

(www.nybarexam.org); for applicants on exam the number begins with ‘B’; for applicants on motion without

exam the number begins with ‘M’.

Inability to comply with any of the foregoing requirements for admission must be set forth in an affidavit by

you indicating any omission and stating fully the efforts made by you to fulfill the requirement.

You will be informed by letter in a timely fashion if documents are missing or additional information is required.

You may fill in the application forms online or you may download the blank application forms from the website

maintained by the State Board of Law Examiners at www.nybarexam.org. Blank forms may be photocopied.

After completion, only originals

will be accepted for filing. You may not file completed forms electronically.

Please do not submit a copy of these instructions with your application.

GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS: Application for Admission to Practice as an Attorney and Counselor-at-Law in the State of New York

FILING OFFICES

Applications for admission should be filed with and all inquiries concerning admission procedures should be

directed to the appropriate filing office (indicated below) of the Appellate Division Department to which you have

been certified or are eligible for certification by the State Board of Law Examiners. Please make sure all mailed en-

velopes contain a return address.

FIRST JUDICIAL DEPARTMENT:........Committee on Character and Fitness, Appellate Division

First Department, 41 Madison Avenue, 26th Floor

New York, New York 10010

SECOND JUDICIAL DEPARTMENT: ......Executive Secretary, Committees on Character and Fitness

Appellate Division, Second Department

335 Adams Street, Room 2404

Brooklyn, New York 11201

Telephone: 718-923-6306

THIRD JUDICIAL DEPARTMENT: .......Admissions Office, Appellate Division, Third Department

P.O. Box 7350, Capitol Station

Albany, New York 12224

Express mail address:

Admissions Office, Appellate Division, Third Department,

Empire State Plaza,

Robert Abrams Building for Law and Justice,

State St., Fifth Floor, Room 511

Albany, NY 12223

Telephone: (518) 471-4778.

FOURTH JUDICIAL DEPARTMENT: ......Admissions Office, Appellate Division, Fourth Department,

Suite 200, 50 East Avenue, Rochester, New York 14604.

CHANGES OF ADDRESS

1. If since the time of making application to the State Board of Law Examiners for admission to the Bar examination

(or for certification of your legal education for admission on motion without examination) and prior to your cer-

tification by the State Board of Law Examiners to an Appellate Division Department you change your address,

you should promptly notify the Board and advise them of such change in writing (State Board of Law Examiners,

Corporate Plaza, Building 3, 254 Washington Avenue Extension, Albany, NY 12203).

2. If you change your address after certification by the State Board of Law Examiners but before you are admitted,

you should promptly notify the appropriate Appellate Division Department of such change by letter. The change

of address should be sent to the filing office of the Appellate Division to which you are certified and/or where

your application is filed.

3. After you are admitted, changes of address should be sent to the Attorney Registration Unit, General Post Office,

P.O. Box 29327, New York, New York 10087-9327 or email to [email protected].

TRANSFERS OF APPLICATIONS (SEE CPLR 9403)

If, after certification by the State Board of Law Examiners but before you are admitted, you obtain a residence

in another Appellate Division Department, you may request a transfer of your application to the new Department;

also, if you do not reside in New York State and obtain full-time employment in the State, you may request a transfer

to the Department of such full-time employment. You may also request a transfer on undue hardship grounds. A

transfer request should be made in writing to the Appellate Division Department to which you have been certified.

GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS: Application for Admission to Practice as an Attorney and Counselor-at-Law in the State of New York

iii

INTERVIEWS

All applicants are required to undergo an interview by a member or members of the Appellate Division Com-

mittees on Character and Fitness prior

to admission. You will be informed in a timely manner of the date and place

of your interview.

REGISTRATION

Before admission to the Bar, you must register with the Office of Court Administration as an attorney by filing

a form registration statement and paying the $375 biennial registration fee (see

Judiciary Law § 468-a; 22 NYCRR

Part 118). You will be provided the necessary forms during the admission process.

GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS: Application for Admission to Practice as an Attorney and Counselor-at-Law in the State of New York