Colorado

Civil Procedure

Civil Procedure

Rule 203.1 – General Provisions

(1) Application Forms. All applications for a license to practice law in Colorado shall be made on forms furnished by the Office of Attorney Admissions. The application forms shall require such information as is necessary to determine whether the applicant meets the requirements of these rules, together with such additional information as is necessary for the efficient administration of these rules. Applicants must answer all questions completely, and must provide all required documentation. The Office of Attorney Admissions may, in its discretion, reject an incomplete application or place an incomplete application on hold until all required information is produced.
(2) Confidentiality. Information contained on applications for a license to practice law in Colorado shall be deemed confidential and may be released only under the conditions for release of confidential information established by C.R.C.P. 211.1.
(3) Duty to Supplement.

(a) Applicants must immediately update the application with respect to all matters inquired of. This duty to supplement continues in effect up to the time an applicant takes the oath of admission. Updates must be reported in a manner consistent with the Office of Attorney Admissions’ requirements.
(b) Failure to timely supplement a pending application may result in the denial of the application, a review of such failure as a character and fitness issue, or if the person has already been admitted to the practice of law in Colorado, discipline or revocation of the person’s license to practice law.
(4) Fees. All applicants must pay a fee in an amount fixed by the Supreme Court. The fee must be paid when the application is submitted.
(5) Admission to the Bar. An applicant who qualifies for admission under this rule, and who meets the character and fitness requirements set forth in C.R.C.P. 208, shall be admitted to the practice of law in Colorado in the manner prescribed by these rules.
(6) Disbarred Out-of-State Attorneys. A person who has been disbarred from the practice of law in another jurisdiction, or who has resigned pending disciplinary proceedings in another jurisdiction, other than reciprocal action based upon a Colorado disbarment, is not eligible to apply for admission to the practice of law in Colorado until the person has been readmitted in the jurisdiction in which the person was disbarred or resigned.
(7) Suspended Out-of-State Attorneys. A person who has been suspended for disciplinary purposes from the practice of law in another jurisdiction, other than reciprocal discipline based upon Colorado discipline, is not eligible to apply for admission to the practice of law in Colorado until the period of suspension has expired and the person has been reinstated to the practice of law in the jurisdiction in which the person was suspended.
(8) Mandatory Professionalism Course. All applicants under these rules, unless otherwise exempted, must complete the required course on professionalism presented by the Office of Attorney Regulation Counsel in cooperation with the Colorado Bar Association – CLE. Continuing legal education credit will be applied to the attorneys’ first compliance period pursuant to C.R.C.P. 250.2(1). Any fees received for the course shall be divided equally between the Colorado Bar Association – CLE and the Office of Attorney Regulation Counsel to pay for administering the course and to fund the attorney regulation system. Credit for completion of the professionalism course will be valid for eighteen months following completion of the course. Applicants under C.R.C.P. 205 temporary practice rules are not required to take this course.

C.R.C.P. 203.1

Source: Entire rule added and effective September 1, 2014; amended and adopted January 24, 2019, effective January 24, 2019.

Annotation Law reviews. For article, “Notes on Proposed Amendments to Colorado Rules of Civil Procedure”, see 27 Dicta 165 (1950). For article, “The Colorado Character Investigation of Applicants to the Bar”, see 28 Dicta 333 (1951). Annotator’s note. The following annotations include cases decided under former C.R.C.P. 201, which was repealed in 1982 and was similar to this rule. The ban on the unauthorized practice of law is not unconstitutionally vague or overbroad and does not violate the first amendment. People v. Shell, 148 P.3d 162 (Colo. 2006). Moral qualifications affidavit requires updating. Although the rules in effect in 1970 did not require formal updating of an applicant’s moral qualifications, the affidavit is a continuing one which does require updating. People v. Mattox, 639 P.2d 397 (Colo. 1982) (decided under former C.R.C.P. 209 ). Applied in People ex rel. Buckley v. Beck, 199 Colo. 482, 610 P.2d 1069 (1980); Unauthorized Practice of Law Comm. v. Grimes, 654 P.2d 822 (Colo. 1982).