An attorney seeking admission to the Second Circuit bar must file the application form electronically and pay the admission fee electronically through Pay.gov.

The admission fee is waived for a federal government attorney or a federal law clerk. Instructions for a federal attorney or law clerk appear at the bottom of this page. For all other attorneys the admission fee is $216.00.

1.     Register as a CM/ECF filing user in PACER. Contact Attorney Admissions with any issues.

2.     Upon receiving a username and password, log in to CM/ECF. (A Mac user can click here; a PC user can click here.)

3.     Click on the Utilities tab on the CM/ECF home page. Select Bar Admission from the pull-down menu.

The Bar Admission screen opens. The fee amount appears on the screen. A federal attorney or federal law clerk can indicate fee waiver status and proceed under the instructions here.

4.     To upload the attorney admission application PDF, click on the Browse... button to the right of the blank Document box.

The Select PDF document screen opens for selecting the document to upload.

Use the Look in pull-down menu at the top of the Select PDF document screen to navigate to the document for upload. Click on the file name of the document so that the file name appears in the File name near the bottom of the screen. Click the Open button near the bottom right of the screen.

The file name appears in the Document box on the Bar Admission screen.

Type a brief description of the uploaded document in the Description box.

5.     To upload supporting documents to the application (e.g., attorney oath, sponsor's affidavit, certificate of good standing), click the Add Another Document button and repeat the steps above.

6.     Once all supporting documents have been uploaded, click the Pay Now and Submit Application button.

Note: If a filer fails to upload any document before clicking the Pay Now and Submit Application button, the following message pops up, and the filer cannot proceed.

7.     Pay.gov now opens in a browser window for entering payment information. Many of the boxes are filled automatically with information associated with the filer's CM/ECF account. An attorney may pay directly from a business or personal bank account (ACH) or by credit or debit card (PC).

Paying from a bank account

a.     Enter all requested information under Option 1: Pay Via Bank Account (ACH). Select the Account Type from the pull-down menu. All account and contact information must be entered in the boxes marked with red asterisks.

b.     When all required information is entered, click the Continue with ACH Payment button.

c.     The Authorize Payment screen opens. Review the information entered to ensure its accuracy. If  any information is incorrect, click Edit this information to make changes.

To receive an email confirmation of the payment, enter and confirm the filer's email address in the designated boxes below the payment-summary information.

To authorize the payment, click in the check box above the authorization and disclosure agreement. A green check mark appears in the check box.

d.     Scroll down to the Submit Payment button below the authorization and disclosure agreement. Click the Submit Payment button to complete the payment.

The next screen verifies that the payment is completed and the admission application submitted. To retain a record of the payment, click on the hyperlink to print the receipt.

Paying by credit or debit card

To pay by credit or debit card scroll down to Option 2: Pay Via Plastic Card (PC) on Pay.gov's online payment page.

a.     Select the Card Type and enter all required information. All account and contact information must be entered in the boxes marked with red asterisks.

b.     When all required information is entered, click the Continue with Plastic Card Payment button.

c.     The Authorize Payment screen opens. Review the information entered to ensure its accuracy. If any information is incorrect, click Edit this information to make changes.

To receive an email confirmation of the payment, enter and confirm the filer's email address in the designated boxes below the payment-summary information.

To authorize the payment, click in the check box near the bottom of the screen. A green check mark appears in the check box.

Click the Submit Payment button.

The next screen verifies that the payment is completed and the admission application has been submitted. To retain a record of the payment, click on the hyperlink to print the receipt.

Click the Close Window button to close the browser and return to CM/ECF.