DC’s three-year admission-on-motion route now requires qualifying active practice during at least three of the five years immediately preceding the application. If you have held a license but have not practiced during that period, check your work history before applying. The change took effect April 24, 2026. Committee on Admissions rule-change notice

The amended rule requires that practice to have been as a member in good standing of the bar of a U.S. court of general jurisdiction. The Court’s March 24, 2026 order adopted the amendment and made it applicable to applications submitted after the change took effect. DC Court of Appeals amendment order

What activities qualify as active practice?

The Committee’s published guidance includes these categories:

  • Representing clients as a lawyer
  • Working as a lawyer for a government agency, including military service
  • Teaching at an ABA-approved law school
  • Serving as a judge in a federal, state, territorial, or local court of record
  • Serving as a judicial law clerk
  • Working as corporate counsel

For each role, record your dates, duties, and bar status. If you are unsure whether a particular period qualifies, resolve that with the Committee before relying on it.

For example, a lawyer admitted four years ago who has spent those years in a nonlegal role cannot establish the practice requirement simply by producing an admission date. If you have moved among several legal roles, review each one. Qualifying work can extend beyond law-firm practice.

A practical filing checklist

  1. Identify the lookback period. Work backward five years from your planned filing date. Prepare a dated list of practice periods and gaps, with duties and employers or clients identified. Recheck the window if filing slips.
  2. Check good standing. Compare your practice timeline with your bar status records. Flag inactive periods or uncertainty about a role for clarification before relying on that time.
  3. Read the current application instructions. The portal still labels this route “Motion by 3-Year Provision.” Its current eligibility text expressly includes the three-of-five active-practice requirement. Official motion application page
  4. Prepare the required filings. The instructions call for the electronic application, required supplements and fees, the notarized DC authorization-and-release form, and the NCBE background-investigation steps. They also identify current attorney-registration documentation and a declaration of good standing. Follow the current forms and any additional requests from your analyst. DC filing instructions
  5. Monitor your application communications. Maintain current contact information and check messages while the background review proceeds. Committee communication requirements

Avoid the outdated shortcut

Treat older guidance saying “three years of membership” as a prompt to check the effective rule. Your application should document the required practice under the amended rule.

Compare your situation using the BarReqs calculator, then review the official DC sources before filing. For context, see our admission-on-motion requirements guide and state reciprocity comparison.

General information only, not legal advice or a guarantee of admission. The Committee and Court determine eligibility under current rules.