Admission to the Bar in South Carolina Under Rule 402(j), SCACR
Except for limited certificates of admission, foreign legal consultants, and pro hac vice admissions, applicants seeking admission to practice law in South Carolina must comply with the requirements set forth in Rule 402 of the South Carolina Appellate Court Rules (SCACR).
Electronic Communications
All information and announcements are posted on the Office of Bar Admissions' webpage at scbaradmissions.sccourts.org. Applicants are expected to regularly visit this webpage to review the announcements and information posted there. Applicants are also required to maintain a current email address and mailing address on their personal bar application account and to regularly read all mail from the Office of Bar Admissions, whether sent electronically or by the postal service. Applicants must ensure that emails from the Office of Bar Admissions are not filtered as spam and should add noreply@scbaradmissions.sccourts.org to their email address book.
Application for a Limited Certificate of Admission of Certain Law Professors
A person serving as the Dean or as a tenured professor at the University of South Carolina School of Law or the Charleston School of Law may be admitted to practice law in South Carolina without complying with the requirements set forth in 402(c)(5), 402(c)(6), and 402(c)(8), SCACR.
The non-refundable application fee is currently set at $1,000.00. If an application is subsequently withdrawn, the Office of Bar Admissions will not issue a refund or credit the application fee(s) to a future application.
General Requirements for a Limited Certificate of Admission of Certain Law Professors
An applicant will not be admitted to practice law in South Carolina under the admission of certain law professors unless the applicant meets the following requirements.
- Has been admitted to practice law in the highest court of another state or the District of Columbia for at least five years;
- Has received a JD or LLB degree from a law school approved by the Council of the Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar of the American Bar Association at the time the degree was conferred;
- Has been a full-time and continuous member of the faculty of the law school with the rank of assistant professor of law or higher for the previous three or more complete academic years;
- Has been recommended for admission by the Dean of the law school, or in the case of the Dean, by the President of the University of South Carolina or the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Charleston School of Law;
- Has been found qualified by a panel of the Committee on Character and Fitness;
- Has paid all required fees; and
- Has taken the oath or affirmation set forth in Rule 402(h)(3), SCACR.
