New Jersey attorney registration fees and deadlines for 2026 are set: the standard assessment is $267 if the Judiciary receives your payment on or before March 20, 2026, and the online registration and payment window opened January 20, 2026.1NJ Courts. Notice – New Jersey Attorney Electronic Registration and Payment for 2026 Available on January 20, 2026 Every attorney licensed in New Jersey must complete the registration, even those who owe no fee.2NJ Courts. Frequently Asked Questions – Annual Attorney Registration and Payment
2026 Fee Schedule
What you owe depends on when you were admitted and how you practice.
- Attorneys admitted between 1978 and 2022 pay the standard fee of $267 if payment is received on or before March 20, 2026.
- Attorneys in their third or fourth calendar year of admission pay a reduced rate on the Lawyers’ Fund portion of the assessment, set at $25 for that component.
- Attorneys admitted in 2025 or 2026 owe no fee but must still file the registration.
- Attorneys with fifty or more years of admission are exempt from payment.
- Pro hac vice attorneys, multijurisdictional practitioners, in-house counsel, and foreign legal consultants pay $267.
The assessment funds the Lawyers’ Fund for Client Protection, the attorney discipline system (the Office of Attorney Ethics and the Disciplinary Review Board), the Lawyers Assistance Program, the Board on Continuing Legal Education, and the Board of Bar Examiners.3NJ Courts. Annual Attorney Registration and Payment
The Late Payment Window
Miss March 20 and the fee rises to $307. That higher amount applies after the deadline but before the Supreme Court publishes the ineligible list.3NJ Courts. Annual Attorney Registration and Payment Once the list is published, you are no longer late — you are ineligible, which is a separate status with its own reinstatement process.
Exemptions From the Fee
Four categories of attorneys owe nothing but still must file a registration statement to keep the Court’s records current.2NJ Courts. Frequently Asked Questions – Annual Attorney Registration and Payment
- Newly admitted attorneys, for the rest of their admission calendar year and the following calendar year.
- Attorneys admitted fifty or more years.
- Attorneys serving full-time in active-duty military, VISTA, or the Peace Corps and not engaged in private practice, who are classified as inactive New Jersey attorneys during that service.
- Fully retired attorneys, also classified as inactive New Jersey attorneys.
If you don’t fit one of these categories and don’t pay, you will be declared ineligible to practice.
How to Register and Pay
Registration runs entirely through the Judiciary’s Attorney Online Registration and Payment Center.1NJ Courts. Notice – New Jersey Attorney Electronic Registration and Payment for 2026 Available on January 20, 2026 Before you submit, be ready to:
- Update your mailing address, email address, and the physical location you designate for client file storage, mail delivery, and service of process.
- Certify your continuing legal education compliance.
- Report trust account details and confirm IOLTA participation if you handle client funds.
- Pay the assessment electronically, unless you qualify for an exemption.
New Jersey no longer requires a fixed physical office, but you must be reachable for clients, opposing counsel, and courts, and you must designate at least one physical location where regulators can inspect client files and business records on short notice and where process can be served.4NJ Courts. Notice and Order – Amendments to Rule 1:21-1 Regarding Bona Fide Office
IOLTA Is a Separate Filing
If you are in private practice and hold attorney trust accounts, participation in the Interest on Lawyers’ Trust Accounts program is mandatory under Rule 1:28A, and IOLTA registration runs through its own online portal, not the attorney registration system.5NJ Courts. Notice – IOLTA – All NJ Attorneys Engaging in the Private Practice of Law – 2025 IOLTA Online Registration The IOLTA deadline typically falls in late March — for 2025 it was March 31 — so confirm the current year’s date with the IOLTA Fund directly.6The IOLTA Fund of the Bar of New Jersey. How to Comply Paying your annual registration assessment does not satisfy the IOLTA requirement.
What Happens If You Skip Registration
Failing to register isn’t a disciplinary suspension, but the practical effect is nearly as severe. The Lawyers’ Fund reports non-compliant attorneys to the Supreme Court, and the Court issues an order declaring those attorneys ineligible to practice law in New Jersey. The ineligible list is public.2NJ Courts. Frequently Asked Questions – Annual Attorney Registration and Payment
While ineligible, you are not in good standing. You cannot practice law in New Jersey, and you cannot be admitted pro hac vice elsewhere on the strength of your New Jersey license. Continuing to practice while ineligible exposes you to discipline for unauthorized practice.
The stakes rise sharply the longer the lapse lasts. An attorney who remains on the ineligible list for seven or more consecutive years has their license administratively revoked by the Supreme Court. Revocation ends your Bar membership entirely, and returning to practice would mean applying for admission again from the start.
Reinstatement After Being Declared Ineligible
If you’re inside the seven-year window, reinstatement doesn’t require a court petition. You file the current year’s registration statement, pay all back assessments owed for each year of ineligibility, and pay a reinstatement fee.3NJ Courts. Annual Attorney Registration and Payment The reinstatement fee is $50 if your name is being removed from one calendar year’s ineligible list, or $100 if you have been on the list for two or more years.
Once a license has been revoked for prolonged non-compliance, that automatic path closes. Reapplying for admission becomes the only route back.