Various federal courts around the nation require newly-admitted attorneys to be formally sworn-in with an oath of admission. Some of those districts permit the oath of admission to those courts' bars to be administered in an attorney's local federal district court. The Clerk's Office of the District of Colorado is happy to accommodate the needs of District of Colorado-admitted attorneys seeking admission in other federal courts. Please observe the following guidelines:
Attorneys who need to be sworn in for other districts will have the oath administered by staff of the Attorney Services Division of the Clerk's Office, and not by judicial officers. The administration of the oath by clerk's office staff is authorized under statute. 28 U.S. Code § 953 - Administration of oaths and acknowledgments.
Attorneys needing an oath to be administered locally must already be admitted in the District of Colorado and in good standing.
Attorneys needing the oath administered locally will need to first verify that this is acceptable with the district in which they are seeking admission, and then notify the Attorney Services Division staff by e-mail at COD_AttorneyServices@cod.uscourts.gov.
Oaths are administered and documentation completed and signed in-person at the Arraj U.S. Courthouse in Denver. Attorneys are instructed to go to the Clerk’s Office in the Arraj Courthouse (Room A-105, First Floor). The administration of the oath by telephone or video conference is not allowed. The Attorney Services Division staff will schedule a date for the attorney to come to the court on any Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday afternoon.
Please bring two hard copies of the necessary documentation at the time of your appointment. The clerk's office will not make photocopies of the documentation.
No fee is charged for this service.
Please note that the District of Colorado does not require attorneys to be formally sworn-in for admission to the court, nor do out-of-district attorneys seeking admission here need an oath to be administered by other federal courts.