Cal. Rules of Court, rule 9.7 · Chapter 2. Attorney Admissions
Oath required when admitted to practice law
Text — As posted by the Judicial Council of California (read October 22, 2026)
Rule 9.7. Attorney oath and annual declaration
(a) Oath required when admitted to practice law
In addition to the language required by Business and Professions Code section 6067, the oath to be taken by every person on admission to practice law is to conclude with the following: "As an officer of the court, I will strive to conduct myself at all times with dignity, courtesy and integrity."
(b) Annual declaration
Each active licensee and each special admissions attorney (permitted to practice law in the State of California under rules 9.41.1, 9.44, 9.45, or 9.46) must, pursuant to the procedure adopted by the State Bar, declare adherence to the oath language provided by (a) of this rule and Professions Code section 6067 on an annual basis.
(c) Implementation schedule and penalty for noncompliance
(1) The State Bar must develop a schedule to implement the submission of the declaration required by (b) of this rule by the deadline for the payment of the annual license fee.
(2) Beginning on April 1, 2026, an active licensee or special admissions attorney who fails to submit the annual declaration as required by this rule must be enrolled as an inactive licensee of the State Bar under rules adopted by the Board of Trustees of the State Bar.
(d) Authorization for the Board of Trustees of the State Bar to adopt rules and procedures
The Board of Trustees of the State Bar is authorized to adopt such rules and procedures as it deems necessary and appropriate to ensure compliance with this rule.
(e) Fees and penalties
The State Bar has the authority to set and collect appropriate fees and penalties for violations of this rule.
Notes and commentary — not rule text
History
Rule 9.7 amended effective October 1, 2025; adopted as rule 9.4 effective May 27, 2014; previously renumbered as rule 9.7 effective January 1, 2018.
Source of truth
- Edition
- As posted by the Judicial Council of California (read October 22, 2026)
- Official file
- https://courts.ca.gov/cms/rules/index/nine/rule9_7
- Text hash
- sha256 ab9e4b3e1de7a2b6bf41b818edd19d2dde26b0ad0f9bbbce8189a35c8af03ca4
- Composed by
- compose_crc.py 2026-10-22: the Judicial Council's rule pages read paragraph by paragraph; verify_crc.py's second reading of the Council's per-title PDFs finds every paragraph
- The Judicial Council's PDF of Title 9 (last modified June 1, 2026) prints this rule differently: this page prints “Rule 9.7”, which the PDF does not. The rule page's text is shown.
BenchPath cards that rely on this text
This rule cites
Provisions in this library that the text above cites, as it prints each citation. A range cited as “ss. 61.13-61.16” links its first and last provisions.
Business and Professions Code
California Rules of Court
- Cal. Rules of Court, rule 9.41.1Registered servicemember attorney and registered servicemember spouse attorneyPrinted as rules 9.41.1, 9.44, 9.45, or 9.46
- Cal. Rules of Court, rule 9.44Registered foreign legal consultantPrinted as rules 9.41.1, 9.44, 9.45, or 9.46
- Cal. Rules of Court, rule 9.45Registered legal aid attorneysPrinted as rules 9.41.1, 9.44, 9.45, or 9.46
- Cal. Rules of Court, rule 9.46Registered in-house counselPrinted as rules 9.41.1, 9.44, 9.45, or 9.46
Procedural information only. Not legal advice and not a substitute for the advice of an attorney. Confirm the current text with the official publisher before relying on it.