Rule 304. Limited Admission of Spouses of Active-Duty Service 

Members of the United States Uniformed Services

An applicant may apply for limited admission to the practice of 

law in Pennsylvania as a spouse of an active-duty service 

member of the United States Uniformed Services if all 

requirements of this rule are satisfied.

(a) Qualifications.

An applicant who seeks admission pursuant to this rule:

(1) must be present in Pennsylvania as the spouse of 

an active-duty member of the United States Uniformed Services 

who is (A) assigned to duty in Pennsylvania or (B) assigned to 

duty outside the United States but whose last assignment within 

the United States was in Pennsylvania;

(2) must satisfy the requirements of Rule 203(a)(1) 

and (2)(i) (related to completion of undergraduate studies and 

legal studies at a law school accredited by the American Bar 

Association) and Rule 203(b)(2) (related to character and fitness);

(3) must not have taken and failed the Pennsylvania 

bar examination;

(4) must be currently admitted as an attorney at law 

in the highest court of another state, commonwealth, territory 

or the District of Columbia;

(5) must not currently be the subject of a pending 

disciplinary matter in any jurisdiction in which the applicant is 

admitted to the practice of law or be currently suspended or 

disbarred in any such jurisdiction;

(6) must not have been disciplined for professional 

misconduct by any jurisdiction within the 10 years immediately 
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preceding filing of the Pennsylvania application or been 

disbarred at any time by any jurisdiction; and

(7) (A) must be employed and supervised by a 

Pennsylvania-licensed attorney who is in good standing and who 

is currently engaged in the practice of law in Pennsylvania; or

(B) be employed by the federal government, the 

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania or a local government within 

Pennsylvania and supervised in that employment by a 

Pennsylvania-licensed attorney who is currently engaged in the 

practice of law in Pennsylvania.

(b) Procedure.

(1) An applicant who seeks admission pursuant to this 

rule must submit to the Board of Law Examiners an affidavit 

confirming that the applicant satisfies the requirements of Rule 

304(a); that the applicant agrees to supplement his or her 

application with any information that might arise during the 

limited admission to practice that bears on any of the 

requirements of Rule 304(a); that the applicant agrees to notify 

the Prothonotary of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court of any 

information that might arise during the limited admission to 

practice that bears on any of the requirements of Rule 304(a); 

that the applicant has read, is familiar with and agrees to abide 

by the Pennsylvania Rules of Professional Conduct and the 

Pennsylvania Rules of Disciplinary Enforcement; that the 

applicant will comply with any obligations imposed by the 

Pennsylvania Continuing Legal Education Board; and that the 

applicant submits to the jurisdiction of the Pennsylvania 

Supreme Court with respect to any and all disciplinary matters.

(2) An applicant must submit to the Board of Law 

Examiners an affidavit of the Pennsylvania attorney who will, 

pursuant to Rule 304(a)(7), supervise the applicant if the 

application is granted. The supervising lawyer must confirm in 

the affidavit that he or she will (A) supervise the applicant in the 
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performance of the applicant’s legal work and (B) notify the 

Board in the event the applicant leaves the employ of the 

supervising attorney’s law firm or government entity or is 

otherwise no longer being supervised by that attorney.

(3) The applicant must submit to the Board of Law 

Examiners the following:

(A) certificates or official transcripts evidencing 

compliance with the provisions of Rule 304(a)(2) related to legal 

education;

(B) a certificate of good standing from the highest 

court or the admissions authority of a state, commonwealth, 

territory or the District of Columbia in which the applicant is 

currently licensed to practice law;

(C) a copy of the United States military orders of the 

applicant’s spouse establishing that the spouse is present in 

Pennsylvania because of military orders; and

(D) any fee required by the Board of Law Examiners.

(4) If an applicant satisfactorily completes the steps 

required by this rule and the Board determines that the 

applicant is qualified under this rule, the Board shall provide to 

the applicant a certificate recommending admission of a spouse 

of an active-duty service member.

(5) At any time within six months of the issuance of a 

certificate recommending admission of a spouse of an activeduty service member, an applicant may file a motion with the 

Prothonotary of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, on a form 

prescribed by the Board for issuance of such a license. The 

applicant shall submit the form with the certificate 

recommending admission of a spouse of an active-duty service 

member along with any fee the Prothonotary may assess. 
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(6) Upon receipt of a properly supported motion, the 

Prothonotary shall enter the name of the applicant upon the 

docket of persons specially admitted to the bar of the Supreme 

Court of Pennsylvania subject to the restrictions of this rule.

(c) Limitations

(1) An applicant who is granted limited admission under 

this rule and who continues to satisfy the requirements of Rule 

304(a) is entitled to all the same rights, privileges and benefits 

and is subject to the same duties, obligations and responsibilities 

as active members of the bar of the Supreme Court of 

Pennsylvania subject to the following limitations.

(2) The limited admission provided by this rule shall 

terminate automatically upon the occurrence of any of the 

following:

(A) any of the provisions of Rule 304(a) are no longer 

satisfied or

(B) the attorney admitted under this rule is admitted 

to the bar of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania under any other 

rule.

(3) In the event Rule 304 (c)(2)(A) or (B) applies as a result 

of the death of the spouse of the attorney admitted under this 

rule, the termination of the limited admission provided by this 

rule will be subject to a six-month grace period.

Official Note:

For purposes of this rule, the “United States Uniformed Services” 

are defined to include the following: the United States Army; the 

United States Marine Corps; the United States Navy; the United 

States Air Force; the United States Coast Guard; the United 

States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps; the National 
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Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Corps 

and any other entity designated as part of the United States 

Uniformed Services by the United States Department of Defense 

or the United States Department of Homeland Security. See 10 

U.S.C. § 101(a)(4) and (5). 

The phrase “active duty” shall have the meaning given it in 10 

U.S.C. § 101(d)(1).

For purposes of Rule 304(a)(7), “practice of law” shall have the 

meaning set out in Rule 204.

The supervision required by Rule 304(a)(7) must be sufficient to 

insure that the supervising attorney has knowledge of the 

specific conduct, ratifies the conduct, knows of the conduct at a 

time when its consequences may be avoided or mitigated and 

will assume responsibility for the supervised attorney’s work 

should the supervised attorney’s limited license terminate.