Guide · Updated August 2026
Florida pro hac vice: requirements, fees and the process, in one place.
What Rule 2.510 actually requires, what each court charges, the three-appearance limit that catches out-of-state firms, and the filing trap that has nothing to do with your competence and everything to do with Florida’s portal.
Last reviewed August 2026 against the July 1, 2026 edition of the Florida Rules of General Practice and Judicial Administration and the June 15, 2026 Rules Regulating The Florida Bar.
Do I need local counsel to appear pro hac vice in Florida?
Yes in Florida state court. Fla. R. Gen. Prac. & Jud. Admin. 2.510(a) permits an out-of-state attorney to appear in a particular case only on a verified motion and only if a Florida Bar member in good standing is associated as an attorney of record. In federal court it varies by district: the Southern District of Florida requires it, the Middle and Northern Districts do not.
“Upon filing a verified motion with the court, an attorney who is an active member in good standing of the bar of another state … may be permitted to appear in particular cases in a Florida court upon such conditions as the court may deem appropriate, provided that a member of The Florida Bar in good standing is associated as an attorney of record.”Fla. R. Gen. Prac. & Jud. Admin. 2.510(a) · July 1, 2026 edition
The rule adds a second requirement firms routinely miss on appeal: “The foreign attorney must make application in each court in which a case is filed even if a lower tribunal granted a motion to appear in the same case.”
Court by court, in one table
This is the thing that is otherwise scattered across five different court websites.
| Court | Local counsel required? | Who e-files? | Appearance limit | What the court or Bar charges |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Florida state courts | Yes — Rule 2.510(a) | Local counsel, until The Florida Bar issues your PHV number — including the admission motion itself | More than 3 in separate cases per 365 days is presumed a “general practice” | $250 to The Florida Bar + $100 to the clerk |
| S.D. Fla. | Yes — Special Rule 4(b) | Local counsel — pro hac vice attorneys may not register as CM/ECF users here | More than 3 pro hac vice motions in separate cases per 365 days | $250 |
| M.D. Fla. | No | You do, after special admission under Local Rule 2.01(c) | No cap — 36-month appearance disclosure instead | $150 |
| N.D. Fla. | No | You do, after admission registration — L.R. 11.1(C) | Not in the rule | $219 |
As published by each court and by The Florida Bar, August 2026. The $250 goes to the Bar, not the court; the $100 is the statutory clerk fee under Fla. Stat. § 28.241(6). None of it is my fee, which is quoted separately and in writing.
Detail per court: Southern District · Middle District · Northern District · what I charge on top of it
What the verified motion has to contain
Rule 2.510(b) requires the form appended to the rule — it is mandatory, not a template. Eight items, the last of which is two signatures.
- 01Every jurisdiction where the movant is admitted and in good standing, with bar numbers. No certificate of good standing is required.
- 02Every Florida state-court pro hac vice motion filed in the preceding five years — date, case name, case number, lower tribunals included, and whether it was granted or denied.
- 03Five years of discipline and contempt history: both proceedings initiated and sanctions imposed.
- 04The date the representation commenced and the parties represented.
- 05A statement that the movant has read the Florida rules and the Rules Regulating The Florida Bar.
- 06The name, record bar address and membership status of the Florida Bar member or members associated for the representation.
- 07A certificate of service on The Florida Bar and all counsel of record, plus payment of the fees or notice that a judicial waiver has been requested.
- 08Verification by the foreign attorney — and the signature of the associated Florida Bar member.
The 10-day duty to supplement
Within 10 days of discovering anything different from what the motion represented, the foreign attorney must supplement — and the supplement goes to the court and The Florida Bar. A new disciplinary complaint, a fourth Florida appearance, a change in the associated Florida lawyer: all reportable.
The counting rule
Three appearances in 365 days — and what actually counts as one.
“For purposes of this rule, more than 3 appearances within a 365-day period in separate cases shall be presumed to be a ‘general practice.’ Appearances at different levels of the court system in the same case shall be deemed 1 appearance.”Fla. R. Gen. Prac. & Jud. Admin. 2.510(a)
An “appearance” is the first one only
The Comment to Rule 1-3.10 defines it as “the initial or first appearance by that non-Florida lawyer in a case pending in a Florida court,” including appearing in person or by telephone or filing a pleading, motion or other document. The rule does not cap how many Florida cases you participate in — only how many you can enter in a rolling year.
Trial and appeal are one appearance
You still have to move separately in the appellate court — but for counting purposes, the circuit court and the district court of appeal in the same case are a single appearance. Federal appearances do not count at all: the Comment states the rule “does not apply to appearances in federal courts sitting in Florida.”
If you are at or near three, say so in your first email. It changes what gets filed and when.
The filing trap: you cannot file the motion that would admit you.
Until The Florida Bar issues your pro hac vice number, every document in a Florida state case — including the initial motion — must be e-filed by the Florida attorney designated in your motion. The Bar issues the number only after it receives a copy of the motion and the fee, and the number is a prerequisite to registering for the Florida Courts E-Filing Portal, which Rule 2.511 makes mandatory.
The Southern District of Florida runs the same trap on the federal side: an attorney permitted to appear pro hac vice there “will not be permitted to register as a User in this District,” and all documents — the admission motion included — must be filed electronically through local counsel.
It is also the reason the local-counsel decision cannot wait until after the motion is drafted.
The sequence, with a named actor on every step
What changed recently
| Effective | Change |
|---|---|
| October 27, 2025 | New Rule Regulating The Florida Bar 1-3.10(e): a lawyer admitted pro hac vice must report to The Florida Bar within 30 days of withdrawing or of the proceedings concluding, and must report pro hac vice status annually. Parallel duties added for arbitration appearances under Rule 1-3.11. (In re: Amendments to Rules Regulating The Florida Bar — Chapter 1, No. SC2025-0020.) |
| November 1, 2025 | M.D. Fla. local rules amended — Hernando County moved from the Tampa Division to the Ocala Division, among other changes. Special admission under Local Rule 2.01(c) was not changed. |
| July 1, 2025 | New Rule 2.511 governing the Florida Courts E-Filing Portal adopted; Rules 2.514, 2.515, 2.516, 2.520 and 2.525 amended. |
| February 7, 2022 | Last amendment to Rule 2.510 itself. The $250 figure was deleted from the rule text at that time; the amount now lives in the Rules Regulating The Florida Bar and is set by the Bar. |
Loose ends
Details worth knowing before you file.
Does the $250 Florida Bar fee apply in federal court?
No. The Florida Bar states it directly: Rule 2.510 and Rule Regulating The Florida Bar 1-3.10 apply only to pro hac vice appearances in Florida state courts. Federal districts charge their own fee instead — $250 in the Southern District, $150 in the Middle District, $219 in the Northern District. No Bar filing or fee is required for appearances before a Florida administrative agency or DOAH either.
What if my client cannot afford the fees?
Rule 2.510(a) provides that in cases involving indigent or pro bono clients, the court may waive the fees for good cause shown. The verified motion has to either be accompanied by payment or carry notice that a judicial waiver has been requested.
Which zip code does the certificate of service use?
The form appended to Rule 2.510 directs service on PHV Admissions, The Florida Bar, 651 East Jefferson Street, Tallahassee, Florida 32399-2333. The Bar’s own pro hac vice page gives 32399-2300 for the same office. Both are published as current. Use the zip on the form you are filing and, if the timing is tight, call PHV Admissions at 850-561-5831 to confirm before you mail.
What is the annual renewal fee?
The Florida Bar has not published the annual renewal amount on its public pro hac vice page as of August 2026. Rule 1-3.10(d) authorizes the Bar’s executive director, as approved by the Board of Governors, to set an initial fee, an annual renewal fee, and the date it is due. Confirm the current amount with PHV Admissions at 850-561-5831 rather than relying on a number found online — including this one.
More: the full FAQ · federal districts · counties and circuits · how an engagement works
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