The appellate division in each judicial department shall appoint a committee of not less than three practicing lawyers for each judicial district within the department, for the purpose of investigating the character and fitness of every applicant for admission to practice as an attorney and counselor at law in the courts of this state. Each member of such committee shall serve until his death, resignation or the appointment of his successor. A lawyer who has been or who shall be appointed a member of the committee for one district may be appointed a member of the committee for another district within the same department.
R 9401.Committee.
Article 94. Admission to Practice · Last amended 1963 · Last verified July 21, 2026
In one sentenceCPLR 9401 requires each Appellate Division department to appoint a committee of at least three practicing lawyers for every judicial district within it to investigate the character and fitness of bar applicants.
Full Text of CPLR 9401
Plain-English Summary
Before anyone can practice law in New York, a group of practicing lawyers has to look into who that person is, not just what they scored on the bar exam. CPLR 9401 sets up the machinery for that inquiry. Each Appellate Division department appoints a character and fitness committee for every judicial district it contains, and each committee must have at least three practicing lawyers on it.
Committee members hold their positions until death, resignation, or the appointment of a successor, so there is no fixed term that forces regular turnover. The rule also allows a lawyer who serves on one district's committee to be appointed to another district's committee within the same department, which gives the appellate division flexibility in staffing these panels with experienced people.
This section does not describe what the committee does once appointed or how an application reaches it. Those mechanics are covered in the sections that follow, particularly CPLR 9402 and CPLR 9404.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a character and fitness committee?
It is a panel of at least three practicing lawyers appointed by the Appellate Division for a judicial district. Its job under this article is to investigate whether a bar applicant has the character and fitness to practice law.
How long does a committee member serve?
CPLR 9401 sets no fixed term. A member serves until death, resignation, or until a successor is appointed to take the seat.
Can the same lawyer sit on more than one district's committee?
Yes. The statute allows a lawyer already serving on one district's committee within a department to be appointed to another district's committee in that same department.
Who appoints the committee?
The Appellate Division of the department in which the judicial district sits makes the appointment.
Does this section explain how an application reaches the committee?
No. CPLR 9401 only establishes that the committees exist and how they are staffed. The process for routing an application to a committee is set out in CPLR 9402.
Is this section legal advice on whether I will be admitted?
No. It describes the structure of the committee system. Whether any individual applicant will be admitted depends on the committee's investigation and the Appellate Division's decision, not on anything in this summary.
Amendment History
Add, L 1962, ch 308, § 1, eff Sept 1, 1963.
Source & verification. Provision text, History, and Advisory
Committee Notes are reproduced verbatim from the Consolidated Laws of New York.
Last verified July 21, 2026.
· Official source
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