Attorney's Oath

***For the safety of our staff and customers, all swearing-ins will be held virtually until further notice.  Effective  12/16/2020, swearing-ins are held every other Wednesday at 10:00 a.m. Each session has an applicant capacity limit and once the limit is met, the following sessions become available. All virtual ceremonies are closed sessions, only open to ceremony participants. However, a shareable recording link will be provided to each participant at the conclusion of their swearing-in process with our office. 

Congratulations on becoming eligible to take your Georgia Attorney's oath! 

Our office hosts virtual swearing-in ceremonies on Wednesdays at 10:00 a.m. Each session has a capacity limit and once capacity is met, all prospective applicants may apply to participate in any following ceremony. Reservations are on a first-come, first-serve basis. 

After the October 4th ceremony, the next virtual ceremony will be held on October 18th. From there, all ceremonies will be suspended as we prepare for our mass in-person (and virtual) ceremony scheduled for Thursday, November 9th, at 10:00 a.m. in the Fulton County Government Center’s Commissioner’s Assembly Hall (sponsored by Delta Airlines).  All virtual ceremonies are closed sessions (excluding the Nov. 9th virtual option); and only open to ceremony participants. However, after each ceremony, all participants will be provided with a shareable recording link.

Please email Nicholas F. Cotten indicating which swearing-in you wish to participate in and we will schedule you accordingly and send a calendar invite. Your email should include a copy of your certificate of eligibility and photo ID (pdf, png or jpg). If you have an uncommon name (or if your name is commonly mispronounced), please provide the phonetic spelling of your name(s) on the front of your certificate of eligibility. 

Once you have emailed the certificate of eligibility, you must mail the original version (using some form of tracking). Your swearing-in file cannot be fully completed until we receive the original certificate. Please mail to: 

Fulton County Clerk of Superior and Magistrate Courts

Attn: Nicholas F. Cotten/ Bar Admissions

136 Pryor Street SW

Atlanta, GA 30303

Once you have taken your oath and fully completed your swearing-in process, our office will electronically submit your swearing-in documents to the State Bar of Georgia on your behalf and provide you with the next steps to register with the Bar.

We pride ourselves on making every swearing-in ceremony as memorable as possible for each applicant; therefore we require at least 48 business hours of notice to add you to a ceremony and prepare your file. Failure to provide such notice may result in a denial of immediate service and will require applicants to schedule for the next available swearing-in date. 

If none of the above dates are convenient for you, please consider contacting another Superior Court Clerk's Office near you; however, we do hope we are able to assist you. Additionally, if you wish to have an in-person ceremony, please utilize the following link https://www.fultoncourt.org/superior-court-judges to contact the Fulton County Judge of your choice. Once you have scheduled a date and time, you are required to provide those details to me via email. Please allow at least 48 business hours from the time of scheduling to the event date.  

If you are admitted under the recent Provisional Admission to Practice Order granted by the Georgia Supreme Court, you are still required to take an oath to be admitted to practice. Such applicants must also present a certificate of eligibility prior to taking their oath, Please refer to the instructions above to schedule your Attorney’s Oath ceremony.

Please direct all inquiries regarding your swearing-in to Nicholas F. Cotten. 

**County swearing-ins are only applicable to the trial-level courts in the state but are not applicable to the Supreme, Appellate, or Northern District Courts. Separate swearing-ins must be scheduled with those courts.

**Note: State Bar of Georgia membership fees are directly impacted by the dates applicants are sworn in with the Superior Court. Please contact the State Bar of Georgia for more information regarding membership rates.

Please note***This swearing-in is not applicable for the Supreme, Appellate, or Northern District Courts. Separate swearing-ins must be coordinated with those municipalities individually.