QUICK LINKS
Do I need to report a listing with your directories to the state bar?
Find attorney advertising laws from the different states on this page and verify using the provided source URLs.
The Alabama Rules of Professional Conduct allow lawyers to advertise
Attorney Directory Exemptions: State rules do not exempt online directories from these requirements.
Source(s):
http://judicial.alabama.gov/library/rules/cond7_2.pdf
The Alaska Rules of Professional Conduct allow lawyers to advertise "services through written, recorded, or electronic communication," but do not impose any advertising reporting requirements.
Source(s):
http://www.courtrecords.alaska.gov/webdocs/rules/docs/prof.pdf
The Arizona Rules of Professional Conduct allow lawyers to "advertise services through written, recorded or electronic communications, including public media," but do not impose any advertising reporting requirements.
Attorney Directory Exemptions: The Arizona State Ethics Commission has found directories do not violate the RPC as long as the information contained therein is not false or misleading.
Source(s):
http://www.azbar.org/Ethics/RulesofProfessionalConduct/ViewRule?id=18
http://www.azbar.org/Ethics/EthicsOpinions/ViewEthicsOpinion?id=504
The Arkansas Rules of Professional Conduct allow lawyers to "advertise services through public media, such as telephone directory, legal directory, newspaper or other periodical, outdoor advertising, radio or television, or through written or electronic communication," but do not impose any advertising reporting requirements.
The California Rules of Professional Conduct allow lawyers to advertise via "written or electronic media," but do not impose any advertising reporting requirements to the California State Bar.
Source(s):
http://rules.calbar.ca.gov/Rules/RulesofProfessionalConduct/CurrentRules/Rule1400.aspx
http://apps.calbar.ca.gov/mcleselfstudy/mcle_home.aspx?testID=43
The Colorado Rules of Professional Conduct allow lawyers to "advertise legal services through written, recorded or electronic communication, including public media," but do not impose any advertising reporting requirements to the Colorado State Bar.
The Colorado Rules of Professional Conduct allow lawyers to "advertise legal services through written, recorded or electronic communication, including public media," but do not impose any advertising reporting requirements to the Colorado State Bar.
According to the Connecticut Attorney Practice Booke, Part 2-28A: any attorney who advertises services to the public through any media, electronic or otherwise, or through written or recorded communication pursuant to Rule 7.2 of the Rules of Professional Conduct shall file a copy of each such advertisement or communication with the statewide grievance committee either prior to or concurrently with the attorney's first dissemination of the advertisement or written or recorded communication, except as otherwise provided in subsection (b) herein. The materials shall be filed in a format prescribed by the statewide grievance committee, which may require them to be filed electronically. Any such submission in a foreign language must include an accurate English language translation. The filing shall consist of the following: (1) A copy of the advertisement or communication in the form or forms in which it is to be disseminated (e.g., videotapes, DVDs, audiotapes, compact discs, print media, photographs of outdoor advertising); (2) A transcript, if the advertisement or communication is in video or audio format; (3) A list of domain names used by the attorney primarily to offer legal services, which shall be updated quarterly; (4) A sample envelope in which the written communication will be enclosed, if the communication is to be mailed; (5) A statement listing all media in which the advertisement or communication will appear, the anticipated frequency of use of the advertisement or communication in each medium in which it will appear, and the anticipated time period during which the advertisement or communication will be used."
Attorney Directory Exemptions: Attorney Practice Book, Part 2-28A(b) - The filing requirements of subsection (a) do not extend to any of the following materials:
Source(s):
https://www.jud.ct.gov/Publications/PracticeBook/PB.pdf
The Delaware Rules of Professional Conduct allow lawyers to "advertise services through written, recorded or electronic communication, including public media," but do not impose any advertising reporting requirements to the Delaware State Bar.
Source(s):
http://courts.delaware.gov/rules/pdf/DLRPCwithCommentsFeb2010.pdf
The Florida Rules of Professional Conduct, Rule 4-719, provides that "any lawyer who advertises services shall file with the Florida Bar a copy of each advertisement at least 20 days prior to the lawyer's first dissemination of the advertisement. The advertisement must be filed at The Florida Bar headquarters address in Tallahassee."
Attorney Directory Exemptions: Under Rule 4-7.20, "the following are exempt from the filing requirements of rule 4-7.19:
The Georgia Rules of Professional Conduct allow lawyers to "advertise services through (1) public media, such as a telephone directory, legal directory, newspaper or other periodical; (2) outdoor advertising; (3) radio or television; and (4) written, electronic or recorded communication," but do not speak directly to lawyer advertising reporting requirements.
Source(s):
https://www.gabar.org/barrules/handbookdetail.cfm?what=rule&id=147
The Hawaii Rules of Professional Conduct allow "a lawyer may advertise services through written, recorded, or electronic communication, including public media," but do not impose any advertising reporting requirements to the Hawaii State Bar.
Source(s):
http://www.courts.state.hi.us/docs/court_rules/rules/hrpcond.htm#Rule 7.2
The Idaho Rules of Professional Conduct allow lawyers to "advertise services through written, recorded or electronic communication, including public media," but do not impose any advertising reporting requirements to the Idaho State Bar.
Source(s):
https://isb.idaho.gov/pdf/rules/irpc.pdf
The Illinois Rules of Professional Conduct allow lawyers to advertise legal services through media, including published and online directories, but do not impose any advertising reporting requirements to the Illinois State Bar.
Source(s):
https://www.isba.org/sites/default/files/ethicsopinions/94-12.pdf
http://www.courts.state.hi.us/docs/court_rules/rules/hrpcond.htm#Rule 7.2
The Indiana Rules of Professional Conduct allow a lawyer to "advertise services through written, recorded or electronic communication, including public media, but do not impose any advertising reporting requirements to the Indiana State Bar.
Source(s):
http://www.in.gov/judiciary/rules/prof_conduct/index.html#_Toc418253558
The Iowa Rules of Professional Conduct allow a lawyer to "advertise services through written, recorded, or electronic communication, including public media," but do not impose any advertising reporting requirements to the Iowa State Bar.
Source(s):
https://www.legis.iowa.gov/docs/ACO/CourtRulesChapter/12-31-2012.32.pdf
The Kansas Rules of Professional Conduct allow a lawyer to "advertise services through written, recorded, or electronic communication, including public media," but do not impose any advertising reporting requirements to the Kansas State Bar.
Source(s):
http://www.kscourts.org/rules/Rule-Info.asp?r1=Rules+Relating+to+Discipline+of+Attorneys
The Kentucky Rules of Professional Conduct allow a lawyer to "advertise services through written, recorded, or electronic communication, including public media," but do not impose any advertising reporting requirements to the Kentucky State Bar.
Source(s):
https://c.ymcdn.com/sites/www.kybar.org/resource/resmgr/SCR3/SCR_3.130_(7.03).pdf
The Louisiana Rules of Professional Conduct, Rule 7.2(c) require "any lawyer who advertises services through any public media or through unsolicited written communications sent in compliance with Rule 7.4 or 7.6(c) shall file a copy of each such advertisement or unsolicited written communication with the Committee for evaluation of compliance with these Rules. The copy shall be filed either prior to or concurrently with the lawyer�s first dissemination of the advertisement or unsolicited written communication and shall be accompanied by the information and fee specified in subdivision (d) of this Rule. If the lawyer has opted to submit an advertisement or unsolicited written communication in advance of dissemination, in compliance with subdivision (b) of this Rule, and the advertisement or unsolicited written communication is then found to be in compliance with the Rules, that voluntary advance submission shall be deemed to satisfy the regular filing requirement set forth above."
Source(s):
http://files.lsba.org/documents/LawyerAdvertising/AdvertisingRulesEffective06022016.pdf
Attorney Directory Exemptions: The Louisiana Rules of Professional Conduct do not explicitly exempt web-based directories from the advertising filing requirements. However, the following are exempt from the filing and review requirements:
Source(s):
http://files.lsba.org/documents/LawyerAdvertising/AdvertisingRulesEffective06022016.pdf
The Maine Rules of Professional Conduct allow a lawyer to "advertise services through written, recorded, or electronic communication, including public media," but do not impose any advertising reporting requirements to the Maine State Bar.
Source(s):
http://www.courts.maine.gov/rules_adminorders/rules/text/mr_prof_conduct_plus_2014-10-10.pdf
The Maryland Rules of Professional Conduct allow an attorney to "advertise services through public media, such as a telephone directory, legal directory, newspaper or other periodical, outdoor, radio or television advertising, or through communications not involving in person contact," but do not impose any advertising reporting requirements to the Maryland State Bar.
Source(s):
https://govt.westlaw.com/mdc/Document/N37B79C803C0211E6A91396A739D63AEE?viewType=FullText
The Maryland Rules of Professional Conduct allow an attorney to "advertise services through public media, such as a telephone directory, legal directory, newspaper or other periodical, outdoor, radio or television advertising, or through communications not involving in person contact," but do not impose any advertising reporting requirements to the Maryland State Bar.
Source(s):
https://govt.westlaw.com/mdc/Document/N37B79C803C0211E6A91396A739D63AEE?viewType=FullText
The Massachusetts Rules of Professional Conduct allow lawyers to "advertise services through public media, such as a telephone directory, legal directory including an electronic or computer-accessed directory, newspaper or other periodical, outdoor advertising, radio or television, or through written communication not involving solicitation prohibited in Rule 7.3," but do not impose any advertising reporting requirements to the Massachusetts State Bar.
Source(s):
http://www.mass.gov/obcbbo/rpc7.htm
The Michigan Rules of Professional Conduct allow lawyers to advertise, but do not impose any advertising reporting requirements to the Michigan State Bar.
The Minnesota Rules of Professional Conduct allow lawyers to "advertise services through written, recorded, or electronic communications, including public media," but do not impose any advertising reporting requirements to the Minnesota State Bar.
Source(s):
https://www.revisor.leg.state.mn.us/court_rules/rule.php?type=pr&subtype=cond&id=7.2
Attorney Directory Exemptions: The Mississippi Policies and Procedures for the Submission of Advertisements to the Office of General Counsel for the Mississippi Bar, "a copy or recording of any advertisement to be published shall be submitted to the Office of General Counsel of the Mississippi Bar (OGCMB) prior to its first dissemination."
Each submission of advertising must including the following information:
Web-based directories are not specifically exempt from the above-referenced filing requirements. However, the following are exempt from the requirements:
The Missouri Rules of Professional Conduct allow lawyers to "advertise services through public media, such as a telephone directory, legal directory, newspaper or other periodical, outdoor advertising, radio, or television, or through direct mail advertising distributed generally to persons not known to need legal services of the kind provided by the lawyer in a particular matter," but do not impose any advertising reporting requirements to the Missouri State Bar. Pursuant to 4-7.1, MRPC, all advertisements must be truthful and not misleading.
The Montana Rules of Professional Conduct allow a lawyer to "advertise services through written, recorded or electronic communication, including public media," but do not impose any advertising reporting requirements to the Montana State Bar.
The Nebraska Rules of Professional Conduct allow a lawyer to �advertise services through written, recorded or electronic communication, including public media," but do not impose any advertising reporting requirements to the Nebraska State Bar. Pursuant to 3-507.1, NRPC, all advertisements must be truthful and not misleading.
Source(s):
https://supremecourt.nebraska.gov/supreme-court-rules/1880/%C2%A7-3-5072-advertising
The State Bar of Nevada has established a Lawyer Advertising Advisory Committee to review all lawyer advertising and ensure compliance with Nevada Rules of Professional Conduct and Supreme Court Rules. Pursuant to Rule 7.2A, NRPC, "A copy or recording of an advertisement or written or recorded communication published after September 1, 2007, shall be submitted to the state bar in either physical or digital format within 15 days of first dissemination along with a form supplied by the state bar. If a published item that was first disseminated prior to September 1, 2007, will continue to be published after this date, then it must be submitted to the state bar on or before September 17, 2007, along with a form supplied by the state bar."
Attorney Directory Exemptions: The Nevada Rules of Professional Conduct do not contain any explicit exemption for online directories.
The New Hampshire Rules of Professional Conduct allow lawyers to advertise legal services through written, recorded or electronic communication, including public media, but do not impose any advertising reporting requirements to the New Hampshire State Bar. Pursuant to 7.1, NHRPC, all advertisements must be truthful and not misleading.
Source(s):
http://www.courts.state.nh.us/rules/pcon/pcon-7_2.htm
The New Jersey Rules of Professional Conduct allow lawyers to "advertise services through written, recorded or electronic communication, including public media," but do not impose any advertising reporting requirements to the New Jersey State Bar.
Source(s):
https://www.judiciary.state.nj.us/rules/RPC_09-01-2015.pdf
http://www.judiciary.state.nj.us/rules/r1-19a.html
The New Mexico Rules of Professional Conduct allow a lawyer to "advertise services through public media, such as a telephone directory, legal directory, newspaper or other periodical, outdoor billboards or signs, radio or television, internet or through other written or electronic communication," but do not impose any advertising reporting requirements to the New Mexico State Bar.
Source(s):
https://www.law.cornell.edu/ethics/nm/code/NM_CODE.htm
The New York Rules of Professional Conduct allow lawyers to advertise, but do not impose any advertising reporting requirements to the New York State Bar.
Source(s):
http://www.nycourts.gov/rules/jointappellate/ny-rules-prof-conduct-1200.pdf
The North Carolina Rules of Professional Conduct allow a lawyer to "advertise services through written, recorded or electronic communication, including public media," but do not speak directly to lawyer advertising reporting requirements.
Source(s):
https://www.ncbar.gov/for-lawyers/ethics/rules-of-professional-conduct/rule-72-advertising/
http://www.ncbar.gov/for-lawyers/ethics/adopted-opinions/rpc-241/
The North Dakota Rules of Professional Conduct allow a lawyer to �market and advertise legal services through media, including published and on-line directories; newspapers, newsletters and other periodicals; outdoor advertising; electronic advertising, including radio, television, video and the Internet; and through text-based written and electronic communications," but do not contain any self-reporting requirements regarding lawyer advertising.
Source(s):
http://www.ndcourts.gov/rules/conduct/frameset.htm
The Ohio Rules of Professional Conduct allow lawyers to advertise legal services through written, recorded or electronic communication, including online directories, but do not impose any advertising reporting requirements to the Ohio State Bar. Pursuant to 7.1, ORPC, all advertisements must be truthful and not misleading.
Source(s):
http://www.supremecourt.ohio.gov/LegalResources/Rules/ProfConduct/profConductRules.pdf (p.160)
The Oklahoma Rules of Professional Conduct allow lawyers to �advertise services through written, recorded, or electronic communication, including public media," but do not impose any advertising reporting requirements to the Oklahoma State Bar.
Source(s):
http://www.oscn.net/applications/oscn/DeliverDocument.asp?CiteID=449003
The Oregon Rules of Professional Conduct allow lawyers to �advertise services through written, recorded or electronic communication, including public media," but do not impose any advertising reporting requirements to the Oregon State Bar.
Source(s):
https://www.osbar.org/_docs/rulesregs/orpc.pdf (p.30)
The Pennsylvania Rules of Professional Conduct allow lawyers to �advertise services through written, recorded or electronic communication, including public media," but do not impose any advertising reporting requirements to the Pennsylvania State Bar.
Source(s):
http://www.pacode.com/secure/data/204/chapter81/s7.2.html
The Rhode Island Rules of Professional Conduct, Rule 7.2, allow lawyers to �advertise services through written, recorded or electronic communication, including public media." Pursuant to Rule 7.2(b), RIRPC, �copy of each print advertisement (other than yellow page advertisements), a recording of each radio advertisement, and a videotape of each television advertisement shall be sent to the Supreme Court Disciplinary Counsel prior to or within 48 hours of the first dissemination of such advertisement and another copy of each print advertisement (including yellow page advertisement), recording of each radio advertisement and videotape of each television advertisement shall be retained by the lawyer for three years after its last dissemination along with a record of when and where it was used."
Source(s):
https://www.courts.ri.gov/PublicResources/disciplinaryboard/PDF/Article5.pdf
The South Carolina Rules of Professional Conduct allow lawyers to �advertise services through written, recorded or electronic communication, including public media," but do not impose any advertising reporting requirements to the South Carolina Bar.
Source(s):
http://www.sccourts.org/courtReg/displayRule.cfm?ruleID=407.0
The South Dakota Rules of Professional Conduct allow lawyers to �advertise legal services through written, recorded, internet, computer, e-mail or other electronic communication, including public media, such as a telephone directory, legal directory, newspapers or other periodicals, billboards and other signs, radio, television and other electronic media, and recorded messages the public may access by dialing a telephone number, or through other written or recorded communication," but do not impose any advertising reporting requirements to the South Dakota Bar.
Source(s):
http://www.sdlegislature.gov/Statutes/Codified_Laws/DisplayStatute.aspx
The Tennessee Rules of Professional Conduct allow lawyers to �advertise services through written, recorded or electronic communication, including public media," but do not impose any advertising reporting requirements to the Tennessee State Bar.
Our Advertising Review Department is responsible for reviewing attorney and law firm advertisements and solicitation communications as required by Part VII of the Texas Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct.
Attorney Directory Exemptions: A lawyer or law firm�s listing on a web-based directory that is accessible by the public shall be exempt from the filing requirements of Rule 7.07 if it meets the requirements of 7.07(e)
The Utah Rules of Professional Conduct allow lawyers to �advertise services through written, recorded or electronic communication, including public media," but do not impose any advertising reporting requirements to the Utah State Bar.
Source(s):
https://www.utcourts.gov/resources/rules/ucja/ch13/7_2.htm
The Vermont Rules of Professional Conduct allow lawyers to �advertise services through written, recorded or electronic communication, including public media," but do not impose any advertising reporting requirements to the Vermont State Bar.
Source(s):
https://vtbarcounsel.wordpress.com/rules-of-professional-conduct/ (7.2, VRPC)
The Virginia Rules of Professional Conduct allow lawyers to advertise legal services, but do not impose any advertising reporting requirements to the Virginia State Bar.
Source(s):
http://www.vsb.org/pro-guidelines/index.php/rules/information-about-legal-services/
http://www.vsb.org/site/regulation/advertising-and-solicitation/#prescreening
The Washington Rules of Professional Conduct allow lawyers to �advertise services through written, recorded or electronic communication, including public media," but do not impose any advertising reporting requirements to the Washington State Bar.
Source(s):
https://www.courts.wa.gov/court_rules/
The District of Columbia's Rules of Professional Conduct allow lawyers to advertise, but do not impose any advertising reporting requirements to the District of Columbia Bar.
Source(s):
http://www.dcbar.org/bar-resources/legal-ethics/former-rules/rule7-01.cfm
The West Virginia Rules of Professional Conduct allow lawyers to �advertise services through written, recorded or electronic communication, including public media," but do not impose any advertising reporting requirements to the West Virginia State Bar.
Source(s):
http://www.courtswv.gov/legal-community/court-rules/professional-conduct/rule7.html#rule7.2
The Wisconsin Rules of Professional Conduct allow lawyers to �advertise services through written, recorded or electronic communication, including public media," but do not impose any advertising reporting requirements to the Wisconsin State Bar.
The Wyoming Rules of Professional Conduct allow lawyers to �advertise services through written, recorded or electronic communication, including public media," but do not impose any advertising reporting requirements to the Wyoming State Bar.