A foreign legal consultant (FLC) license is a limited credential that lets a lawyer licensed and in good standing in another country advise clients inside a U.S. state on that country's law.
The two credentials documented here are created by state rules, and neither is full admission to the state bar.
California and New York both license foreign legal consultants, under different rules.
What is a foreign legal consultant?
A foreign legal consultant is a lawyer whose license to practice comes from another country and whom a U.S. state authorizes to advise on the law of that home jurisdiction.
The two states this page documents put different names on the credential: California registers a Registered Foreign Legal Consultant under California Rules of Court, rule 9.44, while New York licenses foreign legal consultants without examination under 22 NYCRR 521.1.
The license attaches to a foreign credential, not an American one.
California's rule asks for an active license and good standing to practice law in a foreign country for at least four of the last six years, plus a positive moral character determination.
New York's rule asks for practice in the foreign country for at least three of the five years immediately preceding the application, an applicant over 26, and the intention to keep an office in New York.
That makes the FLC license a narrower status than admission to the state bar.
A lawyer who wants the full license — the one granted through a state's bar exam and its own eligibility rules for internationally educated applicants — follows the admission route instead.
The guide for foreign-trained lawyers covers those exam and LL.M. routes.
What can a foreign legal consultant do?
The scope limit is written into the California rule: a foreign legal consultant may advise only on the law of the jurisdiction where the lawyer is licensed.
A matter that turns on the host state's own law sits outside the credential: under the California rule, the FLC may not advise on it.
Within that limit, the credential is built for advising on home-country law from inside the state.
The experience requirements point the same direction: both documented rules anchor the credential in the lawyer's foreign record — California in years of licensure there, New York in years of practice there — not in American legal education.
California's rule states the home-jurisdiction limit in terms; the research read for this page did not capture the other states' scope wording in the same detail, so confirm the scope of the license with the admitting authority where you would register.
Which states license foreign legal consultants?
The two states this research documents in detail are California and New York.
California registers foreign legal consultants under California Rules of Court, rule 9.44 — the State Bar of California lists the credential among its special admissions.
New York licenses foreign legal consultants without examination under 22 NYCRR 521.1.
NCBE's jurisdiction data points further.
As of October 2026, Florida and Virginia use NCBE's character and fitness investigation for exactly one application type: foreign legal consultant applicants — so an FLC applicant category exists there too.
What Florida's and Virginia's FLC rules require beyond that investigation is outside the research read for this page.
NCBE's October 2026 data counts California and New York among the 27 jurisdictions that do not use NCBE's character and fitness services, and California's credential makes the moral character determination part of its own rule.
No count of FLC states comes out of this research — it documents two states in detail and flags two more in NCBE's data.
Treat every list of FLC states as examples, and check with the admitting authority where you want to practice.
Rules change — verify with the admitting authority
How do you apply for a foreign legal consultant license?
The documented rules set eligibility; each authority sets the application on top of it.
Here are the requirements our research captured from the two rules this page cites.
California — Registered Foreign Legal Consultant, California Rules of Court, rule 9.44:
- an active license, in good standing, to practice law in a foreign country for at least four of the last six years
- a positive moral character determination
New York — foreign legal consultant, 22 NYCRR 521.1, licensed without examination:
- practice in the foreign country for at least three of the five years immediately preceding the application
- an applicant over 26
- the intention to keep an office in New York
Our research did not capture the application mechanics — forms, fees, supporting documents or processing times — or confirm that these lists are complete.
Those details sit with each authority — pull the current application from the State Bar of California or New York's admitting authority before you plan around any step.
Career information, not legal advice. Foreign legal consultant rules are jurisdiction-specific — confirm current requirements with the State Bar of California, New York's admitting authority or the authority where you would register.