Using a commercial mail address as an attorney: what to check first
Before you put a new address on your bar record, letterhead or court filings, it helps to know what the bar and court rules actually say. This page sums up the official sources we checked for California and Pennsylvania. It is general information, not legal advice, and rules change, so confirm with the bar or court before you rely on it.
California: your State Bar address of record
From the State Bar of California's administrative compliance guidance:
- Business and Professions Code section 6002.1 requires you to maintain a current address with the State Bar.
- You must notify the State Bar of a new address within 30 days of a change.
- Your official address of record is public and posted on the State Bar website.
- The State Bar says you may use a P.O. box as your address of record if you have privacy concerns.
- California Rule of Court 9.9 separately requires a private email address for State Bar communications.
Source: State Bar of California, Administrative Compliance (calbar.ca.gov).
General information, not legal advice. Rules change, so check the current official source for your situation.
California courts: change-of-address notices
California Rule of Court 2.200 says an attorney whose mailing address, telephone number, fax number or e-mail address (if provided) changes while an action is pending must serve all parties and file a written notice of the change. Federal courts have their own rules for registered attorneys, so update each court's records too.
Source: California Rules of Court, rule 2.200 (courts.ca.gov).
General information, not legal advice. Rules change, so check the current official source for your situation.
Pennsylvania: attorney registration
Pennsylvania Rule of Disciplinary Enforcement 219 covers annual registration:
- The annual registration form includes your contact information, and it specifies what is accessible to the public.
- On a written request showing good cause, your contact information can be kept from public view.
- You must notify the Attorney Registration Office in writing of a change in contact information within 30 days.
- The rule does not list which kinds of address are acceptable, so ask the Attorney Registration Office if you are unsure.
Source: Pa.R.D.E. 219, 204 Pa. Code § 83.219; Disciplinary Board of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania.
General information, not legal advice. Rules change, so check the current official source for your situation.
Both states: describe the address accurately
California and Pennsylvania Rule of Professional Conduct 7.1 both say a lawyer shall not make a false or misleading communication about the lawyer or the lawyer's services. Describe a mail address in a way that matches how you use it.
In Pennsylvania, Comment 6 to Rule 7.1 adds that when a firm with offices in more than one jurisdiction identifies the lawyers in an office, it should show the jurisdictional limits of those not licensed where that office is located.
Source: Cal. Rules of Prof. Conduct 7.1(a); Pa. Rules of Prof. Conduct 7.1 and Comment [6].
General information, not legal advice. Rules change, so check the current official source for your situation.
USPS Form 1583
Any commercial mail receiving agency, including MailScans, must have a PS Form 1583 for each person who receives mail there, with a current primary and secondary ID. Since May 1, 2024 the signature must be confirmed in person or by live audio and video, or acknowledged before a notary. You complete it during sign-up.
Source: USPS Domestic Mail Manual 508.1.8; Federal Register, May 2, 2024.
General information, not legal advice. Rules change, so check the current official source for your situation.
What MailScans is, and is not
MailScans gives you a professional office-building address and handles the mail that arrives there: logged and photographed the day it arrives, scanned, forwarded, held for pickup by appointment, or shredded as you choose.
We are not a registered agent for service of process, we do not give legal advice, and we do not claim any address satisfies a particular bar's or court's requirements. That decision is yours, made with your bar's current rules.
One price list at every address
Month to month, no setup fee. Extra pages are $1 each and you can change plans any time.
Every plan includes 30 days of free storage per item. Forwarding is actual postage plus 30% and a $20 handling fee per shipment; several items can go in one shipment. Shredding is $1 per sheet. All fees
Questions attorneys ask
More in the full FAQ.
Can I use this address as my State Bar of California address of record?
The State Bar says Business and Professions Code section 6002.1 requires you to keep a current address on file and to report a new address within 30 days of a change, that your address of record is public and posted on the State Bar website, and that you may use a P.O. box as your address of record if you have privacy concerns. The State Bar pages we checked do not specifically address commercial mail receiving addresses, so confirm with the State Bar before you change your record. We are not a registered agent for service of process.
General information, not legal advice. Rules change, so check the current official source for your situation.
What does Pennsylvania require of an attorney's registered contact information?
Pennsylvania Rule of Disciplinary Enforcement 219 requires attorneys to give contact information on the annual registration form, and that information is accessible to the public unless the attorney asks in writing and shows good cause to keep it confidential. Changes must be reported to the Attorney Registration Office in writing within 30 days. The rule does not say which kinds of address are acceptable, so check with the Attorney Registration Office before you list a commercial mail address.
General information, not legal advice. Rules change, so check the current official source for your situation.
Do I have to tell the court if my mailing address changes?
In California state courts, Rule of Court 2.200 says an attorney whose mailing address, telephone, fax or e-mail address (if provided) changes while an action is pending must serve all parties and file a written notice of the change. Federal courts and other states have their own rules, so check each court you appear in.
General information, not legal advice. Rules change, so check the current official source for your situation.
Can I call it my "office" on my letterhead and website?
Both California and Pennsylvania Rule of Professional Conduct 7.1 say a lawyer shall not make a false or misleading communication about the lawyer or the lawyer's services. How you describe an address (a mailing address, a satellite office, your main office) should match how you actually use it. Check your bar's ethics guidance if you are unsure; we do not give legal advice.
General information, not legal advice. Rules change, so check the current official source for your situation.
Why do I have to complete USPS Form 1583?
Federal postal rules require everyone who receives mail through a commercial mail receiving agency to complete PS Form 1583 and show a current primary and secondary form of ID. Since May 2024 the signature must be confirmed in person or over live video, or acknowledged before a notary. Each person you authorize to pick up mail completes their own.
General information, not legal advice. Rules change, so check the current official source for your situation.
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