What Does Pro Hac Vice Cost in New York?

The Filing Fee Is the Smallest Part of the Cost.

When attorneys budget for pro hac vice admission, they focus on the court filing fee. But the filing fee is almost never the largest expense. The real costs are elsewhere: local counsel, Certificate of Good Standing, travel, and the procedural mistakes that cost far more than any fee.

Court filing fees are straightforward. In New York Supreme Court, there is no separate pro hac vice filing fee. You pay the RJI fee of $95 when you file the Request for Judicial Intervention. In SDNY and EDNY, expect approximately $200 each. But these amounts are dwarfed by local counsel costs and the expenses that flow from inadequate local representation.

The out-of-state firms we see in trouble are not the ones spending too much on local counsel. They are the ones who tried to minimize the engagement. Then they discovered DCM discovery rules they did not know existed, missed a deadline they did not know was compressed, and ended up paying thousands to fix the problem.

Court Filing Fees by Court.

Court	Pro Hac Vice Filing Fee	Notes
New York Supreme Court (all counties)	No separate fee. $95 RJI fee.	Fee included when you file Request for Judicial Intervention. No additional pro hac vice filing fee.
SDNY (Federal)	Approximately $200	Confirm current amount with the clerk. May be subject to change.
EDNY (Federal)	Approximately $200	Confirm current amount with the clerk. May be subject to change.

Important: These fees are subject to change. Always confirm the current amount with the court clerk before filing.

Certificate of Good Standing Costs.

A Certificate of Good Standing is issued by the bar of your home jurisdiction and confirms that you are licensed to practice law in good standing. New York requires this document as part of the pro hac vice motion. Federal courts require it as well.

Critical timing rule: The certificate must be within 30 days of filing.

This catches many attorneys off guard. A stale certificate is grounds for the court to reject the pro hac vice motion. If your certificate is more than 30 days old when you file, you need a new one. Plan accordingly.

Cost varies by state.

Most states charge $10 to $50 for a Certificate of Good Standing. Some offer expedited processing for an additional fee. Some allow online ordering and email delivery; others require certified mail. Contact your home bar's certificate office and confirm the current cost and delivery time. Budget extra time if you are mailing the certificate.

If you need a replacement.

If your original certificate expires before you file the pro hac vice motion, order a new one immediately. Do not assume you have 30 days from issuance. The 30-day window runs from filing, not issuance.

Local Counsel Fees: What to Expect.

Local counsel fees vary widely depending on the scope of work. The range depends on what you actually need: motion preparation and filing, court appearances, ongoing procedural support, or some combination.

Our approach.

We charge a flat fee for the pro hac vice motion itself: preparation, filing, court correspondence, and ensuring your admission is processed. Beyond the motion, additional work is billed hourly. Court appearances, discovery management, calendar monitoring, NYSCEF compliance: each engagement is different, and we quote based on what your case actually requires.

Call us at 212-233-0666 to discuss your matter. We will walk through the scope and give you a clear quote before any work begins.

Hidden Costs That Catch Out-of-State Firms.

• Travel to New York for routine appearances. You could delegate these to local counsel, but without a strong local relationship, you feel forced to appear yourself. One trip to New York for a 15-minute compliance conference costs more than six months of local counsel retainer.
• Missed deadlines from unfamiliar DCM protocols. Kings County has eliminated automatic NOI extensions. Queens compresses discovery to 60 days on accelerated tracks. The Bronx shortens summary judgment deadlines to 60 days. These rules are not obvious. Missing them leads to sanctions, dismissal, or paying a local firm to fix the problem.
• Rejected NYSCEF filings. NYSCEF formatting requirements are specific. A rejected filing costs you time and requires resubmission. If you miss a deadline while resubmitting, the cost climbs.
• Multiple trips for conferences. When you do not know your local court procedures, you need to appear at every conference to understand what is happening. A local attorney who has been in that courtroom 200 times can handle the routine stuff and call you only when something changes.
• The cost of NOT having experienced local counsel. This is the real hidden cost. The cost of defending a sanctions motion. The cost of a dismissed case because you missed the AVOID Act deadline. The cost of malpractice insurance claims and client disputes. The cost of your reputation. The cost is almost always higher than the retainer for real local counsel would have been.

How We Structure Pro Hac Vice Engagements.

Every engagement starts with a conversation. We discuss your case, the court, the expected timeline, and what you need from local counsel. Then we quote accordingly.

Pricing Summary.

Service	Approximate Cost Range	What It Includes
Court filing fees	$95 (state) to $200 (federal)	RJI fee or federal pro hac vice filing fee. Paid to the court.
Certificate of Good Standing	$10 to $50	Varies by state. Must be within 30 days of filing.
Pro hac vice motion preparation and filing	Flat fee (call for quote)	Drafting, filing, court correspondence, admission processing.
Additional local counsel work	Hourly (call for quote)	Court appearances, discovery, motion practice, calendar monitoring, NYSCEF compliance.

Contact Us for a Quote.

Do not budget for pro hac vice based on guesses or industry rumors. Every case is different. Call or email to discuss your matter and we will provide a clear quote with no surprises. We respond within 24 hours. For urgent matters, call or text directly.

When your case is on the line, send someone who knows the courtroom.

Attorney Advertising. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. The Law Office of Frederic R. Abramson, 160 Broadway, Suite 500, New York, NY 10038. 212-233-0666.