Section 93.146. Selection of retired or inactive status and resumption of active status

(a) Retired Status: Enforcement Rule 219(i) provides that:

(1) An attorney who has retired shall file with the Attorney Registration Office Form DB-27 (Application for Retirement).

(2) Upon the transmission of the application from the Attorney Registration Office to the Supreme Court, the Court shall enter an order transferring the attorney to retired status, and the attorney shall no longer be eligible to practice law.

(3) The retired attorney will be relieved from the payment of the fee specified in § 93.141 (relating to annual registration).

(4) Chapter 91 Subchapter E (relating to formerly admitted attorneys) shall not be applicable to the formerly admitted attorney unless ordered by the Supreme Court in connection with the entry of an order of suspension or disbarment under another provision of the Enforcement Rules.

(5) An attorney on retired status for three years or less may be reinstated in the same manner as an inactive attorney, by filing a Form DB-29 (Application for Resumption of Active Status), except that the retired attorney shall pay the annual active fee for the three most recent years or such shorter period in which the attorney was on retired status instead of the amounts required to be paid by an inactive attorney seeking reinstatement.

(6) The Chief Justice may delegate the processing and entry of orders under this subsection to the Prothonotary.

(b) Inactive Status. Enforcement Rule 219(j) provides that:

(1) An attorney who is not engaged in practice in Pennsylvania, has sold his or her practice pursuant to Rule 1.17 of the Pennsylvania Rules of Professional Conduct, or is not required by virtue of his or her practice elsewhere to maintain active licensure in the Commonwealth may request inactive status or continue that status once assumed. The attorney shall file either the annual form required by § 93.142(b) and request inactive status or file Form DB-28 (Notice of Voluntary Assumption of Inactive Status). The attorney shall be removed from the roll of those classified as active until and unless such inactive attorney makes a request under paragraph (3) of this section for an administrative return to active status and satisfies all conditions precedent to the grant of such request; or files a petition for reinstatement under § 89.273(b) (relating to procedure for reinstatement of an attorney who has been on inactive status for more than three years, or who is on inactive status and had not been on active status at any time within the prior three years) and is granted reinstatement pursuant to the provisions of § 89.273(b) of these rules.

(2) An inactive attorney under this subsection (b) shall continue to file the annual form required by § 93.142(b) and shall pay an annual fee of $70.00. Noncompliance with this provision will result in the inactive attorney incurring late payment penalites, incurring a collection fee for any check in payment that has been returned to the Board unpaid, and being placed on administrative suspension in accordance with the provisions of § 93.144.

(3) Administrative Change in Status from Inactive Status to Active Status: An attorney on inactive status may request resumption of active status by filing Form DB-29 (Application for Resumption of Active Status) with the Attorney Registration Office. Resumption of active status shall be granted unless the inactive attorney is subject to an outstanding order of suspension or disbarment, unless the inactive attorney has sold his or her practice pursuant to Rule 1.17 of the Pennsylvania Rules of Professional Conduct (see § 89.273(b)), unless the inactive status has been in effect for more than three years, or unless the inactive attorney had not been on active status at any time within the preceding three years (see § 89.273(b)), upon the payment of:

(i) the active fee for the registration year in which the application for resumption of active status is made or the difference between the active fee and the inactive fee that has been paid for that year; and

(ii) any collection fee or late payment penalty that may have been assessed pursuant to § 93.144 of these rules, prior to the inactive attorney’s request for resumption of active status.

Where a check in payment of the fees and penalties has been returned to the Board unpaid, the Attorney Registration Office shall immediately return the attorney to inactive status, and the arrears shall not be deemed to have been paid until a collection fee, as established by the Board under § 93.142(b)(2), shall also have been paid.

Official Note

The Note to Enforcement Rule 219(j) explains that § 93.145 (relating to reinstatement of administratively suspended attorneys) and § 93.146 (relating to resumption of active status by retired or inactive attorneys) do not apply if, on the date of the filing of the request for reinstatement, the formerly admitted attorney has not been on active status at any time within the preceding three years. See § 89.273(e)(1).

The provisions of this § 93.146 amended July 8, 1983, effective July 9, 1983, 13 Pa.B. 2138; amended September 11, 1992, effective with respect to assessment years commencing July 1, 1992 and thereafter, 22 Pa.B. 4624; amended April 12, 2002, effective immediately, 32 Pa.B. 1838; amended May 19, 2006, effective May 20, 2006, 36 Pa.B. 2368; amended August 7, 2009, effective immediately, 39 Pa.B. 4725; amended November 2, 2012, effective November 3, 2012, 42 Pa.B. 6864. Immediately preceding text appears at serial pages (358114) to (358115).