Registry definitions
What Bar Admission Means in the NY OCA Registry
Bar admission on PlainAttorney is the New York OCA registration fact: the person appears on the public roll with a status code, admission date, and any linked formal discipline. This page defines those fields.
- OCA
- source roll
- Active
- authorized code
- Discipline
- formal rows
Bar admission in the NY OCA registry is a dated public registration event - not a quality rating or a guarantee of current practice authorization.
Admission date, status codes, and discipline rows are separate registry facts. This guide attributes definitions to the OCA public file PlainAttorney compiles.
- Admission dated registry event
- Status separate from discipline
According to NY OCA attorney registration, an active status code is the authorization flag on the public roll. The same file does not encode practice-area competence, fees, or complaints that never became formal discipline.
What admission records on the roll
New York Office of Court Administration publishes attorney registration rows that include identity, registration status, admission date, and related fields. PlainAttorney republishes those rows with joins for city peer placement and discipline links. Official search remains on NY Courts Attorney Online Services and data.ny.gov.
Any named registrant can be opened on the PlainAttorney lookup. The page shows the mirrored fields for the current site vintage.
Status codes on the registration file
What the field carries: Status distinguishes codes that authorize practice (typically active / in good standing) from codes that do not (suspended, disbarred, inactive). Active means OCA records the registrant as current on registration requirements for the file vintage.
What the field omits: Status does not measure hours of practice, specialty depth, malpractice claims, or peer reputation. A newly admitted active registrant and a multi-decade active registrant share the same authorization class.
Where to read the code list: Understanding bar status documents the labels PlainAttorney surfaces from the file.
Discipline rows linked to registrants
What the field carries: Formal actions from the public discipline sources PlainAttorney ingests, reprimand through suspension and disbarment as those sources label them.
What the field omits: Dismissed complaints, informal resolutions, and matters never docketed as formal discipline. An empty discipline section means no formal row in the ingested sources for this vintage.
Where to verify: Discipline index and individual attorney profiles; procedural detail in how to check attorney discipline records.
Jurisdiction boundary of the NY roll
The NY OCA registration file authorizes practice only as New York registration defines it. Separate admission is required for other state courts. Federal court admission is a distinct process. PlainAttorney does not merge out-of-state rolls into NY profiles.
Frequently asked questions
What does NY bar admission mean on the registry?
It means OCA recorded that the person met NY admission requirements and appears on the attorney registration roll. Active status means currently authorized under that roll for the file vintage.
Does NY admission cover other states?
No. Each state keeps its own roll. Reciprocity and federal admissions are outside this NY OCA file.
Active vs inactive on the NY roll?
Active means authorized and current on registration requirements. Inactive means still on the roll but recorded as not authorized to practice until reactivation.
What do discipline rows represent?
Formal actions in the public discipline sources linked to the registrant. Empty means no formal row in those sources for this vintage.
Sources: New York Office of Court Administration, NY Open Data.
Last updated: August 2026
Understanding the data
Field definitions follow the New York Office of Court Administration attorney registration release PlainAttorney ingested. See methodology for vintage and derivation.