State by state

How to read the table

• Bar exam with a foreign degree

  Yes, with conditions (31): your foreign degree opens the exam to you, almost always with something more: an evaluation, an LL.M. or credits at a U.S. law school, or years of practice in your country.

  Only with a U.S. license (7): you first need a license, and sometimes years of practice, in another state.

  No (18): your foreign degree is not enough; as a rule you need a J.D. from an ABA-approved law school.

  When an LL.M. helps you

• Foreign Legal Consultant

  Yes (34): the state certifies lawyers from other countries to advise on their country's law, without an exam.

  What they require and how each state decides

• In-house counsel

  Yes (18): you can work for a company with only your license from another country, almost always with a registration.

  With the FLC license (3): you get there through that route. To be confirmed (11): the rule is not clear, or a recent Pro Bono Institute list includes them, with or without registration; we are confirming it in each one's rule.

  What each state adds

• Temporary practice

  Yes, with conditions (5): without a state license, you can handle matters there temporarily, tied to your country or to international law, as its rule allows. Only in part (6): only in a narrow form: arbitration, consulting with a lawyer of the state, or only matters of your country's law.

  No (6): its temporary practice rule is only for lawyers from another state. To be confirmed (39): we have not yet read its current rule.

  What it is and what it does not allow

• Pro hac vice

  Yes, with conditions (11): with the court's permission, you can act in a single case, almost always together with a lawyer of the state.

  No (8): only for lawyers from another U.S. state. To be confirmed (37): we have not yet read its current rule.

  What it is and what it does not allow

Sources

Reviewed on October 15, 2026; temporary practice and pro hac vice on October 24, 2026. Rules change: confirm the current one with the state's court or board of bar examiners.

• NCBE: Comprehensive Guide to Bar Admission Requirements 2026, Chart 4 (Foreign Legal Education), with its notes
• NCBE: Comprehensive Guide to Bar Admission Requirements 2026, Chart 16 (Other Licenses and Registrations)
• Pro Bono Institute: Foreign Lawyer In-House Rules (July 2026), where a lawyer from another country can work as in-house counsel
• Laurel S. Terry (Penn State Dickinson Law): Jurisdictions with Rules Regarding Foreign Lawyer Practice, map of the five routes (June 5, 2018, her most recent version). It is our framework; we check each state in its current rule
• Supreme Court of Florida: In re Amendments to Rule 4-13.4, SC21-187 (February 10, 2022)

In-house counsel: each state's official rule is linked on that route's page. Temporary practice and pro hac vice: each state's official rule is in its map summary, with the date we read it.