Vt. Attorney Licensing eFiling Guide

Attorney Licensing eFiling Guide

V5 January 2026

PLEASE NOTE: THIS GUIDE IS SUBJECT TO FREQUENT REVISIONS AND EDITS. IT IS RECOMMENDED THAT YOU DO NOT

PRINT OUT HARD COPIES OF THIS GUIDE OR SAVE LOCAL VERSIONS, AS THEY MAY BECOME QUICKLY OUT OF DATE.

PLEASE CONTINUE TO REFER TO THE VERSION POSTED ON THE JUDICIARY WEBSITE WHICH WILL BE KEPT UPDATED

WITH CURRENT AND ACCURATE INFORMATION.

NOTE: This guide is NOT intended to be a comprehensive guide to the use of the Odyssey File and Serve system. It provides

supplemental specific guidance for the eFiling of Attorney Licensing applications and related documents.

Contents

About Odyssey File and Serve....................................................................................................................................................... 1

First Step: Registration and Creating a Payment Account............................................................................................................ 1

Document Formatting Requirements........................................................................................................................................... 2

Filing An Application Or Other Submission................................................................................................................................... 2

Start a New Case....................................................................................................................................................................... 3

File into an Existing Case........................................................................................................................................................... 3

Complete and Submit the Filing................................................................................................................................................ 4

Training and Support..................................................................................................................................................................... 6

About Odyssey File and Serve

Along with Vermont Courts, the Office of Attorney Licensing has adopted eFiling for applications and other

related documents through the Odyssey File and Serve (OFS) system, a web-based platform accessible from any

modern browser on a computer or mobile device. This guide provides instruction on how to use OFS to file

attorney licensing-related documents.

First Step: Registration and Creating a Payment Account

To be able to file Attorney Licensing applications through OFS, you first need to register with the Attorney

Portal. Registration with the Attorney Portal is free and simple. All that is required is a valid personal email

address. Instructions on how to register with the Attorney Portal can be found at

https://www.vermontjudiciary.org/attorneyportaluserguide.

You will also need to set up a payment account to process the payment of fees. Instructions on how to set up a

payment account (and other general information about the use of the eFiling system) can be found in the User

Guides in the “self help” section on the OFS homepage

https://vermont.tylertech.cloud/OfsWeb/FileAndServeModule.

Document Formatting Requirements

All electronically filed documents must be submitted in PDF format. Filers are responsible for ensuring that

scanned PDF documents are viewable and legible and are in a “flat” format. This means that fillable field forms and

any other documents with objects or images added or embedded in it must be saved/printed as a “flat” PDF file

before attaching and submitting. Follow the steps below to "flatten" a completed PDF fillable form:

1. Open the fillable form.

2. Add appropriate data.

3. Right click on the document and select Print. NOTE: if the document opens in Adobe, select File and select

Print.

4. Select the PDF printer. (The Adobe PDF printer is installed automatically with Adobe Acrobat. Other users

may have “Microsoft Print to PDF”. Numerous free PDF printer drivers are available for download from

the Internet.)

5. Select OK.

6. Specify location to save the printed, "flattened" version of the form.

7. Select Save.

Every individual document in a filing must be submitted as a separate PDF. Filings will not be accepted if multiple

filed documents are scanned/uploaded together as one combined PDF. Multi-page documents should be

submitted as one PDF. Documents that cannot reasonably be scanned and submitted as a PDF because of their

size, shape, or condition may be filed through alternative means.

Filing An Application or Other Submission

OFS can be accessed directly at https://efilevt.tylertech.cloud/OfsEfsp/ui/landing or via a link on the Vermont

Judiciary’s website’s eFiling page at https://www.vermontjudiciary.org/about-vermont-judiciary/electronic-

access/electronic-filing.

In Odyssey, a licensing applicant’s electronic record is called a “case.” There are three types of such cases used

by Attorney Licensing:

1. Attorney Life Cycle Case: This case type is for applicants for admission to the bar and applicants for pro hac

vice and pro bono emeritus licenses. The case numbers for this case type begin with “ALC” (for applicants

who have yet to be licensed) or “ATTY” (for applicants who have been previously licensed).

2. Foreign Equivalency Determination: This case type is for applicants with a foreign law degree seeking a

foreign equivalency determination to establish their eligibility to sit for the Vermont bar examination. The

case numbers for this case type begin with “FED”.

3. Law Office Study Program: This case type is for applicants seeking to begin the Law Office Study Program

(the apprenticeship program that qualifies someone to sit for the Vermont bar examination without having

gone to law school) as well as current participants in that Program. The case numbers for this case type

begin with “LSP”.

Applicants must file each submission into the case type appropriate for that submission.

If you have not previously filed an application or other submission to the Office of Attorney Licensing through

OFS and had it accepted for submission, you will need to Start a New Case, per below. If you have previously

eFiled something into a particular case type and had it accepted, you will have an existing “case” of that case

type and should follow the directions below for Filing into an Existing Case.

Note that if you have previously filed into a Foreign Equivalency Determination or Law Office Study Program

case type, you will only have an existing Foreign Equivalency Determination or Law Office Study Program case.

You will not have an existing Attorney Life Cycle Case. As such, if you have been found eligible to sit for the

Vermont bar examination and wish to apply for admission, you will need to Start a New Case, choosing

“Attorney Life Cycle Case” as the case type.

Start a New Case

After logging into OFS with your Attorney Portal credentials, click “Start Filing”. Then click “Start New

Case”.

1. Complete the Case Information Section, as follows:

a. For Court Location, select “Attorney Licensing”.

b. For Case Category, select “Civil”.

c. For Case Type, select the case type appropriate to the submission, either “Attorney

Life Cycle Case”, “Foreign Equivalency Determination”, or “Law Office Study

Program”.

d. Click “Parties” at the lower right part of the Case Information section.

2. Complete the Parties Section, as follows:

a. Click “+ Add party details”.

b. Click the slide to the left of “I Am This Party”.

c. Enter information for all fields in the section except the “Party CMS ID” field.

d. Click “Save” at the lower right part of the Party section.

e. Click “Filings” at the lower right.

See below for further instructions on how to Complete and Submit the Filing.

File into an Existing Case

If you have previously eFiled an application or other submission with the Office of Attorney Licensing and

had it accepted, the relevant Attorney Licensing case will have been created in Odyssey and all subsequent

applications related to that case must be filed into that case, as follows.

1. After logging into OFS with your Attorney Portal credentials, click “Start Filing”. Then click

“File Into Existing Case”.

2. To locate your Attorney Licensing case, select “Attorney Licensing” as the location.

3. If you know the case number, enter it into the Case Number field. If you do not know the

case number, click the circle next to Party Name and enter your first and last name. Click

Search. If you are unable to locate an existing case by case number or party name, please

contact the support resources listed in the Support section of this guide. Remember that

the case numbers for the case type “Attorney Life Cycle Case” begin with “ALC” (for

applicants who have yet to be licensed) or “ATTY” (for applicants who have been previously

licensed); the case numbers for the case type “Foreign Equivalency Determination” begin

with “FED”; and the case numbers for the case type “Law Office Study” begin with “LSP”.

3. When the case is located in the search results, click the “Actions” dropdown at the right of

the case entry and select “File Into Case”.

4. Click “Parties” at the lower right.

5. Click “Filings” at the lower right.

6. Click “+ Add Filing” at the bottom.

Complete and Submit the Filing

Once you have completed the Case Information and Parties sections, you will need to complete the filing

as appropriate for the particular submission, as follows:

1. Filings Section

a. Click the circle next to “eFile Only”.

b. Select the appropriate application/submission from the Filing Code dropdown menu.

If you have any questions as to which is the appropriate Filing Code for the particular

submission, please email the Office of Attorney Licensing at

ATTYLicensing@vtcourts.gov.

c. The Filing Description, Client Reference Number, and Comments to Court should be

left blank.

d. Documents

i. Lead Documents and Attachments: The main application/submission should

be the lead document. All other documents filed in support should be

submitted as Attachments.

1. Be sure to enter the name of the document in the Description field.

For pro hac vice applications, however, enter the docket number of

the pro hac vice case in the Description field.

2. Remember that every individual document in a filing must be

submitted as a separate PDF. Filings will not be accepted if multiple

filed documents are scanned/uploaded together as one combined

PDF.

ii. Document Security: Select “SCA General” for all documents.

iii. Additional Services and Fees: Except as specified below, do not enter any

additional services and fees.

1. Requests for Certificate of Good Standing/Certificate Suitable for

Framing: If you would like to order more than one certificate, click

“Add Additional Services” at the bottom right. Click the box to the

left of the name of the particular certificate being requested. Enter

the additional quantity requested.

2. MCLE Accreditation Applications (late filed): If the application is being

submitted more than 30 days after the course took place, you will

need to pay a late fee of $50. Click “Add Additional Services” at the

bottom right. Click the box to the left of “CLE Accreditation Late Fee.”

3. Reinstatement/Late Fees. If these are applicable to your filing, click

“Add Additional Services” at the bottom right. Click the box to the

left of appropriate fee and, if necessary, enter the amount of the fee

to be paid.

e. Click “Save” at the lower right.

f. Click “Skip to Fees” at the lower right.

Simultaneous Filing of Multiple Pro Hac Vice Applications: If you are filing multiple pro hac

vice applications for the same out-of-state attorney simultaneously, you should file them in

a single filing rather than in separate filings. To do that, follow the instructions above for

the first application. Then, click “+Add Another Filing” at the lower right part of the Filings

section and enter the details for the second application. Repeat that step for all other

applications. Once you have entered all applications, click “Save Changes”.

2. Fees Section

a. For Payment Account, select the name of the payment account that you created.

b. For Party Responsible, select your name.

c. Click “Calculate Fees” at the right. The fees to be paid will be shown.

d. Click “Summary” at the bottom right.

3. Submission Agreements

Check both boxes. Neither apply to Attorney Licensing business, as licensing cases are not

publicly accessible and no other party is required to be served with Attorney Licensing

filings.

4. Summary and Submission

All the details of the envelope will be displayed for a final review. If edits are needed, click

the appropriate “Edit” button. Otherwise click “Submit” to submit the envelope.

You will receive a confirmation email when the filing has been successfully submitted. It will

contain the envelope number, which can be used to reference the filing until a case number

is assigned after acceptance.

A “Submission Failure” email notification indicates an automatic system rejection, usually

because of a document formatting problem (see earlier sections in this guide about proper

document formatting).

5. Review and Acceptance

Most Attorney Licensing electronic filings do not go directly into the case management

system. Rather, they are received first into a Reviewer Queue where Attorney Licensing

staff review them for compliance with rule and statutory requirements and then accept

them into Odyssey.

When a Staff Reviewer accepts a filing, several things happen:

• For a new case, a case number is assigned and the appropriate licensing case is created

in Odyssey. Case events (docket entries) are placed automatically on the case

corresponding to the filing code(s) selected in the filing.

• The filer’s payment account is charged for any fees due.

• The filer receives a confirmation email notifying them of the acceptance and the case

number.

6. Submission Failure and Rejections

When an eFiling does not comply with the system requirements, it may fail to be submitted

and the eFiler will get a notice that the submission failed. The most common reason is that

there is a document size or formatting error.

In addition, there are some limited circumstances (such as noncompliance with application

requirements or failure to sign a document) in which the Attorney Licensing staff may reject

a filing and return it to the filer for corrective action. In this case, the eFiler will receive an

emailed notice of returned filing.

7. File Date

In general, the date of filing recorded on the case record is the date of submission, not the

date of acceptance.

8. Filing Date for Rejected and Resubmitted Envelopes

If a filer’s envelope is rejected, the eFiler is given the option to copy the envelope, take the

needed corrective action, and resubmit the filing within 7 days to still receive the original

filing date. This can only be done when the envelope is copied, not when a new envelope is

created. For details on this process, see Tyler Firm and Individual Filer Guides.

9. Confirmation Emails

The filer will receive confirmation emails when the filing is submitted and when it is

accepted by the Office of Attorney Licensing.

A “Notice of Rejected Filing” email indicates that the filing did not comply with

requirements or was unable to be accepted for some other reason. The reviewing staff

person will include a message explaining the problem and any corrective actions needed.

Training and Support

For general information and questions about use of the eFiling system, the OFS homepage

https://vermont.tylertech.cloud/OfsWeb/FileAndServeModule has a “self help” section with numerous

resources. Questions specific to using OFS to file Attorney Licensing applications and other related documents

can be emailed to AttyLicensing@vtcourts.gov.