Name: Matthew Fornaro, P.A.
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August 28 2026

Matthew Fornaro

Business Litigation Attorney · Coral Springs, FL

Matthew Fornaro is a Florida business law attorney serving Coral Springs, Parkland, and Broward County. He represents small businesses in commercial litigation, contract disputes, and business torts. Schedule a consultation →

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Florida Rule of General Practice and Judicial Administration 2.510 governs pro hac vice admission, and it requires three things before you can step into a Florida courtroom: file the verified Motion to Appear Pro Hac Vice, associate Florida local counsel, and pay The Florida Bar’s $250 PHV fee. A court, not the Bar, ultimately decides whether you get to appear, and the PHV number you eventually receive is only an administrative credential for e-filing, not a stamp of judicial approval.

TL;DR:

Out-of-state attorneys must file a verified motion, associate Florida local counsel, and pay a $250 fee to gain pro hac vice admission in Florida courts.

The PHV number is an administrative credential for e-filing purposes and does not grant judicial approval or appear as a license to practice.

Eligibility requires active, good-standing bar membership in all jurisdictions, with Florida residents generally barred unless they have pending applications, and discipline or prior appearances can disqualify you.

Filing mistakes, undisclosed disciplinary history, or failing to supplement facts can lead to rejection or sanctions, while proper process protects against disqualification or misconduct claims.

Federal court procedures differ significantly and require separate filings, certification, and registration, making local counsel support even more critical for out-of-state attorneys.

Pro Hac Vice Florida Checklist: Steps to File Before You Appear
Who Qualifies Under Florida’s Pro Hac Vice Rules
What Your Motion Must Include and How to Serve It
The Two-Fee System and How the PHV Number Actually Works
Federal Court Rules Differ From Florida State Procedure
What Local Counsel Actually Does (and Why It Matters)
Practitioner Notes: Avoiding Denials and Delays
What Happens If You Don’t Follow the Rules
Withdrawing or Terminating Your Pro Hac Vice Admission
Handling Emergency or Time-Sensitive Pro Hac Vice Filings
Why Local Counsel Changes the Odds for Out-of-State Attorneys
Get Florida Local Counsel Support for Your PHV Filing
Sources

Pro Hac Vice Florida Checklist: Steps to File Before You Appear

Getting this right the first time saves weeks. Here is the order that actually works in practice, based on how Florida circuit courts and The Florida Bar process these filings.

Pull the form motion. Use the appendix to Rule 2.510 and fill in every field, including bar numbers from every jurisdiction where you’re admitted.
Lock in local counsel. Confirm the engagement in writing and include their Florida Bar number directly in the motion.
File and serve. File the original motion with the court, serve opposing parties, and send a copy plus the $250 fee to The Florida Bar’s PHV Admissions office.
Pay the court fee. Confirm the separate statutory filing fee with the clerk and check local rules on hearings or notice requirements.
Register for the Portal. Once your PHV number arrives, register for the e-filing Portal yourself. Until then, local counsel must e-file on your behalf.

Pro Tip: Start the local-counsel conversation before you even draft the motion. Attorneys who wait until filing week routinely lose days scrambling for a Florida Bar number to complete the form.

Who Qualifies Under Florida’s Pro Hac Vice Rules

Rule 2.510 disqualifies more attorneys than most people expect, and the screening happens before you ever see a judge. Run through this list honestly before drafting anything.

You must be an active, good-standing member of the bar in every jurisdiction where you practice, with no gaps in eligibility.
Florida residents are generally barred from pro hac vice admission, unless a pending Florida Bar application hasn’t been denied.
Prior discipline, a contempt finding, or a failure to pay Bar fees or provide required notices will disqualify you outright.
Having multiple appearances in separate cases over the course of about a year can create a presumption of “general practice” in Florida, which can adversely affect your motion. Appearances at different levels of the same case, such as a trial court proceeding followed by an appeal, count as one appearance rather than two under how courts have interpreted the counting rule.
You have an ongoing duty to disclose anything relevant, and you must supplement your motion within 10 days if facts change after filing.

Rule 2.510 is written narrowly on purpose. Courts routinely weigh an attorney’s disciplinary history from other states when ruling on these motions, so a clean record does real work for your approval odds.

What Your Motion Must Include and How to Serve It

The form motion is not a formality you skim through. Missing a required field is one of the most common reasons Florida courts bounce these filings back for correction.

Your motion needs to state:

Every jurisdiction where you hold a license and your bar number in each
Any Florida pro hac vice appearances within the past five years
Full disciplinary history, including anything resolved or dismissed
Your local counsel’s name and Florida Bar number
A certification that you’ll comply with Florida’s Rules of Professional Conduct while appearing

File the original with the clerk in the county or circuit where your case sits, then serve all opposing parties and mail or deliver a copy along with your $250 fee to The Florida Bar’s PHV Admissions office. Build your exhibit file early: a list of prior pro hac vice appearances and any disciplinary records, formatted and ready, so you’re not scrambling if the court asks for backup or if you need to supplement the motion under the 10-day rule.

One exception worth knowing: if your matter is a private arbitration rather than court litigation, you typically file a Verified Statement instead of the Rule 2.510 motion, since arbitration proceedings fall outside court jurisdiction entirely.

The Two-Fee System and How the PHV Number Actually Works

Out-of-state attorneys almost always underestimate how many separate payments this process involves. Here’s the breakdown:

The Florida Bar fee is $250 per motion or verified statement. If multiple attorneys from your firm need admission, each pays separately, though one check can cover several motions if they’re attached together.
A separate court filing fee applies, commonly around $100, but confirm the exact figure with the clerk since amounts and local rules vary by circuit.
After The Florida Bar processes your copy of the motion and fee, it assigns a PHV number. That number lets you register for the e-filing Portal, but it is not the court’s permission to appear.

Statistic to remember: The Florida Bar charges $250 per PHV motion or verified statement, a fee that’s separate from whatever the court itself charges to file.

Keep every receipt. Save the email with your PHV number the moment it arrives, and have local counsel verify Portal access works before any deadline that actually matters.

Federal Court Rules Differ From Florida State Procedure

Nothing here transfers automatically to federal court, and treating them as interchangeable is how out-of-state attorneys miss deadlines. Florida’s three federal districts run their own admission systems entirely separate from Rule 2.510.

The Southern District of Florida requires certification of good standing and association with local counsel, with its own docketing and payment procedures for PHV motions.
Admission to a federal district doesn’t automatically grant CM/ECF filing access. You still need separate PACER registration to file electronically.
Some districts cap how many times you can appear before requiring full admission, similar in spirit to Florida’s 3-in-365 rule but with different thresholds and mechanics.
Read that specific district’s local rules and clerk instructions before filing anything. A motion built for Southern District practice can get rejected in the Middle or Northern District for missing a local requirement.

What Local Counsel Actually Does (and Why It Matters)

Local counsel isn’t a rubber stamp on your motion. They’re an active Florida Bar member of record with real duties and real exposure.

They typically handle e-filing, receive court orders on your behalf, and manage local procedural requirements you won’t be familiar with.
Before the case gets moving, negotiate who attends hearings, who handles filings, and how client communication and billing get divided between you.
Both attorneys carry ethical exposure on filings made under the association, so confirm malpractice coverage and settle who makes which decisions before conflicts arise.
Vet your local counsel’s experience with pro hac vice logistics specifically, not just their general litigation background.

For a deeper look at what a working relationship with Florida local counsel should look like day to day, the expectations differ meaningfully from a typical co-counsel arrangement.

Pro Tip: Put the division of labor in writing before the first filing, not after a missed deadline forces the conversation. A one-page engagement letter between counsel prevents most disputes over who was supposed to file what.

Practitioner Notes: Avoiding Denials and Delays

Years of handling these filings from the Florida side reveal a short list of habits that separate clean approvals from motions that bounce back for correction.

Build your disciplinary-history exhibit and prior-appearance log before you file, not after a clerk asks for it.
Supplement the motion the moment anything changes. Waiting past the 10-day window is a self-inflicted problem.
Attach a proposed order when local practice favors it. Many Florida judges sign routine PHV admissions faster when the order is already drafted.
Confirm Portal registration and PHV-number receipt with local counsel before any time-sensitive filing, especially the week of a hearing.
If you’re close to the 3-in-365 threshold, weigh full Florida admission instead, or prepare a factual rebuttal showing your appearances don’t constitute general practice.

What Happens If You Don’t Follow the Rules

Florida courts treat pro hac vice compliance as a real gatekeeping function, not a paperwork exercise, and the consequences for cutting corners range from annoying to case-ending.

The mildest outcome is a denied or continued motion, which delays your appearance and forces a refiling. Courts commonly reject motions missing required fields, disciplinary disclosures, or properly identified local counsel. That’s recoverable, but it costs time your client is paying for.

More serious violations carry heavier consequences. Appearing in a Florida proceeding without an approved motion, or continuing to act as counsel after a motion is denied, can expose you to unauthorized practice of law issues under the same framework The Florida Bar uses to police limited appearances. Courts can strike filings you made before approval, and in some cases, opposing counsel will move to disqualify you entirely, creating a headache for your client and your relationship with local counsel.

Failing to supplement your motion when facts change, say, a new disciplinary finding in another state, is treated separately and often more harshly than an honest initial disclosure. Courts read concealment far worse than an imperfect record disclosed upfront. If you exceed the 3-in-365 appearance threshold without addressing it, expect the court to either deny the motion outright or ask for a detailed explanation before ruling, adding weeks to your timeline.

None of this is designed to be punitive for its own sake. Florida’s PHV system exists so courts retain oversight over who practices before them, and every sanction traces back to that principle.

Withdrawing or Terminating Your Pro Hac Vice Admission

Pro hac vice admission is tied to a specific case, not a general license, and it ends when that case ends or when you’re no longer needed on it. Handling the exit correctly protects both you and your client.

If the case resolves through settlement, dismissal, or final judgment, your PHV status typically terminates automatically once the matter closes, though some Florida courts prefer an order or notice confirming the withdrawal for the record. Check with local counsel on whether your specific circuit expects a formal motion to withdraw or simply treats the case closure as sufficient.

If you need to withdraw before the case ends, whether the client changes representation or you’re rolling off the matter, file a motion to withdraw with the court, following the same service requirements you used for your original PHV motion. Local counsel usually needs to confirm they’re either withdrawing alongside you or remaining as counsel of record, since Florida courts want clarity on who represents the client going forward.

One detail attorneys miss: your PHV appearance still counts toward the 3-in-365-days tally even after the case closes, since the presumption looks backward at appearances within the rolling window, not just active cases. Keep your appearance log current even after a matter wraps up, especially if you expect to file another Florida PHV motion within the same year.

Handling Emergency or Time-Sensitive Pro Hac Vice Filings

Emergencies happen. A client calls with a temporary restraining order hearing in 48 hours, or a case gets removed to Florida federal court with a deadline already ticking. The standard PHV timeline doesn’t bend for urgency, but you can compress it.

Start by contacting Florida local counsel immediately, even before you’ve drafted anything, since they may already be able to appear on an emergency basis while your motion is prepared. Many Florida judges will hear emergency motions with local counsel present, and allow the pro hac vice motion to follow within days, particularly in matters involving imminent harm or expiring deadlines.

Prepare the Rule 2.510 form motion in parallel with everything else. Because the form fields are standardized, an experienced local counsel can often turn a complete draft around same day if you provide your bar numbers, disciplinary history, and prior appearance record up front.

For the Bar fee, expedited processing isn’t formally offered, but sending the $250 payment and motion copy to PHV Admissions by overnight mail or hand delivery, rather than standard mail, shaves real time off the PHV number issuance. If the court hearing is happening before your PHV number arrives, local counsel can file and appear in your stead while your admission is pending, which is precisely why the local-counsel association exists in the first place.

Why Local Counsel Changes the Odds for Out-of-State Attorneys

Matthew Fornaro is an AV®-rated business attorney with over 20 years representing companies and out-of-area counsel across South Florida. Firms bring him in specifically because Florida’s PHV mechanics, the form motion, the Bar fee, the Portal registration, trip up attorneys who file here once every few years. Handling that administrative layer directly is often the difference between a clean approval and a week lost to a bounced filing.

— Matthew

Get Florida Local Counsel Support for Your PHV Filing

Out-of-state firms usually handle pro hac vice admission one of two ways: assign it to a paralegal unfamiliar with Florida’s form requirements, or hand the whole administrative burden to local counsel who files these motions regularly. Fornarolegal takes the second approach, drafting your Rule 2.510 motion, handling the Bar fee payment, and getting your Portal registration sorted before your hearing date, so you’re not learning Florida’s clerk procedures under deadline pressure.

Onboarding typically starts with a short call to confirm your case details, your bar numbers, and any disciplinary disclosures the motion needs to include. From there, Fornarolegal’s local counsel services cover the filing, service, and fee handling, so most attorneys have a fileable motion within days rather than weeks. If your matter also involves a Florida business dispute that could benefit from early legal guidance before it escalates, that’s worth a conversation in the same call. Reach out to get your PHV filing timeline started.

This article is general information, not a substitute for advice from a qualified lawyer. Consult a qualified legal professional about your own circumstances before acting on anything here.

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