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While many professional and trades people are often licensed by a government agency some are instead licensed by their relevant professional association. For example, some states’ lawyer license databases do not reside on the state government’s site but instead reside at the state’s bar association site (or at the regulatory arm of the association). Because lawyers are licensed in each state individually, it is necessary to search any state(s) where you think the lawyer may be licensed to get a full picture.

Below, we have compiled a list of links to all of those states (and the District of Columbia) that offer searchable databases of licensed attorneys. Selecting a jurisdiction from the drop-down menu will take you directly to the searchable database of licensed attorneys in that jurisdiction. Note that there are some exceptions or peculiarities with some of these attorney licensing databases that we have marked with an asterisk and detailed below.

*The directories in Oklahoma and Virginia may not include all attorneys in good standing. Attorneys in good standing in those states may opt out of being included in the publicly searchable database provided by the respective Bar Associations. Virginia also maintains a separate database of lawyers who have been disciplined or are otherwise not in good standing.
*Delaware only provides information on lawyers in good standing via e-mail. (Use the drop-down menu above to access the e-mail address.)
*Maine and Ohio provide databases of all attorneys ever licensed in those states. The sites linked here include information on contacting the respective states to inquire about the status of a specific attorney in their database.
*New Hamsphire and South Dakota provide no online searchable database of licensed attorneys. Each requires a call to their respective lawyer licensing agency. They are:

• New Hampshire Supreme Court – 603/271-2646
• South Dakota – 800/952-2333