Appointed Counsel

Appointed counsel are private attorneys who are appointed by the court to represent an indigent defendant when there is a conflict with the Public Defender’s Office. Private attorneys can also be appointed to serve as guardian ad litem (GAL) for minor victims in a case.

In order to serve as appointed counsel, an attorney must meet certain requirements as set forth in the Ohio Administrative Code, Rule 120-1-10.

Appointed Counsel Application

You’ll find instructions and forms to apply to serve as an appointed counsel below. Completed applications should be forwarded to the Court Administrator’s Office for processing.

Instruction Letter
Appointed Counsel Qualification Form
COT Vendor Registration Form and W-9
OPERS Non-Member Acknowledgment Form

Appointed Counsel Motions for Fee

Appointed counsel are paid in accordance with the fees set by the Lucas County Commissioners.

Instructions for Completing the Motion for Fees for Guardian Ad Litem

The paper Motions, Entry, and Certification for Appointed Counsel Fees form must be submitted to the Toledo Municipal no later than 30 days after the disposition of the case. These hard copy motions should be submitted to the Court Administrator’s Office.
Motions with errors will be returned to the submitting attorney for correction. Court staff are not permitted to correct the form for you.
The caption on the form should read "In the Toledo Municipal Court of Lucas County, Ohio."
The judge who was assigned to the case must be listed on the front of the motion.
The calculations must be correct (in-court and out-of-court hours and the total amount due).
Do not include dates of service prior to the appointment being made or include dates after the disposition of the case. Please make sure your dates of service include the year.
GAL applications do not require a financial disclosure form.
Motions for appointed counsel serving as a GAL are paid by either the court or the City of Toledo Law Department.
In order to be paid, you must complete and submit the COT Vendor Registration and W9_2024 form.

Instructions for Completing the Motion for Fees for Conflict Appointed Counsel

Motions for Appointed Counsel Fees must be submitted using the Office of the Ohio Public Defender’s Office Court Appointed Billing System (CABS). Information, including the registration process for counsel, can be found at https://opd.ohio.gov/appointed-counsel/appointed-counsel-billing-forms-program.
The judge who was assigned to the misdemeanor case must approve the application. Felony cases are approved by the judge who appointed counsel.
Do not include dates of service prior to the appointment being made or include dates after the disposition of the case.
The Financial Disclosure form in CABS must be completed, or an explanation must be provided regarding why it was not completed.
The Lucas County Auditor, not the court, is responsible for payment.
See “Instructions on how to receive Payment for fees from Lucas County Auditor.” below.

Instructions on how to receive Payment for fees from Lucas County Auditor.

In order to receive payment from Lucas County, you must first become an established supplier with the Lucas County Auditor.
Please visit the Lucas County Auditor’s Account Payable website at https://www.lucascountyohioauditor.gov/accountspayable
After clicking the above link, you will see three columns; please read column 2 with the header “I need to receive payment from Lucas County and I was told to register as a spend authorized supplier. How do I do this?”
This section contains the links to the necessary forms you will need:
- W-9
- Master Supplier Form
- OPERS Independent Contractor/Worker Form
- In addition, this section lists other information that will be needed to complete the registration process.

Finally, at the bottom is the Supplier Registration Instructions to assist in navigating the Supplier Registration Portal that you will use to apply to become a supplier for the county.

Recertification for Appointed Counsel

Attorneys must complete and submit the Counsel Qualifications Form annually to be recertified. Appointed counsel will be notified by the court when it's time to renew the appointed counsel certification.