Rhode Island · Trust Accounting
What Rhode Island attorneys must do to keep client trust funds compliant — the governing rule, how often you must reconcile, and how long records must be kept.
R.I. Sup. Ct. R. art. V, Rule 1.15 (Safekeeping property); bookkeeping at art. V, Rule 1.19; overdraft notification at art. IV, Rule 2
Not specified by rule
7 years
Rhode Island Supreme Court Disciplinary Board
Rhode Island Bar Foundation IOLTA Program
Required — banks must notify the regulator
Source: Rhode Island Supreme Court Disciplinary Board . Rules change — always confirm against the current text before relying on it.
Rhode Island's stated reconciliation requirement is: Not specified by rule. A three-way reconciliation compares three totals that must all agree. If they do not, the difference has to be found and resolved before the reconciliation is complete.
Bank statement balance, adjusted for outstanding checks and deposits in transit.
Your internal trust account register as of the same date.
The total of every individual client ledger balance on that date.
For a full walkthrough of the procedure, common violations, and what examiners look for, see our IOLTA compliance guide.
Rhode Island requires trust account records to be retained for 7 years. In practice that means keeping:
IOLTA Guard automates three-way reconciliation, blocks negative client ledgers, and keeps the audit trail Rhode Island attorneys are expected to maintain.