Call to the Bar

For over six hundred years, the Inns of Court have held exclusive rights to admit candidates to the Bar.

Requirements for Call to the Bar

To be considered eligible to be called to the Bar an individual must have successfully completed the following:

Students:

• provided compliance documents
• academic component of training
• vocational component of Bar training (Bar training course)
• completed 10 Qualifying sessions, covering 5 themes including 2 prep in advance
• completed a UK DBS check and International check (if required)

Transferring Lawyers:

• applied to the Bar Standards Board and given permission as a transferring lawyer
• provided compliance documents
• bar transfer test (if required)
• completed 10 Qualifying sessions, covering 5 themes including 2 prep in advance
• completed a UK DBS check and International check (if required)

Only once you have completed the above will you receive an invitation to pay for your Call fee .

When to apply

There is no requirement to be called immediately after completing the Bar Course. Student Members must be called to the Bar before the end of the first six months of pupillage (non-practising period) and within five years of successfully completing their Bar Course.

Current Bar Course students: If you are a full time Bar Course student (or in the second year of a part-time course), Trinity Call is the earliest Call day you can apply for, First-year part-time student must wait until their second year.

Completed Bar Course: If you have completed the Bar Course or are awaiting re-sit results, you can apply for any Call day.

Transferring Lawyers: You can apply for any Call day, provided you have completed 10 Qualifying Sessions. The Bar Standards Board (BSB) may also require you to sit all or parts of the Bar Transfer Test (visit the BSB website for details).

Dates

We host five Call ceremonies per year, you can find out more about how to apply and register your interest online.

The next Call days are:

*We operate on a first-come, first-served basis when accepting applications. Once we’ve reached capacity, the application window will be closed. Therefore, we encourage you to apply as soon as the application window opens.

If you are applying for Call and would like further guidance on the process, you can view our Call to the Bar guide. This goes through step-by-step the process when applying to Call.

After Call – Regulatory Guidance

You must familiarise yourself with the regulations which apply to unregistered barristers (barristers who do not hold a practising certificate). Guidance is provided by the Bar Standards Board.