Contact us

If you have a concern about a barrister who is, or who was, representing you, you need to contact the Legal Ombudsman, and not us.

You can tell us if you have concerns about a barrister who is not, or has not, worked for you, or about the place they work from (such as their chambers), or a legal services business which we regulate. The easiest way to report something to us is to use our Online Reporting Form. Using the form helps to ensure that we get all the information we need to deal with the issue.

You can also report your concern by using this Word version of the form and by sending it to the contact details provided further down this page.

For more information about reporting your concerns to us and what you can expect, visit this webpage. 

Please contact the Bar Council’s Records Team at [email protected] 

The Records Office’s hours of operation are Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday 10:00 to 16:00 (Thursday - 09:30 to 15:30).

We publish a range of Code guidance documents for barristers which you should read alongside the BSB Handbook. However, if you have been called to the Bar and are seeking advice about your obligations under the BSB Handbook, you will need to contact the Bar Council’s Ethical Enquiries Service.

If you are a qualified solicitor, qualified lawyer from another jurisdiction, or a legal academic, and you wish to practise as a barrister in England and Wales, you will need to be admitted to the Bar of England and Wales. Depending on your qualifications and experience, you may be exempt from some or all of the training components required to become a barrister in this jurisdiction. Some of these exemptions may be granted subject to passing assessments as a Bar Transfer Test (BTT) candidate.

For more information about transferring to the Bar as a qualified lawyer, visit this webpage. The rules and requirements relating to transferring qualified lawyers can be found in Part 7 of the Bar Qualification Manual.

The academic study of the law in England and Wales is a very important part of the knowledge expected of all barristers. To complete the academic component of Bar training, you need either a law degree or a non-law degree and a Graduate Diploma in Law (GDL). 

Students with degrees from outside the UK or Republic of Ireland who wish to undertake the GDL must apply to us for a Certificate of Academic Standing. We will issue a Certificate of Academic Standing to you if we are satisfied that the qualifications you hold, and/or the experience you have gained, are equivalent to a UK honours degree of at least lower second class (2:2).

For further information about completing the academic component of Bar training, please visit this webpage. There are a number of waivers and exemptions from the requirements of the academic component, which can all be found on our waivers and exemptions page.

More information on the rules and requirements relating to the academic component can be found in Part 2 of the Bar Qualification Manual.

Our Policy on Application Fee Payments, Waivers and Refunds includes guidance on:

• making application fee payments by bank transfer (BACS) or credit/debit card
• fee waivers
• refunds

To avoid delays in identifying your fee payment, you must quote your full name or CRM reference when making a payment by bank transfer. 

Any pupillage registration forms or certificates should be emailed to the Authorisations Team ([email protected]).

At present, we are dealing with a high volume of correspondence across the Authorisations Team and so it may take up to five working days for us to respond to email queries. 

Finally, please note that provisional practising certificates are valid for up to 30 days after completion of the practising period of pupillage/work-based learning. Provided that it is within this period, and you have appropriate insurance in place, you may continue to practise while waiting to receive your Confirmation of Full Qualification letter.