Authorisations Team Service Update

We will now be contacting all applicants with outstanding exemption or waiver applications on a monthly basis. The next of these emails will be sent during the first week of October, so if you submitted an application to us before 1 October 2023 and do not receive an update email by 7 October 2023, please contact us directly on [email protected].

We are continuing to deal with a very high volume of applications across all categories, with approximately 60% of these being applications for admission to the Bar as a Transferring Qualified Lawyer. This volume has led to an extension of our normal processing times and applications are now likely to take at least 12 weeks to process.

Due to the overall volume of applications at present, we have limited capacity to consider requests for priority processing of exemption or waiver applications. As far as possible, we will continue to consider such requests:

• if the outcome is required to confirm registration on a GDL or vocational component Bar Course, or for Bar Transfer Test assessments; or
• if the outcome is required for an upcoming court appearance (eg authorisation as a licensed access client).

We cannot otherwise guarantee to prioritise any applications, at present.

If you would like your application to be prioritised for assessment, you will need to submit a request (in writing) to the Head of Authorisations Operations, providing any grounds for the urgent processing and confirming the date by which a decision is required.

We will be processing non-prioritised outstanding exemption or waiver applications based on the date that the application is regarded as ‘complete’ (ie when we have received all relevant documents and payment of the application fee) so we will be dealing with the oldest outstanding applications first.

If you need, or would prefer, to withdraw your application, please contact us directly on [email protected].

If you have submitted an online application as a Transferring Qualified Lawyer, your application will not be processed until your application fee has been paid and we have received all necessary supporting documents including your Certificate of Good Standing, your CV, and your Personal Statement (please see the application guidelines for further details).

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

We will be in a peak period of activity for completions of current pupillages and the registration of new pupillages until the end of the calendar year.

During this period, pupillage completion forms and the registration of new pupillages will be prioritised over Notification of Material Change forms.

Updated versions of the Certificates of Satisfactory Completion, Registration, and Material Change form templates can now be downloaded from the Bar Standards Board website. Please note that forms must include handwritten or digital signatures – typed signatures will not be accepted, and this will delay the processing of the form.

Further details of our current pupillage-related correspondence may be found in the expandable panel below (‘Pupillage Registration, Sign Off and Waivers’).

Queries relating to the pupillage completion and registration processes should be sent to us by email to [email protected].  

Our team is working to finalise the transitional process for pupillage providers previously authorised as Pupillage Training Organisations (PTOs) seeking to become Authorised Education and Training Organisations (AETOs) by the end of December 2023.

Authorised AETOs will start to receive their formal AETO Agreements from us in the coming months. If you have received a conditional authorisation decision from us, please respond to any conditions set out in your authorisation letter, as soon as possible.

We will now be contacting all applicants with outstanding exemption or waiver applications on a monthly basis. The next of these emails will be sent at the beginning of December, so if you submitted an application to us before 1 November 2023 and do not receive an update email by 10 December 2023, please contact us directly on [email protected].

We are continuing to deal with a very high volume of applications across all categories, with more than 60% of these being applications for admission to the Bar as a Transferring Qualified Lawyer. This volume has led to an extension of our normal processing times and applications are now likely to take at least 12 weeks to process.

Due to the overall volume of applications at present, we have very limited capacity to consider requests for priority processing of exemption or waiver applications. As far as possible, we will continue to consider such requests:

• if the outcome is required to confirm registration on a GDL or vocational component Bar Course, or for Bar Transfer Test assessments; or
• if the outcome is required for an upcoming court appearance (eg authorisation as a licensed access client).

We cannot otherwise guarantee to prioritise any applications, at present.

If you would like your application to be prioritised for assessment, you will need to submit a request (in writing) to the Head of Authorisations Operations, providing any grounds for the urgent processing and confirming the date by which a decision is required.

We will be processing non-prioritised outstanding exemption or waiver applications based on the date that the application is regarded as ‘complete’ (ie when we have received all relevant documents and payment of the application fee) so we will be dealing with the oldest outstanding applications first.

If you need, or would prefer, to withdraw your application, please contact us directly on [email protected]. If you have already paid an application fee and your application has not been processed by us, we will arrange a refund of that payment.

If you have submitted an online application as a Transferring Qualified Lawyer, your application will not be processed until your application fee has been paid and we have received all necessary supporting documents including your Certificate of Good Standing, your CV, and your Personal Statement (please see the application guidelines for further details).

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

We are coming towards the end of the Autumn peak of activity for completions of current pupillages and the registration of new pupillages. Pupillage completion forms and the registration of new pupillages will continue to be prioritised over Notification of Material Change forms, for the time being.

Updated versions of the Certificates of Satisfactory Completion, Registration, and Material Change form templates can now be downloaded from the Bar Standards Board website. Please note that forms must include handwritten or digital signatures – typed signatures will not be accepted, and this will delay the processing of the form.

Further details of our current pupillage-related correspondence may be found in the expandable panel below (‘Pupillage Registration, Sign Off and Waivers’).

Queries relating to the pupillage completion and registration processes should be sent to us by email to [email protected].  

Our team is working to finalise the transitional process for pupillage providers previously authorised as Pupillage Training Organisations (PTOs) seeking to become Authorised Education and Training Organisations (AETOs) by the end of December 2023.

If you have received a conditional authorisation decision from us, please respond to any conditions set out in your authorisation letter, as soon as possible. We will acknowledge receipt but may not be able to provide a formal reply immediately, while we are prioritising applications from existing PTOs that have not yet obtained AETO status.

Authorised AETOs may advertise for, and recruit, new pupils as soon as they have received an authorisation decision letter (whether conditional or unconditional).

Authorised AETOs will start to receive their formal AETO Agreements from us in the new year.

The Bar Standards Board offices will be closing for the Christmas and New Year period on 21 December 2023 and will re-open on 2 January 2024.

We will now be contacting all applicants with outstanding exemption or waiver applications on a monthly basis. The next of these emails will be sent in early December, so if you submitted an application to us before 1 December 2023 and do not receive an update email by 10 December 2023, please contact us directly on [email protected].

We are continuing to deal with a very high volume of applications across all categories, with more than 60% of these being applications for admission to the Bar as a Transferring Qualified Lawyer. This volume has led to an extension of our normal processing times and applications are now likely to take at least 12-16 weeks to process.

Due to the overall volume of applications at present, we have very limited capacity to consider requests for priority processing of exemption or waiver applications. As far as possible, we will continue to consider such requests:

• if the outcome is required to confirm registration on a GDL or vocational component Bar Course, or for Bar Transfer Test assessments; or
• if the outcome is required for an upcoming court appearance (eg authorisation as a licensed access client).

We cannot otherwise guarantee to prioritise any applications, at present.

If you would like your application to be prioritised for assessment, you will need to submit a request (in writing) to the Head of Authorisations Operations, providing any grounds for the urgent processing and confirming the date by which a decision is required.

We will be processing non-prioritised outstanding exemption or waiver applications based on the date that the application is regarded as ‘complete’ (ie when we have received all relevant documents and payment of the application fee) so we will be dealing with the oldest outstanding applications first.

If you need, or would prefer, to withdraw your application, please contact us directly on [email protected]. If you have already paid an application fee and your application has not been processed by us, we will arrange a refund of that payment.

If you have submitted an online application as a Transferring Qualified Lawyer, your application will not be processed until your application fee has been paid and we have received all necessary supporting documents including:

• your Certificate of Good Standing
• your CV and
• your Personal Statement (please see the application guidelines for further details).

We will be making a further announcement about our processing of outstanding Transferring Qualified Lawyer applications in the new year, so please continue to check this page for the latest updates.

Any correspondence relating to Transferring Qualified Lawyer applications should now be directed to our dedicated email address – [email protected]

The Autumn peak of pupillage activity is now coming to an end. Pupillage completion forms and the registration of new pupillages will continue to be prioritised over Notification of Material Change forms, for the time being.

Updated versions of the Certificates of Satisfactory Completion, Registration, and Material Change form templates can now be downloaded from the Bar Standards Board website. Please note that forms must include handwritten or digital signatures – typed signatures will not be accepted, and this will delay the processing of the form.

Further details of our current pupillage-related correspondence may be found in the expandable panel below (‘Pupillage Registration, Sign Off and Waivers’).

Queries relating to the pupillage completion and registration processes should be sent to us by email to [email protected].  

If you have received a conditional authorisation decision from us, please respond to any conditions set out in your authorisation letter, as soon as possible. We will acknowledge receipt but may not be able to provide a formal reply immediately, while we are prioritising applications from existing PTOs that have not yet obtained AETO status.

Authorised AETOs may advertise for, and recruit, new pupils as soon as they have received an authorisation decision letter (whether conditional or unconditional).

Authorised AETOs will start to receive their formal AETO Agreements from us in the new year.

If you are a current undergraduate degree or Graduate Diploma in Law (GDL) student intending to start vocational Bar training in the Autumn, please read our Guidance for undergraduates affected by the University and College Union (UCU) marking boycott.

PTO to AETO Transitional Arrangements - please see our FAQs and our detailed guidance on the transition process for existing pupillage providers.

Authorised AETOs will start to receive their formal AETO Agreements from us in the new year.

If you have received a conditional authorisation decision from us, please respond to any conditions set out in your authorisation letter, as soon as possible. We will acknowledge receipt but may not be able to provide a formal reply immediately, while we are prioritising applications from existing PTOs that have not yet obtained AETO status.

Authorised AETOs may advertise for, and recruit, new pupils as soon as they have received an authorisation decision letter (whether conditional or unconditional).

Have we got the right contact details for your organisation? We are unable to send you the latest information relating to AETO transitional arrangements without a current email address. Please contact the team via email at [email protected] to advise us of any changes.

Contact us: [email protected]

Pupillage Registration

PLEASE NOTE - you may commence pupillage pending receipt of confirmation of registration from us. Due to current processing times, this may be up to four weeks after you submit your form. 

Currently, we are dealing with approximately 20 emails relating to pupillage registration.

Pupils' Advocacy Course

Once your pupillage has been registered, please contact your Inn of Court or Circuit to book on to the Pupils' Advocacy Course, as soon as possible.

PLEASE NOTE:

• You will not be able to progress to the practising period of pupillage until the Pupils' Advocacy Course has been completed. The date(s) of your Advocacy Course should be noted on your non-practising period completion form.
• If you are completing a voluntary period of non-practising pupillage, arranged between yourself and your AETO (ie not required by the Bar Standards Board), you will not be required to complete the Pupils' Advocacy Course. For example, if you have been granted a reduction in pupillage by us and we have recommended that you complete only a period of practising pupillage but your AETO would prefer you to complete a short non-practising pupillage on a voluntary basis before commencing that recommended period of practising pupillage.

Professional Ethics assessment

Please see our guidance on the introduction of a new Professional Ethics assessment during pupillage.

Pupillage Completion (sign off)

PLEASE NOTE - you can submit Pupillage forms up to 10 days in advance of pupillage start and end dates. This helps us to help you by preventing delays in the process created by last minute submissions.

• If you have submitted a pupillage sign off form for the non-practising period you should expect this to be processed within 10 working days or before you commence the practising period whichever is sooner. 
• If you have submitted a pupillage sign off form for the practising period you should expect this to be processed within one month or before your Provisional Practising Certificate (PPC) expires whichever is sooner. 

Any anticipated delays to the pupillage administrative process will be published on this page. 

Currently, we are dealing with approximately 15 emails relating to pupillage completion.

Material changes

Please note that there may be delays in the processing of these forms as we are prioritising pupillage completion processes and provisional practising certificate requests.

Currently, we are dealing with approximately 15 emails relating to pupillage registration.

Queries

Currently, we are dealing with approximately 150 pupillage-related enquiries, separate from requests for pupillage registration and non-practising and practising period completion.

Waivers

If you have applied for a pupillage reduction or dispensation then your application should be determined within 12 weeks. When applying, please allow enough time for your application to be considered as we cannot guarantee that it will be expedited at your request. Please note that you can commence pupillage while waiting for a decision for a reduction in pupillage and amend the duration of your registered pupillage in the event of a successful outcome to your application.

If a pupillage provider AETO has advertised for a pupillage(s) commencing on a particular date and then wishes to make offers to additional candidates who applied in the same recruitment round, they may do so provided that the additional candidate(s) will be starting their pupillages within six months (either before or after) the originally intended starting date.

If the additional candidate(s) will be starting their pupillage more than six months either before or after the other pupil(s), the pupillage provider AETO will need to apply for a waiver of the advertising requirements. This is because other candidates may have responded to the advert if they were aware that alternative starting dates were being considered.

Any additional pupillage candidates offered pupillage in this way must be fully funded in line with any other pupillages offered by the pupillage provider AETO at that time. If any variance in funding is intended, the pupillage provider AETO would need to apply for a waiver of the pupillage funding requirements.

If needed, the waiver application form and guidelines may be found in the Training & Qualification section of our website.

We will need to create a profile for you on our CRM in order for you to access the online applications listed below. In order for us to do so, please email [email protected] with your full name and title, postal address, and contact email address. We will confirm your CRM Contact number by return of email. 

Once your CRM profile has been created by us, you should select ‘Online application for transferring Lawyers’ and ‘Transferring Qualified Lawyer’ on the MyBar portal. The other application types (eg. 'Transferring Solicitor') are still under development.

Please refer to the application guidelines as you prepare your application and collate any required supporting documents.

If you have submitted an online application as a Transferring Qualified Lawyer and have not yet paid the application fee of £440, please do so. 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

In June 2021 we published important information for transferring qualified lawyers and for those with outstanding BTT requirements.

The 2023-24 BSB Entity Renewal process went live on 27 March 2023. Most of the existing entities have now completed the renewal process.

When completing your renewal form, please do send a copy of your insurance certificate to [email protected].

If you encounter any technical issues with the online renewal process, please do contact us on [email protected] or telephone (020 7611 1444).

If you have a registered entity with us but do not wish to renew your authorisation, you will still need to begin the online renewal process. You should indicate that you do not wish to renew in response to the first question on the online form. We will then get in touch with you directly about any other steps you may need to complete before your authorisation is revoked.

Please note that we will not withdraw your authorisation as an entity without providing written notice to you (by email).

There are currently 143 BSB authorised Entities – you can view the Entity Register on our website. 

Please allow six to nine months for us to complete our assessment of your application, depending on the complexity of your proposed business model.   

We request that you respond to information requests from us in relation to your application within 10 working days.

We currently have 7 entities that are waiting to be assessed, and there are 8 applications in assessment / with decisions pending.

For details on the application process, please visit the Becoming a BSB Entity page on our website. To arrange an informal discussion with a member of the team, please email the Authorisations Manager.