What do I have to report to, or tell, the BSB?

The BSB Handbook remains the definitive guide of what to tell us, but this page aims to provide a summary of the most common matters which should be reported.

For barristers

As an individual barrister, you should report:

• your own serious misconduct (see rule rC65 and associated guidance) using our reporting form;
• the serious misconduct of others (see rule rC66) using our reporting form;
• if you are in an association with others (see rC80) using our reporting form;
• if you are made bankrupt or have bankruptcy proceedings initiated (see rC65) using our reporting form; you are also required to report various other insolvency matters.
• if you are disqualified from being a director. (rC65)
• if another regulator takes action against you (rC65)
• if you undertake work in the Youth Court, you are required to declare that you are competent to do so. You can inform us by updating your details in MyBar; 
• when a piece of information we collect at Authorisation to Practise changes; for example, if you move where you practice from. You must promptly update your details through MyBar.

This list is not exhaustive. As a barrister it is your responsibility to know what information you are required to report to us.

For Entities

Entities have additional requirements to report any material changes to the entity. For example, whether the number of owners or managers in your entity has changed. You can update your details by emailing [email protected].

What to expect when reporting yourself or another

If you report your own conduct, or the conduct of another barrister to us, a member of our Contact and Assessment Team will assess the information. They may contact you if they require more information to complete their assessment.

We assess information to decide the risk it presents. Depending on the level of risk, we can take different types of action. Action we take can include:

• sending an informal letter (for example, telling you, or another barrister, to stop doing something, or start doing something);
• working with organisations or individuals to rectify something;
• carrying out a formal investigation into the conduct. This may result in a referral to our Independent Decision Making Body or the issuing of a fine.

Read more about how we deal with reports of concerns about barristers and our approach to supervision.