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 need to transfer to the Bar. Depending on your qualifications and experience, you may be exempt from some or all of the requirements for training for the Bar. Some of these exemptions may be granted subject to passing academic and/or vocational component assessments as a Bar Transfer Test (BTT) candidate.
In order to be granted an exemption, you must submit an application to us which includes information on the qualifications and experience you have. The application form and guidelines are available via our applications page. We will look at your application and decide whether you may be exempted from some or all of the requirements for training for the Bar. If we decide that you should be exempted from some of the requirements, we will tell you which assessments you will have to do based on your qualifications and experience.
If you have been given an exemption from some of the requirements, you may still be required to complete a period of pupillage or work-based learning before you are granted authorisation to practise as a barrister. If you are required to complete a period of pupillage or work-based learning as a transferring qualified lawyer, you will also be required to complete the Professional Ethics assessment during your pupillage unless you are granted a specific exemption from this requirement.
The rules and requirements relating to transferring qualified lawyers and the BTT can be found in Part 7 of the Bar Qualification Manual.
