Joining the Inn

Eligibility

Note:

• Certified copies of degree or conversion course certificates or proof of study on a degree or conversion course or the relevant waiver documentation from the BSB will be required at the point of application for admission.
• Degree and conversion course qualifications older than 5 years are considered stale for the purposes of Inn membership and Bar qualification.  Applicants with stale qualifications will need to seek advice from the BSB as to what action they will need to take to reactivate their qualifications. 
• Undergraduates of universities outside the UK: you must obtain a Certificate of Academic Standing from the Bar Standards Board before you can be admitted. Please include a copy with your application.

Deadline for applications

Inn membership must be secured prior to the start of the vocational component of Bar training. 

Persons wishing to apply for membership must do so at least 12 weeks prior to the start of the vocational component of their training.  Where the vocational component is split into two parts membership must be applied for 12 weeks prior to the start of Part 2. 

Applications will be processed in the order they are received (providing they are complete).  If you submit an application after this deadline there is no guarantee that you will be admitted in time to start your course.

Admission application fee

The Admission application fee is an administrative fee. The amount is published HERE. Please also refer to the Admission fees payment policy for full details including our refund policy.

Payment is required as part of the application process and your application will not be checked prior to payment being made. 

Declaring a matter on the admission application

If you are declaring any matters on the Admission Declaration section of the admission application form (click the link below to view the form and read the questions) there will be an additional process to go through before the Inn can process your application. You should briefly summarise the matter(s) on the admission form, as you will be required to provide a separate detailed statement. Your application will be referred to the Inns' Conduct Committee for further consideration - full details HERE.

How to apply

1. In order to apply for admission, you must first register on our website.

2. Once you have registered, log in.

3. Click the link below to start your application.

If an application is still incomplete 6 months after it has been submitted (e.g. amendments were requested by the Inn and not provided) it will be cancelled.

Apply for admission as a law student 

For general enquiries regarding student admission, please contact us on 020 7427 5798 or admissions@middletemple.org.uk.

Termination of membership

Student members must commence the vocational component of training for the Bar within six years of admission to the Inn and complete the vocational component within five years of commencing that component. Failure to comply with either of these requirements will cause their membership to cease on the expiration of either period, except where there has been a successful application to the Inn for the relevant time limit/s to be extended.    

This section is for qualified solicitors, qualified lawyers from other jurisdictions, and legal academics who want to transfer to practice at the Bar of England and Wales.

If you have made a successful application to the Bar Standards Board (BSB) for Call to the Bar of England and Wales (see www.barstandardsboard.org.uk), you may apply to join an Inn of Court and subsequently apply to be Called to the Bar of England and Wales using the link below.

Admission fee

The Admission application fee is an administrative fee. The amount is published HERE. Please also refer to the Admission fees payment policy for full details including our refund policy.

Payment is required as part of the application process and your application will not be checked prior to payment being made. 

Declaring a matter on the admission application

If you are declaring any matters on the Admission Declaration section of the admission application form (click the link below to view the form and read the questions) there will be an additional process to go through before the Inn can process your application. You should briefly summarise the matter(s) on the admission form, as you will be required to provide a separate detailed statement. Your application will be referred to the Inns' Conduct Committee for further consideration - full details HERE.

How to apply

1. In order to apply for admission, you must first register on our website.
2. Once you have registered, log in
3. Click the link below to start your application.

If an application is still incomplete 6 months after it has been submitted (e.g. amendments were requested by the Inn and not provided) it will be cancelled

Apply for admission as a Transferring Qualified Lawyer

​If you require assistance, please contact Sally Yorke on s.yorke@middletemple.org.uk.

Termination of membership

Transfering lawyers must complete all requirements for Call as set out by the Bar Standards Board within 2 years of admission to the Inn. Failure to comply with this requirement will cause their membership to cease except where there has been a successful application to the Inn for the relevant time limit to be extended.

Qualifying Sessions

Any transferring lawyers who receives approval from the BSB on or after 1 September 2020 will be required to complete 10 Qualifying Sessions (QS) before Call (QS requirements for those approved prior to that date differ).  Please refer to our QS webpage for full details of the QS Requirements and how to be credited QS.

Call to the Bar and Pupillage/ Practice

If the Bar Standards Board require you to take any part of the Bar Transfer Test, you must pass the required assessment(s) before you can be Called to the Bar. 

You are able to commence the non-practising part of pupillage without being Called (providing you have passed any required BT assessments); however, you will be unable to start the practising part of pupillage until you have been Called.

If you are exempt from pupillage entirely, you must be Called before you are able to commence practice.

There is a separate application for Call, which you can only submit once you have been admitted as a member of the Inn.  Please refer to our Call to the Bar webpage for upcoming Call dates and full details on how to apply. If you have an urgent requirement for Call to the Bar we will, timing permitting, make special arrangements to accept late Call applications where necessary.

You can submit an application for Call before you have completed the required QS and before you receive results of your Bar Transfer Test (where applicable), providing the results will be released at least 3 weeks before the Call date. Please check with the Inn which Call you will be eligible to apply for as this may affect the date on which you are able to start pupillage/ practice. 

Pupils’ Advocacy Courses

You may be required to attend the Pupils’ Advocacy Course. It should be clear from your correspondence with the BSB whether or not attendance is a requirement. If it is, you must complete the course before commencing the practising part of pupillage. See details of the Inn's Pupils' Courses.

This section is for those who have been Called to the Bar by the Middle Temple and, having been disbarred (voluntarily or otherwise), are seeking readmission.

Application fee

The Admission application fee will be charged for Readmission and is payable upon receipt of your application. This is an administrative fee. Payment can be made by credit/debit card over the phone, when requested.

The amount is published HERE. Please also refer to the Admission fees payment policy for full details including our refund policy.

How to apply

Please download the form attached to this page.​

You will need to submit:

• a completed application form 
• a certified copy of a form of photo ID
• payment of the admission fee, when requested

All the relevant documents can be submitted via email to Sally Yorke on s.yorke@middletemple.org.uk.  References (where applicable) should be emailed directly by your referees.

Criminal records checks 

As of 2021, the Bar Standards Board requires that anyone applying for Readmission to an Inn must undergo a Standard UK Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) criminal record check. Additionally, those who have resided in a country/countries outside of the UK for 12 months or more, at any point during the 5 years preceding their application for Readmission, will need to undergo the equivalent international criminal record check/s.  Collectively, the Inns of Court have engaged an experienced external company, Due Diligence Checking Ltd (DDC), to administer the process of obtaining the necessary checks. 

Further details, including costs, are available under 'Criminal Records Checks' on the Call to the Bar page.  Once you submit an application for Readmission you will be referred to DDC Ltd who will then email you to begin the process.

Declaring a matter on the readmission application (or previously disbarred)

If you are declaring any matters on the Admission Declaration section of the admission application form (download the form below to read the questions), or were previously disbarred, there will be an additional process to go through before the Inn can process your application. You should briefly summarise the matter(s) on the admission form, as you will be required to provide a separate detailed statement. Your application will be referred to the Inns' Conduct Committee for further consideration - full details HERE.

If you require assistance with your application please contact Sally Yorke on s.yorke@middletemple.org.uk.

A member of Inner Temple, Gray’s Inn or Lincoln’s Inn who has practiced at the Bar of England and Wales can, with good reason, apply to join the Middle Temple as an Ad Eundem member.

Ad Eundem members of the Inn enjoy most of the benefits which full membership offers, including dining rights, discounts on venue hire and priority placements on the Inn’s training courses.

An Ad Eundem member of the Middle Temple shall rank as a member of Hall and for all other purposes within the Inn as from the date of such admission, and not from the date of his/her Call to the Bar.

Admission fee

• £250 if you have been in practice for less than 10 years
• £500 if you have been in practice for more than 10 years

How to apply

Please download the form attached to this page. Submit your application and accompanying documents to Sally Yorke at s.yorke@middletemple.org.uk.

You will need to submit:

• a completed application form, including petition to the Masters of the Bench
• a Certificate of Good Standing from your Inn confirming that you were Called to the Bar by the said Society, that you have paid all sums due to such Inn and are of good standing
• a certified copy of a form of photo ID
• a photograph of yourself
• payment of the admission fee, when requested

Each application will be considered by the Masters of the Bench at the next meeting of Parliament.

A Qualified Foreign Lawyer who has regularly exercised full rights of audience for three years in courts which administer law substantially similar to the common law of England and Wales may apply to be called to the Bar by an Inn on a temporary basis for the purpose of appearing as counsel in a particular case before a court of England and Wales.

The rules for Temporary Call to the Bar can be found in the Bar Qualification rules part 4 B2 rQ25 – rQ28 in the BSB Handbook. You must apply to the Bar Standards Board for Temporary Call to the Bar before you apply to the Inn.  

How to apply

You will need to submit:

• a Temporary Qualification Certificate issued by the BSB
• a completed and signed Call Declaration form
• a certified copy of a form of photo ID
• payment of the admission and Call fee, when requested

Please contact the Education Services Manager, Sally Yorke on s.yorke@middletemple.org.uk for further details and an application form.