A new self-service website for barristers and chambers torenew their practising certificates, update regulatory information, pay the Bar Representation Fee (BRF), manage subscriptions and applications and to book training, has been jointly launched by the Bar Council and the Bar Standards Board (BSB). 

To coincide with the annual authorisation to practise process, MyBar replaces Barrister Connect, which was the previous online system used annually to renew practising certificates. MyBar makes it easier for barristers to manage their professional relationship with their representative body, the Bar Council, and their regulator, the Bar Standards Board. 

The new portal, for which every barrister has their own unique log in, will change the way barristers access information from the Bar Council and BSB, including the Bar Council's BarTalk e-newsletter and the BSB's Regulatory Update. MyBar includes a number of easy-to-use, online automated booking and application processes to make managing barristers' professional practice more straightforward. It will also be the only place to renew practising certificates and to update their practising information at any time. 

Malcolm Cree, Chief Executive of the Bar Council, said: "MyBar has been designed to make barristers' interaction with their national representative body, as well as with the regulator (BSB), easier. Until now, barristers have been directed to different online locations depending on their requirements. Now, it is all in one place. Barristers are in control. We hope that the Bar will use MyBar on an ongoing basis as a way to engage with their professional bodies. Barristers using MyBar will also be able to access other important websites linked to the MyBar portal, including the Bar Council Ethics Hub, Wellbeing at the Bar and the Young Bar Hub and Toolkit." 

Vanessa Davies, Director General of the Bar Standards Board, said: "We hope that MyBar will make the Authorisation to Practise arrangements easier for everyone and that barristers will find it a more convenient way to keep in touch with the BSB." 

The new portal has been rigorously tested on sample groups of barristers and others, such as clerks, who often manage chambers' PCF renewals. 

All barristers should have received their MyBar log in details ahead of the start of the Authorisation to Practise period, which needs to be completed by March 31 2018. 

During AtP barristers will be able to use MyBar to:  

  • update current practising/contact details;

  • verify practising status;

  • declare that you have obtained and paid for adequate indemnity insurance;

  • pay the practising certificate fee;

  • support the Bar and receive member benefits by renewing or signing up to the Bar Representation Fee (BRF); and

  • support the Bar Pro Bono Unit. 

ENDS 

Further information is available from the Bar Council Press Office on 020 7222 2525 and [email protected]