What IELTS score do you need as a barrister in England and Wales?

To join a Bar Training Course you must have completed the academic component of Bar training, be a member of one of the Inns of Court and be fluent in English. When you enrol, your Authorised Education and Training Organisation (AETO) asks you to sign a statement that you know the required standard and believe you meet it.

If the AETO later thinks any part of your English is below the level, it must ask you to take one of the two tests and send a certificate showing the required scores within 28 days. If you do not, you must withdraw or intermit and improve your score before joining the course in a later year.

Test certificates must be current and valid under the rules of the test provider that issued them. The BSB's Professional Statement says barristers must have an effective command of English, using it accurately and fluently to handle complex argument. AETOs may set extra entry requirements. Regulators change these rules, sometimes at short notice. Confirm the current scores on the BSB page before you book a test.