Please refer to the specific application form that you are completing (e.g. Admission, Call) for details of which of the following documents you are required to provide.

PERSONAL/PROFESSIONAL DETAILS

We require a certified copy (following the guidance below) of the following:

• photographic ID (passport, identity card or driving licence)
• other ID, where necessary (birth certificate, marriage certificate, deed poll)
• a Certificate of Good Standing* (for transferring lawyers only)

*(we are aware that some organisations issue these in soft copy only, in which case submit this uncertified copy)

DEGREE QUALIFICATIONS (undergraduate and postgraduate)

We require EITHER a certified copy of your certificate OR direct confirmation to the Inn from the awarding body (following the guidance in Part 2 below).

The form of proof that you provide must show an overall final grade and a relevant date of being awarded (not just a transcript of individual module results or a letter stating the course was “successfully completed”).

Note:

You should not request certified copies of any Bar Course / BTT qualification as the Inn will only rely upon information supplied directly to us from the course providers and we do not ask for confirmation documentation from students.

Copies of photos and photo identity documents must be of good quality (e.g. fully legible to be able to read detail such as date of birth, and with photos which are unaltered by computer and clearly show your face).

While we initially request you to attach scans of your certified copies to your application, we reserve the right to request sight of the original or certified copies of your documents in hard copy. Therefore, you should factor in the timeframes necessary to post certified documentation to the Inn, especially if you are resident outside the UK.

The Inn will exercise its discretion over the acceptability of any documentation submitted including its certification and will give consideration, where applicable, to circumstances where there is a difficulty to provide exactly what is required. However, candidates are respectfully asked to adhere to the policy and guidance set out here, or delays may occur to processing any requests made.

For the purpose of the criminal records checks (for Call to the Bar) the ID documents required to confirm your identity for this purpose cannot be certified copies. The original documents must be sent to DDC Ltd (our chosen provider) who can authenticate them for these purposes.

Guidance on certified copies (and alternatives where applicable)

1. Certified Copies

NOTE: Only documents that are provided to you in original HARD COPY by the issuing body can be photocopied and certified. If you only have a document in SOFT COPY (emailed or downloaded electronically) this cannot be printed and certified.

Who can certify a document

Option A: Your document can be certified by a professional person or someone well-respected in your community who is listed below. We will not accept certification by a person not listed here.

• accountant
• bank or building society official
• barrister
• councillor
• dentist
• doctor
•  embassy official
• lecturer or university official
• minister of a recognised religion
• solicitor or notary
• teacher

• related to you 
• living at the same address 
• in a relationship with you.

The person you ask does not need to be in the UK but certifying wording must be in English (e.g. if an official stamp is in another language it must be accompanied by a statement in English – see below for what is required in terms of wording / sign off). 

Option B: The Post Office in the UK offer a document certification service, for a fee. You must take the original document along with a copy to be certified. 

Option C: You can bring your documents to the Inn in person and we will take copies and certify them for you. You must not send your original ID or certificates by post as we will not be responsible for its safe return to you.

How to certify a document 

Make a photocopy of your original document and then take the copy and the original to the person who will be certifying it. They must certify the copy by: 

• writing ‘Certified to be a true copy of the original seen by me’ on the document 
• signing and dating it (please check this as it is often overlooked by those certifying)
• printing their name under the signature (if not already provided by an official stamp) 
• writing their occupation, professional address and telephone number. 

The person certifying the document may charge you a fee. 

The person certifying the document must have seen the original document in person. The certification must be written on the front of the copy of the document, NOT on the back of copy.

Example:

2. Direct confirmation from the awarding body

In the case of degree / diploma certificates only

We will accept confirmation of your degree via an email from the university directly to the relevant email address (Admissions@middletemple.org.uk or CalltotheBar@middletemple.org.uk), providing it includes the overall final grade and a relevant date of being awarded, by one of the following means:

• the information stated directly within the body of the email; or
• a copy of the certificate/transcript attached to the email; or
• a secure link such as HEAR that we can access to view the results (however, note some universities may charge for this service and if so you will need to pay for it).