Becoming a lawyer

I am not (yet) lawyer

To practise as a lawyer at the Brussels Bar, you must go through several key steps:

You must hold a university degree in law. If your degree is from outside Belgium, you’ll need to have it recognised, either through a university programme, or, for EU degrees, by passing the aptitude test organised by AVOCATS.BE.
The oath is taken before the Brussels Court of Appeal. You will be introduced by a lawyer with at least ten years’ experience. This is usually your training pupil master, although any lawyer with the required seniority also may do this.
- Application for admission to the swearing-in and the list of trainee lawyers
  
  Resource type:
  
  PDF
To become a lawyer, you must complete a three-year pupillage with a qualified lawyer who has been on the official roll for at least five years, with whom you will sign a formal pupillage agreement.
Pupillage requirements
1. Complete three years of supervised practice with an accredited pupil master
2. Attend a mandatory information session
3. Attend and pass both phases of the Certificate of Aptitude for the Legal Profession
4. Attend three seminars organised by the Brussels Bar Institute of Communication
5. Pass the written and oral pleading examination
6. Participate in 12 Legal Aid Bureau duty sessions
7. Handle six Legal Aid Bureau cases
8. Take part in two fieldwork projects: the Refugee Legal Helpdesk or initiatives by the Trainee Forum
- Legal Aid (Office) duty sessions
  
  Resource type:
  
  DOCX
After taking the oath, the trainee lawyer must complete their admission application (if required), and pay both a registration fee and a membership dues to the Bar Association. Once payment is received, your application for admission to the list of trainee lawyers is publicly posted for 15 days.
You’ll be notified by post of your admission to the list of trainee lawyers, the authorisation to wear the legal gown, and the right to plead before various courts in the country.
Note: You are not officially a lawyer until this letter is received.
Entry on the role of the bar is not automatic after the three-year pupillage. The trainee lawyer must apply once all requirements are fulfilled. The Bar Association Council will assess your competence and understanding of professional and ethical rules.
Registration on the roll

Le stage et la formation : adresse, horaires et contacts

Adresse : place Jean Jacobs 17 – 1000 Bruxelles

Horaires : Ouvert le matin de 9h à 12h uniquement.

Contacts :

Par téléphone :

Stage : +32 2 747 94 65 ou +32 2 747 94 66

Formation : +32 2 747 94 67 ou +32 2 747 94 68

Par courriel :

Stage : stage@barreaudebruxelles.be

Formation : formation@barreaudebruxelles.be

I am currently a lawyer at a foreign bar and wish to register at the Brussels Bar

The Brussels Bar welcomes lawyers from foreign bars, whether European or otherwise, and offers two separate registration lists. Lawyers from European bars may apply for List E, while others may apply for List B. This distinction has to do with differences in representation and defence rights before Belgian courts.

Holders of foreign degrees may also access Belgian legal training under certain conditions.

I am currently practising law:

If you practise outside Brussels and wish to open a secondary office in the city, you must:

Send a letter, duly dated and signed, to the current president of the bar requesting authorisation to open a secondary office in Brussels, enclosing the required forms (available for download below).
Inform your president of the bar of your request.
Pay the registration fee and fixed dues (you will be apprised of the amounts once your file is complete).

To apply for List E, please email the following documents to inscriptions@barreaudebruxelles.be:

A recent certificate (dated within 3 months) from your home bar confirming that you are registered as a practising lawyer in good standing, accompanied by a (sworn) French translation;
A recent certificate of good conduct (or criminal record extract);
A sample of the letterhead you intend to use in Brussels (with a Brussels address);
A copy of your identity card (front and back) or passport.

You must also include the two forms available for download below.

The documents must be sent by email PDF format and must be in colour without fail.

A re-registration fee and fixed dues will have to be paid. The amounts will be communicated once the file is complete.

To apply for List B, please email the following documents to inscriptions@barreaudebruxelles.be :

Template letter requesting registration on List B;
Official List B registration form.

You are also kindly requested to read the extract from the minutes of the Bar Association session of 20 May 2014 regarding the powers of representation of lawyers registered on List B below.

A re-registration fee and fixed dues will also have to be paid. The amounts will be communicated once your file is complete.

I wish to re-register as a lawyer

You are requested to send a letter, duly dated and signed, to the current president of the bar (batonnier@barreaudebruxelles.be) and enclose the forms duly completed, a copy of your identity card (front and back) and two passport-sized photos.

A re-registration fee and fixed dues will have to be paid. The amounts will be communicated once the file is complete.

I wish to terminate my practice as a lawyer

Deed of transfer of practice to another lawyer or law firm

Resource type:

DOC

FAQ - Pupillage

The trainee lawyer candidate must:
- Have obtained, in Belgium, a university-level degree (doctor of Law, prior to 1972), a licentiate or master’s degree in law. Candidates who hold foreign degrees must obtain recognition of equivalency through a university programme or by passing the aptitude test organised by AVOCATS.BE;
- sign an pupillage agreement with an accredited pupil master;
- Have been introduced before the Brussels Court of Appeal and take the oath of admission to the Bar;
- pay the registration fees to the Bar and the dues to the Bar Association;
- Be accepted by the Council of the Bar Association on the list of trainee lawyers.
Procedure to follow for taking the oath of admission to the Bar:
- The trainee lawyer must be presented to the Brussels Court of Appeal by a lawyer with at least ten years of seniority on the register of the Bar Association.
- The swearing-in ceremony is held on 1 September (or the first business day of September), the first Monday of each month from October to December, and then every other month—on the first Monday of February, April, and June. If the first Monday is a public holiday, the ceremony is held the following Monday.
- To take the required oath, a trainee lawyer candidate must wear a legal gown. Gowns may be hired from the lawyers’ cloakroom located at the Courthouse (1 Place Poelaert, 1000 Brussels).
Preliminary steps:
The trainee lawyer must email the following documents to the Pupillage Service at (stage@barreaudebruxelles.be) :
- A certificate of residence dated within the last three months;
- A criminal record extract dated within the last three months (issued by the municipal authority of his or her place of residence or via an electronic counter);
- A copy of his or her pupillage agreement, duly completed and signed, with an accredited pupil master. Note: The standard-format contract provided by the Barr Association must be used without fail, without altering its font, layout, order of articles, etc.
- The application form for admission to the oath ceremony and the list of trainee lawyers, fully completed and signed.
Documents to be submitted physically:
- After submitting the electronic application, the trainee lawyer candidate must submit the original of his or her degree to the pupillage office. If the person in question does not hold Belgian nationality or a Belgian master's degree in law, he or she must also present the original of his or her foreign degree and the original of its equivalency certificate and must be able to produce his or her identity card.
- The oath cannot be administered unless all the aforementioned documents have reached the pupillage office at least 10 working days before the scheduled date. The pupillage agreement must comply with the Legal Code of Ethics and the Brussels Rules of Professional Conduct. The trainee lawyer candidate will be informed by email.
By the day before the oath ceremony at the latest, the trainee lawyer candidate will receive an email with the schedule, location, and practicalities of the ceremony.
- Except with authorisation from the relevant Presidents of the Bar, the pupil master must belong to the same Bar Association as the trainee lawyer.
- If the pupil master belongs to a different Bar Association, the rules of the trainee lawyer’s own Bar Association will apply.
- Before granting permission for a pupil master from another Bar Association, the President of the Bar will verify that they meet the conditions laid out in Article 3.6.a of the Brussels Rules of Professional Conduct.
- The pupil master’s professional address must be located within one of municipalities of the Brussels-Capital region without fail.

View all FAQs

Becoming a lawyer

I am not (yet) lawyer

Degree

Swearing-In

• Pupillage

Pupillage requirements

Admission to the list of trainee lawyers

Entry on the role of the bar

Le stage et la formation : adresse, horaires et contacts

I am currently a lawyer at a foreign bar and wish to register at the Brussels Bar

I am currently practising law:

Outside Brussels but in Belgium

In an EU Member State

Outside the European Union

I wish to re-register as a lawyer

I wish to terminate my practice as a lawyer