What Is the NCA Exam? A Complete Guide for Internationally Trained Lawyers

If you studied law outside Canada and want to practise in a Canadian common law province or territory, you will almost certainly deal with the National Committee on Accreditation (NCA). Its exams are how most internationally trained lawyers show that their knowledge of Canadian law matches that of a Canadian law graduate. This guide explains what the exams are, who writes them, and how they fit into the path to becoming a lawyer in Canada.

Checked against nca.legal on October 25, 2026.

The short answer

The NCA is a committee of the Federation of Law Societies of Canada. It assesses the legal education and experience of people trained outside Canada (or in Canadian civil law) and tells them what they must do to reach the level of an approved Canadian common law degree. Those tasks are called assignments.

Most applicants meet their assignments by writing NCA exams: three-hour, fact-based, open-book exams in specific areas of Canadian law. Once all assignments are done, the NCA issues a Certificate of Qualification, which the law societies in common law provinces and territories require before you can enter their bar admission process.

Who has to write NCA exams

You need to go through the NCA if you want to enter a Canadian common law bar admission process with a law degree from outside Canada, or with a Canadian civil law degree.

The NCA looks at your degree, where and how you studied, and your legal experience. It then assigns subjects. You can meet them in three ways:

1. Write and pass NCA exams,
2. Complete the assigned subjects at a Canadian law school, or
3. A combination of both.

In some cases the NCA requires you to take courses at a law school rather than write exams.

How many NCA exams are there?

It depends on your background. The NCA says you will generally need to take at least the five mandatory Canadian law subjects, and it may assign more based on your qualifications.

The five mandatory subjects

1. Canadian Administrative Law
2. Canadian Constitutional Law
3. Canadian Criminal Law
4. Canadian Professional Responsibility
5. Foundations of Canadian Law

Other subjects the NCA may assign

Business Organizations, Civil Procedure, Commercial Law, Contracts, Evidence, Family Law, Property, Remedies and Torts. Contracts, Property and Torts are commonly assigned too, depending on what your degree covered.

Requirements that aren't exams

• Legal research and writing: if you were assessed after January 1, 2022, a course from an approved Canadian common law program or the NCA module with the Canadian Centre for Professional Legal Education (CPLED).
• Indigenous Law and Peoples: required for all applicants since March 1, 2026, through a CPLED module or an approved law school course.
• Language screening: unless exempt, you complete an English or French language screening test before your qualifications are assessed. Its cost is included in the assessment fee.

What NCA exams are like

• Format: fact-based problems, similar to Canadian law school exams. You read a set of facts and write an answer that identifies the legal issues and applies the law to them. Each subject's format differs: some papers use one long fact pattern, others combine short questions with longer problems.
• Length: 3 hours.
• Open book: you may use any reference material, but only in hard copy. See our guide to the NCA exam rules.
• Online: written at home or another suitable location through a secure browser, with a live remote proctor.
• Marking: pass or fail, with 50% as the pass mark.
• Attempts: three per exam (a first attempt and two rewrites), with a possible fourth attempt on request under the NCA's policies.
• Study: you prepare on your own. The NCA publishes an exam outline (syllabus) and a sample exam for each subject, but does not provide classes.

When the exams are held

The NCA runs twelve exam sessions a year, roughly one a month, but not every subject is offered in every session. Each mandatory subject is offered four times a year. Registration opens about six to eight weeks before each session and stays open for about three and a half weeks. See the full NCA exam schedule for 2027.

What it costs

The NCA estimates the minimum cost of the exam route at about $3,000 plus taxes. That's before study materials or prep. For a full budget, see how much the NCA process costs.

How long it takes

According to the NCA:

• Gathering documents: two to six weeks
• Assessment: six to eight weeks
• Completing your assignments: you have five years from your assessment, with an average of about two years and a best case of about 10 months
• Exam results: 10 to 12 weeks after the last exam in each session

After the NCA, you still have your province's licensing process, such as licensing exams and articling.

The process, step by step

1. Apply to the NCA with your documents and pay the assessment fee.
2. Receive your assessment, which lists your assignments and your five-year deadline.
3. Register for exams once registration opens for the session you want.
4. Study and write your exams, or take the assigned law school courses.
5. Request your Certificate of Qualification in the NCA Portal once every assignment is complete.
6. Apply to a law society to begin bar admission.

The exams are changing

On October 8, 2026, the NCA announced a new assessment system: five combined exams and three courses, with multiple-choice questions in every exam. It begins in phases in 2027 and takes full effect in 2028. If you already have an Assessment Decision, you can keep following it. Read what the new NCA system means for you.

Sources

• NCA: Assessment process
• NCA: Assignments
• NCA: Exam information
• NCA: Costs and timelines
• NCA: Certificate of Qualification
• NCA: Exam outlines and samples
• NCA: FAQs

Lexn is an independent study platform and is not affiliated with the NCA or the Federation of Law Societies of Canada. Your own assessment decides what you must complete, so always confirm with the NCA.

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