What changed for NCA candidates in 2026: new syllabi, language screening, Indigenous law

If your notes are from 2025 or earlier, check them: several NCA syllabi were revised in 2026, and new language and Indigenous law requirements apply from 1 March 2026.

Source: the NCA exam outlines page and FAQs, checked 18 Oct 2026.

Revised syllabi

• Administrative Law, June 2026. The required casebook is now the 9th edition (Van Harten, Heckman & Promislow, 2026). The syllabus notes that it differs from the 8th edition that past exams were based on. Readings include two duty-to-consult cases: Kebaowek First Nation v Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission, 2025 FC 319 (the syllabus notes an appeal to the Federal Court of Appeal), and Gitxaala v British Columbia (Commissioner of Gold), 2025 BCCA 430.
• Criminal Law, August 2026. Coughlan's Criminal Procedure is now the 5th edition (2026); Roach, 8th edition, is unchanged. The syllabus adds R v Vrbanic, 2026 SCC 19, under trial within a reasonable time (s 11(b)), and notes 2026 Criminal Code changes: remedies for delay other than a stay, and a judge's power under s 718.4(1) to impose less than a mandatory minimum (other than life imprisonment) where the minimum would be cruel and unusual punishment for that offender.
• Contracts, September 2026, and Family Law, 2026 version.
• Recently revised: Commercial Law (November 2025), Foundations (2025 version), Property (2025), Evidence (April 2025).
• Unchanged: Constitutional Law (January 2023) and Professional Responsibility (March 2023 version).

The NCA revises outlines as required and posts them before registration opens, so check the outline each time you register.

New requirements from 1 March 2026

• All applicants complete a language screening test before assessment. A valid accepted language test from the last two years may exempt you; below the minimum screening score, you complete a full language assessment.
• Applicants must demonstrate competence in Indigenous Law and Peoples, through a CPLED module or an NCA-approved law school course. If you were assessed before March 2026, check your assessment or ask nca@flsc.ca whether it applies to you.
• Unchanged: candidates assessed after 1 January 2022 must complete Canadian Legal Research and Writing, through CPLED or an approved course. It isn't an NCA exam, so it won't appear in the exam registration list.

Announced for 2027 and 2028

The NCA is moving to a new system of five exams, most combining several current subjects, and three online courses. Our pinned post on the Modernized Assessment Framework covers what's known.

Spotted another change? Reply with the subject and a link to the NCA page, and we'll add it.