Start here: the NCA process step by step, from assessment to licensing

The NCA path for internationally trained lawyers has four stages: your assessment, your assigned exams and courses, the Certificate of Qualification, then your province's bar admission process.

This is the map of Study Circles: each step links to the post that covers it in detail. Facts are from the NCA's pages, checked 18 Oct 2026.

1. Get assessed

• Apply online to the NCA ($400 plus tax). Your law school sends official transcripts directly to the NCA.
• Since 1 March 2026, applicants complete a language screening test before assessment, unless a valid accepted language test from the last two years exempts them.
• Your assessment lists what you must complete. Most candidates get at least the five mandatory subjects: how many NCA exams will I get?

2. Complete your exams and courses

• NCA exams run in 12 sessions a year, online, open book (hard copy only), three hours each, $500 plus tax per exam: online exam rules
• Plan your order around the calendar and the 10–12 week wait for results: which exam first?
• Learn what examiners reward (how to write an answer that passes) and what to expect from each subject (which exam is hardest?).
• Choosing additional subjects. Results, rewrites and appeals.
• Courses alongside the exams: Canadian Legal Research and Writing, and Indigenous Law and Peoples (mandatory as of 1 March 2026): what changed in 2026
• You have five years from your assessment to finish.

3. Get your Certificate of Qualification

Request it in the NCA portal once everything is done: how long the certificate takes

4. Bar admission in your province

Articling or an equivalent, plus licensing exams or courses, set by each law society. In Ontario you can apply up to six months before you're eligible for the certificate: starting Ontario licensing early

Coming in 2027 and 2028: the NCA is moving to five new exams and three online courses: Modernized Assessment Framework

Subject boards

Each core subject has its own board with exam frameworks and discussion:

• Constitutional Law: pith and substance, IJI or paramountcy and what to print
• Criminal Law: which Criminal Code to buy
• Administrative Law: answering a problem question
• Foundations of Canadian Law: articles, essays and problem questions
• Professional Responsibility: which Model Code to print

Before you post

• Posts are public and show up in search engines. Don't share phone numbers, emails or details of your NCA file.
• Never share exam content. No questions, fact patterns or topics from an exam you wrote, even from memory: what you can and can't discuss
• For fees, dates and deadlines, the NCA website is the authority. When you answer someone, link your source if you can.
• Use a flair so others can find your post, and read the Community Guidelines.

New here? Introduce yourself in the monthly study partner finder, or ask the question you couldn't find answered anywhere else. Posts marked Lexn Team are from us, and we review every report.

Sources: NCA FAQs, Costs and timelines