🎯 Exam strategy
Which NCA exam is the hardest? What candidates say about each subject
Lexn Team
There's no official answer, because the NCA doesn't publish pass rates, but candidates most often name Constitutional Law and Foundations as the hardest.
That matches what we see in candidate forums and study groups. "Hard" depends a lot on your background, though, so here is why each subject trips people up and what tends to help.
| Subject | Why candidates find it hard | What usually helps |
|---|---|---|
| Constitutional Law | Federalism is new to most: division of powers and the overlap doctrines, plus the Charter and s 35 in one exam | A framework for each type of issue, and a well-tabbed copy of the Constitution Acts |
| Foundations of Canadian Law | Theory and assigned articles, not just fact patterns; Indigenous law is new to most candidates | Read the articles themselves, and practise structuring short essays |
| Administrative Law | An abstract framework; the syllabus gives no marks for a standard-of-review answer built on the old Dunsmuir analysis; a new casebook edition from June 2026 | Check your materials are current and practise the full problem-question sequence |
| Criminal Law | Concepts feel familiar, but the syllabus is long, and the August 2026 version adds a required criminal procedure text | A tabbed, annotated Code you can navigate fast, and timed practice |
| Professional Responsibility | Often seen as the most approachable, which leads to answers that state the obvious without citing and applying the Model Code | Anchor every point in a rule and apply it to the facts |
Why "hard" varies so much
- Your legal system. Common law graduates usually find the method familiar; civil law graduates often find the case-based reasoning itself the hardest part.
- Your exam background. If your degree used oral or memory-based exams, three hours of typed problem answers is a skill to practise in itself.
- Time. Many people who know the law still run short of time. Practising under a timer is the fix.
- Open book can mislead. Having every note with you doesn't help if you can't find the right page in seconds.
About pass rates
The NCA doesn't publish them. Figures that circulate online are old and unofficial, so don't plan around them.
If you've written more than one exam, which was hardest for you and why? Ranking them below helps the people just starting out.