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Canada’s law societies have established the National Committee on Accreditation (NCA) to help those who want to practise law in a Canadian common law jurisdiction. This includes Canadian citizens who have obtained their legal education abroad, Quebec civil law graduates, and people with a legal background who have immigrated, or are considering immigrating, to Canada.
The National Committee on Accreditation is a standing committee of the Federation of Law Societies of Canada consisting of members involved with the administration of provincial and territorial law societies, members of the practising bar, and representatives of the Council of Canadian Law Deans. The members are listed here.
The mandate of the NCA is to assess the qualifications of individuals with legal education and professional experience obtained outside of Canada, or in a civil law program in Quebec, who wish to be admitted to a common law bar in Canada.
The assessment is based on the academic and professional profile of each individual applicant. The NCA applies a uniform standard on a national basis so that applicants with common law qualifications obtained outside of Canada can apply regardless of where they wish to practise in Canada. As a result, applicants do not need to satisfy different entrance standards to practise law in different provinces and territories of Canada.
At the conclusion of the assessment process, an applicant meeting the stated requirements will be issued an NCA Certificate of Qualification.
As of January 2008, the fee for the assessment of qualifications was set at $525 CDN, including all applicable taxes.
Applications for assessment must be sent by regular mail or courier, and payment must be included with the application. Payment must be in the form of money order or certified cheque.
PLEASE NOTE: The NCA does not assess the legal credentials for individuals who want to apply to and become members of the Barreau du Québec or the Chambre des notaires du Québec. They each have their own evaluation procedures.
How to get a Certificate of Qualification
After reviewing an application, the NCA will issue an assessment result to the applicant listing the subjects and/or legal education that is required to ensure that the applicant’s legal education and training is comparable to that provided by an approved law school in Canada.
In order to obtain an NCA Certificate of Qualification, most applicants are required to demonstrate competence in a number of subjects. Applicants may demonstrate competence in one of three ways;
a. through the NCA examinations;
b. by registering as a special student in a Canadian common law degree program and successfully complete the assigned subjects as part of your program of studies; or
c. a combination of (a) and (b).
Once the applicant has successfully completed the NCA requirements, the NCA issues a Certificate of Qualification. Most law societies in Canada accept the NCA's Certificate of Qualifications for entry to their bar admissions process.
The Certificate of Qualification is not the same as a Canadian law degree. Applicants who wish to obtain a Canadian law degree should apply to a Canadian law school.
You can review the guidelines for the assessment process here.
You can review our statistical report on applications processed and Certificates of Qualification issued here.
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