Certifying Internationally Educated Lawyers and Law Graduates

The National Committee on Accreditation (NCA) is pleased to introduce the latest modernization of its assessment process for internationally educated lawyers and law graduates.

We will continue to share the latest information on this page, through appropriate advisories and through a series of hosted webinars.

The first webinar will be on Thursday, December 10 2026 at 12 -1 p.m. EST. Register here

Background

The NCA is a standing committee of the Federation of Law Societies of Canada (the “Federation”). It helps Canada’s law societies protect the public interest by making sure internationally educated lawyers and law graduates have knowledge of Canadian law similar to that offered by an approved Canadian common law degree program. The NCA assesses legal education credentials obtained either outside of Canada or in a civil law degree program in Canada, for individuals intending to apply for admission to a law society in a Canadian common law jurisdiction.

In late 2016, at the recommendation of the Federation and following a comprehensive review of the existing system, the NCA Assessment Modernization Committee was created with a mandate to make recommendations to the Federation on the development and implementation of a competency-based assessment framework for internationally educated lawyers and law graduates applying to the NCA.

The framework and strategic direction created by the NCA Assessment Modernization Committee was formally approved by the Federation Council at its October 18, 2025 meeting.

How It Works

The modernized competency-based assessment framework is designed to ensure fairness, transparency, and continued alignment with the latest amendments to the National Requirement.

The NCA Competency Profile, which serves as the foundation for the modernized assessment tools, translates the requisite skills set out in the National Requirement into assessable competencies. It has been thoroughly validated through a decade of research in competency-based education and a large-scale survey of experienced lawyers and recent NCA certificate holders.

The modernized assessment framework will incorporate a variety of assessment tools to provide objective and reliable results grounded in competence-based educational best practices. This will include oral, written, and multiple-choice assessments. Phased implementation of the modernized assessment system will commence in early 2027, with full implementation scheduled for 2028.

For current and prospective applicants:

• Eligible applicants will have the opportunity to opt-in to modernized examinations. Any exams that are successfully completed will be applied to their assigned requirements.
• Participating applicants will have access to a comprehensive set of modernized preparatory resources for the new examinations, provided at no additional charge. These will include five sets of preparatory materials, sample multiple-choice questions, and a multiple-choice question study guide.
• Once fully implemented, all future applicants will be assessed through the modernized system.

The NCA will release further information regarding eligibility and transition details for applicants who wish to opt-in to initial implementation.

Modernizing the Assessment Process

The NCA Competency Profile serves as the foundation of the modernized competency-based assessment process for NCA applicants.

The Profile was reviewed and finalized following feedback from interested parties, including experienced lawyers, legal scholars and the Federation’s Indigenous Advisory Council, and was updated to bring it into compliance with the 2024 National Requirement.

In August 2024, the Federation retained the Canadian Centre for Professional Legal Education (CPLED) to develop options for assessment methodologies and tools for the new Competency Profile. In the fall of 2025, the NCA Assessment Modernization Committee recommended an assessment framework and a strategic direction to modernize the NCA assessment process. 

We will continue to publish more details and guidance about the modernized framework and its phased implementation over the coming weeks and months.