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Canada · Accreditation exams

NCA law exams and the subjects you can be assigned

Which NCA law exams you write depends on your assessment, but the NCA generally assigns five Canadian subjects to all applicants. The National Committee on Accreditation (NCA) sets exams in 14 subjects, and your Assessment Decision says which ones you need, along with a legal research course and a course on Indigenous law. A new set of five exams and three courses is being phased in from 2027.

  • 5Canadian subjects the NCA generally assigns
  • 8Core subjects in total
  • 14Subjects with an NCA exam today
Where to study

Updated October 2026 · Written from official sources, listed at the bottom of this page

How the NCA decides your subjects

The NCA compares your education and experience with an approved Canadian common law degree, then assigns subjects to fill the gaps. You usually meet them in one of three ways:

  • Write and pass NCA exams
  • Complete the subjects at a Canadian law school
  • Combine the two, with some exams and some law school courses

In some cases the NCA says you must take courses at a law school, for example if your degree was by distance education or from a legal tradition with little or no common law.

Applying for an NCA assessment →

Which NCA law exams are mandatory?

The NCA generally assigns these five Canadian subjects to all applicants:

  • Canadian Administrative Law
  • Canadian Constitutional Law
  • Canadian Criminal Law
  • Canadian Professional Responsibility
  • Foundations of Canadian Law

You can clear these five only by NCA exam or by a course in an approved Canadian common law program. Courses in them from other programs don’t count, except in the cases the NCA Policy Manual sets out.

NCA Professional Responsibility →NCA syllabus for each subject →

Contracts, Torts and Property, by where you studied

Together with the five Canadian subjects, Contracts, Property and Torts make up the eight core subjects that graduates of approved Canadian common law programs also complete. Whether you need them depends on your degree.

DegreeUsually assigned
Common lawThe five Canadian subjects, plus any others your file needs
Mixed with common lawAll eight core subjects, for most graduates
Civil law or otherCommon law study first, then the eight core subjects
Canadian civil lawContracts, Torts, Property, and Professional Responsibility if you didn’t take it
Distance educationTwo years of in-person study, including the five Canadian subjects

If you have a qualifying degree from a Canadian civil law school and a licence from the Barreau du Québec, the NCA issues a Certificate of Qualification once it reviews your completed application.

If you studied outside the common law

The NCA looks at applicants from civil law, religious law and other traditions case by case. You first need common law exposure:

  • A Master of Laws (LL.M.) or individual common law courses
  • Being licensed as a lawyer, barrister or solicitor in a common law jurisdiction, through course work or exams
  • Being certified as a paralegal or notary in a common law jurisdiction

The Executive Director decides which courses count. Once you’ve passed at least four common law subjects in courses, the NCA reconsiders your file, and you can then choose NCA exams for the subjects that are left.

Other subjects and requirements you may be given

  • Additional legal subjects: Business Organizations, Civil Procedure, Commercial Law, Evidence, Family Law and Remedies. The NCA can assign them, for example when your law program was shorter than it requires.
  • Canadian Legal Research and Writing, if you were assessed after January 1, 2022: a course in an approved Canadian common law program or the NCA module run by the Canadian Centre for Professional Legal Education (CPLED).
  • Indigenous Law and Peoples, as of March 1, 2026: a CPLED module or an NCA-approved course at a Canadian law school. The NCA describes the module as a six-week, fully online, self-directed course.

If you fail an exam in an assigned subject, you have to clear that same subject, by exam or by an approved course. You can’t swap it for a different one.

The new NCA exams from 2027

On October 8, 2026 the NCA announced a modernized assessment framework of five exams and three courses. Phased implementation starts in 2027 and full implementation is planned for 2028. The NCA’s table, current as of September 2026 and open to change, lists the five exams and the subjects in each:

  • Canadian Public Law 1: Foundations of Canadian Law and Constitutional Law
  • Canadian Public Law 2: Criminal Law and Administrative Law
  • Canadian Private Law: Contract Law, Property Law and Tort Law
  • Ethics and Professional Responsibility in Canadian Legal Practice, with no subjects listed in the NCA’s table
  • Dispute Resolution and Oral Advocacy in Canadian Legal Practice: Negotiation and Mediation, Litigation, and Oral Advocacy

The three courses are online: Indigenous Peoples and the Law in the Canadian Context, Canadian Legal Research, and Canadian Legal Writing and Drafting.

What the new framework means for you

  • If you already have your Assessment Decision, you can keep following it. Eligible applicants will have the opportunity to opt in to some or all of the new exams, and any they pass are applied to their assigned requirements.
  • Once the framework is fully implemented, all future applicants will be assessed through it.
  • The exams will be online through a secured platform with live proctoring.
  • Multiple-choice questions will be part of every assessment, and some will also require oral and written legal skills.
  • Each exam will take no longer than three hours and 30 minutes, unless accommodations have been granted.
  • If you pass a new exam, you only see “pass”. If you fail, you get your score and broad feedback.
  • Participating applicants get preparatory materials for each new exam and a multiple-choice question study guide with sample questions, at no additional charge.
  • You may still write each exam up to three times, and the Executive Director may grant a fourth and final attempt.

The NCA says eligibility and transition details will follow, and it set its first webinar on the framework for December 10, 2026, from noon to 1 p.m. Eastern time.

NCA: Modernized Assessment Framework ↗NCA: Modernized Assessment Framework announcement ↗
Sources: NCA and 6 more. Checked October 2026.

Rules and fees can change, so check the official site before your test.

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