Monica Gangar – Starting Your NCA (National Committee of Accreditation) Journey. Published Dec 30, 2025.
Being a foreign-trained law student or lawyer, and then moving to a new jurisdiction to get accredited as a lawyer can be a daunting task. While you are getting acquainted with a new country, learning the transit system, buying groceries, and trying to find furniture – trying to land “the lawyer job” is also on the list of things to do. So where do you start?
First, we need to understand who is responsible for the accreditation process in Canada. The Federation of Law Societies of Canada is a national organization comprised of the law societies from the country’s provinces and territories which regulate the legal profession. Within that, there is the National Committee of Accreditation, also known as the NCA. The NCA is responsible for the assessment of the legal education and experience of people who have obtained their credentials outside of Canada or are in a Canadian civil law program. For information you can visit their websites:
- Federation of Law Societies of Canada website: https://flsc.ca/about-us/
- National Committee of Accreditation website: https://nca.legal/
While everyone’s journey to accreditation will look a bit different, here are some general tips on how to navigate the start of your journey:
1 – Do Your Research
It is imperative that you do your research on the accreditation process and the requirements that you will need to fulfill. If you are a law student, ideally this would start before you begin your law degree. You should check to see that your law degree program is recognized by the NCA and ensure that you are aware of the options to get your degree accredited in the new jurisdiction that you will be moving to. If you are already a practicing lawyer, you should start organizing all your credentials, as well as put together a CV outlining your practice experience. It’s also important to remember that if your documents were issued in a language other than English, you will also need to get them formally translated and certified.
The NCA website will be one of the most helpful informational tools for you to use. You will be able to find information on the general process of accreditation, exam information and outlines, exam schedules, resources, and much more. This should be your first stop for questions that you may have, and if you need further assistance you can also reach out to the NCA office.
2 – Different Routes to the Same Destination
After your credentials have been accessed by the NCA, they will let you know your “assignments”. These are the subjects that you will need to complete in order to get accredited. Starting January 1, 2022, all applicants must also complete a legal writing course.
The routes to accreditation are exam-based, course-based, or a mix of both. The exam-based option is where you are assigned exams by the NCA and you must write and pass all of them. Or, the other option, is enrolling into courses at a Canadian law school, where you then have to complete and pass the courses. Regardless of which option you choose, you should check to see what options are available to you (after the NCA completes the assessment of your application) and which option you think you will have greater success with.
3 – Stay Connected
The accreditation process can feel at times isolating, as it falls outside of the traditional route to becoming a lawyer in Canada. And, each person’s accreditation process differs as the requirements assigned to complete will differ based on one’s educational background, degrees completed, and work experience.
It will be a good idea to seek support and join communities so that the process is less daunting.
There are a variety of Facebook groups, online communities, and networking events that you can take part in. It would also be a good idea to connect with other law students or lawyers who are going through the accreditation process or have finished it. Completing the accreditation process is just one step in the process to becoming a lawyer – the next step is securing an articling position!
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