If you complete a law degree in Quebec or in a foreign jurisdiction and wish to be admitted to the practice of law in Ontario, you must apply for an assessment of the equivalency of your legal studies to a Canadian common law degree program.
Applications of this nature are made to the NCA, which has been established by the Council of Canadian Law Deans and the Federation of Law Societies of Canada.
How does the NCA assess my law degree?
The NCA applies a uniform standard on a national basis so that if you have common law qualifications obtained outside of Canada or civil law training in Canada, you do not need to satisfy different entrance standards to practice law in the different provinces and territories of Canada.
Once the NCA assesses your file, they may ask you to complete 1 or more exams and/or attend and complete specific law school courses within a prescribed time frame. Upon successful completion of these requirements, the NCA issues a Certificate of Qualification that can be used to apply to begin the bar admission process in a Canadian common law jurisdiction.
If your NCA report includes a transcript and is sent to OLSAS directly from the NCA, the report will be considered an official transcript.
If you have also requested a World Education Services (WES) evaluation, you should request that the NCA include a copy of this evaluation in the report they send to OLSAS.
Contact the NCA
Contact the NCA in advance to verify application deadlines:
National Committee on Accreditation
Federation of Law Societies of Canada
World Exchange Plaza
1810‑45 O’Connor Street
Ottawa ON K1P 1A4
Telephone: 613-236-1700
Email: nca@flsc.ca