Application

Who can apply

All internationally trained legal graduates can apply, whether you are:

• a newcomer to Canada with a law degree
• a Canadian citizen who got a legal education in another country
• a legal graduate thinking of immigrating to Canada
• a Canadian civil law graduate

You can apply from anywhere in the world – citizenship, nationality and where you live do not matter in the assessment process.

The NCA does not assess the legal education and experience of people who want to practice civil law in Canada, or who want to become members of the Barreau du Québec or the Chambre des notaires du Québec. They each have their own evaluation process.

How to apply

Complete the online assessment application form available by clicking the Apply now button below, and  arrange for the NCA to receive all required documents. Refer to the NCA Service Standards to learn about our service response times.

Please note: We will not process the form until we receive your payment ($400.00 CDN, plus taxes). A payment module is included with the online form. You must pay by credit card.  Consult our refund policy.

Required documents

1. You may mail your original or official pre-law university transcripts or arrange for your university to send the NCA official pre-law university transcripts (if applicable)
2. Arrange to have sent, by the school that issued them, official transcripts (detailed mark sheets) for your legal education. Please note that in most cases, in addition to official transcripts, degree certificates will also be necessary and will be requested. DO NOT mail your original law school transcripts or degree certificates to the NCA. We do not accept these original documents directly from applicants and are not responsible if they are lost or damaged during shipment.
3. You need to upload an updated outline (résumé or Curriculum Vitae) of your education and work experience, both legal and other experience, in the application form
   
   And, if you are a lawyer, arrange to have sent, an
4. Official letter or certificate of good standing from the bar association or bar council (This must outline the date you were called to the bar and your status as a member in good standing.)

The NCA only accepts official law school transcripts sent directly by the law school that issued them and letters of good standing sent directly by the organization that issued them. The NCA will not accept these documents if you send them to us.

Delivery of documents by secure share services

If your law school cannot send official transcripts for your legal education by post or courier, they may send them through secure document share service to [email protected].  The NCA is able to accept documents through the services listed below (listed alphabetically):

• Digitary CORE
• eScript-Safe
• ETranscript (Michigan State University)
• ETX-NG
• Grad Intel
• HEAR
• MyCreds (https://mycreds.ca/)
• My eQuals
• National Student Clearing House: Electronic Transcript Exchange
• OpenCerts™
• Parchment: Digital Credential Service
• PremierCert
• TranscriptsNetwork by Credentials Solutions

Translation required for documents in languages other than English or French

If any of your documents are in a language other than English or French, they must be sent to the NCA with an exact English or French translation that has been completed by:

• a Canadian certified translator, or
• a non-certified translator or translator recognized outside Canada, with an affidavit of the translator indicating the translator’s qualifications and that the translation is of the original document.

Documents provided in support of your NCA application remain with the NCA

All documents remain the property of the NCA.  If you send us your copy of your pre-law university transcripts, please include a photocopy of them along with the originals. In that instance we will keep the photocopies and return your originals to you.  Please note that we do not return documents submitted to the NCA from an institution.

Once the NCA receives your completed application form and payment, within ten business days, we will send you an email that  explains how to use the NCA portal.  The NCA may also ask you for more information or documentation.

After we have the documents we need, the NCA takes about six to eight weeks to process your application and email you your assessment.

NCA Mailing Address

Documents should be addressed to:

Federation of Law Societies of Canada
c/o National Committee on Accreditation
World Exchange Plaza
1810 – 45 O’Connor St.
Ottawa, ON
K1P 1A4