Persons with a completed law degree from Quebec or from a foreign jurisdiction who wish to be admitted to the practice of law in a Canadian common law jurisdiction can apply to the National Committee on Accreditation for an assessment of the equivalency of their legal studies (established by the Council of Canadian Law Deans and the Federation of Law Societies of Canada). More information can be found on the National Committee on Accreditation (NCA) website.

If you have received advanced standing from the NCA, you may submit an application to the Faculty in this category.  Persons to whom the NCA has not granted advanced standing must apply as a first-year student and complete the three year JD Program in order to practice common law in Canada.

Applicants in this category must submit:

• Official transcripts for all post-secondary studies officially translated into English or French;
• A copy of the National Committee on Accreditation assessment;
• Two letters of reference, at least one of which should come from an academic referee;
• A personal statement that explains why they wish to complete their courses at the Faculty of Law of the University of Ottawa.

The LSAT is not required for NCA candidates.

National Committee of Accreditation candidates are not required to have transcripts evaluated by WES.

All applications must be completed online via OLSAS. The application deadline is May 1st. Files are not assessed until they are complete and all required documents have been provided. As the number of spaces available is limited, leaving your application incomplete after May 1st can prejudice the likelihood of being admitted. Files that are still incomplete as of August 1st will be closed without further notice.

Persons wishing to complete their NCA requirements cannot take courses as Special Students.