10 Point Checklist for Navigating the Ontario Lawyer Licensing Process

I studied law abroad and so I completed the National Committee of Accreditation (NCA) Process before starting the Ontario Licensing process. If you’re an NCA Candidate who has completed the NCA process, you will have to check off applying for the Law Society of Ontario on your NCA portal online so that the NCA will send a certificate of qualification to the Law Society of Ontario. Once you’ve completed that step you can start this process. If you went to law school in Canada, then you can jump right into these steps.

Let this be a checklist/navigation tool to inform you of everything you need to do to get admitted to the Law Society of Ontario and be called to the bar in the Courts of Ontario.

Download this printable PDF Checklist for free to check off everything!

1. Apply to the Law Society and pay any applicable fees

You will have to submit a two-part application to the Law Society of Ontario and pay the relevant fees—$160 plus $75 for late application submissions. Usually you apply to the law society before the start of December as the deadline of the year before your intended licensing process year, but if you apply after, you will pay the $75 late fee in addition.

The first part of the application requires you to fill out information online through the law society, and you have the option of paying your fees online as well. You can go to this link to apply: https://lso.ca/becoming-licensed/lawyer-licensing-process/application-for-admission

When you complete the online application, you will receive further instructions later. Please read the instructions for both parts of the application: Part 2 will include printing off a pdf of information you have submitted online, getting passport style photos, getting a notarized copy of required documents (this may be an additional cost to you), and mailing this to the law society. All of this information is available online, and I recommend you go through this thoroughly if you haven’t already.

2. Bar Exams

There are two Ontario Bar Exams you need to complete: the Barrister Exam and the Solicitor Exam. You can do number 2 or 3 on this blog post list at the same time or in reverse order if you like. But before you complete these exams, you must pay the relevant fees for each exam and their materials. Currently, the cost is $865+tax for each exam.

The first exam sittings of a licensing year cycle start in June, and the next sitting is November, then March. If you write the Barrister/Solicitor Exam in November 2024 and don’t pass, then you can write it again in March 2025. If you decide instead to write it in June 2025, then you will have to order new materials for that exam; each licensing cycle releases a new version of the bar materials. The new materials for each exam cycle are released in April. You used to be able to apply to pick up a printed copy at the Law Society of Ontario at Osgoode Hall in Toronto in person, or have the printed copy mailed to you, or you could print out the material yourself as you will also get access to the materials in PDF format through your licensing cycle but I believe there may only be the option of getting a digital copy of the materials now for $100/set and then you have to print it yourself.

If you fail and need to rewrite an exam within your cycle, you will pay for each exam you need to rewrite but you won’t need to pay for a new set of materials, and you will only get continued access to the PDF through your online portal so you will have to print these all out as they will have taken all the materials you brought into the exam room at your last sitting.

If you don’t feel ready for your upcoming bar exam, or if life happens, then you can defer the exam to another sitting within the same licensing cycle very easily by submitting a Request for Change or Deferment Form at least 10 business days before the exam. Visit the Forms and Fees page to download here: https://lso.ca/becoming-licensed/lawyer-licensing-process/fees-and-forms

Check out blog post: My Ontario Bar Exam Experience as a Lawyer Licensing Candidate

Need additional guidance? Want demos and actual guidance on how to organize your materials and tackle the bar exams? Check out Ginny’s Ontario Bar Exam Study Guide for a small premium.

3. Experiential Training Component

This is a practical training component. You can complete the experiential training component either through traditional “Articling” in which you work for 10 months under an “Articling Principal,” a supervising lawyer who has been practising for at least 3 years within the last 5 years, or through the Law Practice Program (LPP) held by the University of Ottawa (French Program) and Ryerson University (English Program). The LPP includes 4 months of training followed by 4 months at a work placement where you work under a Principal, similar to articling. You can read more about the LPP and my experience in a future post. You will also have to pay to have your experiential training component count. That’s right, you must PAY to do your work for the experiential training component. Whether you are articling or doing the LPP, it is currently the same price: $2,800 +tax.

4. Sign up for call date/location

Once your application is approved, they’ve assessed your character, you’ve passed both the Ontario Barrister exam and Ontario Solicitor exam, and you’ve completed your experiential training, you will be qualified to be called. You will receive a message asking you to confirm your location selection for the next call to the bar ceremony. In June, you can attend the bar ceremony in Ottawa, London, or Toronto. You will select your location, or if you do not plan to get called the next time a bar ceremony is available and wish to defer then you have to indicate this.

5. Barrister Robes/Gowns

You need robes for your in-person bar ceremony. If you are opting for an administrative call instead, see below #9, under Administrative Call. You can buy a set of robes to keep, rent them, borrow from someone, or pick up donated robes. I bought my robes at Harcourts in Toronto, but there are other local places to get robes in other cities or authorized dealers of Harcourt robes elsewhere. If you think you’ll be in Superior Court or in higher levels of court often, I would suggest buying or getting donated robes to keep. I bought imported wool/cotton robes (natural fabric) so they would be more breathable than polyester blends, and I plan on using these and keeping them for quite a long time. I also bought a carry bag and a tab case which are optional, so my total cost was well over $800 from Harcourts in Toronto. I bought an extra shirt later, because I realized you probably should if you plan on being in court regularly and need to get gowned. If you plan on buying your robes, you may have to phone the store to book an appointment to get measured. If you are getting called in June and want to buy robes, I recommend ordering and getting measured early in May, at least before the end of May, as they get quite busy. For additional pieces to get later on like extra shirts or tabs, there are many options including online on Imperial Robes I’ve bought extra shirts and tabs from. Imperial Robes ships across Canada I believe. If you’re around the 361 University courthouse regularly, you can order Harcourts shirts on the 3rd fl library (Toronto Lawyer’s association).

If you are on a tight budget, then associations such as the Criminal Lawyers Association and the Ontario Bar Association has donated robes available for soon-to-be called lawyers, so you can inquire about when you can pick up donated robes from their robe bank or when they may be having an event for donated robes before your bar ceremony. Click this link for the OBA’s robe bank. If you are unlikely to be going to court regularly, then you might want to rent or borrow from someone else. Harcourts and other robe shops offer rentals and are available for quick fittings.

6. Pay for the Call to the Bar

You haven’t finished paying just yet! You must pay for your spot at the Bar Ceremony. The Call to the Bar fee is currently $250 +tax, and you can pay this online through your licensing portal. You will receive an invoice when it’s time to pay in the documents section of your licensing portal.

7. Sign the Roll

When you are eligible to be called to the bar and get the notice to confirm if you’re going to get called in the upcoming bar ceremony, they will also tell you some early dates when you can sign the roll. If you can’t sign on those dates, you can sign up until the day of your call. When you go to get robed, there will be signs or volunteers that will be able to guide you to sign the roll on the day of your ceremony. I would suggest signing on one of the early dates to get it out of the way and to pick up guest tickets. In Toronto, if you go on one of those dates to the Law Society of Ontario, it’s in the same hall as where you picked up your bar materials. You will go there with your LSO licensing ID to sign the rolls, and you will be given a welcome package that will include five guest tickets if you’re getting called to the bar in Toronto or Ottawa and six tickets if you’re getting called in London.

8. Pick up your barrister robes

If you’ve arranged to buy or rent your robes, you will probably be able to pick them up in the week leading up to the bar ceremony. When I was called to the bar in June, I ordered my robes by the second week of May. They were ready on time, and I picked them up a week or two before the bar ceremony.

9. Attend the Bar Ceremony – Get Called!

You’ve done it! Attend your ceremony date. If you have a morning, 9:30 am ceremony, you should aim to be there at about 8:45 am so that you have plenty of time to find where all the candidates are getting robed, get your robes on, and find your seat. I wore my white shirt, black skirt and pantyhose, and I carried my robes to the event location. In Toronto, if it’s at the Roy Thompson Hall, there is a side basement entrance to the change rooms where you can get robed and where there will be staff and signs to direct you.

Administrative Call?

Have you decided to opt for an Administrative call instead of an in-person ceremony? In this case, you won’t have to worry about #5 and #8 getting barrister robes for the 1 day. However you will still be responsible for the Call to the Bar Fee in #6 (Same fee). You will have to check off that you are opting for an administrative call, when you are asked to in your LSO licensing portal instead of selecting a ceremony location. You will be sent an individual declaration for your oath that you will have to get commissioned and then you will send it back to the LSO. This is to replace the oral oath you would have made if you attended in-person.

10. Optional: Buying frames for your certificates

You will receive two certificates on the day of your call: one to recognize being admitted to the Law Society of Ontario and the other being admitted to the Court of Appeal and Superior Court of Ontario. There will be vendors selling frames that are made to fit your certificates there, and they will help you put them in the frames; however, it is costly. When you go around to the guest or audience entrance doors, but before going into the seating hall, the vendors are usually there. If you miss them, you can order by calling Brilliant Frames with the number to order on their website. I’ve also heard some people have ordered from Leader Frames on their website and received nice ones too.  Alternatively, you can buy custom frames elsewhere. The certificates are not a regular frame size. An example of a store to get custom frames is Michael’s Arts and Craft store, where they can build one for you, or you can find a bigger frame and have them cut a custom frame insert. You may also find smaller picture and frame boutiques around that offer custom frames. If you don’t mind shopping online, or if you’re in the North York Toronto or York Region area of Ontario, The Galleria Art n’ Frame store at Centerpoint mall in Thornhill I have heard about, do a great job at all sorts of custom frames for degrees. Their website: http://www.galleriartframe.com/mobile/index

Here’s a printable Checklist form you can check to ensure you’ve done everything! DOWNLOAD NOW

Best of luck or Congratulations!

P.S. Next Checkout my post on 5 Things You Need to Do as soon as you get Called-to-the-Bar in Ontario

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