To be eligible to compete in TJCL competitive certamen, students must be active members of the Certamen Club.
To compete at TJCL, the school must first place within the top twelve schools during the qualifiers. Competing schools are placed into two brackets, A and B, and there are three divisions: Novice (Latin 1), Intermediate (Latin 2) and Advanced (Latin 3-5). contestants are quizzed on Latin language and grammar, derivatives, mythology, Roman history and Roman life. In addition, questions on classical literature are asked in the advanced level.