FAQs on Annual Information Returns and Financial Statements

All licensed mortgage brokerages and administrators are required to submit an Annual Information Return (AIR) to the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of FSRA. The AIR must be filed electronically and may only be completed by the brokerage's principal broker (in the case of a mortgage brokerage) or the person having appropriate authority with the administrator (in the case of a mortgage administrator).

The AIR must be submitted to the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of FSRA using Licensing Link no later than March 31 of each year, for the previous calendar year, in accordance with section 2 of Ontario Regulation 193/08 – Reporting Requirements for Licensees.

To complete the AIR, please go to Licensing Link to find, complete and submit the form to FSRA electronically. Paper-based forms are not accepted.

View sample AIR questions: 

• Mortgage Brokerage AIR
• Mortgage Administrator AIR

Yes, whether any business was done or not, all licensed mortgage brokerages and administrators must submit an AIR on an annual basis for the previous calendar year if the brokerage or administrator was licensed during that calendar year.

Yes, having a suspended licence does not relieve a mortgage brokerage or administrator of its regulatory obligations, such as filing the AIR. Your mortgage brokerage/administrator is still required to complete and submit the AIR for the previous calendar year, by March 31.

No, since your mortgage brokerage/administrator licence was recently surrendered, you do not need to complete and submit the AIR for the previous calendar year.

You can submit an application to surrender your mortgage brokerage/ administrator licence through Licensing Link.

Please visit the following for more information on instructions to surrender your mortgage brokerage/ administrator licence:

• Surrender a mortgage administrator licence
• Surrender the mortgage brokerage licence

No, since your mortgage brokerage/administrator licence was obtained after December 31, 2023, it does not have any mortgage business to report on for the period from January 1 to December 31, 2023. Your mortgage brokerage/administrator is therefore not required to submit an AIR for 2023. However, it will have to submit an AIR in 2025 with respect to its business activities in 2024.

The phrase "offices open to the public" refers to any offices where the mortgage brokerage or administrator may have contact with the public or where the public is invited to come during business hours. This includes branches and any other offices. Offices refer to a place of business where a broker or agent spends more than 50 per cent of his or her time working as a mortgage broker or agent, including home offices. 

The suitability questions in the AIR for mortgage brokerages refer to complaints made to FSRA about the mortgage brokerage or charges brought under the name of the licensed mortgage brokerage, but specific questions may refer to related persons or entities which include family members, affiliates, officers, directors, partners, employees, brokers, agents, principal shareholders, etc. of the brokerage.

The suitability questions in the AIR for mortgage administrators refer to complaints made to FSRA about the mortgage administrator or charges brought under the name of the licensed mortgage administrator, its Directors, Officers or Partners. These questions do not apply to complaints or charges against companies affiliated with the administrator, or to the administrator's parent company.

The provincial or federal legislation governing a lender will determine its type. The Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions provides a Federally Regulated Financial Institutions list, which includes banks, trust companies, loan companies, and life insurance companies. FSRA regulates Insured Credit Unions and Caisses Populaires.

The mortgage brokerage AIR also contains the following guidance on lender types.

Yes, providing the CRA business number is a provincially legislated requirement.

Section 1.0.25.1 of Ontario’s Financial Administration Act (FAA) states that before engaging in a financial transaction with a ministry or public entity, a person or entity is required to give the following information to the ministry or public entity for the purpose of the administration and enforcement of the FAA:

1. The person’s or entity’s name including any trade name or other name used by it.
2. Its business number, as defined in subsection 248(1) of the Income Tax Act (Canada) and its business identifier, if any, under Ontario’s Business Regulation Reform Act, 1994.
3. Its contact information, including its street address, mailing address, email address and phone number.

The CRA business number is a numbering system established by the CRA that simplifies and streamlines the way businesses deal with federal, provincial and municipal governments to help simplify their interaction with each other and all levels of the public sector.

Yes, all mortgage brokerages and mortgage administrators are required to designate at least one individual to receive and handle complaints. (O Reg 188/08 s.41(2) & O. Reg 189/08 s.26(2))

The complaints e-mail address provided may be posted on the public register and may be provided to the public for the purposes of contacting the brokerage/administrator.

Yes. FSRA has made it more convenient for mortgage administrators to pay the Mortgage Administrator’s Annual Regulatory Fee. You can make your payment directly in the AIR portal. You will not receive a separate invoice for the fee.

To learn more about the fees for the Mortgage sector, please visit: Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario Rule 2022-001 Assessments and Fees and refer to Subsection 6.2.

Yes, you must submit both a mortgage brokerage AIR and a mortgage administrator AIR separately through Licensing Link.

Only mortgage administrators are required to submit audited financial statements. Mortgage brokerages, whether or not they have a trust account, are not required to submit audited financial statements.

A mortgage brokerage that has a trust account is required to prepare monthly reconciliation statements during the fiscal year, and must also prepare an annual reconciliation statement for that year within 90 days of its fiscal year end.

The annual reconciliation statement must summarize the contents of each monthly reconciliation statement. This annual reconciliation statement is not required to be filed with FSRA but must be available if requested.

Mortgage administrators are required to submit audited financial statements within 90 days from their fiscal year end.

Please note: According to the Financial Reporting & Assurance Standards of Canada, updates to the external auditor special report are expected in the first quarter of every year. For reporting requirements, please refer to the Financial Reporting Requirements for Mortgage Administrators.

The new Mortgage Administrators’ Financial Filing Requirements (No. MB0052INT) was released by FSRA on Nov 27, 2023 and became effective on that date, except for the provision setting out the acceptable form of a reasonable assurance report as it relates to the period after December 31, 2024, which will become effective on that date.

More specifically, FSRA considers a reasonable assurance report issued for the fiscal year ending on or before December 31, 2024 to be “in a form approved by FSRA” if it provides the auditor’s reasonable assurance on the administrator’s compliance with ss. 33-39 of O. Reg. 189/08.

A transition period is being provided for reasonable assurance reports issued for the fiscal year ending after December 31, 2024. FSRA will consider these reports to be “in a form approved by FSRA” if it provides the auditor’s reasonable assurance on the administrator’s compliance with ss. 23, 24, 28, 29, 30, 31 and 32 of O. Reg. 189/08, as well as ss. 33-39 of O. Reg. 189/08.

No. Only mortgage administrators are required to file audited financial statements. 

A mortgage brokerage that has a trust account is required to prepare monthly reconciliation statements during the fiscal year, and must also prepare an annual reconciliation statement for that year within 90 days of its fiscal year end. 

The annual reconciliation statement must summarize the contents of each monthly reconciliation statement. This annual reconciliation statement is not required to be filed with FSRA but must be available if requested.

In response to feedback from industry, FSRA made significant improvements to the AIR since 2021. This includes a number of new features that will make completing the AIR faster and easier, including:

• Commas added automatically when typing in number or dollar amounts so higher values are easier to read
• Ability to complete AIR pages in any order
• More browser options for viewing the AIR, which include Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox and Microsoft Edge (please note, you cannot view the AIR on Internet Explorer)
• Ability to preview and print your AIR on a single webpage before submitting
• Improved technical support within the AIR:
• Detailed explanations of errors so you know what to correct
• Additional help functions indicated with special icons to provide guidance with the AIR.
• A camera feature that allows you to take a screenshot if you encounter challenges and send to our Contact Centre. This allows our Contact Centre to support you better by seeing exactly what’s on your screen.

Additionally, to reduce regulatory burden and costs for the mortgage broker sector, FSRA has committed to a three-year moratorium on changes to the types of data requested through the Annual Information Return (AIR).  There will be no changes to the AIR questions for the next 3 years

Recommended Internet requirements: Secure high-speed internet connection; JavaScript, cookies and pop-ups enables.

Recommended browsers: latest version of Google Chrome, Mozilla FireFox or Microsoft Edge. Internet Explorer is not supported.

Your AIR is saved automatically when you enter data into the AIR and navigate to a different question within the AIR.

You are also able to print a copy of the AIR at anytime by clicking on the printer icon located in the upper right corner of the page.

After submission, no further changes are permitted. Please double check all information before making your submission.

If you are experiencing any difficulties or have any questions while completing the AIR, please use the “camera” icon to submit your inquiry to FSRA. Please allow two business days for response. For all other inquiries, please email [email protected].

A copy of your E&O Policy should be provided to you by the E&O insurance provider.

You can upload an attachment by clicking on the upload icon next to the question in the AIR. The file must be in PDF format.

You can upload an attachment by clicking on the upload icon next to the question in the AIR. The file must be in PDF format.