Insurance agents who hold an accident & sickness (A&S) licence from another Canadian province or territory, can apply for the same licence in Ontario without completing the education requirement.
The Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario (FSRA) regulates and licenses all insurance agents in Ontario.
If you are an Ontario-licensed insurance agent and want to apply for a licence in a different province or territory, go to the Canadian Council of Insurance Regulators to access links to the different regulators.
- About the Ontario licence
- What are the requirements to apply from another province or territory?
- Ready to apply for a new licence?
- What happens after the application is submitted – for all agents
About the Ontario licence
Sponsorship with an insurer is required
All new A&S agents in Ontario are required to be sponsored by a licensed insurer at all times.
- Your sponsoring insurer is responsible for confirming you meet all licensing requirements, and managing the application process for your licence.
- As the agent, you are responsible for maintaining your licence.
Fee for a new application
The fee to apply for a new A&S licence is $170. This fee will cover your first two years as an Ontario-licensed insurance agent.
Depending on the arrangement you have with your sponsoring insurer, the insurer may pay the fee OR you may be responsible for paying this fee. Check with your sponsoring insurer for details.
What are the requirements to apply from another province or territory?
Ontario education program and exemptions
New insurance agents in Ontario must complete the A&S modules, from the Life Licence Qualification Program (LLQP) before they can apply for an A&S licence.
In most cases, however, if you hold an equivalent licence in good standing from a different province or territory, you are exempt from having to complete this education requirement.
Exception: if you have a Quebec licence, there are additional LLQP courses you will need to complete before you can apply for an Ontario licence. The courses you will need to take will depend on when you completed the LLQP in Quebec.
You will need to submit a copy of your LLQP transcript from provincial regulator to FSRA to verify when your LLQP was completed.
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LLQP completion in Quebec |
Additional LLQP requirements |
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After January 1, 2016 |
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Before January 1, 2016 |
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Go to About the LLQP course for a list of approved course providers.
What if my current licence is inactive?
If you have an inactive licence in your home province or territory (e.g., you’ve either surrendered your licence or you’ve let it lapse), you can apply for an Ontario licence. Whether you need to take additional LLQP courses or not depends on your home province or territory and a few other factors.
For all provinces and territories (except Quebec)
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If it has been less than two years since your licence expired or lapsed |
You can apply for an Ontario licence without completing the education requirement.
You will need to provide a letter of status from your home province or territory regulator as proof. |
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If it has been more than two years since your licence expired or lapsed |
You can still apply for a licence in Ontario, but you will need to complete the education requirement.
Review Apply for a new accident & sickness insurance licence for details. |
For Quebec
If you are from Quebec, there are additional LLQP courses that you will need to complete before you can apply for an Ontario licence. You will need to submit a copy of your transcript from provincial regulator to FSRA to verify when you completed the Accident and Sickness exam.
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LLQP completion in Quebec |
Additional LLQP requirements |
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After January 1, 2016 |
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Before January 1, 2016 |
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Go to About the LLQP course for a list of approved course providers.
Checklist for a new licence
Review this checklist to ensure you are ready to apply for a new licence in Ontario.
Requirements:
- Verify that you have an equivalent licence in your home province or territory.
- If your licence is not active in the other province, you will need to obtain a letter of status from the regulator.
- Be sponsored by a licensed insurer.
- Have an Ontario mailing address that can receive registered mail (e.g., not a post office box).
- Have a personal email address that FSRA can use to contact you.
- Be suitable for a licence.
Once you have met all of these requirements, you are ready to begin the application process.
Ready to apply for a new licence?
Agents who live outside of Ontario:
1. Ask your sponsoring insurer to set up the new application on your behalf through Licensing Link.
- Your sponsoring insurer will be asked to verify that you are suitable for a licence and disclose any details that may be important for the regulator to know.
- Depending on the arrangement, they may pay the application fee.
2. Your sponsoring insurer will send you an email with two (2) links:
- In the first link, you will be required to complete a criminal background check through FSRA’s approved vendor Triton Canada (Triton).
New Criminal Record check process
FSRA is changing its licensing process for criminal background checks to ensure the processes remain up to date. Criminal record checks are part of FSRA’s rigorous licence qualification process to protect consumers by ensuring only suitable individuals sell or offer financial products and services in Ontario.
FSRA now requires licence applicants to complete their criminal record checks through our approved vendor Triton. You must use FSRA’s link directing you to Triton’s website. After completing the background check, you will then return to your sponsoring application email and complete your licensing application on FSRA’s website. Please note that a fee of $19.15 applies for Triton’s service, and the background check is valid for 90 days.
If you have any further questions about the new background check process, please contact us.
- You will then return to the sponsoring application email and use the second link to continue your application process.
- You will need to verify your suitability to have a licence by confirming:
- You are familiar with the laws of Ontario relating to the licensing of A&S agents.
- You will hold yourself out publicly and carry out business in good faith as an A&S agent in the name in which you are licensed.
- You are not engaged in any other business or occupation that would jeopardize your integrity, independence or competence as an insurance agent.
- You are of good character and reputation.
- You have provided all information about bankruptcies, lawsuits, criminal records, decisions from other regulators or licensing bodies and other employment information.
- You successfully completed the LLQP exam (you will need to provide the score from your confirmation email).
- You are a suitable person to receive a licence and meet all licensing requirements.
- If you need to pay the fee yourself, you can do so on Licensing Link with credit card (VISA, Mastercard) or debit cards (VISA Debit or Mastercard Debit).
- You will then submit the application to FSRA through Licensing Link.
Agents who live in Ontario but are licensed in a different province or territory
1. Go to Canadian Council of Insurance Regulators to find the application form and detailed instructions on how to apply.
2. Print and fill out the form.
- Complete pages 1-4 and page 9
- You will need your sponsoring insurer to fill out page 5 (Sponsor’s Attestation: Notice of Appointment of Agent by Sponsoring Company)
3. Complete a background check through Triton.
4. Submit the application form and a copy of your Triton invoice to FSRA through the Online Services Portal.
5. If you are responsible for paying the fee, you can make the payment through the Online Services Portal with credit card (VISA, Mastercard) or select debit cards (RBC, TD, First Nations Bank of Canada, most credit unions).
What happens after the application is submitted – for all agents
FSRA will send you an email to confirm it has received your application.
Note: out-of-province applications often do require additional reviews so be aware that the process will likely take longer than 10 business days.
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For most applications |
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If the application requires additional review |
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