For the 2024-2026 licensing cycle (April 1, 2024 - March 31, 2026), there are new continuing education (CE) requirements to renew your licence. The requirements consist of two components.

All level 1 mortgage agents must renew their licences with the Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario (FSRA) each year before March 31.

About licence renewals

Your brokerage can begin the annual licence renewal starting February 1. 

FSRA will send you an email 60 calendar days before the expiration date to let you know you will need to renew your licence. This is a courtesy reminder – it is your responsibility to know when your licence will expire and to ensure your email address is up to date with FSRA.

Note: while some renewals are processed quickly, others may require additional review. Discuss with your brokerage to submit your renewal application as soon as possible to avoid having your licence expire. Your brokerage can apply to renew your licence at any time during the 60-day window.

Fee for renewing a licence

The applicable fee for renewing a mortgage agent level 1 licence is $841 annually. The Principal Broker of your brokerage will submit the renewal fee to FSRA after reviewing your licence renewal application. You may need to discuss with your Principal Broker whether you need to provide your brokerage with your licence renewal fee so it can be paid on your behalf.

What if I have an inactive licence?

If you want to start practicing as a mortgage agent level 1 again, review: how to reinstate a mortgage agent level 1 licence

What if I miss the deadline for renewing my licence?

If you don’t renew your licence before the expiration date, your licence will lapse and it will no longer be active. This means you will not be authorized to deal in mortgages in Ontario.

 

If you want to continue practicing as a mortgage agent level 1 review: how to reinstate a mortgage agent level 1 licence.

Requirements for renewing the licence

To qualify for licence renewal, you must:

  • Have an active licence as a mortgage agent level 1 in Ontario.
  • Be currently authorized by an established mortgage brokerage in Ontario to deal in mortgages.
  • Have completed the mandatory Ontario Continuing Education (CE) Course for Agents during a year that ends in an even number.
  • Reconfirm your suitability to hold a licence and meet all licensing requirements.

By reconfirming your suitability to hold a licence, you will need to verify that:

  • You are familiar with the laws of Ontario relating to the licensing of level 1 mortgage agents, level 2 mortgage agents and brokers.
  • You will hold yourself out publicly and carry out business in good faith as a mortgage agent level 1 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.
  • You are of good character and reputation.
  • You have provided any new information about bankruptcies, lawsuits, criminal records, decisions from other regulators or licensing bodies and other employment information.
  • You are a suitable person to receive a licence and meet all licensing requirements.

Continuing Education Requirements

To renew your licence, you are required to complete continuing education (CE) requirements every two years, in accordance with Ontario Regulation 409/07 subsection 9(1)4. The CE requirements consist of two components:

  1. Conduct CE

    You must complete five hours of Conduct CE.

    FSRA-accredited course providers will deliver the Conduct CE courses based on the following topics:

    • Business Ethics and Managing Conflicts of Interest
    • Mortgage Fraud
    • Mortgage Suitability
    • Cybersecurity

    Additional information and a list of FSRA-accredited course providers will be announced soon.

  2. Technical Knowledge / Professional Development Continuing Education (CE)

    You must complete 10 hours of Technical Knowledge / Professional Development CE (“Professional CE”) every two-year CE cycle.

    Only courses taken or completed during the CE cycle will be credited toward the CE requirement. Courses may include education offerings such as seminars, webinars and industry conferences.

    CE hours exceeding the minimum requirement within any CE cycle cannot be carried over to subsequent cycles.

    CE hours cannot be claimed for:

    • a course where course details cannot be supplied
    • a course the agent/broker registered for but did not attend
    • hours spent as an instructor or teaching a course
    • repeating a course, unless new content is demonstrated
    • courses that an agent/broker fails

Process to Report Professional CE hours

Licensees are responsible for keeping records of the completion of the Professional CE hours.

FSRA may request evidence of course completion during licensing reviews, desk reviews, examinations, or at any other time when additional information is required. FSRA may require evidence of course completion for the current and immediately preceding licensing periods. Acceptable evidence includes certificates or similar documents verifying attendance or successful completion. In some cases, FSRA may contact course providers directly to verify the documentation provided.

Qualifying Professional CE course hours

Courses must be related to the technical aspects of the mortgage brokering sector to qualify as Professional CE hours. These are some examples of what qualifies as a CE hour and what does not.

Courses that qualify for CE: Courses that do not qualify for CE:
  • Legal, legislative and regulatory matters
  • Fundamentals or principles of mortgage brokering
  • Ethics and professional responsibility
  • Mortgage fraud
  • Client needs analysis
  • Proper use of mortgage products
  • Managing brokerage operations
  • Accounting and financial considerations related to mortgage brokering
  • Cybersecurity
  • Risk management principles
  • FSRA’s webinars or FSRA-hosted events on regulatory updates and guidelines in the mortgage brokering sector
  • Sales techniques, including motivation, marketing and promotion, consumer psychology or telephone best practices
  • Recruiting
  • Office skills, such as computer training
  • Management training
  • Company-specific product training
  • Volunteering
  • Professional networking
  • Activities unrelated to mortgage brokering
  • Language courses

Professional CE Documentation Required for Licensing Renewal

To confirm the completion of Professional CE hours, agents and brokers will need to provide the following details at the time of licensing renewal:

  • course name
  • course provider
  • CE hours completed
  • date of completion

New Criminal Record check process

FSRA is changing its licensing processes for background criminal 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 Canada (Triton). If you have disclosed information about a criminal matter, or FSRA has received information that you may be involved in a criminal matter, you may be required to complete a background check after you have submitted your renewal application.

If required, FSRA will notify you, and will send a link to Triton’s website to complete the background check. Once completed, you will need to provide the 8-digit confirmation number found in your Triton invoice to FSRA. A fee of $19.15 applies for Triton’s service, and the background check is valid for 90 days.

Please monitor your email frequently for any information requests from FSRA. If you have any further questions about the new background check process, please contact us.

Frequently asked questions – Background check process

Ready to renew?

After your Principal Broker initiates the licence renewal process, you will receive an email from FSRA with the link to renew your licence. Please note the email will come after your Principal Broker confirms to FSRA the link can be sent to you.

You must complete the following steps:

  •  Click on the renewal link received. This link will take you to Licensing Link.
  • Enter your Licensing Link PIN, which was provided to you on your first mortgage application. If you have forgotten your PIN, you can reset it by following the instructions on the Licensing Link page.
  • Complete your licence renewal application and click "Submit."

Your brokerage's Principal Broker will then review your licence renewal application and submit it with the required fee.

Please note that unless the status of your licence is showing as “Pending” or with an expiry date of March 31, 2024 on the public registry, your application has not been submitted to FSRA. Please contact your Principal Broker to follow up on the status of your application.

Frequently asked questions - MB Renewals 

General questions

If you have general questions, please contact the FSRA Contact Centre:
Tel: 416-250-7250 or 1-800-668-0128
Email: [email protected]