Careers
Getting licensed as a mortgage agent in Ontario.
Licensing in Ontario is administered by the Financial Services Regulatory Authority. There are three things to line up: eligibility, education, and a brokerage willing to sponsor you.
Eligibility
- Be at least 18 years of age
- Be a resident of Canada
- Have an Ontario mailing address that can receive registered mail — not a post office box
- Be authorised by a licensed mortgage brokerage to deal in mortgages
- Work for only one mortgage brokerage at a time
- Complete an approved mortgage agent education program
- Hold a valid email address, which the licence application process requires
Education
You must complete a mortgage agent education program approved by the regulator, and then apply for your licence within two years of completing it. Leave it longer and the education expires — people do lose the credit by waiting, which is an avoidable and expensive mistake.
Programs are delivered commercially by approved providers and tuition is set by each of them. The course formats are set out here.
Licensing levels
Ontario restructured agent licensing into levels, with the entry level carrying restrictions on the kinds of lender an agent may deal with, and a higher level required for private lending work. Supervision and continuing-education obligations attach to each. Confirm the current level structure and requirements with the regulator directly before you commit money to a course — the framework has changed within recent memory and second-hand summaries go stale.
Sponsorship
A licence requires a brokerage to authorise you to deal in mortgages, and you may work for only one at a time. That makes choosing the brokerage part of getting licensed rather than a step afterwards — ask about training, lead expectations, compensation split and supervision before you sign anything.
If you are considering this and want a candid conversation about what the work is actually like, call us. We would rather talk someone out of it early than watch them spend a year discovering it.
This page describes a career path and is not an offer of employment, a lending product, or advice about a mortgage. Licensing requirements are set by the regulator and are subject to change; verify current requirements with the Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario before acting on anything here.