News Archives

October 1, 2025 - New policy for candidates with inactive files

As of October 1, 2025, candidates who fail to attend their examination and do not request a postponement within 10 months of the initial exam date will have their files marked as inactive. A 2-month prior notice will be sent to them.

Candidates must then register for a new exam session and pay the applicable deferral fees. If candidates do not re-register after 12 months of inactivity, their files will be closed without a refund.

An example illustrating how this policy applies
Mr. Poitras registers for an examination session scheduled for November 10, 2025. On the day of the exam, an unforeseen event prevents him from attending, and he forgets to contact the OACIQ to request a postponement. Several months have passed and he is still not ready to take his exam.

On September 10, 2026, he receives a notice informing him that his file will be closed in two months if he does not re-register. In accordance with the instructions, Mr. Poitras chooses a new exam date, completes his registration, and pays the exam deferral fee. This means he can take his exam without losing the fees he already paid when he first registered.

May 29, 2025: New basic training program

The new basic RESIDENTIAL REAL ESTATE BROKERAGE training program will come into effect on June 1, 2025. It will be available to all new student cohorts in educational institutions recognized by the OACIQ.

Please note that the new examination versions, adapted to this competency framework, will be introduced in January 2026.

The competency framework for this new program is now available, along with other tools made available to you during the transition period.

Comparative Tables

May 2, 2025: New Residential Real Estate Brokerage Program

The new basic residential real estate brokerage training program will come into force on June 1, 2025, in all educational institutions recognized by the OACIQ.

The corresponding competency framework will be available on our website on the same date.
Please note that the new examination versions adapted to this competency framework will be introduced as of January 2026.

For more information, see the FAQ – New basic training programs and certification exams.

November 30, 2024: End of accumulated skills for certification exams

The accumulation of skills for the residential and commercial real estate brokerage certification examinations and for the agency executive officer’s examination will end on November 30, 2024.

This means that for candidates who will start their evaluation process (12-month cycle) as of December 1, 2024, all examination skills must be successfully completed to obtain an overall pass result. If a candidate fails one or more skills, he or she will have to retake and pass the whole exam since no skills successfully completed in a previous examination will be accumulated.

Given the applicable rules, and based on the candidate’s situation on December 1, 2024, see this table to learn about the applicable rules.

September, 18, 2023: Digital commercial real estate brokerage exam

Starting fall 2023, students who will be taking the commercial real estate brokerage exam for the first time will have to complete it digitally. The exam will take place at the OACIQ head office at 4905, boulevard Lapinière, Brossard, Québec.

It will be completed in two blocks, over two consecutive days.

How it works:

To register for the digital commercial real estate brokerage exam, follow the procedure in this article. Select a date from the exam calendar.

Exam invitation: approximately 20 days prior to the exam, you will receive an invitation containing all the important information.

You will also receive an email with a link to log in to the OACIQ digital exam platform. At least 10 days before your exam, you will need to log in to the platform, change your password and take the mock exam.

For more information, please read the Preparation Guide for the OACIQ Digital Certification Examination.

Complete exam application required

Many candidates send us an incomplete exam application or forward the required documents in several emails, which causes additional processing delays. Since December 14, 2020, the OACIQ only processes exam applications that are complete. This means that candidates must send us all required documents in a single email to examen@oaciq.com, including the attachments in unprotected PDF format (without password) for their application to be considered complete.

List of documents to be sent to examen@oaciq.com:

The Examination Application form duly completed and signed;
If applicable, the completed Request for Accommodation form;
A valid ID proof (birth certificate or act for Canadian citizens or official proof of permanent resident status or work permit for non-Canadian citizens);
An official transcript from an educational institution recognized by the OACIQ proving the successful completion of the basic training program; In addition, it is not the responsibility of the educational institution to send us the transcript, but it is the candidate's himself;
Payment of fees (see section VII of the Examination Application form).

Strengthening the candidate identification process

A new procedure to strengthen candidate identification measures when taking the certification exam has been implemented since January 2021. Concretely, candidates must appear to write the exam and show a valid photo ID with signature. Verifications will take place at registration and during the examination session.

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