Certification - Agency

In general, our processing times can take up to 10 business days. However, depending on the type of application and the nature of the regulatory compliance verifications required, these processing times can be extended.

If your application is incomplete, you will receive an email indicating the missing documents or information and the deadline by which it must be provided. In this case, your application will be processed only once all documents or information are received. If you fail to complete your application within the deadline indicated, it will not be processed, and a refund will be issued to you. However, administrative fees may apply.

A minimum period of 90 days is required before the OACIQ can respond to an agency licence issuance application. However, this period may vary depending on the complexity of the application where additional verifications are required or due to a delay, especially with regards to the steps taken by the future executive officer to submit the agency's Compliance Program.

For most applications, the Certification Department sends a confirmation email. You may also check in the OACIQ’s Register of licence holders or in the Brokers’ Area, depending on the type of application, if the changes are applied.

It is important to know that if you have specified an effective date in your application, the change is considered to be in effect once it appears in the OACIQ’s Register of licence holders. Depending on the date and time your application was received, as well as the type of request, it may not be processed at the exact desired date (for example if your application was received outside of business hours, if it is incomplete or if further verifications are required).

No, an application may not be processed retroactively. Applications are processed within the normal period.

Yes, an application may be processed at a later date. In this case, it is important to indicate the desired date in the application and to send it reasonably ahead of that date. For example, on July 24 you could send a notice of agency change applicable as of August 1.

Read the article Application for an agency licence for the steps to follow to obtain a real estate agency licence.

A real estate agency licence holder may carry on his real estate brokerage activities under only one name (excluding its English version). This agency name must meet several criteria and comply with the regulations.  In accordance with the general duties set out in section 62 and following of the Regulation respecting brokerage requirements, professional conduct of brokers and advertising, an agency licence holder must not choose a name that is likely to compromise the honour or dignity of the profession or create controversy.

First, the selected name must comply with section 113 of the Regulation respecting brokerage requirements, professional conduct of brokers and advertising.

Among other things, it must not:

• Contain information that could be confusing with another name, trademark, slogan, or be misleading, such as the extent of the services offered, nature and scope of the agency activities, geographic location (as the licence was issued for Quebec), etc. (For example: "The Contractor Agency ", "Canada Brokers Agency", "Real Estate Lender Agency," “Investment Management Agency”, “Investor Management Agency”)
• Suggest that it designates more than one agency or that this agency is not an OACIQ licence holder (e.g.: “No middleman agency” or “Associated agencies”)
• Be similar to another profession. In such a case, you should check with the professional order or regulatory body concerned (e.g.: "Building Engineer Agency," "The Real Estate Doctor Agency”)
• Suggest that the agency holds a specialist title (e.g.: "Condo or Real Estate Experts Agency"), even if the name may contain the area of practice
• Use the following terms or expressions: “specializing in”, “specialized in”, “specialist in”, “specialties” or "specializations” because they are prohibited

Registering the name with the Registraire des entreprises du Québec (REQ)

Please note that the registration of the name is not the responsibility of the OACIQ. You must yourself take the necessary steps to register it with the Registraire des entreprises that you may contact directly for the applicable terms and conditions if necessary.  

The name must, in particular, comply with the limits imposed by the Act respecting the legal publicity of enterprises (CQLR, c. P-44.1). For example, it must comply with the provisions of the Charter of the French Language (CQLR, c. C-11), it must not be confused with the name of another company, etc.  For more information in this regard, read the Guideline – Representation, solicitation, promotion and advertising and the article entitled The statement of registration: sometimes a condition for issuing a licence.   

For the steps to follow to obtain an agency licence, read the article Application for an agency licence.

You must complete and send us the Request for change of name – Real estate agency (PDF) signed by the agency executive officer, including all the information required and the applicable fees (see List of administrative fees). It is necessary to wait for the official response of the OACIQ before taking any steps with the Registraire des entreprises du Québec (REQ).

Please note that if the change concerns your company's structure or shareholding and your company number (NEQ) has changed, you may need to apply for a new agency licence. In this case, send an email to the Certification Department and include your name, licence number and all the documents relating to the change.

For the criteria to be met for choosing an agency name, see the question above.

A real estate agency may have only one executive officer. However, the agency executive officer may enlist the help of agency collaborators or authorized signatories to assist him in his supervisory duties.

The agency executive officer may hold a real estate broker's licence restricted to residential or commercial brokerage. However, if the agency executive officer's licence is restricted to residential or commercial brokerage, the OACIQ recommends that he delegate supervisory and advisory responsibilities for commercial or residential brokerage to a person with the necessary skills.

The agency licence holder may be a legal person, a corporation or a natural person. The owner of the legal person or the company director does not have to hold a valid real estate broker licence. However, the real estate agency must be run by real estate broker who is qualified to act as agency executive officer. For more details, read the article Mandatory basic training: Becoming agency executive officer or acting on your own account.

Compliance program

You must then consult the Agency Executive Officer’s Compliance Program, which has been designed to reinforce the real estate brokerage oversight and promote a culture of compliance among licence holders.  The agency executive officer must ensure that all the agency directors, brokers and employees abide by the regulations and the Program approved by the Inspection Department.

Why does the OACIQ check criminal records when examining a licence issuance application?

To protect the public. This criminal record check is required to determine whether a further examination of your file by the Licence Issue and Maintenance Committee (LIMC) is justified.

To learn more about the agency licence issuance process and the LIMC, please read the following articles: 

• Application for an agency licence
• Obtaining a licence, a conditional privilege

If you have never informed the OACIQ, you must report: 

• Any disciplinary record (conviction or guilty plea with another regulator or any administrative measure imposed by another regulator)
• Any bankruptcy, assignment of property or receiving order made under the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act (RSC (1985) B-3) involving you or a legal person or partnership under your control
• Conviction or guilty plea for any criminal act or penal offence involving you or a legal person under your control
• Any criminal or penal charges against you or a legal person under your control.
• Any civil proceeding against you in the past five years ordering you to pay more than $15,000
• Any tax‑related judgment against you in the past five years
• Any decision or sanction issued by an administrative tribunal or provincial or federal government body against you

Penal offences are violations under provincial and federal statutes or under certain regulations.

Ethical offences are violations to the code of ethics or to a regulation governing the conduct of the members of a professional order or other type of organization responsible for the oversight of a profession or trade.

If you answered Yes to any of the questions in the Declarations section of the Application for licence issuance form, your file will be examined to determine if it needs to be reviewed by the OACIQ Licence Issue and Maintenance Committee (LIMC). The role of this Committee is to determine whether public protection warrants the imposition of one of the measures set out in the Act If applicable, in accordance with section 37 of the Real Estate Brokerage Act, the OACIQ may refuse to issue a licence or may impose conditions or restrictions thereon.

It is not always clear whether an act, offence or bankruptcy is worth mentioning. If in doubt, it’s better to report such information since the agency licence may be revoked if it’s noted that this was not done, in accordance with paragraphs 3 and 3.1 of section 20 of the Regulation respecting broker’s and agency licences.

No. You must send a signed letter to the Certification Department to request the suspension or revocation of the agency licence and indicate the effective date. The letter must be signed by the agency executive officer. It can be digitized and sent by email.

For a suspension or revocation in the course of the year, you must pay an administrative fee  for processing your application by attaching the duly completed payment stub to your email. If you do not wish to renew the agency licence on the annual renewal date (April 30), you can inform us in advance and you will be removed from the reminder lists for this purpose. Note that the non-payment of annual licence fees will result in a revocation of the agency licence and, at the same time, the suspension of the licence of all brokers working for your agency.

If you are intending to cease your agency activities, see section 10 of the Guideline – Licence Issue and Maintenance, which describes in detail the steps to be taken by an agency.

During the suspension or revocation period, the real estate agency may not carry out brokerage transactions. For more information, read the article entitled A suspended or revoked licence bars the holder from practicing and the article entitled Consequences for a real estate agency that does not meet its obligations.

The real estate agency licence must be in effect at all times during the disciplinary suspension period in order for the suspension to be applied.

The suspension period will begin 30 days after receipt of the decision (if there is no appeal) or at another time determined by the Discipline Committee or other tribunal. Once the suspension period is over, you may request that this measure be lifted by paying the related fees and completing the Request for lifting of licence suspension  (PDF) form.

Conversely, if you do not maintain your agency licence in force during this period, then the suspension will begin or resume, as the case may be, when your licence is reinstated.

Example: If a disciplinary decision is issued on January 15, 2020, ordering a 6-month suspension period, this period will normally become active 30 days later, unless otherwise instructed by the Discipline Committee, i.e. on February 15, 2020. Since the suspension period will straddle the April 30 date (annual licence renewal date), if you do not pay your licence renewal fees, you will be automatically revoked (without a valid licence), and the suspension will not continue to run during your licence revocation period. To return to practice, you will need to:

1) Pay any sum due to the OACIQ

2) Pay your applicable fees and fulfil the other conditions to get an agency licence

3) Your licence will be suspended immediately after your agency licence is issued in order to continue and to complete the suspension period as stipulated in the disciplinary sanction, following the issuance of your agency licence

4) Once the suspension period is over, request the lifting of the suspension by filling out the form designed for this purpose and pay the related fees

If your licence is revoked at the time the decision comes into force, the suspension will start when you apply for a licence. You may then request that the suspension be lifted at the end of the suspension period. To do so, you will need to pay the related fees and complete the Request for lifting of licence suspension (PDF) form.

Example: If a disciplinary decision is rendered on January 15, 2020, ordering a 6-month suspension period, this period will normally become active 30 days later, unless otherwise instructed by the Discipline Committee, i.e. on February 15, 2020. However, as your licence has been revoked for non-renewal since April 30, 2019, the suspension period will not begin until your licence is reinstated. To return to practice, you will need to:

5) Pay any sum due to the OACIQ

6) Pay your applicable fees and fulfil the other conditions to get an agency licence

7) Complete the suspension period as stipulated in the disciplinary sanction, following the issuance of your agency licence

8) Once the suspension period is over, request the lifting of the suspension. To do so, you will need to pay the related fees and complete the Request for lifting of licence suspension (PDF) form.

You must complete and send the form Request for lifting of licence suspension – Real estate broker licence – Real estate agency licence – Natural person or a Request for lifting of licence suspension – Real estate agency – Legal person and partnership to the Certification Department, along with the applicable fees.

The real estate agency licence holder must also comply with any other obligation, including:

• The payment of any sum due to the OACIQ
• The remedial of the situation which resulted in the licence suspension, if applicable
• The completion of the annual information update

What should I do if my agency licence is revoked and I wish to reactivate it?

For the steps to follow to reactivate your real estate agency licence, read the article Application for an agency licence.

You should follow the steps indicated in question 5.

If changes need to be made to the real estate agency’s record, the agency executive officer must immediately update the real estate agency’s information by using the link Statements: Changes during the year in the Brokers’ Area, without waiting for the mandatory annual information updating period.

Read the article Reporting is important!  for more information.

The agency executive officer or their assistant must send an email to the Certification Department at certification@oaciq.com, including the agency's full contact details (new address, telephone and fax numbers, email address, and the date of the change). Note that the identity of the person who makes an address change will be verified, but no signature is required.

You must send us a document signed by the agency executive officer (or an authorized person), indicating the broker’s name, his licence number and the date the activities were terminated in your agency. There is no fee for this type of request.

This notice will lead to the suspension of the broker's licence. In the Register of licence holders, which is updated on a daily basis, the broker's licence will no longer be linked to your agency and will show the date his or her licence was suspended.

If the agreement reached with the broker concerns a request for an agency change, the broker will have to take all the necessary steps with his new agency and send us the form Notice of change of real estate agency (PDF). Read the article Notice – Agency or status change.

You must complete and send the Appointment of agency executive officer form along with the applicable fees and signed by the current executive officer, the majority shareholder or president of the legal person or partnership, as well as the new agency executive officer to the Certification Department at certification@oaciq.com.

Note that a real estate agency, natural person, cannot be run by a person other than the real estate agency's licence holder.

If the new agency executive officer is qualified to act in this capacity and meets all the requirements, the change will be made, and you will receive a confirmation email. Read this article.

A real estate agency–legal person or partnership–must be run by a real estate broker having the required qualifications to act as an agency executive officer, as set out in section 34 of the Regulation respecting broker’s and agency licences.

REAL ESTATE AGENCY, LEGAL PERSON OR PARTNERSHIP: In the absence of an agency executive officer, the real estate agency will have 60 days to appoint a new one, failing which the agency licence and those of all real estate brokers associated with it will be suspended. To appoint a new agency executive officer, read this article.

REAL ESTATE AGENCY, NATURAL PERSON: Due to the suspension or revocation of the executive officer's and agency's licences, the licences of all real estate brokers associated with it will be suspended.

You must complete and send us the Appointment of signing officer form.  The form must be signed by the authorized person and the agency executive officer. There are no fees to pay. Read this article to see who can be designated as such.

The name of this person will then be added to the list of persons authorized to sign the Certification forms for the agency in the agency’s record.

It is important to notify us of any changes regarding the persons authorized to sign for the agency by completing the Withdrawal of authorization section of the Appointment of signing officer form.

You must apply to the OACIQ by completing the form Authorizing or withdrawing a collaborator’s access and send it by email to certification@oaciq.com. It is important to notify us of any changes when a collaborator leaves your agency by filling out the same form.  Read this article for more information.

No. The Regulation respecting broker’s and agency licences provides in particular that in order to be qualified as a real estate agency executive officer, the individual must not be holder of a real estate broker’s licence that was suspended or subjected to restrictions or conditions. If the LIMC imposes conditions or restrictions on your licence, you cannot act as executive officer of a real estate agency for the duration of said conditions or restrictions. For more information, see the Licence Issue and Maintenance Committee page and section 34 of the Regulation respecting broker’s and agency licences.