Labour mobility – Obtaining a real estate broker’s licence in Québec

Real estate brokers must decide how they will carry out their activities.

1.1 – Acting for a real estate agency

• The licence application must be signed by the agency executive officer or an authorized signatory of the real estate agency
• To operate within a business corporation :
  
  • Complete the Application for authorization to practise within a business corporation (PDF);

1.2 – Acting on one’s own account

Real estate brokers may choose to act on their own account¹ but must abide by certain obligations and restrictions:

• Open a trust account² within 10 days following licence issuance
  

  Note that real estate brokers are exempt from this obligation if they receive no deposit, advance on remuneration or costs from clients or any other sum for others. If a real estate broker is no longer in this situation, they must immediately notify the OACIQ in writing and comply with the obligations related to trust accounts3

• Complete the Managing trust accounts training as soon as they are required to open a trust account
• They may not:
  
  • Hire real estate brokers
  • Act through a business corporation 
  • Use a pseudonym

¹ S. 73 of the Regulation respecting brokerage requirements, professional conduct of brokers and advertising

² Instructions concerning the obligations to open and maintain a trust account (PDF)

³ Art. 24, Règlement sur les conditions d’exercice d’une opération de courtage, sur la déontologie des courtiers et sur la publicité

Documents and forms to be provided

1. The Application for a licence – Real estate broker – Labour mobility (PDF);
2. If a positive answer is given to any of the questions in section VI Declarations of the licence application: 
   
   1. The required form for any bankruptcy or criminal record disclosure
   2. All required supporting documents of this declaration
3. Identification document
   1. A valid photo ID issued by a government, a government department, or a public body, indicating the applicant’s first and last names and date of birth E.g., passport, driver’s license, Quebec health insurance card, provincial or territorial identity card, permanent resident card
   2. If the applicant is not a Canadian citizen
      • A copy of the document showing permanent resident status; or 
      • A copy of the work licence issued by Canadian immigration authorities
        

        IMPORTANT: Proof of identity must be valid when applying for a licence. If not, the licence cannot be issued.

4. Authorization to practise - A letter from the body of your jurisdiction describing the following:

   1. Validity of licence or certificate

   2. Type of licence or certificate held

   3. The practice right(s) authorized by the licence or certificate: residential, commercial, or both

   4. Licence or certificate history

5. Undergo a criminal record check (see step 3)
6. Meet one of the following requirements to show knowledge of the French language:
   1. Having attended a French language secondary or post-secondary establishment full time for at least three years
   2. Having successfully taken Secondary IV or Secondary V French as a mother tongue examination
   3. Having obtained a secondary school certificate in Québec from and after the school year 1985-1986
   4. Having successfully taken the OQLF French examination. See the OQLF’s French exam for more details
7. Photo taken within less than 6 months. This photo will appear in the OACIQ Register of licence holders
8. Pay the applicable fees.

Applicable fees

Fees include:

• Application review
• Criminal record check
• Practice fees
• Contribution to the Real Estate Indemnity Fund (FICI)
• Premium of the Fonds d’assurance responsabilité professionnelle du courtage immobilier du Québec (FARCIQ)
• Subscription to InstanetForms^TM electronic forms
• Applicable taxes

Except for application examination and verification of criminal record fees, the applicable fees are prorated based on the remaining months until the end of April. For the exact amounts, visit this page.

To carry out residential real estate transactions, it is mandatory to subscribe to InstanetForms^TM electronic forms to access current versions of brokerage forms.

Cancellation and refund

For more details about cancellation and refund fees, see the Fees for issuing a real estate broker’s licence. 

Declarations 

Any situation concerning the applicant or a legal person or partnership under their control must be reported to the OACIQ, regardless of the date on which the offence was committed or the decision rendered.  If in doubt, it is better to disclose such information since failure to do so may result in the licence revocation.  For more information, see Disclosure of prior legal record: A requirement.

A declaration may require the Licence Issue and Maintenance Committee (LIMC) to examine the application, which may delay the issuance of the licence. The role of this Committee is to determine whether public protection warrants the imposition of one of the measures set out in the Act. 

Criminal record check

Once the application has been received, an email will be sent to carry out the “Mintz” criminal record check.

This step is mandatory. The application remains incomplete until this step is taken.

For more information, see Criminal record check.

For the licence to remain valid, real estate brokers must, no later than April 30 of each year:

• Pay the applicable fees  
• Update their personal information
• Complete the Mandatory Continuing Education Program (MCEP) every two years