Selection of practice rights and related implications

This initiative offers several benefits to you:

• It highlights your expertise by clarifying your primary right to practise.
• It reduces the risks associated with interventions outside your area of practice, thereby protecting your reputation and that of the profession.
• It strengthens public trust by ensuring that each broker operates within his or her area of expertise.
• It provides targeted training activities that enable participants to broaden their knowledge and stand out in the market.

As part of the 2026 annual licence renewal process (from mid-March to the end of April), you will need to specify the practice right(s) you wish to retain–residential, commercial, or both. The impacts related to each option will be pointed out in your annual information update form.

• Residential practice right: the sale, purchase, or rental of residential buildings containing less than five dwellings, vacant residential lots, and divided or undivided co-ownerships.
• Commercial area of practice: the sale, purchase, or rental of buildings containing five or more dwellings, vacant commercial lots, and enterprises where the immovable represents the majority of the enterprise's value.
• Residential and commercial practice right: the real estate broker can practise in both residential and commercial real estate brokerage areas.

It is permissible for a real estate broker whose right to practise is restricted (e.g. residential or commercial) to refer a client to a real estate broker licensed in the other area of expertise and receive referral compensation in accordance with the current rules, which remain unchanged with regard to disclosure.

• Applicable fees: No change to the current situation, as the OACIQ focuses on competence.   There will be only one fee for a real estate broker's licence, regardless of whether or not it is restricted to a single right to practise.  The applicable fees must not hinder real estate brokers’ professional activities.
• Training: The MCEP 2027-2029 will include two training paths to be completed by real estate brokers who hold both practice rights, in order to keep their skills up to date in residential and commercial real estate. However, some training activities will be common to both training paths. The total number of CEUs required for the 2027-2029 cycle will be specified at a later date. Subject to approval, the proposed requirement would be 6 additional hours of training per year (6 CEUs).
• Supervision: In cases where a failure to acquire or maintain the skills required for a licence-related right to practise is identified, the Inspection Department’s actions will be reinforced.
• Register of licence holders: As of May 2026, the Register of licence holders on the OACIQ website will display the practice right(s) chosen by the real estate broker.
• Advertising and signage: Current full-service real estate brokers who choose to retain only one practice right– residential or commercial–will have until April 30, 2027, to make the necessary adjustments to their advertisements (e.g. signs, business cards, etc.).

Yes. It is possible to retain both practice rights for 2026 and change your choice when renewing your licence in 2027, or before then.

However, this option does not provide access to a transition period for advertising. If you withdraw a practice right in April 2027, all your advertisements must comply with your new choice as of May 1, 2027.

Yes. The choice of a right to practise has an immediate impact on your practice as of May 1, 2026.

For example, if you choose to retain only the right to practise residential real estate, you must cease all commercial brokerage activities as of that date. This may notably involve the termination of current brokerage contracts in this area of expertise.

As of May 2026, the Register of licence holders on the OACIQ website will display the residential practice right you have chosen.

However, you will have a one-year transition period, until April 30, 2027, to remove references to commercial brokerage from your representations, advertisements, and all your communication tools and materials.

Yes. Current regulations do not require agency executive officers to hold both residential and commercial practice rights. They must have completed the training and passed the agency executive officer’s exam.

The choice of the right to practise has no impact on the status of agency executive officers within their real estate agency.  In a nutshell, even if an agency executive officer only has the right to practise residential real estate brokerage, his agency can still have commercial real estate brokers, and vice versa.

However, when it comes to continuing education, agency executive officers who hold a licence with a single right to practise, while the agency includes real estate brokers working in both areas of expertise, must complete both training paths under the Mandatory Continuing Education Program (MCEP), i.e. residential and commercial. This requirement is intended to ensure that the agency executive officer has the necessary knowledge to adequately oversee all of the agency's activities, without having to complete basic training or pass the certification exam leading to obtaining both practice rights.

Also, agency executive officers with a licence restricted to a single area of practise should be assisted by a real estate broker with the practice right and skills required to oversee real estate brokers working in an area of practice outside the executive officer's area of expertise. This element could be highlighted in the real estate agency's compliance program, if applicable.

No. Once a real estate broker chooses to retain only one right to practise, they can practise only in that field, including in the context of a co-listing. This rule applies according to the same logic as that presented in question 17 of the FAQ 200433.

Yes, a real estate broker who does not hold a right to practise in one of the two areas of practice may refer a client to a real estate broker who does hold that right to practise. For instance, a residential real estate broker may refer a client to a commercial broker, and vice versa.

The real estate broker to whom the client was referred will then be able to share his remuneration with the real estate broker who referred the client to him. In this case, the real estate broker to whom the client was referred must disclose this fact in writing to the party he represents and retain a copy of the notice given in this regard.

A) Before May 1, 2026 

If, after completing your information update form as part of the 2026 annual licence renewal process, but before your choice takes effect on May 1, 2026, you change your mind about your practice right choice, you must submit your modification request to the Certification Department at certification@oaciq.com. No administrative fee will be charged in this case. Please note that any modification request made after May 1, 2026, must meet the criteria listed below.

B) After May 1, 2026 – Addition of a practice right

You have up to three years after waiving your right to practise to reinstate it, provided that you have completed the continuing education activities required by the OACIQ and your licence has not been suspended or revoked for more than 12 months during that period.

• If you wish to reinstate your right to practise after this three-year period, you will need to:
• Show that you have successfully completed a basic training recognized by the OACIQ
• Pass the OACIQ certification examination

Request the addition of a practice right within 12 months after passing the examination

C) After May 1, 2026 - Remove a practice right

If you chose to retain both of your practice rights during the 2026 licence renewal period but decide to remove one of them before the start of the 2027 licence renewal period, you must send your application to the Certification Department at certification@oaciq.com.

No administrative fee will be charged in this situation until May 1, 2027. 

After this date, fees will apply for any addition or removal of a practice right using the Application for licence modification form.

You have a maximum period of 12 months to request the addition of a right to practise or the issuance of a corresponding licence.

If this period is exceeded,

• You will need to retake the (residential or commercial) certification exam if your basic training is still recognized.

If your basic training is no longer valid, you will need to retake the basic training and pass the certification exam for the relevant right to practise.

An agency executive officer who chooses to retain both practice rights, just like the real estate broker in the same situation, must complete both training paths specific to residential and commercial areas.  However, there will be continuing education activities common to both training paths. The parameters and number of CEUs to be earned in the 2027-2029 cycle will be announced at a later date.

You have up to three years after waiving your right to practise to reinstate it, provided that you have completed the continuing education activities required by the OACIQ and your licence has not been suspended or revoked for more than 12 months during that period.

If you wish to reinstate your right to practise after this three-year period, you will need to:

• Show that you have successfully completed a basic training recognized by the OACIQ
• Pass the OACIQ certification examination
• Request the addition of a practice right within 12 months after passing the examination

The OACIQ plans to launch a consultation with licensees this spring to gather their feedback on the distinguishing criterion in residential real estate brokerage based on a threshold of less than 5 dwellings. However, any modification to the current framework—under which a building containing less than 5 dwellings is considered residential—would require a legislative amendment.