Plan to complete your training

BCFSA has seen an increase in the number of people becoming real estate licensees with over 2,900 new trading services licensees since January 2022. This increase creates more demand for courses and services provided to the industry by BCFSA, such as processing applications and renewals, license transfers, and educational offerings. The following provides managing brokers with approximate timelines for candidates who may be interested in becoming licensed with their brokerage.

Expect a Six-to-Eight Week Wait for Licensing Exams

To respond to the demand, BCFSA’s course provider, the University of British Columbia (“UBC”), has increased the number of regularly scheduled licensing exams. The exam is available in two ways:

• Regularly scheduled four times a year, available at established exam centres throughout the province. Candidates must register for this exam no later than one month before the scheduled exam date; or
• At UBC’s Computerized Exam Centre (“CEC”). CEC availability is limited – due to high demand, bookings may require six weeks’ advanced booking.

If you are working with a prospective licensee, please make sure to have them plan ahead.

Plan Time Appropriately for the Applied Practice Course

Candidates applying for a trading services license will also need to complete the pre-licensing portions of the Applied Practice Course (“APC”) before their license can be issued.

To avoid delays in licensing after the pre-licensing components of the APC are complete, BCFSA advises managing brokers recruiting new licensees to have the licensing candidate submit an application for licensing as soon as they have enrolled in the APC.

APC is a six-month intensive program and includes both online and virtual classroom components. The first two components take three weeks and must be completed before licensing. The final two components must be completed within six months of the license being issued. APC offerings have limited capacity to ensure new licensees can have meaningful discussions with other learners, ask questions and get assistance from the instructor as needed.

Sign Up for Mandatory Continuing Education Early in Your Licensing Cycle

BCFSA appreciates licensees are busy. Unfortunately, far too many licensees wait until the end of their two-year licensing cycle before trying to enroll in the mandatory continuing education. This often puts licensees in a stressful situation and can bring disappointment at the lack of course availability. 

Courses are mandatory because they give you the tools and knowledge to practice real estate in full compliance with the legislation and protect your clients’ interests.

BCFSA encourages licensees to register for and complete continuing education courses anytime during the two-year term of your license. Managing brokers can also encourage the licensees at their brokerage to register early. This will help ensure that you secure your preferred course time, and in turn eliminate the need to rush through the materials so you receive the full benefit of your regulatory education.

Legal Update and Ethics courses both take three weeks each to complete. Made up of online modules and a virtual classroom, courses are limited in capacity and fill up quickly. Delaying enrollment can result in disruption to your ability to provide services to your clients if you find you are unable to complete the mandatory education until after your license expires.