Printed . This content is updated regularly, please refer back to https://bcfsa.ca to ensure that you are relying on the most up-to-date resources.
MSA Transition Service Request
Select the section you’d like to navigate to.
Accordion items
As part of the transition from the Mortgage Brokers Act (MBA) to the Mortgage Services Act (MSA), designated individuals are required to complete specific transition activities on behalf of their brokerage.
Service request details
Service request 1: Select a Principal Broker for your Brokerage and Branch Offices (if applicable)
Service request opens: May 13, 2026
Service request deadline: July 13, 2026
This service request allows your brokerage to identify its Principal Broker, a new role required under the MSA. The Principal Broker is responsible for the overall supervision, governance, and regulatory compliance of the brokerage under the MSA.
Selecting a Principal Broker is required for your brokerage to transition from registration under the Mortgage Brokers Act to licensing under the MSA. This information enables BCFSA to confirm that each brokerage has appropriate accountability and oversight in place ahead of the MSA coming into force.
Helpful resources for completing this service request:
Service request 2: Choose brokerage licensing categories
Service request opens: July 13 2026
Service request deadline: September 13, 2026
This service request allows your brokerage to select the licensing categories that reflect the mortgage services it intends to provide under the MSA.
Licensing categories determine the scope of activities your brokerage will be authorized to carry out under the new framework. Completing this service request ensures your brokerage is licensed for the appropriate activities and helps BCFSA apply the correct regulatory requirements once the MSA is in effect.
Helpful resources for completing this service request:
Preparing for the MSA: Transition Service Request Information Session
On April 29, 2026, BCFSA hosted an information session focused on the MSA transition, which included a walkthrough of the service request submission process.
A recording of the session is available for your reference:
- Watch the information session recording (will open in a new tab)
- Preparing for the MSA: Transition Service Request Information Session slides (will open in a new tab)
What happens if a Designated Individual does not complete the service requests?
If a Designated Individual doesn’t complete the transition service requests, they, their submortgage brokers and their brokerage will not transition from a MBA registration to licensing under the MSA, and their brokerage and submortgage brokers will be unable to conduct mortgage business when the MSA comes into force.
Completion of mandatory transition education
It is strongly recommended that Designated Individuals complete the mandatory MSA transition education before beginning the service requests. This includes:
- MSA: Getting Started
- MSA: The New Principal Broker – Part One
- MSA: The New Principal Broker – Part Two
Completion of all required MSA transition education is mandatory for anyone wishing to continue providing mortgage services under the MSA when it comes into force on October 13, 2026.
MSA Transition Checklist
To support registrants through the transition to the MSA, BCFSA has developed licence-specific checklists for individuals becoming licensed as Personal Mortgage Corporations, Principal Brokers, and Mortgage Brokers.
The checklists are intended to be used as a practical tool to help guide registrants through the transition and can be downloaded from BCFSA’s website:
- Checklist for Designated Individuals (will open in a new tab)
- Checklist for Submortgage Brokers (will open in a new tab)
- Checklist for PMCs (will open in a new tab)
We encourage registrants to refer to the checklist regularly to ensure they’ve met all requirements ahead of the MSA coming into force on October 13, 2026.
If you have questions about the service request process, please contact the MSA Enquiries team at msa@bcfsa.ca.
MSA Transition Service Request FAQS
Current Designated Individuals whose brokerages will continue to operate under the MSA should complete the first service request (selecting a Principal Broker), even if they do not intend to become the Principal Broker of the brokerage once the MSA comes into force.
The intended Principal Broker must complete all subsequent MSA transition service requests.
You do not need to complete the service request. However, as the current Designated Individual, you should discuss your intent to wind up your brokerage with any submortgage brokers who may work there. Those submortgage brokers must transfer their registration to another brokerage prior to the current brokerage being wound up.
If you do not complete the transition service requests, your brokerage and brokers will not transition to a licence and will not be able to conduct mortgage business in B.C.
Under the MSA, all licensees must be licensed in at least one mortgage services category—dealing, trading, administering, or lending.
Refer to the Licence Categories section of the Information on Licensing Levels and Categories guidance available on the Mortgage Services Knowledge Base for more information.
If you have submitted your transition application but later decide not to continue operating a brokerage, you must submit a wind-up application to formally close the brokerage.
Please note that there will be a blackout on service requests in the IRIS Portal from September 22, 2026, to October 13, 2026. No service requests of any kind, including wind-ups, can be processed during this time.
Requests to amend a transition application, whether related to selected licence categories or changes to the principal broker, will not be processed until after the enforcement date of October 13, 2026.