RESA 23-007 - ​​Education Waivers​

• REGULATORY STATEMENT NUMBER: RESA 23-007

  LEGISLATION: Real Estate Services Act (“RESA”)

  DATE: ​​March 22, 2023​

  DISTRIBUTION: ​​All Prospective Licensees

Purpose

This Regulatory Statement provides the approved prior education and training courses recognized by the Superintendent of Real Estate (the “Superintendent”) for the purpose of waiving the requirement for a course and/or an examination in relation to a new licence under the Real Estate Services Act (“RESA”).

Background Information

Section 10 (b) of RESA provides that an applicant for a licence must meet the education and experience requirements established by the Real Estate Services Rules (“the Rules”).

Section 8 (4) of the Rules provides that the Superintendent may waive, based on an applicant’s previous knowledge or training, the qualification requirements for a course, an examination, or a course and its corresponding examination.

For information on general education requirements, relicensing, extraprovincial qualification requirements (for licensees from other Canadian jurisdictions), and other application requirements, please see BCFSA’s Regulatory Statements webpage.

Requirements

For the purpose of administering Section 8 (4) of the Rules, the Superintendent recognizes the previous knowledge or training contained in Appendix A. If an applicant has attained the required level of education in the requisite knowledge areas through prior education or training, the applicant may apply to have some or all of the standard educational requirements for licensing waived. Please note that the Superintendent may consider other requests that fall outside the listed knowledge/training in Appendix A on a case-by-case basis. For a complete chart of all exemptions based on previously attained skills/experience, please see Appendix A.   

Applicants from the United States of America

Representative Level Licence:

An applicant who has held the equivalent to a representative level real estate licence in a U.S. state is eligible to request a waiver from the applicable licensing course if:

• They have been actively licensed at the equivalent of the representative level in the United States, for a minimum of one (1) year within the past three (3) years before applying as a representative in B.C.

If an applicant has held a real estate licence in the United States, they are eligible to request a waiver from the applicable licensing course and examination if:

• They have been licensed in the United States for no more than two (2) years after the surrender of their licence in B.C.; or
• They have been licensed in the United States for no more than two (2) years since passing the B.C. Trading Services Licensing examination.

Managing Broker Level Licence:

An applicant who has held the equivalent to a broker level real estate licence in a U.S. state is eligible to request a waiver from the Managing Broker licensing course if:

• They were actively licensed to provide trading services at the broker level in a U. S. state with occupational standards equivalent to those in B.C. for a minimum of two (2) years in the past five (5) years.

Applicants from Australia or New Zealand

Representative Level Licence:

An applicant who has held the equivalent to a representative level real estate licence in New Zealand or Australia is eligible to request a waiver from completing the applicable licensing course if:  

• They have been actively licensed at the equivalent of the representative level in New Zealand or Australia for a minimum of one (1) year within the past three (3) years before applying as a representative in B.C.

Managing broker Level Licence:

An applicant is eligible to request a waiver from the Managing Broker licensing course if:

• They have been actively licensed to provide trading services at the equivalent of the broker level in New Zealand or Australia for a minimum of two (2) years in the past five (5) years.

Additional Information

For inquires related to licensing education requirements, please email [email protected].

^{As the BC Financial Services Authority, we issue Regulatory Statements outlining how entities must operate, or the form and content required by the Regulator for mandatory regulatory filings identified in the Real Estate Services Act,Real Estate Services Regulation, Real Estate Services Rules and other pertinent legislation. While the comments in a particular part of a Regulatory Statements may relate to provisions of the law in force at the time they were made, these comments are not a substitute for the law. The reader should consider the comments in light of the relevant provisions of the law in force at the time, taking into account the effect of any relevant amendments to those provisions or relevant court decisions occurring after the date on which the comments were made. Subject to the above, instructions, definitions, and positions contained in a Regulatory Statement generally apply as of the date on which it was published, unless otherwise specified.}