Regulatory Statement

Purpose

This Regulatory Statement (Statement) provides the approved prior education and training courses recognized by the Superintendent of Mortgage Services (Superintendent) for the purpose of waiving the requirement for a course and/or an examination in relation to a new licence under the Mortgage Services Act (MSA), pursuant to sections 7 to 11 of the Mortgage Services Rules (Rules) under the MSA.

This Statement comes into effect on October 13, 2026, and repeals all regulatory instruments related to this topic under the previous Mortgage Brokers Act.

Background information

Section 15(1)(b)(ii) of the MSA provides that an applicant for a licence must meet the education and experience requirements established by 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.

More information on the education requirements and other application requirements under MSA can be found on BCFSA’s Mortgage Services Knowledge Base.

Requirements

For the purposes of administering s. 8(4) of the Rules, the Superintendent recognizes the following previous knowledge and training as equivalent to some or all of the standard mortgage services licensing education requirements:

• Bachelor of Commerce from the University of British Columbia, with a specialization in Real Estate, within the last ten (10) years;
• Diploma in Urban Land Economics (the Real Estate Management Specialization or Real Estate Brokerage Specialization) within the last ten (10) years;
• LL.B. or J.D. degree from a B.C. university within the last ten (10) years; or
• A member in good standing of the Law Society of B.C.¹

If an applicant meets any of the above knowledge and training equivalencies, they may apply to have the standard licensing educational requirements waived and be eligible to complete the applicable licensing examination(s), as further explained below.

^{1 Members in good standing with the Law Society of B.C. must provide a Certificate of Good Standing.}

Mortgage Broker Licence

An applicant for a mortgage broker licence must provide proof (i.e., certified transcripts that are received by BCFSA directly from the issuing educational institute) that they have attained the required level of education as listed above, to have the standard licensing educational requirements waived and be eligible to complete the Mortgage Services Licensing exam.

Principal Broker Licence

An individual must meet both an education and an experience requirement to be eligible to apply for a principal broker’s licence.

An applicant for a principal broker licence must provide proof (i.e., certified transcripts that are received by BCFSA directly from the issuing educational institute) that they have attained the required level of education, as listed above, to have the standard educational requirements for principal broker licensing waived and to be eligible to complete the Mortgage Services Licensing examination and the Mortgage Principal Broker’s Licensing examination.

Applicants for a principal broker licence must also satisfy the experience requirements provided in s. 11 of the Rules. This experience requirement is satisfied by providing mortgage services as a licensee for at least two (2) years during the last five (5) years before the date of application. This requirement may be waived by the Superintendent if the applicant has had experience and training equivalent to that which the applicant would have obtained if the applicant was a licensee. In addition to proof of education, the applicant requesting a waiver from the experience requirement must also provide proof of their experience.

More information on the process for applying for educations waivers for licensing under the MSA can be found on Advisory: Process for Applying for Education Waivers for MSA Licensing, which can be found on BCFSA’s Mortgage Services Knowledge Base.

Please note that the Superintendent may consider other requests that fall outside the above listed knowledge/training on a case-by-case basis.

Information on Education Requirements and the Education Requalification Period can be found on BCFSA’s Mortgage Services Knowledge Base.

Additional information

For inquiries, please email education@bcfsa.ca.

Legislation

MSA s. 15

MSA Rules s. 7 to 11

Copies of the legislation are available from www.bclaws.gov.bc.ca 

Regulatory Statements establish the form and content of a regulatory submission; prescribe the manner of meeting or enforcing a requirement existing in an enactment; and/or provide the regulator’s view of the laws that BC Financial Services Authority administers. Regulatory Statements are made pursuant to a requirement or power contained in provincial legislation. Compliance with a Regulatory Statement is therefore mandatory. Regulatory Statements may refer to law, practice, or background existing at the time of publication. If relying on the legal information contained in a Regulatory Statement, confirm that any references to the law, including enabling legislation, are up to date and obtain independent legal advice, when needed. Regulatory statements are effective on the date of their publication, unless stated otherwise.