Application for licence issuance

On behalf of an agency
You must take steps to find an agency, since your licence application should be signed by the executive officer of the agency you choose to work for.
If you wish to operate within a business corporation, you must complete an Application for authorization to practice within a business corporation, which should also be signed by your future agency executive officer.

On your own account

You may act on your own account as soon as you enter into practice, in compliance with your aptitudes, limits on knowledge and means available in the performance of your activities. In this case, you will have certain obligations and restrictions to observe:

• Within 10 days following your licence issuance, you will have to open a trust account (in this regard see the Instructions concerning the obligations to open and maintain a trust account form) Note that the licensee is exempted  from this obligation if he receives no deposit, advance on remuneration or costs from his clients or any other sum for others. When he is no longer in this situation, he must immediately notify the OACIQ in writing and comply with trust account requirements;¹ 
• You must take the Managing trust accounts training course once you are required to open a trust account;
• You must attend a start-up session provided by the OACIQ Inspection Department (a notice to attend will be sent to you);
• You will not be able to hire brokers;
• You will not be able to use a pseudonym.

To apply for a real estate brokerage licence, you need to complete and provide the following documents:

• Application for issuance – Real estate broker licence;;
• If you answered Yes to any of the questions in section VI “Declarations” of the Application for issuance form, you must also provide:
  • The Form to be completed in case of conviction or Form to be completed in case of bankruptcy;
  • All required supporting documents of this declaration;
• Undergo a criminal record check if it has not been done in the last six months (see step 3);
• A proof showing your knowledge of the French language if you wrote the certification exam in English (in this regard, see the OQLF’s French exam page);
• A photograph taken within less than 6 months, which will appear on your broker licence and posted on the OACIQ Register of licence holders;
• Payment of the applicable fees and costs.

Applicable fees

The fees to be paid when applying for a licence and those for the subscription  to InstanetForms^TM electronic forms vary depending on  the month in which you wish to start or resume your practice. If you carry out residential real estate transactions, you must subscribe to InstanetForms^TM electronic forms to access current versions of brokerage forms. To find out the exact amount payable for a licence issuance, see this page.

The chargeable fees for a licence issuance are comprised of the following fees:

• The application examination fees;
• Fees for checking criminal records, if any;
• Right to practice;
• Contribution to the Real Estate Indemnity Fund (FICI);
• Premium of the Fonds d’assurance responsabilité professionnelle du courtage immobilier du Québec (FARCIQ);
• Subscription to InstanetForms^TM electronic forms, if applicable;
• Applicable taxes.

Licence validity

The licence validity period is from May 1 to April 30. Except for application examination and verification of criminal record fees, the applicable fees are calculated based on the remaining months until the end of April, including the month in which the licence is issued. It will be more expensive to apply for a licence in June than in March.

Note that to maintain your licence in force, you also need to pay the annual required fees and update your information no later than April 30 of each year.

If you cancel your licence application before issuance, you may be refunded the following fees:

• Right to practice;
• Contribution to the Real Estate Indemnity Fund (FICI);
• Premium of the Fonds d’assurance responsabilité professionnelle du courtage immobilier du Québec (FARCIQ);
• Subscription fees to InstanetFormsTM electronic forms, if applicable;
• Applicable taxes.

The application examination and verification of criminal record fees are not refundable.

If the licence is issued, only the following fees will be refunded to you, even if you request the immediate revocation of your licence:

• Premium of FARCIQ;
• Applicable taxes.

If you have never informed the OACIQ, you must report in your licence application any criminal act or any penal or ethical offence you have been convicted of, or have pleaded guilty to, and any bankruptcy, regardless of the time elapsed since that event. The assignments of property or receiving orders made under the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act must be mentioned. However, you do not need to inform us of a consumer proposal.

Criminal acts are violations under the Criminal Code, the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, or other federal statutes containing criminal offences. Examples:

• I was found guilty of simple possession of narcotics;
• I received a fine for impaired driving.

Penal offences are violations under provincial and federal statutes or under certain regulations. Examples:

• I was fined for doing construction work without holding a competency certificate issued by the Quebec Construction Commission;
• I received a fine for failing to file a tax return;

Offences under the Highway Safety Code or a municipal by-law need not be declared.

Ethical offences are violations to the code of ethics or to a regulation governing the conduct of the members of a professional order or other type of organization responsible for the oversight of a profession or trade. Examples:

• I was found guilty of violating the Code of ethics of notaries by the Chambre des notaires’ discipline committee;
• I was found guilty of a disciplinary offence by the discipline committee of the Corporation des maîtres électriciens du Québec.

If you respond positively to any of the questions in the Declarations section of the Application for licence issuance form, your file will be examined to determine if it needs to be examined by the OACIQ Licence Issue and Maintenance Committee (LIMC). The role of this Committee is to determine whether public protection warrants the imposition of one of the measures set out in the Act when the individual applying for a licence has had his licence revoked, suspended or made subject to restrictions or conditions by the OACIQ Discipline Committee or by another body overseeing real estate brokerage, is the subject of a property assignment, a receiving order, or a protective supervision of a person of full age or a criminal conviction. If applicable, in accordance with section 37 of the Real Estate Brokerage Act, the OACIQ may refuse to issue a licence or may impose conditions or restrictions thereon. Read this article for more information on the cases submitted to the LIMC.

Please note that in this case, the licence issuance could be delayed.

It is not always clear whether an act, offence or bankruptcy is worth mentioning. If in doubt, it’s better to report such information since your licence may be revoked if it’s noted that you have not reported it.

Criminal record check

Upon receipt of your licence application, an email with "Mintz Background Check Invitation" in the subject line will be sent to you so you can complete the Mintz digital form. If your criminal record check was carried out less than six months ago, we will refer to the  previously obtained results and no email will be sent.

To avoid additional delays in the processing of your licence application, please follow the recommendations stated on the Criminal record check page. Even if you provide a certificate of good conduct issued by police, your application will be considered as incomplete.

Your application will be processed as soon as possible. In some cases, this may take 7 to 10 business days.

Once your licence application is finalized, you will receive a confirmation email. You may then start acting as a real estate broker.

Your name will appear on the OACIQ Register of licence holders available to the public on our website.