Upgrading from Level 1 to Level 2 in Ontario: the 12 month rule, the Private Mortgages Course, what changes in who you can work with, and the path to a broker licence.
Written by A.I.M.I. Collective Mortgage Group, Brokerage editorial team
Published October 2026 · Last reviewed 6 October 2026
Official sources: FSRA: become a mortgage agent level 2, FSRA: new mortgage agent and broker licensing requirements, REMIC: Private Mortgages Course, Mortgage Professionals Canada: Private Mortgages Course
To move from Level 1 to Level 2 in Ontario you need at least 12 months licensed as a Level 1 mortgage agent within the last 24 months, plus an FSRA approved Private Mortgages Course completed within two years of applying. Your sponsoring brokerage submits the upgrade, and there is no extra FSRA fee while your Level 1 licence is active. Level 2 is what lets you arrange mortgages with private lenders, MICs and syndicates.
Banks, credit unions and other financial institutions, plus lenders approved by CMHC under the National Housing Act. No private lenders, MICs, syndicates or other brokerages as lenders, and no suitability assessments for private lenders.
Everything a Level 1 agent can do, plus all other lenders: mortgage investment corporations, syndicates, private individuals, and brokers or brokerages lending their own funds.
At least 24 months as a Level 2 agent within the last 36 months, plus the Broker Course. A broker can supervise agents and act as a principal broker. See mortgage agent vs mortgage broker.
Count your time licensed as a Level 1 agent in the last 24 months. You need at least 12. Time does not have to be continuous.
Choose an FSRA approved provider and pass the exam. The course covers the private transaction process, acting for borrowers and investors, dual representation, administration, fraud and ethics.
The course counts for licensing for two years after you complete it. Apply inside that window or you take it again.
The principal broker of your sponsoring brokerage files the application with FSRA. You still meet the usual suitability tests: good character, disclosure of legal or financial history, and no conflicting business.
Once approved you can deal with private and MIC lenders yourself, including the Ontario borrower and investor disclosure forms and suitability assessments.
Answer four quick questions and we will email you the three guides that fit where you are today.
Self paced online with up to a year of access, live webcast or in class, either five weekdays or two Saturdays. About 40 hours. 50 question exam, 70% to pass.
Online self study, finished within six months including the exam. 70% to pass, $75 exam online, one free rewrite within six months.
An FSRA approved provider of the course. Check CMBA Ontario directly for current format and price.
A growing share of Ontario files do not fit a bank: pre construction closings where the appraisal came in below the purchase price, self employed clients pulling equity, bridge financing and second mortgages. Those files often end at a B lender or a private lender. As a Level 1 agent you cannot place the private ones yourself, so you either refer them out or lose them.
Level 2 keeps those clients with you, and it is the required step before a broker licence. Read our guides to private mortgage disclosure in Ontario, mortgage investment corporations and the Ontario mortgage market in 2026.
Level 2 does not replace continuing education. Ontario CE still runs on a two year cycle and is due at licence renewal. See Ontario continuing education.
A.I.M.I. Collective's Ontario office is in Kitchener, licensed by FSRA under licence number 13717. Level 1 agents can route private and alternative files through the Deal Desk while they work toward Level 2, so the client is served and you see how the file is placed.
Step by step: the course, exam and sponsoring brokerage you need to become a mortgage broker in Ontario, BC or Alberta, plus the cost and timeline.
What mortgage agent and broker jobs in Canada actually are: commission not salary, licensed through a brokerage, and what to compare before you join one.
REMIC, Mortgage Professionals Canada, CMBA Ontario, Humber, UBC Sauder, AMBA and Alberta Real Estate School compared on price, format and exam rules.
The difference between a mortgage agent and a mortgage broker in Ontario, BC and Alberta, what Level 1 and Level 2 agents can do, and how to move up.
Book a discovery call and see how Ontario agents at every level work here, from Level 1 to broker.