Ontario licenses new entrants as mortgage agent level 1 through FSRA. The course is short, the application runs through your brokerage, and there is a two year clock on it.
Written by A.I.M.I. Collective Mortgage Group, Brokerage editorial team
Published September 2026 · Last reviewed 5 October 2026
Official sources: Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario (FSRA)
The Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario (FSRA) issues three individual licences: mortgage agent level 1, mortgage agent level 2 and mortgage broker. Everyone starts at level 1. Your brokerage, not you, initiates the application in FSRA Licensing Link, which is why lining up a brokerage early matters more in Ontario than anywhere else.
To become a Level 1 mortgage agent in Ontario you take an FSRA approved course, apply within two years, and have the principal broker of a licensed brokerage submit your application. The licence fee is $941, prorated by month, plus $19.15 for the criminal record check and your course fee. Level 2 is the next step once you qualify.
Be 18 or older, a resident of Canada, and have an Ontario mailing address that can receive registered mail. A post office box does not count.
The mortgage agent level 1 education program is offered by Mortgage Professionals Canada, CMBA Ontario, REMIC and Humber Polytechnic. Most people finish in a few weeks.
You must be sponsored by one licensed Ontario brokerage. Its principal broker opens your application in Licensing Link.
Completed through Triton Canada for $19.15. The result is valid for 90 days, so time it with your application.
You complete the application in Licensing Link, the principal broker reviews and submits it with the $941 fee, prorated by the month of the fiscal year you apply in.
FSRA requires the level 1 licence application within two years of completing the education program. After that the course has to be repeated.
Level 1 agents arrange mortgages with financial institutions and lenders approved under the National Housing Act. Private lenders, MICs and syndicates need level 2, which requires 12 months licensed within the last 24 and the Private Mortgage Course. Our post on level 1 versus level 2 covers the upgrade. Mortgage broker comes after at least two years as a licensed agent plus the broker education program.
Ontario runs continuing education on a two year cycle in even years. See Ontario continuing education explained.
We onboard licensed brokers only, so the licence is yours to earn before we can help with anything else. After that you get weekly lender training, a team chat where new and experienced brokers answer around the clock, and senior brokers who will work your first files alongside you. There is no scripted programme with a guaranteed timeline. There is a room full of people who pick up.
Related: what a Level 1 agent, a Level 2 agent and a broker can each do, and how mortgage agent jobs really work once you are licensed.
Comparing provinces? See how to become a mortgage broker in Canada: the licence, course and cost in Ontario, BC and Alberta on one page.
Once you have 12 months licensed at Level 1, you can upgrade. Read how to become a Level 2 mortgage agent in Ontario.
FSRA publishes licensing requirements and fees at fsrao.ca. Current as of 10 September 2026.
Leave your name, province and the month you expect to write the exam. We will check in around then, and when you have passed we will walk you through what a brokerage needs from you.
Upgrade from Level 1 to Level 2 in Ontario: 12 months licensed, the Private Mortgages Course, no FSRA fee, and what Level 2 lets you do.
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.
A.I.M.I. Collective onboards licensed agents and brokers only. Once FSRA has issued your licence, our Kitchener office, led by Principal Mortgage Broker Tracy Valko, brings you in with training and direct lender access from day one.