Deciding to move is the easy part. The licence transfer, the live pipeline and the timing are what actually need planning.
Written by A.I.M.I. Collective Mortgage Group, Brokerage editorial team
Published September 2026 · Last reviewed 5 October 2026
Most writing about switching brokerages is about whether to do it. This page is about how it actually works: what happens to your licence, your live files and your clients while the move is under way.
Licensing is provincial, so the process differs by province. What follows is the shape of it. Confirm the current procedure with your regulator, because the details change.
Changing mortgage brokerages in BC, Alberta or Ontario means giving notice, having the new brokerage file the change with your regulator, updating lender registrations and agreeing how live files are handled. Read your agreement on client ownership before you resign, and settle approved but unfunded files between both brokerages in advance.
BCFSA regulates mortgage brokering. A registration is tied to the brokerage you work under, so a move requires the regulator to be notified and your registration reassigned. Note the wider change under way: the Mortgage Services Act replaces the Mortgage Brokers Act on 13 October 2026, and current registrants must complete BCFSA's transition education by 22 September 2026.
RECA licenses mortgage associates and brokers. Licences are held through a brokerage, so a move involves terminating with one and being registered by the next. Every Alberta licence expires on 30 September regardless of when it was issued, which makes timing around that date worth planning.
FSRA licenses mortgage agents at Level 1 and Level 2 and mortgage brokers. A licence is sponsored by a brokerage, so a move requires the new brokerage to sponsor you and the change to be filed. Ontario licences renew annually on 31 March.
Book a confidential call. We will walk you through compensation, lender access and support, with every fee in writing.
A notice period, a regulator processing a change and a live pipeline rarely line up neatly. Start the conversation earlier than feels necessary, and never resign before the receiving brokerage has confirmed what happens to files already in progress.
A move here is planned around your pipeline, not ours. We map every live file with you, run the licence transfer and the lender registrations in parallel, and line up the first hard file for the Deal Desk so your first week is a funded file rather than a form. Clients you originate are yours, including the renewal and the referral, and that is written down.
Licensing requirements come from BCFSA in British Columbia, RECA in Alberta and FSRA in Ontario. Transfer procedures change, so confirm the current process with your regulator before you act. This is general information, not legal or compliance advice. Current as of 3 September 2026.
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We have moved enough brokers to have a process for the pipeline part. That is the first thing we walk through.