Verifying a real-estate professional in Canada: licences, registers and traps

Why verify — and why « holds a licence » does not mean « competent »

A licence is a floor, not a guarantee. It certifies that a person has met the legal conditions to practise — training, exam, liability insurance, no disqualification — and that they answer to a regulator that can discipline them, or strip their right to practise. That is necessary, but not sufficient: a licence says nothing about experience, the number of transactions closed, or the quality of service. Verifying the licence eliminates the worst — the impostor, the disbarred professional, the title usurper; choosing the best takes more. Verification takes two minutes and costs nothing. It is the reflex that, every year, keeps buyers and sellers from entrusting the biggest transaction of their life to someone who has no right to handle it — or who has lost it. This guide covers the five professions involved in a real-estate transaction — real-estate broker, mortgage broker, notary or lawyer, home inspector, appraiser — each with its regulator and official register, province by province. In practice, each profession plays a distinct role and carries a different liability: the real-estate broker represents you in negotiation, the mortgage broker builds your financing, the notary or lawyer secures the transfer of title and the funds, the inspector documents the building's condition, the appraiser establishes its value. Verifying each on the right register means making sure the person you entrust with one piece of the file has the right — and the insurance coverage — to hold it.

How to read a register — 4 steps

1. Identify the right regulator: it depends on the profession and the province (the table below gives it to you).
2. Open its public register and search by name or licence number.
3. Confirm the status is active — not suspended or revoked — and read the disciplinary history if shown.
4. Cross-check the identity (address, number, brokerage) to rule out namesakes: the same name can belong to two people.

A "suspended" or "revoked" status prohibits practice.

This is the only one of the five professions where the licence is mandatory in all ten provinces: no one may represent a buyer or seller for compensation without holding one. In Quebec it is called a « permis » (OACIQ); elsewhere, a licence or a registration. A licence can be that of a broker or of a salesperson — both are legitimate, with different responsibilities. Two reflexes: search for the person, not just the brokerage; and don't confuse the licence with the « Realtor® » trademark, which is only membership in a real-estate board, not a state-issued credential. How to read the register: search the person by name or number, confirm the active status, and note their attachment to a brokerage — the brokerage licence and the individual licence are separate. Be wary of team names and trade names: they do not replace an identifiable individual's licence. A « pending », « expired » or « suspended » status does not authorize representing a client; only an « active » status does.

The mortgage broker is regulated everywhere, but rarely by the same body as real estate. In Quebec it is the AMF since May 1, 2020 (not the OACIQ — see the box); in Ontario, FSRA; in Alberta, RECA; in British Columbia, BCFSA. Verify both the person's licence and the firm they are attached to. A useful reminder: a lender (your bank) is not a broker — a mortgage broker shops your file to several lenders, and their licence authorizes them to do so. In Ontario, note that there are two levels — agent and broker — and that private mortgages have been under heightened FSRA supervision since 2024. Always confirm the licence matches the person advising you, not just the firm whose banner they carry.

The transaction closes with a legal professional. In Quebec, it is the notary (regulated by the Chambre des notaires du Québec) who drafts the deed of sale and holds the funds in trust; « notaire » is a reserved title there, distinct from a lawyer. Elsewhere in Canada, it is a real estate lawyer admitted to their province's Law Society; in British Columbia, a notary public (Society of Notaries Public of BC) can also handle conveyancing. Each law society or order publishes a public « member in good standing » directory to confirm admission. The legal professional also holds your money in trust for the duration of the transaction — a regulated account, auditable by the order. That is one more reason to confirm admission before wiring a down payment: when in doubt, the official directory settles it in seconds.

How many professionals, by province?

Number of licence holders, where regulators publish it — a sense of the size of the pool you are verifying against.

The licence, province by province

The regulator changes by province — and sometimes by profession within a province. A synthetic portrait of the eight provinces where Payotte operates.

• Quebec — the most regulated in CanadaReal-estate brokerage: OACIQ (called a « permis »). Mortgage brokerage: AMF (since May 1, 2020). Transactions: notary, regulated by the Chambre des notaires du Québec. Appraisal: OEAQ, reserved title « évaluateur agréé ». Inspection: RBQ certificate mandatory from October 1, 2027. Five professions, five distinct frameworks.
• Ontario — RECO and FSRAReal-estate brokerage: RECO, under the Trust in Real Estate Services Act (TRESA), regulating more than 110,000 registrants; mandatory financial filings for brokerages from October 1, 2026. Mortgage brokerage: FSRA. Legal: Law Society of Ontario. Inspectors: no licence (the 2017 act was never proclaimed into force).
• British Columbia — BCFSA wearing two hatsBCFSA regulates both real-estate and mortgage brokerage; the Mortgage Brokers Act becomes the Mortgage Services Act on October 13, 2026. Inspectors: mandatory licence (Consumer Protection BC). Transactions: lawyer (Law Society of BC) or notary public (Society of Notaries Public of BC).
• Alberta — RECA for two tradesRECA regulates both real-estate AND mortgage brokerage. Inspectors: mandatory licence (Service Alberta). Appraisers: AIC designation — the RECA licence requirement has been removed. Legal: Law Society of Alberta.
• Manitoba — the Securities CommissionReal-estate brokerage falls under the Manitoba Securities Commission since the Real Estate Services Act (2022); it also oversees mortgage brokerage.
• Saskatchewan — SREC and FCAAReal-estate brokerage: Saskatchewan Real Estate Commission (SREC). Mortgage brokerage: Financial and Consumer Affairs Authority (FCAA).
• Nova Scotia — NSRECReal-estate brokerage: Nova Scotia Real Estate Commission. Mortgage brokerage: Service Nova Scotia. Legal: Nova Scotia Barristers' Society.
• New Brunswick — FCNBReal-estate brokerage is co-regulated by the New Brunswick Real Estate Association (NBREA) and the Financial and Consumer Services Commission (FCNB), which also oversees mortgage brokerage.

What changes in 2026-2027

Three recent regulatory shifts, verified at source — useful to know before you commit.

• Ontario — mandatory financial filings (Oct. 1, 2026)After the collapse of the iPro Realty brokerage, RECO now requires brokerages to file an annual financial return, to better protect clients' trust funds.
• British Columbia — new mortgage law (Oct. 13, 2026)The Mortgage Brokers Act is replaced by the Mortgage Services Act (MSA), modernizing oversight of mortgage brokers under BCFSA.
• Quebec — RBQ certificate for inspectors (Oct. 1, 2027)Any inspector performing a pre-purchase inspection must hold a certificate from the Régie du bâtiment du Québec — the trade's first state-issued credential in Quebec (see below).

Five traps that fool the public

• The claimed but false titleCalling yourself a « certified inspector » or « appraiser » does not create the title. Verify the source, not the claim — especially where no licence is mandatory.
• Association ≠ regulatorBelonging to an association (AIBQ, OAHI, a real-estate board) is not a licence. An association sets voluntary standards; only a state regulator grants — and removes — the right to practise.
• The profession with no mandatory licenceIn several provinces, home inspectors (and appraisers outside Quebec) hold no state licence. « No licence » is not a red flag there — but insurance, recognized membership and reviews are.
• The namesakeThe OACIQ register lists, for example, two Catherine Labrecques: without cross-checking the address, you verify the wrong person. Always confirm with a second data point.
• The outdated third-party siteMany pages still claim that « the OACIQ regulates mortgage brokers » — false since 2020. Rely on the regulator's official register, never on a copied commercial directory.

Licence, registration, designation, membership: the glossary that avoids the traps

The words are not interchangeable. Understanding which one applies to whom is already knowing what to verify.

Licence / permit

Authorization to practise issued by a state regulator. Mandatory, regulated, and revocable for misconduct. It is the only document that makes practice legal where one is required.

Registration

The equivalent of a licence in several provinces — same scope: without it, you have no right to practise.

Designation

A professional title granted by an association (e.g. AIC's AACI and CRA). It attests to a qualification and a code of ethics — but it is not a state licence.

Membership

Being a member of an association (AIBQ, a real-estate board). Voluntary. Useful as a signal, never sufficient as proof of the right to practise.

Reserved title

A title only a person enrolled in an order may use — « notaire », « évaluateur agréé » in Quebec. Usurping it is an offence.

Professional order

A body (chiefly in Quebec, under the Professional Code) that regulates a profession and protects its title. It acts as the regulator for that title.

What to do if something is wrong

The professional isn't on the register? Don't sign anything: practising without a licence, where one is mandatory, is an offence — and you would not be protected by the regulator's compensation fund. The status is « suspended » or « revoked »? The person has no right to act: walk away. A doubt, a problematic behaviour? Every regulator receives and handles public complaints: OACIQ, RECO, BCFSA, AMF and the others have an official mechanism, often online. Reporting protects the next person as much as you. And remember: a licence in good standing settles legality, not quality — that is where experience, transaction volume and reviews, which Payotte aggregates listing by listing, take over.

How Payotte uses these registers — and why we don't copy them

Payotte does not stand in for the register: it takes you there. For each listing, we publish the licence number and the link to the official register, so you can confirm the status yourself — « verifiable on the register », never « verified by us ». It is also a matter of respecting the rules: several regulators expressly forbid compiling lists from their register or querying it in bulk. We don't. What Payotte adds on top of legality is the rest — experience, transaction volume, reviews —, aggregated listing by listing, because a licence tells you who has the right to practise, not who does it well.

Your verification checklist

Keep it handy before entrusting a mandate, an offer or a down payment.

1. Ask for the licence number — a legitimate professional gives it without hesitation; a refusal is itself a signal.
2. Identify the right regulator (profession × province) in the tables above, then open its official register.
3. Search for the person by name or number, and confirm the status is « active ».
4. Read the disciplinary history if shown, and cross-check the identity (address, brokerage) to rule out a namesake.
5. Inspector or appraiser outside Quebec: absent a mandatory licence, verify liability insurance and the designation or membership in a recognized association.

Frequently asked questions

Sources and freshness

Regulators and registers verified July 22, 2026 against the provincial bodies' official sites (OACIQ, RECO, RECA, BCFSA, FSRA, FCAA, FCNB, Manitoba Securities Commission, SREC, NSREC, NBREA), the Chambre des notaires du Québec, the Appraisal Institute of Canada and the OEAQ. Registers change: always confirm the status on the official site before committing. No fabricated data; cells with no mandatory register are flagged as such.

Verified July 22, 2026 · re-verified quarterly.