Key takeaways
- →Only two provinces publish a full exam format in detail: British Columbia (100 questions, 3 hours, 65% pass) and Quebec (60% pass on each of two module exams, with up to three rewrites).
- →Ontario's published figures come from one course provider's (REMIC) pages, not FSRA itself directly — and they differ by licence level, from a 50-question Level 1 exam to a 100-question broker exam.
- →Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Newfoundland and Labrador all require a final exam as part of the approved course, but none publish a public pass-mark or question-count figure the way BC and Quebec do.
- →Rewrite rules differ just as sharply — Quebec allows three rewrites before a candidate has to restart the qualification process entirely, while most other provinces leave rewrite policy to the course provider.
Nobody in Canada writes one national mortgage licensing exam — each province with a licensing regime sets its own bar, administered through its own approved course providers. That produces real variation: some regulators publish the exact question count and pass mark, others leave the exam format entirely to the provider, and rewrite rules range from generous to strict.
This lays out what's actually documented for each province's exam, with British Columbia and Quebec's figures covered in the most detail since they're the two jurisdictions that publish full specifics. For the full province-by-province licensing picture beyond exams, see Mortgage Licence Requirements by Province.
01 · Why do mortgage licensing exams differ so much across Canada?
Most provincial regulators don't write or administer the exam directly — they approve a course (often delivered by a third-party provider like Mortgage Professionals Canada, REMIC, or UBC Sauder) and require candidates to pass whatever final exam that course includes. That means the exam format is often set by the provider's curriculum, not published as a standalone regulatory standard, which is why some provinces have detailed public figures and others don't.
02 · What does each province's licensing exam actually look like?
| Province | Exam format (as published) |
|---|---|
| Ontario (via REMIC's published course pages) | Level 1: 3 hrs, 50 questions, 60% pass (30/50). Level 2 (PMC): 3 hrs, 50 questions, 70% pass (35/50). Broker course: 3 hrs, 100 questions, 60% pass (60/100) |
| British Columbia (UBC Sauder) | 3 hrs, 100 multiple-choice questions, 65% pass; supplemental exam (for those already licensed/eligible elsewhere) is 2 hrs, 60 questions |
| Alberta (RECA) | Two separate pre-licensing exams (Fundamentals of Mortgage Brokerage; Practice of Mortgage Brokerage). RECA publishes province-wide candidate success rates but not a public pass-mark or question-count figure |
| Quebec (AMF) | Two exams tied to the F-116 and F-611 training modules; 60% pass mark on each; up to three rewrites per exam while training remains valid |
| Saskatchewan (FCAA) | Approved course “includes a final examination”; FCAA does not publish a question count or pass mark |
| Manitoba (MSC) | Approved course includes a “final in-person examination”; rewrites available; the regulator does not publish a question count or pass mark |
| Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador | Provider course pages describe a final examination as part of the approved program; none publish a public pass-mark or question-count figure |
03 · How does Quebec's exam and rewrite rule actually work?
The AMF requires a minimum score of 60% on each of the two exams tied to mortgage brokerage training. A candidate who fails is entitled to rewrite that exam up to three times, as long as the underlying training is still valid (two years from completion) — but “candidates who fail one or more exams four times will have to start the mortgage broker career entry process over,” meaning retraining and re-registering from scratch.
Quebec's training modules and its exam-day mechanics are each covered in their own dedicated pieces — the rewrite rule above is what makes Quebec's system distinct from every other province in this comparison.
04 · What does British Columbia's licensing exam involve?
Through UBC Sauder's course (the current pre-Mortgage Services Act pathway), the licensing exam is 3 hours, 100 multiple-choice questions, with a 65% passing grade. Candidates already licensed or eligible in another BCFSA stream can instead sit a shorter supplemental exam — 2 hours, 60 questions — provided they apply for registration within one year of writing it. Full detail on this path lives in The BC Mortgage Broker Course and Exam.
05 · What about provinces that don't publish exam specifics?
Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Newfoundland and Labrador all confirm a final exam is part of the approved course — but none of the regulator or provider pages checked for this piece stated an exact pass mark or question count. Don't assume a specific figure applies just because BC and Quebec publish theirs; confirm directly with the relevant regulator or course provider before an exam date.
Whatever the format, passing the licensing exam is the gate — the file-evaluation skill that comes after licensing is a separate track. Treadstone's Canadian Mortgage Underwriting Course builds on what licensing exams cover, and newly licensed professionals can see how Treadstone supports Canadian mortgage professionals from there.
Passing the exam is the first bar, not the last
The exam tests the rules. The job tests file judgment.
Treadstone's fulfillment associates and underwriting support help newly licensed brokers and agents apply what the licensing exam covered to real files, faster.
Frequently asked questions
This article is general information to help you scale — not a substitute for tailored advice on your specific business, licensing, or compliance obligations. All figures are illustrative examples for planning purposes; actual costs vary by province, market, and brokerage.