Studying for a licensing exam without knowing its actual format wastes time — you can't plan a practice-exam pace for a 3-hour, 100-question test if you don't know that's what you're facing. This worksheet starts from the exam formats that are actually documented across Canadian mortgage courses and works backward into a week-by-week plan.
Adjust the number of weeks to your own course's enrolment window — the structure below assumes a 6-to-8-week runway, but the same sequence compresses or stretches depending on how much time your course allows.
Step 1. Confirm your exam's actual format
Before building a schedule, confirm three things directly from your course provider: the time limit, the question count and format (multiple choice, case-study-based, or a mix), and the pass mark. These vary meaningfully — REMIC's Ontario Level 1 exam, for example, is 3 hours and 50 questions at a 60% pass mark, while its Broker course exam is 3 hours and 100 questions at the same 60% mark, and its Level 2 exam requires 70%. Québec's two required exams, F-116 and F-611, each require 60%, separately.
Not every provider publishes this detail — MPC's Ontario Level 1 and Level 2 course pages, for instance, don't list exam question counts. If yours doesn't, ask directly rather than assuming a figure from another course.
Step 2. Weeks 1-2: a full content pass
Work through the full course material once, module by module if your course is structured that way — Alberta's Fundamentals and Practice courses, or Québec's F-116 and F-611, for example. The goal in this pass is coverage, not mastery — you're building a map of the material before you start testing yourself against it.
- →If your course is split into modules with separate exams, keep a running list of which module each topic belongs to.
- →Flag anything that feels unclear on first pass rather than re-reading it repeatedly — return to flagged topics in Step 4.
Step 3. Weeks 3-4: timed practice under the real format
Start practicing under your exam's actual time constraint, not an open-ended review session. If your exam is case-study-based, as REMIC's Ontario exams are, practice with scenario questions specifically — they test application, not recall, and reward a different kind of preparation than flashcards.
Time a full-length practice set at least once this week to find your actual pace against the clock, especially if your exam has a high question count in a fixed time window.
Step 4. Week 5: targeted review of your weakest areas
Return to whatever you flagged in Step 2 and whatever you got wrong most often in Step 3's practice questions. This is the week to close specific gaps, not to re-review everything evenly — treat your practice-question results as a map of where the actual gaps are.
Step 5. Final week: logistics, then one last full practice run
Confirm the exam logistics before exam week, not during it: the location or proctoring platform, what identification is required, and, if your course allows an in-person or online choice like REMIC's or Sauder's, which format you've actually booked.
Run one final full-length timed practice set early in the week, then taper — a light review in the final day or two beats a last-minute cramming session, especially for exams that reward applied reasoning over memorized facts.
If you don't pass on the first attempt
Check your specific course's retake rule before assuming the worst. Several REMIC courses allow a second attempt, sometimes at an additional cost, UBC Sauder's current BC exam allows two attempts per registration, and Québec allows three rewrites before requiring a full restart of the qualification process. Whatever your course's rule, use your original results to target the second study pass at your specific weak areas rather than repeating the same generic review.
For the exam-format detail behind this worksheet, see How to Pass Your Mortgage Licensing Exam. And once you're licensed, Treadstone's Canadian Mortgage Underwriting Course is a natural next study project, alongside Treadstone's fulfillment services for brokers ready to grow.