Last reviewed: 8 October 2026
Home › Mortgage help › Canada › Alberta’s RECA mortgage licensing tiers
How Alberta’s mortgage licensing tiers work: RECA, mortgage associates, and mortgage brokers
Our overview of Canadian mortgage broker regulation notes that Alberta licenses mortgage professionals through the Real Estate Council of Alberta (RECA), the same body that licenses real estate and condominium management. This page covers how the two mortgage tiers work, how renewal runs, and what RECA says today about required education.
Who needs a licence, and who does not
RECA lists the activities as soliciting borrowers or lenders for mortgage financing, negotiating mortgage transactions, collecting mortgage payments, administering mortgages, buying, selling or exchanging mortgages, and holding oneself out as a mortgage broker.[1] You do not need a licence when dealing in mortgages on your own behalf or lending your own money.[1] RECA’s own example is that a real estate licensee who negotiates mortgage rates or terms for a borrower needs a mortgage broker licence, while referring a client to a licensed mortgage broker who works with multiple lenders does not require one.[1]
Two tiers: mortgage associate first, mortgage broker later
To become a licensed mortgage professional in Alberta you complete Fundamentals of Mortgage Brokerage and Practice of Mortgage Brokerage, including the required exams.[2] To become a mortgage broker, the tier that runs a brokerage, you need at least two years of experience as a licensed mortgage professional within the last five years and must complete the Mortgage Broker Program and its exam.[2] RECA adds that a broker must be responsible for a brokerage, either by opening a new one or taking over an existing one, and that the broker education program requires 70% or higher on the final exam.[3] The two-year experience clock applies to the step up to broker, not to the first licence.
Annual renewal, cancellation and reinstatement
| Situation | What RECA says |
|---|---|
| Renewal deadline | The annual renewal deadline is September 30; a licence not renewed by then is automatically cancelled.[3] |
| Unlicensed period | While unlicensed you cannot work as a licensee, but you may apply to reinstate within three years.[3] |
| Registered less than 1 year ago | No additional requirements beyond the application and fee.[3] |
| Over 1 year | A current criminal record check is required.[3] |
| Over 3 years | The same steps as a new licensee: eligibility process, pre-licensing education and a criminal record check.[3] |
For the 2026-2027 licensing year RECA’s fee schedule lists a mortgage brokerage licence renewal of $450 and a registration renewal of $525 for the mortgage broker, associate broker and associate columns, made up of $475 in licensing fees and a $50 Assurance Fund contribution.[4] Fees are set each licensing year, so check RECA’s fee page for the current figure.
Mandatory re-licensing education changes year to year
RECA says it may require licensees to complete re-licensing education from time to time and that the requirements may change from year to year.[5] For 2025 the Mortgage Broker Industry Council required all mortgage licensees to complete a private-lending re-licensing course administered by the Alberta Mortgage Brokers Association, and RECA states that a required course must be completed before renewing, or before reinstatement if the renewal deadline was missed.[5] RECA’s page presents that 2025 course under “Past Re-Licensing Education”, and it lists no course for a later year.[5] A licensee should confirm the current year’s requirement on RECA’s re-licensing education page before assuming the 2025 course repeats.
What an active RECA licence does and doesn’t tell you
An active status on RECA’s public registry (searchable by name or licence number) confirms the person holds a current licence as of the date checked. It doesn’t tell you which tier’s exact scope applies to your transaction, or anything about that person’s errors-and-omissions coverage; see our companion explainer on E&O insurance requirements by province for Alberta’s minimum, and our guide to checking a Canadian mortgage broker’s licence. For how Alberta compares with Ontario’s licensing, see Ontario’s continuing education requirement.
Correction (9 October 2026): the earlier version of this page said Ontario renews mortgage agent and broker licences on a two-year cycle, unlike Alberta. Ontario Regulation 409/07 sets a one-year licensing cycle (April 1 to March 31), so the comparison was wrong and has been removed. The page also gave a renewal window (opening August 18, 2025), a course length of about 17 hours and a 70% pass mark per test for the 2025 private-lending course; those details are not stated on RECA’s pages and have been removed. The page now describes the 2025 course as RECA does. See the updates log.