HERE ARE THE STEPS TO BECOMING A LICENSED REALTOR IN THE PROVINCE OF BRITISH COLUMBIA
- Gather enough information in order for you to make an informed decision. Being successful in Real Estate is usually a result of 2 things: the right personality and the right training. If you talk to a REALTOR® who did not have both of these things you will not get the full picture of the Real Estate business. The information here is a straightforward truth about the process and what you can expect if you were to take the big step.
- Register for the licensing course. This will cost you $1450+ tax. Pay by credit card or write us a cheque and we will send it in for you. The course is written and handled through the University of British Columbia Sauder School of Business. It is called the Real Estate Trading Services Course. You can register yourself online or you can do it through us. The website is found here: (Course info and Registration)
- Course Completion. The average time to complete the course is 8-12 months if you do it on your own and 4-6 months if you are in our training program. (OUR TRAING IS FREE). We offer an easy to understand online classroom course where you meet with the trainer once per week. Our trainer has been teaching people to pass the course for approximately 15 years. We’ve summarized the textbook and focus on the questions that will be on your exam.
- Online Assignments. There are 20 assignments that have to be handed in online prior to writing your exam. UBC will only allow you to hand in two assignments per week. Consequently, the fastest you can complete the course is ten weeks (20 assignments divided by 2 per week = 10 weeks)
- Canadian English Language Proficiency Index Program (CELPIP) exam. You will not be able to write the licensing exam if you have not satisfied this requirement, two months PRIOR to writing the exam. Our trainer will walk you through the process. It is fairly simple if you have a strong command of the English language. It is designed to make sure you can read and decipher fairly complicated Real Estate contracts in English. There are 2 exemptions but they are very specific: If you have graduated with a bachelor’s degree (or higher) from a recognized university or college program at an accredited Canadian university, college or technical institute at which English is the primary language of instruction, or you are licensed in another jurisdiction in Canada and have satisfied that jurisdiction’s language requirements then you would be eligible for an exemption from writing the CELPIP exam.
- Write the exam. It is 100 multiple choice questions that must be completed within 3 hours with a passing mark of 70% or higher. You can write in Kelowna or Vancouver. Kelowna is free but has a 2 to 6-week waiting period for results. Vancouver costs $200 but has next day results. We strongly recommend this latter option.
- Applied Practice Course. After you have passed the licensing exam you must register for the Applied Practice Course. This course is more interesting and more relevant than the licensing course and is taught by veteran REALTORS and Brokers. There are 3 parts to this course. First you spend 2 weeks in group on-line classes, you are required to participate, comment and ask questions. Interaction is mandatory in order to pass this course. This will allow you to get your temporary license. Next there is 4 months of “In the field Training”. You are now selling with your temporary license. Lastly, you have 1 more day of classroom work at the end of that 4 months.
- Complete the Application and Criminal record check. One of our brokers will need to sign your application. Get your criminal record check done. Send both to the BC Financial Services Authority. The trainer will help you do this
- Become a member of the local Real Estate Board. CREA (Canadian Real Estate Association) and BCREA (The BC Real Estate Association). These start up fees are approximately $2,000. (These fees vary based on the individual boards) These organizations charge you monthly fees thereafter.
