How to Become a Paramedic in Nova Scotia
Become a paramedic in Nova Scotia: the Nova Scotia Regulator of Paramedicine licence categories, the Medavie HealthEd PCP program, the COPR exam, and the $175 application and $575 licensure fees.
How to Become a Mortgage Broker in Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia mortgage broker licensing: associate first with the Registrar of Mortgage Regulation, then broker after 12 of 24 months, with $300 fees.
Applies in: Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia licenses mortgage brokers and associate mortgage brokers as individuals, and the ladder runs in one direction: associate first, broker second. Licensing runs under the Mortgage Regulation Act, and the Registrar of Mortgage Regulation issues the licences. The Act covers five licence classes: mortgage lender, mortgage brokerage, mortgage broker, associate mortgage broker, and mortgage administrator. This guide covers the individual path from associate mortgage broker to mortgage broker. A mortgage brokerage and a mortgage administrator are separate licences, and this guide does not cover them.
Step 1: Meet the associate requirements
To become licensed as an associate mortgage broker, you must be at least 19 years old, be a resident of Canada, and be authorized to broker mortgages on behalf of the licensed brokerage that will be named on your licence, with the brokerage's confirmation accompanying the application. You must provide the results of a criminal record check that comes directly from the RCMP, municipal police, or military police and was issued within three months of the date of application. You must also confirm that you have read and understand the Act and regulations and agree to be bound by them, and pay a fee of $300.
An associate mortgage broker acts as a mortgage broker on behalf of a mortgage brokerage and under the supervision of a designated mortgage broker. An associate may only be authorized to broker mortgages on behalf of one brokerage.
Step 2: Complete the associate course
The education for the associate licence is the Nova Scotia Associate Mortgage Broker Course, provided by Mortgage Professionals Canada. You must have successfully completed it within the two years preceding your application and provide proof satisfactory to the Registrar. The courses are offered online, and the Registrar's checklist directs applicants to the provider's website for course details and fees. The Registrar's checklists state the fee for the licence itself, but the course tuition is set by the provider and is not stated on the Registrar's pages, so confirm it with Mortgage Professionals Canada before enrolling.
Step 3: Apply to the Registrar
Apply for the associate licence to the Registrar of Mortgage Regulation, in the form the Registrar provides. The application must be accompanied by the criminal record check, proof of the completed associate course, the brokerage's authorization, your confirmation that you have read and understand the Act and regulations, and the $300 fee. The Registrar issues the licence if satisfied that you meet the requirements of the Act and the regulations. A broker, including the principal broker, may only be authorized to broker mortgages on behalf of one brokerage and may supervise associate mortgage brokers.
Step 4: Work 12 of 24 months as an associate
To qualify for a mortgage broker licence, you must have held an associate mortgage broker licence for at least 12 of the 24 months immediately preceding the broker application, unless you are exempt or hold a licence from a recognized province. Use those months to learn the supervision and compliance work a broker carries: the principal broker is the brokerage's main contact with the Registrar, and information from the Registrar is typically communicated through the principal broker. The Registrar's Regulatory Information Program sets out the principal broker's obligations in detail, and working under a designated broker is how you see them in practice.
Step 5: Complete the broker education and the Regulatory Information Program
Before applying as a broker, complete the Nova Scotia Mortgage Broker Education Program and the Regulatory Information Program, both within the two years preceding your application. You must have successfully completed both the associate course and the broker education program, provided by Mortgage Professionals Canada. The Regulatory Information Program is the Registrar's own program on the Mortgage Regulation Act: it is a licensing requirement for an initial mortgage broker licence, and it forms part of the continuing education requirements for mortgage brokers at every second licence renewal. The current version is version 2.0, dated July 2026.
Step 6: Apply again as a broker
The broker application runs through the same route: apply to the Registrar with a criminal record check issued within three months of the application, proof of the education completed within the two years before applying, proof of the Regulatory Information Program, proof of 12 of 24 months as an associate, the brokerage's authorization, your confirmation that you have read and understand the Act and regulations, and a $300 fee. A broker licence authorizes you to broker mortgages on behalf of the brokerage named on the licence, and only on behalf of that one brokerage. If you hold an equivalent mortgage broker licence from British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, or New Brunswick, you may be granted a licence without completing an education program or holding associate experience, but you must still attend a regulatory information session about the Act and regulations conducted by or on behalf of the Registrar. A person who brokered mortgages for at least 24 of the 36 months before applying while exempt from licensing, such as a bank employee, may also be treated as having met the associate experience requirement, on an undertaking to complete the education program before the licence expires.
Figures the opened Registrar pages do not state
The Registrar's checklists state the $300 fees, the age and residency rules, the three-month criminal record check rule, the two-year education windows, the 12-of-24-months experience rule, and the equivalence exemptions set out above. They do not state a processing time for licence applications, the course tuition or length, the number of examination attempts, or the licence renewal date. Those figures were cut from this guide rather than filled in from a secondary source. Note also that the licensing regulations are amended by N.S. Reg. 202/2026, effective December 1, 2026, so confirm the current requirements with the Registrar before applying.
Related guides:
- How to become a mortgage broker in New Brunswick: New Brunswick's associate-to-broker ladder under the Financial and Consumer Services Commission, whose Mortgage Broker licence is listed as equivalent to Nova Scotia's.
- How to become a mortgage broker in Saskatchewan: Saskatchewan's associate-to-broker ladder under the Financial and Consumer Affairs Authority, also with a 24-months-in-36 experience rule at the broker step.
- How to become a mortgage broker in Manitoba: Manitoba's salesperson-to-authorized-official ladder under the Manitoba Securities Commission, whose Authorized Official is listed as equivalent to Nova Scotia's broker licence.
- How to become a mortgage agent in Ontario: Ontario's entry-level mortgage agent licence under the Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario.
- How to become a mortgage broker in New Brunswick: New Brunswick's associate-to-broker ladder under the Financial and Consumer Services Commission.
The Nova Scotia mortgage broker path
- Start as an associate mortgage brokerAt least 19, a resident of Canada, authorized by one licensed brokerage, with a criminal record check issued within three months
- Complete the associate courseThe Nova Scotia Associate Mortgage Broker Course from Mortgage Professionals Canada, within two years before applying
- Apply to the RegistrarConfirm you have read and understand the Act and regulations, and pay the $300 fee
- Work 12 of 24 months as an associateHold an associate mortgage broker licence for at least 12 of the 24 months before the broker application
- Complete the broker education and the Regulatory Information ProgramThe Nova Scotia Mortgage Broker Education Program and the Registrar's Regulatory Information Program, both within two years before applying
- Apply again as a brokerA new application to the Registrar with a fresh criminal record check, brokerage authorization, and a $300 fee
Questions people ask
Who regulates mortgage brokers in Nova Scotia?
The Registrar of Mortgage Regulation, appointed under the Mortgage Regulation Act. The Registrar licenses mortgage lenders, brokerages, brokers, associate mortgage brokers, and administrators. It is not the Nova Scotia Securities Commission: mortgage licensing sits with the Registrar, and applications go to the Registrar in the form the Registrar provides.
Do I apply as a mortgage broker straight away in Nova Scotia?
No. You start as an associate mortgage broker, complete the Nova Scotia Associate Mortgage Broker Course, and work under the supervision of a designated mortgage broker. The broker licence follows after the broker education program, the Regulatory Information Program, and at least 12 months as a licensed associate in the 24 months before the broker application.
What does it cost to get licensed in Nova Scotia?
The fee is $300 for the associate mortgage broker licence and $300 for the mortgage broker licence, as stated on the Registrar's licensing checklists. The course fees are set by Mortgage Professionals Canada, and the Registrar's checklists direct applicants to the provider's website for those amounts.
What education do I need for the broker licence?
You must have completed both the Nova Scotia Associate Mortgage Broker Course and the Nova Scotia Mortgage Broker Education Program, provided by Mortgage Professionals Canada, and the Regulatory Information Program, all within the two years before applying. The Regulatory Information Program is the Registrar's own program on the Mortgage Regulation Act, and it also forms part of continuing education at every second licence renewal.
Can I skip the education or experience if I am already licensed elsewhere?
If you hold an equivalent mortgage broker licence from British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, or New Brunswick, you may be granted a Nova Scotia broker licence without completing an education program or holding associate experience here. You must still attend a regulatory information session about the Act and regulations conducted by or on behalf of the Registrar.
How fresh must the criminal record check be?
The criminal record check must come directly from the RCMP, municipal police, or military police, and must be issued within three months of the date of the initial licence application. Renewal applications may only need confirmation that there has been no change in criminal record check status.
Sources
- Province of Nova Scotia, Mortgage Regulation Act Licensing Requirements and Roles: Mortgage Broker and Associate Mortgage Broker — the associate and broker checklists, the $300 fees, the three-month criminal record check rule, the two-year education windows, the 12-of-24-months experience rule, the one-brokerage rule, and the equivalence exemptions.
- Province of Nova Scotia, Regulatory Information Program — the Regulatory Information Program as a licensing requirement for an initial mortgage broker licence and part of continuing education at every second renewal, and the principal broker's role.
- Nova Scotia Legislature, Mortgage Regulation Act — the five licence classes, the Registrar of Mortgage Regulation, and the application and renewal provisions.
- Province of Nova Scotia, Mortgage Lender, Brokerage, Broker and Administrator Licensing Regulations — the licensing regulations under the Act, including the amendment effective December 1, 2026.