Become a real estate agent in New Brunswick: the NBREA introduction course, the salesperson pre-licensing course and practicum, the exam, and the FCNB licence.
Applies in: New Brunswick
To become a real estate agent in New Brunswick you complete the New Brunswick Real Estate Association's pre-licensing education, pass its exam, join a licensed brokerage, and apply for your licence through the Financial and Consumer Services Commission (FCNB). The profession is co-regulated: the New Brunswick Real Estate Association (NBREA) runs the education, and the FCNB issues the licence.
Note the naming: in New Brunswick the entry-level licence is a salesperson's licence, and the person who runs a firm holds an agent's licence. The public calls both "real estate agents," and this guide follows the NBREA's own wording — the steps below make you a licensed salesperson trading in real estate.
Start with the Introduction to a Career in Real Estate course, offered in partnership with the NBREA and the New Brunswick Community College in Saint John (NBCC-SJ). It is an online course available in English and French, and it costs $200 plus HST. It is a prerequisite for the salesperson pre-licensing course, and its purpose is to give you the information you need to make an informed decision about the career before you commit to the full course.
Register for the Salesperson Pre-Licensing Education course. It is self-directed study of materials with a mandatory practicum, and it costs $3,000 plus HST, with the practicum included in the price. The practicum is offered monthly in person in Fredericton, and attendance at the practicum must be completed before you write the examination. You have one year from the date of registration to complete the course, attend the practicum, and write the examination.
Register to write the pre-licensing exam once the practicum is done. Registration includes two attempts to pass, and the pass mark is 75 percent. If you fail on your first attempt and you are at the one-year mark, you are given a 30-day extension. Before rewriting the exam a third time you must re-register for the course at half price — $1,500 plus HST. If you are unsuccessful after four attempts, you must wait one year before registering for the course again at full price.
To receive your licence after passing the exam, you must be registered with a licensed real estate company. Choose the brokerage you will work for, then obtain your NBREA membership by completing the new member form and paying your membership dues. Once the NBREA has your form and dues, it makes a recommendation to the Financial and Consumer Services Commission for your licence.
Complete your licence application with the Commission through the FCNB Portal. The application needs a criminal record check for review, and you pay the $75 application fee. The Commission is the body that issues the licence; the NBREA's recommendation is part of the process, not the licence itself. If you have questions about licensing, the Commission can be reached by email at consumer.licensing@fcnb.ca or by phone at 1-866-933-2222.
The licence fee for a salesperson's licence is $75, for the first licence or a renewal, and it is non-refundable whether the licence is issued or denied. The Commission's normal turnaround is 10 business days. If you need it faster, expedited service takes 2 business days and the fee is doubled, so $150. If you file a renewal application after your licence has expired, you pay the renewal fee plus a late fee of 50 percent of the fee, so $112.50 in total. These fees are set by the Commission's fee rule CA-RE-001, in force since September 1, 2022.
The FCNB licence fee is in the section above, from the Commission's fee rule CA-RE-001; check the Commission's current fee schedule before you apply, because fees change. Two third-party pages list older figures for the NBREA courses — $175 plus HST for the introduction course and $2,650 plus HST for the pre-licensing course — but the NBREA's own steps page, which is the authority, lists $200 plus HST and $3,000 plus HST, and this guide uses the NBREA's figures. The pages do not publish a processing timeline for the licence application, so this guide gives none. This guide gives no advice on whether you qualify — that is the NBREA's and the Commission's decision when they assess your application. Job Bank's NOC 63101 page confirms a provincial licence is required in New Brunswick, but it does not set New Brunswick's rules — the NBREA and the FCNB do.
Two bodies share the job. The New Brunswick Real Estate Association, or NBREA, sets the education requirements and runs the pre-licensing courses, and the Financial and Consumer Services Commission, or FCNB, issues the licence. All real estate agents and salespeople operating in New Brunswick must be licensed with the Commission and be members of the NBREA. The Real Estate Agents Act governs licensing, and the Association's own Incorporation Act governs the Association.
The Introduction to a Career in Real Estate course. It is an online prerequisite course offered in partnership with the NBREA and the New Brunswick Community College in Saint John, available in English and French, and it costs 200 dollars plus HST. It gives you the information you need to decide whether to pursue the career before you pay for the full pre-licensing course.
The Salesperson Pre-Licensing Education course costs 3,000 dollars plus HST, and the mandatory practicum is included in that price. The course is self-directed study of materials with a mandatory practicum, offered monthly in person in Fredericton, and you must attend the practicum before writing the examination. You have one year from the date of registration to complete the course, attend the practicum, and write the examination.
The pass mark is 75 percent. Registration includes two attempts to pass the examination. If you fail on the first attempt and you are at the one-year mark, you are given a 30-day extension. Before rewriting the exam a third time you must re-register for the course at half price, 1,500 dollars plus HST. If you are unsuccessful after four attempts, you must wait one year before registering for the course again at full price.
Yes. To receive your licence after passing the exam you must be registered with a licensed real estate company. Once you have chosen a company, you obtain NBREA membership, and the NBREA makes a recommendation to the Financial and Consumer Services Commission for your licence. You then complete your licence application with the Commission through the FCNB Portal, including a criminal record check.
Yes. Job Bank lists real estate agents and salespersons under NOC 63101 and states that a provincial licence is required in the province of employment, along with completion of secondary school and a real estate training course. In New Brunswick the licence comes from the FCNB, and NBREA membership is also required before the Commission will license you.