What is licensing?

In Canada, individuals who sell financial products, such as: stocks, bonds, mutual funds, options, futures or Life Insurance, OR have specific duties within a financial services company, such as portfolio management or supervisory responsibilities are required to meet educational, ethical and sometimes work experience criteria in order to be licensed. Once the licensing requirements have been met, the application for registration is handled by either your employer or, if you are working independently, by a sponsoring financial services firm. After you are licensed, you may also be required to take further educational courses (continuing education) to maintain your license. Explore our CE courses using our CE Finder Tool.

Use the tabs above to explore general information about each of the licensing bodies or regulators. To find out about specific licensing requirements please check directly with the various regulators.

Who are the licensing bodies and regulators?

*A consolidation of IIROC and the MFDA