First Time Applicants

Follow the steps below if you are applying for either an initial licence to trade in real estate or are returning after terminating their licence for two years or more.

Step 1: Meet the initial eligibility requirements

Eligibility criteria:

• be a minimum of 19 years of age;
• be eligible to work in Canada;
• be a Canadian citizen, have a Permanent Resident Card or a valid work visa; and
• the successful completion of a high school education and proof of such (i.e. graduation certificate, transcript, post-secondary education certificate, diploma or degree) or an equivalency approved by the Registrar. View the Acceptable Equivalents to High School Diploma/GED Policy

If an event in your past could prevent you from becoming licensed (i.e. criminal record, bankruptcy or discipline history with another regulatory body), contact the Commission’s This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. prior to applying for a licence.

View the Criminal Records Policy.

Step 2: Complete the Salesperson Licensing Course and pass the exam

IMPORTANT: A new Salesperson Licensing Course started on August 1, 2024. This new course will better protect the public interest by ensuring higher standards of knowledge and professionalism in the real estate industry.

To become licensed as a salesperson, you must first complete the salesperson licensing course. The course you take will depend on when you enrolled.

The Old Salesperson Licensing Course For Students Who Enrolled Before August 2024

Students who enrolled in the Salesperson Licensing Course before August 1, 2024 will take the old Salesperson Licensing Course. This online course was designed to be the equivalent of a four-week classroom course, but students have six months to complete the course. 

Students enrolled in this version of the course will be unaffected by the introduction of the new course and will still retain access to the old course after August 1. Access will remain available for students up to January 31 (depending on the individuals enrollment date.)

The New Salesperson Licensing Course For Students Enrolling Starting in August 2024

All students who enroll starting August 1 are in the new Salesperson Licensing Course. The new course is longer, will provide enhanced education to better protect the public interest by ensuring higher standards of knowledge and professionalism in the real estate industry. There are two versions of the course available: one is entirely online, and the other combines online learning with an additional in-class component. The in-class portion extends over a period of four months. The course is designed to be the equivalent of a four-month classroom course but students have six months to complete the course.

Enrollment

Students who enroll before August 1, 2024 take the old course.

Students who enroll starting on August 1, 2024 take the new course.

Both versions of the Salesperson Licensing Course are administered by the Nova Scotia Association of REALTORS® (NSAR). To contact the NSAR for questions about the course or to enroll:

Website: www.nsrealtors.ca 
Phone: 902-468-2515
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Accommodations related to disability

Students who require exam accommodations related to disability are responsible for:

• self-identifying their disability to the Commission;
• requesting specific academic accommodations; and
• providing comprehensive disability information, including medical evidence, in writing supporting each academic accommodation request.

The request must be made prior to registering for the exam, be in writing, and addressed to the Registrar. View the policy on Accommodation of Applicants with Physical and Mental Disabilities. 

Exams

Students have one year from the day they finish the licensing course to pass the examination, with a pass mark of 70%. Students have a maximum of two attempts to pass the licensing exam. Students who fail both attempts have one year from their last day of class until they can apply to retake the course.

Those who pass the exam have six months to apply for a licence.

For more information about exams, click HERE.

Step 3: Talk to Brokerages

The Commission recommends interview several brokerages to determine which brokerage is the best fit for you. Your licence application must be signed by the broker or managing associate broker of the brokerage with which you’ll be licensed.

Contact the Commission at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for a discipline history of any broker you are contemplating working for.

Step 4: Obtain a criminal record check

The Commission has an account with MyBackCheck for applicants to obtain criminal record checks online for licensing applications. It is important for applicants to apply for their criminal record check through the Commission’s landing page to obtain a reduced rate of $33 plus tax. The regular rate is $55. Criminal record checks applied for through the Commission’s landing page will automatically appear for review in the Commission’s account.

To start your criminal record check application with MyBackCheck, click here for the Commission's landing page.

The Commission will also accept criminal record checks from the following providers:

• Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP)
• Halifax Regional Police
• Commissionaires
• Municipal/town police

View the Criminal Record Check Providers Policy. 

Step 5: Review and complete the Salesperson/Associate Broker Licence Application. Provide the application, fee and required supporting documents to the Commission

Carefully review and complete the licence application and assemble together the required original documents. Incomplete packages will not be accepted.

As noted in Step 3, your licence application must be signed by the Broker or Managing Associate Broker of the brokerage with which you’ll be licenced.

Application Requirements

• A completed Salesperson/ Associate Broker Licence Application or Broker Licence Application and a Schedule A
• Your birth certificate/ Canadian passport/ permanent resident card/ citizenship card or certificate
• A government issued photo identification (provincial driver’s licence/ provincial photo identification card/ passport)
• A current original criminal record check from a provider listed in Step 4
• The successful completion of a high school education and proof of such (i.e. graduation certificate, transcript, post-secondary education certificate, diploma or degree) or an equivalent approved by the Registrar. 
• All supporting documents must be in English (documents that are not in English must be translated by a certified translator). 
• Payment in cash, cheque, money order, debit, Visa, MasterCard or American Express. Licensing fees are not prorated

In circumstances where an applicant is not able to provide certain required documents for reasons beyond the applicant’s control, see the Accepting Alternative Information to Required Documentation Policy.

Applications can be submitted by mail, fax or email:

Nova Scotia Real Estate Commission
601-1595 Bedford Hwy.
Bedford  NS  B4A 3Y4

Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Fax: 902-468-1016

If you have been denied a licence by the Registrar for unsuitability, you can apply to the Licensing Committee for a review of the Registrar’s decision. There is a $100 fee for this review, which will be refunded to the applicant if the review concludes in the applicant’s favor. View the Communicating Licensure Decisions Policy and Reviews of Licensure Decisions Policy. 

Step 6: Purchase Errors and Omissions insurance and provide proof to the Commission

After you submit your licence application to the Commission you will be issued a restricted licence to obtain Errors and Omissions (E&O) insurance. E&O is mandatory for all licensees in Nova Scotia and is purchased through the Nova Scotia Association of REALTORS®. Contact the NSAR at 902-468-2515 for further information on rates and how to obtain E&O insurance. Once proof of E&O is provided to the Commission (copy of the NSAR receipt), the restriction will be lifted and you may trade in real estate.

DOWNLOADS

Salesperson and Associate Broker Licence Application Form
Schedule A