Licensing From Another Country
If you are already licensed to trade in real estate internationally and want to apply for a licence to trade in real estate in Nova Scotia, follow the steps outlined below.
Step 1: Plan Ahead
To be licenced in Nova Scotia, you must be legally able to work in Canada and have a broker agree to hire you.
Step 2: Challenge Exam
Any person transferring from an international jurisdiction with an occupational standard* must apply, write and pass the Challenge Exam with a grade of 70% or higher. For information about the exam, view our Examination Challenge booklet.
*To be eligible for licensing in Nova Scotia, you must be transferring from a regulated jurisdiction with an occupational standard. This means the jurisdiction has pre-licensing education, an entrance exam, legislation that sets out standards of practice for the profession, mandatory continuing education, and governed by a regulatory body.
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.
Step 3: Obtain Your Licence and Discipline History
Contact your current real estate regulatory body to have them forward your original licensing and discipline history to the Commission. View the Acceptable Licensing Histories Policy.
All licence and discipline history must arrive at the Commission’s office in its original sealed envelope from the originating regulatory body. All applications and its contents are treated strictly confidential.
Step 4: Obtain a Criminal Record Check
An original and current (within 6 months) criminal record check from one of the Commission’s approved providers must accompany your licence application. View the Criminal Records Policy and the Criminal Record Check Providers Policy.
Step 5: Review and Complete the Licensing Forms
All forms submitted must be completed in full with the requested supporting documentation and payment. You must review and complete:
- Schedule A form
- Salesperson and Associate Broker Licensing Application or Broker and Managing Associate Broker Licensing Application
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 in person, 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
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® (NSAR). Contact the NSAR for further information on rates and how to obtain E&O insurance. Once proof of E&O is provided to the Commission by the NSAR, the restriction will be lifted and you may trade in real estate.
Step 7: Complete Required Courses
Once your licence is issued with the Commission, new interprovincial licensees must complete the following home-study courses within six weeks of becoming licensed:
- Mandatory Forms Update
- Moving to Designated Agency or Moving to Common Law Agency*
*Licensees with designated brokerages take the designated agency course and licensees with common law brokerages take the common law course.
