How to Get a RIBO Licence in Ontario 2026: Steps and Rules

How do you get a RIBO licence?

Pass the required exam: Level 1 if you’re new to insurance, or an equivalency exam if you qualify. From January 1, 2027, RIBO exams are in person only.
Get a job with a RIBO-registered brokerage.
Meet RIBO’s eligibility and suitability rules, including a criminal background check.
Apply for your Level 1 licence through RIBO’s application form.
Pay the licence fee.
Renew every year.

RIBO: Level 1 Licensing ↗RIBO: Registration Checklist ↗RIBO exam booking →What a RIBO licence costs →RIBO licence renewal →

RIBO licence requirements in Ontario

Section 5 of Ontario Regulation 991 sets the test. You qualify if you:

have reached the age of majority (RIBO’s FAQ puts it at 18)
are of good character, with reasonable grounds to believe you’ll do business lawfully and honestly
have no conviction that makes you unfit to act as a broker
haven’t had an Insurance Act licence refused, suspended or revoked for a reason that makes you unfit
meet the education and experience rules of RIBO’s Qualification and Registration Committee
have followed the regulation

A past conviction or charge doesn’t automatically rule you out. Email RIBO’s licensing team with the details and documents to check. RIBO says it doesn’t need to hear about parking tickets.

If RIBO proposes to refuse you, the committee reviews it and you get written notice. You then have 15 days to ask for a hearing.

RIBO: Individual Licences ↗Ontario: Regulation 991 ↗

Can you hold another licence or job?

Being a broker has to be your only business or employment, unless RIBO agrees otherwise. You can be a broker and a life insurance agent at once. For anything else, including part-time work and volunteering, apply for a Secondary Business Exemption with your Principal Broker’s support.

Some licences have to go first. RIBO names real estate and mortgage broker licences, adjuster licences and the Other Than Life (OTL) agent licence as conflicts, and you’d surrender them before applying.

RIBO: Guidance 005, sole occupation requirement ↗

What to have ready when you apply

Copy of your government-issued ID
Criminal record check dated within 60 days, from your local police or Sterling Backcheck, listing all your names, past and present; RIBO doesn’t accept other third-party checks
Employee Confirmation Letter signed by your Principal Broker or Deputy Principal Broker, dated within 10 days of applying and showing your legal name
Your official exam result; RIBO automatically rejects applications with Insurance Institute results less than two weeks old
Licences from other jurisdictions, if you hold any
Secondary Business Exemption form, if you have other work
Bankruptcy or court documents, if they apply to you

RIBO doesn’t receive your application until both the form and the credit card payment are in. If you live in the United States, RIBO asks for an FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation) criminal record check.

How long does it take to get a RIBO licence?

RIBO doesn’t give a total. You can count on 14 days for official exam results, and your exam can’t support an application before then. Finding a job depends on you, and there’s a limit: you have a year after passing, and the FAQ from the Insurance Brokers Association of Ontario (IBAO) says missing that means a rewrite. RIBO doesn’t post brokerage jobs. IBAO suggests industry networking events and following Ontario brokerages and recruiters on LinkedIn.

RIBO’s application form gives two figures. Its opening page says that, with seasonal volumes, processing may take 5 to 10 business days, in the order applications are received, and longer if your employment confirmation was signed more than 10 days earlier. A later page says applications are typically processed within 20 business days once all requirements are in, so leave room for the longer one.

People licensed in other provinces get a separate timeline: a check for missing material within 10 business days and a decision within 30 calendar days of receiving the application. Missing documents cause delays, RIBO warns.

RIBO: Licence Application Form ↗How long a pass lasts →IBAO: Level 1 Exam FAQs ↗

The Registered Insurance Brokers Act

The rule comes from section 2 of the Registered Insurance Brokers Act: no person may act as an insurance broker in Ontario unless registered under it. Section 3 protects the title “registered insurance broker”, and section 34 makes breaking the Act an offence: on conviction, a fine of $100,000, up to six months in prison, or both, and up to $200,000 for a corporation.

There are exceptions. An agent or adjuster licensed under the Insurance Act can work within that licence, and a brokerage employee doing only clerical or administrative work doesn’t need to register. RIBO itself dates from 1981. It’s accountable to Ontario’s Minister of Finance, and its by-laws and code of conduct sit under the Act. RIBO doesn’t license agents; the Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario (FSRA) does.

Ontario: Registered Insurance Brokers Act ↗RIBO: Legislation and Regulations ↗RIBO: Oversight and Accountability ↗Check a broker’s RIBO licence →RIBO licence levels →

Sources: RIBO · IBAO and 10 more. Checked November 2026.