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Course Overview

The Broker's Business Planning and Financial Management Licensing Course is accredited by the BC Financial Services Authority (BCFSA) and received the Education Award of Excellence from the Association of Real Estate License Law Officials (ARELLO®), an international organization of regulatory agencies. The course is designed to provide the licensing education requirements for those who wish to become licensed as an associate broker or managing broker under the Real Estate Services Act as a trading services representative in British Columbia.

This blended learning course allows you to register at any time. The course is flexible but structured, in order to meet the needs of busy adult learners. Assignments must be completed within one year of registration in the course (with a maximum submission of two per week) and students must pass a final examination. Exams are scheduled four times a year at various locations throughout BC (exams must be written in Canada). Alternatively, students may choose to take the exam at the Computerized Exam Centre (CEC) at the UBC Vancouver campus.

Roadmap to Become Licensed

Broker's Licensing Student Journey Map

Age and Good Reputation Requirements

To register in the Broker's Business Planning and Financial Management Licensing Course, course candidates must have completed not less than six months' licensed service in British Columbia at the time of registration, or two years' licensed experience in the past five years as a broker or associate broker outside of British Columbia. (Note: In order to obtain the broker licence, licence applicants must ensure they satisfy section 11 of the Real Estate Services Rules, which requires two-years experience.)

As well, in order to be eligible for real estate licensing in the province of British Columbia, section 10(b)(i) of the Real Estate Services Act requires that an applicant for licensing is at least 19 years of age.

The Real Estate Services Act also requires that every applicant for a licence be of “good reputation”. General business and personal reputation, in addition to criminal convictions and charges under the Criminal Code of Canada, contraventions to Federal or Provincial statutes, or previous discipline by a professional body will be reviewed when considering an applicant’s “good reputation”. If you have concerns about your eligibility for licensing as it relates to good reputation, you may want to review BCFSA’s Good Reputation Guidelines before registering in a licensing course.

Individuals may be licensed at the broker level for a single service licence category or a combination of service categories (e.g., trading and/or rental and/or strata management services). When upgrading to the broker level, an individual will continue to be licensed in the same categories that they were licensed for as a representative. Should an individual wish to add service categories to their licence, the appropriate Supplemental Course(s) must be completed.

Students are strongly advised to contact the BC Financial Services Authority at +1 604.660.3555 or toll-free at 1.866.206.3030 prior to registration to confirm their licensing status.

Course Assignments

Students are required to submit multiple choice and written assignments in order to be eligible to register for the final exam. The assignments ensure that students are reviewing the course materials and provide feedback on their level of understanding.

A maximum of two multiple-choice assignments may be submitted in a given week, regardless of how many assignments have been submitted in prior weeks. Not submitting assignments on any given week will not change the two-assignment limit in subsequent weeks. The day on which each new week begins is based on when your registration was processed ( i.e., when your Course Welcome Letter was received). For example, if you received the Welcome Letter (with login info) on a Wednesday, your week runs from Wednesday to the following Tuesday. Please note that written assignments are not restricted to limitation.

Limiting the frequency of assignments to two assignments per week is a Real Estate Division Licensing Course regulation which is in place for the best interests of both students and the public. This regulation was implemented after consultation with the BC Financial Services Authority and is intended to provide for a minimum level of familiarity with the course materials, and also for a reasonable expectation of success on the course examination. Please see Course Regulation 2.02 (4) and (5) for more information.

There are no exemptions from Course Regulation 2.02 (4). As educators our hope is that most students will wish to engage with the materials to a much greater extent than merely the minimum, given the importance of a good education for a career in real estate services.

Calculator or Calculator App

Students writing the exam in the Lower Mainland, or at any of the select centres should download the 10bii calculator app from In a Day Development to use during the course. Such students DO NOT need to purchase a calculator and may request use of a tablet with the 10bii app for their examination.

Students writing the exam at any other location will need a physical calculator. We recommend the Hewlett Packard 10Bii+ calculator. There are many new and used calculators for sale and we encourage you to explore all options. If necessary, you can purchase the calculator from the RED Bookstore for $112 ($100 plus $12 tax). No refunds are available after purchase.

Examinations

The Broker's Business Planning and Financial Management Licensing Examination is three hours in length and contain both multiple choice and written questions that are generally short-answer or "essay-style". Note that an "essay-style" question does not require you to write an essay! In general, a short paragraph will suffice. In most questions, point form answers are perfectly acceptable.

The passing grade is 70%. A passing grade sets the minimum level of performance needed to practice in a profession, as determined by the regulatory body. The passing grade needed must be high enough to protect the public but not so high as to unreasonably limit the number of those who wish to practice.

The pass rate for each sitting of the exam varies, however, the majority of students who write the exam will pass. Tutorial companies often fabricate statistics regarding extremely low passing rates, in an attempt to gain your business. The UBC Real Estate Division and the BC Financial Services Authority do not try to limit the number of students who pass the exam; their primary focus lies in ensuring that successful candidates possess the requisite knowledge to competently offer real estate services, safeguarding the public interest and preventing any harm to the community.

External Tutors/Lectures

You are encouraged to take advantage of the tutorial assistance and other study tools provided with your course rather than spending additional money on external services to help you pass the exam.

It is important to note that the Real Estate Division has no ties with tutorial classes provided by other members or organizations and does not monitor the services they provide. External tutorial companies regularly make false claims, such as "we'll guarantee that you will pass the exam". Remember, there are no guarantees, however the Real Estate Division works with all students to provide every opportunity for success.

At UBC Sauder School of Business and the Real Estate Division, we are committed to taking meaningful steps to achieve carbon neutrality and reduce emissions. By using the eBook or PDF version of the course manual that are included with your registration, you will help us with our initiative and save approximately 600 printed pages. Together, our shift to digital resources will reduce over 530 metric tonnes of CO₂e annually and help fund a $20,000 scholarship for a student in the UBC Sauder MBA Climate Career Track to empower the next generation of climate-conscious leaders.

Program Benefits

The following student support services are included in the course tuition fee:

  • Course manual eBook and all of the appropriate course materials in electronic format (e.g. Assignments and Practice Questions)
  • Tutorial assistance through a toll-free number and email.
  • Pre-recorded video and audio recordings designed to assist you in learning the concepts covered in the course manual eBook at any time.
  • Online course resources, containing course updates, study materials, schedules, and tutorial information.

For detailed course content and administration information, please view the Table of Contents and Course Regulations.

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Program Resources

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Challenges, Exemptions, and Inter-Provincial

In certain cases, course exemptions are available based on previous related experience or education. Details about course exemptions are set out in the Educational & Licensing Guidelines provided by the BC Financial Services Authority. Effective April 1, 2025, purchase of a Challenge Package will be mandatory in order to register for an examination.

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Accessibility

UBC Centre for Accessibility works in partnership with the Real Estate Division and provides support on issues of accessibility for people with disabilities. 

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Course Fee $1,450

Visa, Mastercard, AMEX, certified cheque, and money order accepted

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