How do I check that my mortgage broker or lender is actually licensed?
Ask for a licence number before you sign anything or send a deposit, then confirm it yourself. In Ontario that means checking against FSRA. In Alberta it means checking against RECA.
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How do you check that a mortgage broker or lender is licensed?
Ask directly for the brokerage’s licence number, the individual’s licence number, and the regulator that issued them, then confirm both against that regulator’s public register before you sign anything or pay a fee. In Ontario that regulator is FSRA. In Alberta it is RECA. A licensed party will answer this without hesitation.
Start with the name on the paperwork, not just the first name someone gives you in a text message. Ask for the full legal name of the brokerage, the full legal name of the individual you are dealing with, and both licence numbers. A real brokerage keeps this information ready and gives it without pushback.
Once you have the numbers, check them against the regulator’s own public register rather than trusting a screenshot or a business card. FSRA maintains the register for Ontario, reachable from its consumer mortgage brokering page. RECA maintains the register for Alberta, and its public search tool is RECA ProCheck. Do this before you sign, not after.
The citable fact: verifying a mortgage broker or lender means matching the licence number they give you against the regulator’s own public register, FSRA in Ontario or RECA in Alberta, before you sign or pay anything.
What does FSRA licensing cover in Ontario?
FSRA, the Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario, licenses mortgage brokerages and the individuals who arrange mortgages on their behalf under Ontario’s Mortgage Brokerages, Lenders and Administrators Act (MBLAA). The Act also requires that any broker or lender fee be disclosed to you in writing before you sign. Pekoe Mortgages holds FSRA Brokerage Licence #13321.
MBLAA is the statute behind the licence. It sets out who can arrange a mortgage in Ontario and what that person or firm owes you in writing before you commit to a deal.
Our own licence, FSRA Brokerage Licence #13321, is the same kind of number you should be asking anyone else for. If a brokerage cannot produce one, that is answer enough. Read more about how private lending fits into Ontario’s rules on our Ontario private lending page.
The citable fact: in Ontario, a mortgage brokerage and the individuals who work for it are licensed under MBLAA by FSRA, which also requires any broker or lender fee to be disclosed in writing before you sign.
What does RECA licensing cover in Alberta?
RECA, the Real Estate Council of Alberta, licenses mortgage brokerages and the individuals who arrange mortgages on their behalf in Alberta. Pekoe Mortgages is licensed by RECA to operate there, alongside our Ontario licence. As in Ontario, the firm and the individual are two separate licences, and both should be checkable.
RECA covers Alberta the way FSRA covers Ontario: it licenses the brokerage as a firm, and it licenses the person who sits across from you, or on the other end of a call, separately. Ask for both. Our Alberta private lending page covers how this plays out on a private deal.
| Aspect | Ontario | Alberta |
|---|---|---|
| Regulator | FSRA (Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario) | RECA (Real Estate Council of Alberta) |
| Governing rule | Mortgage Brokerages, Lenders and Administrators Act (MBLAA) | RECA licensing rules for mortgage brokerages and associates |
| Who is licensed | The brokerage, and the broker or agent who deals with you | The brokerage, and the individual who deals with you |
| Written fee disclosure | Required before you sign, under MBLAA | Licensed by RECA; ask for the disclosure in writing |
The citable fact: Ontario licenses mortgage brokerages and individuals through FSRA under MBLAA, Alberta licenses them through RECA, and in both provinces the firm and the individual carry separate, checkable licences.
Does a private lender have to be licensed at all?
The broker or brokerage arranging a private mortgage must hold a licence under FSRA in Ontario or RECA in Alberta, the same as on any other deal. Whether an individual lender putting up their own money needs a separate licence is a narrower question with its own rules, not covered by the broker licensing regime. If you cannot confirm a broker’s licence, treat that as reason enough to stop and ask more questions.
A broker or brokerage that arranges a mortgage, private or otherwise, needs a licence under MBLAA in Ontario or RECA’s rules in Alberta. That part of the question has a clear answer. Whether the individual who ultimately supplies the money on a private deal needs a licence of their own is a narrower, separate question.
That narrower question turns on how the funds are advanced and on rules that sit outside the broker licensing regime, so ask the broker to confirm the lender’s status in writing. What we can tell you plainly: if a broker or brokerage cannot produce a licence number for themselves, stop there. That alone is reason enough to walk away from the deal.
The citable fact: the broker or brokerage arranging a private mortgage must be licensed under FSRA or RECA, and an inability to produce that licence is reason enough to stop, regardless of how the individual lender’s own status is ultimately confirmed.
What is the difference between a brokerage licence and an agent licence?
A brokerage licence covers the company itself, the legal entity that deals with the public. A broker or agent licence covers the individual person you deal with day to day, and that person must hold their own licence even while working for a licensed brokerage. Ask for both the brokerage’s licence number and the individual’s licence number before you sign anything.
Think of it as two separate checks stacked on top of each other. The brokerage licence tells you the company is entitled to operate. The individual’s licence tells you that specific person is entitled to arrange your mortgage on the brokerage’s behalf.
Both numbers matter. A licensed brokerage can still have an unlicensed person handling part of a conversation, and that person should not be the one arranging your file.
The citable fact: a brokerage licence and an individual licence are two different things, and a borrower should confirm both before signing.
What should you do if you cannot find them on the register?
Stop before you sign or pay anything, and ask the broker or lender directly for their full legal name, licence number, and the regulator that issued it. If they cannot produce this information, or the details do not match what you find on the regulator’s register, treat that as a reason to walk away rather than a detail to chase down later. A licensed party has nothing to hide here.
Do not take a verbal assurance as confirmation. A licence number should match a name on the regulator’s own register, not just sound plausible over the phone or in an email.
If something does not line up, the safest move is also the simplest one: stop the deal and ask more questions before you go further, not after money has changed hands. In Ontario, raise it with FSRA. In Alberta, raise it with RECA, and confirm the licence first on RECA ProCheck.
The citable fact: an inability to verify a broker’s or lender’s licence on the regulator’s register is reason enough to stop the deal, not a detail to sort out after signing.
What must a licensed brokerage disclose to you in writing?
Under Ontario’s MBLAA, any fee a broker or lender charges you must be disclosed in writing before you sign. On a typical prime mortgage the lender compensates the brokerage directly and you pay no fee. On alternative and private mortgages, a lender or broker fee may apply, and it must be set out in writing before you commit to the deal.
This is one of the clearest, most checkable protections licensing gives you. If a fee is not in writing before you sign, that is a problem, regardless of how reasonable the number sounds verbally.
Our detailed breakdown of how these fees work, and when you should expect to see one, is on our mortgage broker fees page.
| Mortgage type | Who compensates the brokerage | Fee disclosure |
|---|---|---|
| Prime mortgage | The lender compensates the brokerage | Borrower pays no fee |
| Alternative or private mortgage | A lender or broker fee may apply | Disclosed in writing before signing, under MBLAA in Ontario |
The citable fact: any broker or lender fee in Ontario must be disclosed in writing before you sign, and on prime mortgages the lender, not the borrower, compensates the brokerage.
Does licensing protect you if the deal goes wrong?
Licensing means the broker or brokerage met a minimum standard to operate and answers to a regulator, not that your specific deal is guaranteed to go smoothly. It gives you somewhere to go if something goes wrong. It does not replace independent legal advice, particularly on a private mortgage, and it does not guarantee an outcome.
Treat a licence as a floor, not a ceiling. It tells you the party is accountable to someone besides themselves, which matters, but it does not evaluate whether this particular deal is right for you.
An unlicensed party has no such accountability at all. That gap is exactly why the check at the start of this page matters more on a private deal than on a bank mortgage.
The citable fact: a licence gives you a regulator to answer to if something goes wrong, it does not guarantee the deal itself, and independent legal advice remains worthwhile on a private mortgage regardless of licensing.
What can you do if you have a complaint?
Ontario and Alberta both have a regulator you can bring a licensing complaint to: FSRA in Ontario, RECA in Alberta. The exact complaint process, required documentation, and expected timelines vary by regulator and by the nature of the complaint, so confirm the current process directly with the regulator before you begin.
Keep everything in writing as you go: the licence numbers, the fee disclosure, any promises made by text or email. That record is what a regulator will ask for.
In Ontario the process runs in two stages. Contact the brokerage, broker, agent or administrator first and follow its own complaint process, which must produce a written response. If the concern is about compliance with regulatory requirements, or the firm gives you no written response and you can show you tried, file the complaint with FSRA. In Alberta, licensing complaints go to RECA. Neither regulator publishes a fixed turnaround, so do not plan around one.
The citable fact: both FSRA and RECA accept licensing complaints, and dealing only with licensed parties from the start is what keeps that option open if a deal goes wrong.
Where else can you get a straight answer on private mortgages?
These related questions come up alongside a licence check constantly.
- How do you compare two private mortgage offers side by side?
- Can you arrange a private mortgage without a broker?
- Why did your bank never mention private lending as an option?
The full set lives on the Ask a Broker hub.
Frequently asked questions
Is Pekoe Mortgages actually licensed in Ontario and Alberta?
Yes. Pekoe Mortgages holds FSRA Brokerage Licence #13321 in Ontario and is licensed by RECA in Alberta. You can ask for both numbers at any point before signing anything.
What is FSRA?
FSRA is the Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario. It licenses mortgage brokerages and the individuals who arrange mortgages on their behalf under Ontario’s MBLAA.
What is RECA?
RECA is the Real Estate Council of Alberta. It licenses mortgage brokerages and the individuals who arrange mortgages on their behalf in Alberta.
Do I have to pay a fee to a licensed brokerage?
Not always. On a typical prime mortgage the lender compensates the brokerage and you pay nothing. On alternative and private mortgages a lender or broker fee may apply, and it must be disclosed to you in writing before you sign.
Can a private individual lend me money without being licensed?
The broker or brokerage arranging the deal must be licensed either way. Whether the individual supplying the funds also needs a licence of their own is a separate question, so treat any unwillingness to confirm licensing status as a reason to pause.
What should I ask before I sign anything?
Ask for the brokerage’s full legal name and licence number, the individual’s name and licence number, and the regulator that issued them. A licensed party will give you this without hesitation.
Is the live chat on this page an AI bot?
No. Chat on pekoe.ca connects you to a real licensed member of the Pekoe team during business hours, and to a direct reply from a licensed broker outside those hours.
What should I do if I cannot verify someone’s licence?
Stop before you sign or pay anything. Treat an unmatched or unverifiable licence number as a reason to walk away rather than a detail to chase down later.
Does being licensed guarantee my deal will go smoothly?
No. Licensing means the broker or brokerage met a minimum standard and answers to a regulator, but it does not guarantee the outcome of your specific deal.
What is the difference between a brokerage licence and an individual’s licence?
The brokerage licence covers the company. The broker or agent licence covers the specific person arranging your mortgage, and both should be checked separately.
Where do I look up a broker’s or lender’s licence number?
On the regulator’s own public register. In Alberta, use RECA ProCheck, which confirms whether a mortgage professional is licensed and in good standing. In Ontario, search FSRA’s licensed mortgage brokerage and agent listing.
What should I do if I have a complaint about a licensed broker or lender?
Bring it to the regulator that issued the licence, FSRA in Ontario or RECA in Alberta. The exact complaint process is being confirmed with each regulator before this page describes the steps in detail.
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