Before we get into the explanation of an inactive agent and an active agent, we’ll start with a brief overview of how the real estate brokerage system in Ontario works. We will refrain from going into too much detail and therefore the following will be a very simplified version.

In Ontario we have a brokerage board of directors called RECO or Real Estate Council of Ontario. A brokerage registers with RECO, pays their fees and dues, which include errors and omissions insurance, and is then ready to market real estate in the province of Ontario only. Owner/Broker may work alone as a single entity or invite licensed real estate sellers and Brokers to join their Brokerage Firm and market real estate on behalf of the Brokerage.

A real estate broker in Ontario can apply to become a member of their local real estate board. If accepted, the Brokerage will pay board fees and dues which may include fees and dues applicable to the Ontario Real Estate Association and the Canadian Real Estate Association. If this option is taken by the Brokerage, then all real estate agents registered with this Brokerage must also become members and pay their applicable fees owed to said board and associations. In very rare cases, the Brokerage will cover these fees and those due for selected agents. The difference between being a board member or not is that board members will have the privilege of all the services available to them from the board and associations, including the multiple listing service which has proven to be invaluable to the professional and the full time real estate worker

So what is an inactive real estate agent? Simply put, an inactive agent in Ontario is one who is licensed under RECO and has for whatever reason decided that they will not deal in real estate and has not done so for a specified period of time. There are still many agents in Ontario who remain with their current Brokerage and if that Brokerage is a board member, even though an agent is inactive, they may still be paying fees and dues. Fees and due may also include your monthly brokerage fees, desk fees, franchise fees, and other expenses. Since this is obviously a huge waste of money, these idle agents will look for other brokers that will allow them to park their license without the wasted expenses.

These are some of the terms used to refer to a brokerage agency that will accept inactive real estate agents in Ontario. “Park Your License”, “Store My License”, “Hang My License”, “Keep Your License”, “Real Estate Licensing Company or Brokerage” just to name a few.

A real estate agent who decides to park their license will still have to pay some fees, but the difference will save them hundreds if not thousands of dollars a year. Some of the fees will be for RECO, such as license registration fees that are due every 2 years, and errors and omissions insurance will still apply. In Ontario, they must also earn 24 credits toward their continuing education requirements, and these credits expire at the time of renewal.

What about the Real Estate Brokerage that provides license holding services? Here the agent must do their due diligence. Look for a trusted and proven brokerage office that is not a member of any real estate board. Ask for the highest commission split available to you if you are selling a property or 2 or referring sales to other brokers or agents you may know. Even though your license is in Park and you are inactive, your license in good standing is still active. Make sure you’re not paying ridiculous desktop fees, extra monthly fees, franchise fees, etc. Having said that, there will most likely be a small membership fee applicable for their services. Shop around for the best deal, but remember to keep the experienced brokerage that parks or holds licenses top of mind.

Inactive then, refers to the actual agent who is not active in the daily trading of real estate. As long as the license is registered with the Ontario Real Estate Board and is in good standing, your real estate license is “active.” If you decide, as an agent, to go inactive, you now have a wonderful and money saving option to transfer and join an Ontario brokerage with which you can park your license. This brokerage will hold your license and this will allow you the opportunity to keep your license active so it doesn’t fall by the wayside and expire or be terminated.

I shudder to think if I were to go over the process and expenses of getting my realtor license all over again… yuck! If you now have this valuable asset and are considering going inactive for whatever reason, please think carefully about keeping your license active because you never know how valuable this asset will be to you in the future. Hang it, park it, store it, hold it, keep it active! Good luck.