Deemed Certification Under the Motor Vehicle Dealers Act, 2002 and the Ontario Labour Mobility Act, 2009
In accordance with section 10.1 of the Ontario Labour Mobility Act, 2009 (the OLMA) and Ontario Regulation 199/25, as of January 1, 2026, an individual who has been certified (or is licenced or registered) to act as a salesperson trading in motor vehicles by a regulatory authority in any province or territory that is a party to the Canadian Free Trade Agreement is entitled to a one time opportunity to become registered as a motor vehicle salesperson in Ontario for a period of up to six months “as of right” without submitting a full application for registration. This right to registration is called “deemed certification”. In order to qualify for deemed certification, an applicant must satisfy the requirements described below.
All individuals who trade in motor vehicles in Ontario including those who qualify for deemed certification are required to comply with all legislation and regulations applicable to trading in motor vehicles in Ontario including the Motor Vehicle Dealers Act, 2002, S.O. 2002, C. 30, Sched. B and the Consumer Protection Act, 2002, S.O. 2002, C. 30, Sched. A.
In order to qualify for deemed certification as a motor vehicle salesperson in Ontario an individual must satisfy the following requirements:
(1) the individual has not previously been granted deemed certification to become a motor vehicle salesperson in Ontario;
(2) the individual must submit a certificate from the regulatory authority in a province or territory outside of Ontario that demonstrates that the individual is presently certified, licenced or registered in good standing to trade in motor vehicles in that other province or territory;
(3) the individual must identify and provide written confirmation from each (and at least one) registered Ontario motor vehicle dealer that has agreed to authorize the individual to sell motor vehicles in Ontario on behalf of the dealership and sponsor the individual’s registration in Ontario [note: if granted deemed certification, the applicant will only be authorized to sell vehicles in Ontario on behalf of a dealership that is sponsoring their registration];
(4) the individual must provide evidence of completion of the Automotive Certification Course exam administered by Georgian College with a passing grade of at least 80%;
(5) the individual must pay the applicable registration fee that is payable by all Ontario motor vehicle salespersons;
(6) the individual must complete the application for deemed certification required by the Registrar;
(7) the individual has not been refused certification as a motor vehicle salesperson by any regulatory authority within the past two years;
(8) the individual is not currently subject to any professional misconduct, incompetence or incapacity proceeding or any similar proceeding in respect of their conduct as a motor vehicle salesperson; and
(9) the individual must truthfully attest to the fact that the individual has not been found guilty of an offence inside or outside Canada and disclose any complaints against them and any criminal or disciplinary proceedings inside or outside of Canada that have addressed their conduct in the past or are currently addressing allegations against them;
(10) the individual must produce or authorize a police record check and a credit check and the results of such checks must satisfy the standards established by the Registrar.
If an individual fails to submit all of the information and documentation required to qualify for deemed certification, the Registrar will inform the individual of the missing information within 10 business days of receiving the incomplete information.
Within 10 business days of an individual providing all information required to support a request for deemed certification in Ontario, the Registrar will provide the individual with a notice of receipt. When the individual has received this notice, the individual is deemed to be certified as a motor vehicle salesperson in Ontario for six months from that date.
An individual is no longer deemed to be certified as a motor vehicle salesperson in Ontario:
(a) six months after deemed certification was granted;
(b) the Registrar is permitted to carry out a proposal to suspend or revoke the deemed registration of the individual in accordance with the Motor Vehicle Dealers Act, 2002 (the MVDA);
(c) the individual has applied for registration as a motor vehicle salesperson and has been granted registration by the Registrar in accordance with the MVDA;
(d) the individual has applied for registration as a motor vehicle salesperson and the Registrar has issued a proposal to refuse the individual’s application for registration and the Registrar is permitted to carry out that proposal in accordance with the MVDA; or
(e) OMVIC determines that any information provided by the individual to qualify for deemed certification was not accurate at the time it was provided or is no longer accurate.
Prior to the expiry of an individual’s deemed certification as a motor vehicle salesperson six months after deemed certification is granted, an individual must apply to OMVIC for registration as a motor vehicle salesperson.
In accordance with section 10 of the OLMA, if an individual who is already certified (or registered or licenced) to act as a motor vehicle salesperson in a jurisdiction outside of Ontario (other than Quebec or Newfoundland and Labrador) including an individual who has been granted deemed certification to act as a motor vehicle salesperson in Ontario submits an application for registration as a motor vehicle salesperson in Ontario:
(a) within 10 business days of submitting the application, the Registrar will provide a written acknowledgement of receipt of the application and will inform the applicant whether the application includes everything required by the Registrar in respect of the application; and
(b) within 30 calendar days of receiving the application and everything required by the Registrar in respect of the application, the Registrar will provide the applicant with written communication confirming that the applicant has been granted registration or in accordance with section 9 of the MVDA, the Registrar will issue a notice of proposal to refuse, revoke or suspend the applicant’s registration or to impose conditions to the applicant’s registration to which the applicant has not consented.
