Becoming a registered individual

Individuals who engage in the business of dealing or advising in securities through a member Investment Dealer or Mutual Fund Dealer firm must be registered and approved with CIRO.

Initial registration

Individuals seeking registration must be sponsored by a firm that is a CIRO member or is seeking approval as a member. Dealer Members play a key role through conducting careful due diligence on their applicants to screen them for suitability issues.

Individuals must:

• meet the requirements of registered individuals under CIRO’s Rules, NI 31-103 Registration Requirements, Exemptions and Ongoing Registrant Obligations as applicable, securities legislation as well as National Instrument 33-109 Registration Information and its forms
• be prepared to comply with NI 31-103, NI 33-109 and CIRO Rules in all respects upon registration

Initial registration for individuals involves completing Form 33-109F4 Registration of Individuals and Review of Permitted Individuals. Form 33-506F4 Registration of Individuals and Review of Permitted Individuals is used for individual initial registration under the Commodity Futures Act in Ontario.

We may ask for other information to help us assess your fitness for registration.

Suitability

Our role is to protect investors and promote high industry standards, including by acting as a gatekeeper. 

CIRO reviews applicants to assess whether they are “fit and proper”, or in other words suitable, for registration.

Standards for suitability are based on three well-established criteria:

1. Integrity: Applicants must conduct themselves with integrity. This includes honesty and good faith, particularly in dealing with clients, and compliance with securities legislation.
2. Financial Solvency: CIRO assesses the overall financial situation of applicants. An applicant that is insolvent will be considered unsuitable for registration.
3. Competence: A fundamental criteria for registration is proficiency. Applicants applying must meet the applicable education and experience requirements prescribed by CIRO’s IDPC Rule 2600 and demonstrate knowledge of securities legislation and CIRO’s Rules. Individuals registering with mutual fund dealer firms must comply with the proficiency requirements under Part 3 of NI 31-103 and MFDA Rules 1.2.3 and 2.5.

Background Checks

Background checks are conducted on applicants as part of our suitability assessments, including police checks and bankruptcy and insolvency checks.

Starting April 1, 2026, CIRO will be using Mintz Global Screening to conduct certain background checks for individual registration filings.

Every Mintz background check will start with an email to your applicant or approved person. The email guides the individual on how to initiate the background check. Applicants and approved persons must have an up-to-date and accessible business email address set out in Item 2.3 of their main individual application form, Form 33-109F4.

Québec residents may continue to receive an email invitation from Quali-T, and from Triton for British Columbia residents, as these background check providers are used in those jurisdictions for certain checks.

Exemptions

CIRO will consider granting an exemption from proficiency requirements if it is satisfied that an individual has qualifications or relevant experience that are equivalent to, or more appropriate in the circumstances, than the prescribed proficiency requirements.

How to apply

The National Registration Database (NRD) is an online system for filing registration forms. Individuals can apply for registration in more than one province or territory when they make their initial application for registration.

Commonly used forms, including NRD forms, are contained on our Forms page. For questions about NRD Enrolment forms contact the NRD administrator at 1-800 219-5381 or by fax at 1-866-729-8011. NRD forms for individual registration and any reportable changes are filed electronically at www.nrd.ca.

The NRD User Guide provides how-to and reference guides on NRD submissions, amendments, notices, fees and reports.

Expectations for filing completeness and accuracy

Applicants must ensure that their filings are complete. Incomplete applications lead to longer processing times or our inability to process filings. Filers should ensure that the relevant information is clearly outlined in their submissions. Applicants are expected to provide complete and accurate responses where required to ensure steady progress in the review.

All filings must be carefully reviewed before they are filed to ensure that they are accurate. The importance of this obligation is reflected in CSA Staff Notice 33-320 The Requirement for True and Complete Applications for Registration which CIRO supports.

If you are unsure about whether you need to register, which category you should register under or whether an exemption applies, you should seek professional advice.

Service Standards

CIRO is committed to service standards associated with the processing of individual applications for registration and approval.

Our service standards, summarized in the table below, outline CIRO’s targets for timelines regarding the processing of individual registration filings. These service standards promote transparency and consistency, providing applicants with clear expectations regarding the review of applications.

Where there are extenuating or unforeseen circumstances that may prevent us from meeting these service standards, CIRO staff will work with the applicant to establish an appropriate timeline for next steps. Applications that are complex or raise new policy issues take longer for CIRO to review.

Questions and resources

If you have questions, please contact your firm’s CIRO Registration Manager or contact us at [email protected]

Supporting Resources:

• Reportable Outside Activities
• FAQs regarding CIRO’s delegated registration functions

• 1All questions are completely answered, all regulatory obligations are met, there are no concerns with fitness for registration, the filer responds to Staff requests for information in a timely manner and the submission is not associated with processes involving longer timeframes or complications.