RIBO Level 1 Exam: The Complete 2026 Guide

Every year, thousands of Ontarians sit the RIBO Level 1 exam. Fewer than half pass. RIBO's 2025/2026 Annual Report puts the pass rate at 48 percent, from 6,806 entry-level exams written and 3,239 passed, a figure that blends the Level 1 exam with the two equivalency exams.

The exam is not a trick, but it is wide. Most candidates who fail do not fail because they never studied. They fail because they studied the wrong things, or the right things in the wrong proportions. This guide lays out exactly what the exam is, what it costs, how it is scored, what happens if you fail, and how to build a study plan around the real blueprint. Every number below comes from RIBO's own published pages, checked on November 6, 2026. Start with RIBO's Level 1 exam page if you want to verify any of it yourself.

The exam at a glance

• Format: computer-based, multiple choice, 3 hours.
• Questions: 115 presented, 100 scored, 15 unscored pilot questions.
• Pass mark: 75 percent, or 75 of the 100 scored questions.
• Fee: $325 per attempt, paid to your exam provider.
• Results: from your provider about two weeks after your exam date.
• Bonus: passing also makes you eligible to sell travel health insurance.

The five domains, and where the questions actually sit

The 100 scored questions are split across five domains, fixed by RIBO's Level 1 Entry Level Broker Competency Profile and Blueprint, in force since January 1, 2025.

Three things about that split matter for your study plan:

• Auto and home together are half the paper, so half your study time belongs there.
• Commercial Lines is a full fifth of the exam since the January 2025 blueprint, and it is the domain most self-study candidates underweight, because it feels like someone else's job.
• Travel Health is only five questions, but passing the exam also makes you eligible to sell travel health insurance, so those five questions carry weight beyond their count.

The 15 pilot questions nobody warns you about

You will answer 115 questions, but only 100 count. The other 15 are pilot questions RIBO is testing for future exams. They do not count toward your grade, and you cannot tell which ones they are.

• Do not spend your exam trying to guess which questions are pilots. Every question deserves the same effort, because the pilots are indistinguishable from the scored ones.
• Do not panic if a question looks strange or off syllabus. It may be a pilot. Answer it, move on, and spend your time where it counts.

RIBO notes that the inclusion of pilot questions may change, so confirm the current count with your exam provider when you register.

How to register, and what it costs

• RIBO does not run the exam itself. You register with one of two approved exam providers, the Insurance Institute of Canada or the Insurance Brokers Association of Ontario.
• Fee: $325 per attempt, in force since January 1, 2026, when RIBO raised it from $300. The fee is the same with either provider, and the same whether you write online or in person.
• Each rewrite is another $325, so a failed attempt costs real money as well as time.
• Through the end of 2026 you can write online under virtual proctoring or in person at a provider location. From January 1, 2027, RIBO is moving all of its exams to in-person only, so if you are planning to write in 2027, plan on travelling to a test centre.
• IBAO notes that registration is first come, first served and closes 10 days before the exam date or once spaces are full, so book early once you have a study plan.

If you fail: the retake rules, and the 2027 change

• You may write the exam twice with each provider.
• After a failed attempt, you must wait two weeks before writing again.
• After two failed attempts with the same provider, an eight-month waiting period runs from the date of your second failure.
• Writing during that waiting period resets the clock from your most recent attempt, and the result is nullified, so there is no shortcut in sitting early.

Two things change on January 1, 2027. First, exams become in-person only. Second, the waiting period after two failed attempts drops from eight months to three months. If you are sitting in late 2026, the eight-month rule is the one that applies to you. The practical lesson is the same either way: your first two attempts are your cheapest path to a licence, and they deserve serious preparation, not a trial run.

What to study: the blueprint and the official resources

RIBO publishes a Level 1 Entry Level Broker Competency Profile and Blueprint, and it is the document the exam is built from. Start there, not with a random question bank.

• The Consolidated Examinee Resource, a single document holding OAP 1, RIBO By-Laws No. 1, No. 2 and No. 3, the RIB Act, and Ontario Regulations 308/98, 990 and 991.
• For self-study, RIBO points candidates to OAP 1, the By-Laws, the RIB Act, and Regulations 989, 990 and 991, plus the sample questions PDF on its own exam page.
• Those sample questions are the only retired questions RIBO publishes, 79 of them, and they are the closest thing to seeing the real paper before you sit it.

One warning: RIBO offers no course of its own, and it endorses no prep provider. The Institute and IBAO both sell courses, and independent prep courses exist, but a course fee never includes the exam sitting. Budget for both.

A study plan that fits the blueprint

Four to six weeks, an hour or two a day, beats a crammed weekend. Here is a plan that follows the question weights.

• Weeks 1 and 2: General Insurance and Industry Knowledge, plus Habitational. Learn the vocabulary first, perils, policy structure, endorsements, and the legislation that frames everything, the RIB Act, the By-Laws, and the regulations. Read OAP 1 in full at least once.
• Weeks 3 and 4: Automobile, then Commercial Lines. Auto is a quarter of the paper on its own, and the July 2026 accident-benefits reform changed what is mandatory, so study the current OAP 1, not an old summary. Commercial is the domain most candidates skip, which is exactly why it is worth 20 questions of your time.
• Week 5: Travel Health, then full timed practice. Five questions is a small domain, but it is quick to learn, and it is the difference between a pass that also lets you sell travel insurance and one that does not. Then sit full 100-question timed mocks under exam conditions, three hours, no notes, no phone.
• Week 6: review your weak domains only. Your mock scores by domain tell you where the next ten hours go. If Commercial is at 50 percent and Auto is at 85, the next ten hours belong to Commercial.

Throughout: practise with the 79 official sample questions, and read every explanation, including for the questions you got right. The exam tests whether you know why the right answer is right, not whether you can recognise it.

Exam day

• The exam is closed book for your own materials. RIBO's Exam Rules prohibit books, notes, cell phones, smartwatches, tablets, and headphones in the exam room, and RIBO provides its Consolidated Examinee Resource on screen during the exam.
• Arrive early, bring the identification your provider requires, and expect your result from your provider about two weeks after your exam date.
• A pass result is valid for 12 months, so have your job offer and licence application plan ready before you write, not after.

Passing the exam is step one of licensing, not the whole journey. You still need a sponsoring brokerage, a suitability check, and your licence application, which is covered in our full licensing roadmap linked below.

Frequently asked questions

How many questions are on the RIBO Level 1 exam? You are presented with 115 multiple-choice questions in three hours. 100 are scored and 15 are unscored pilot questions. You need 75 percent, or 75 out of the 100 scored questions, to pass.

How much does the RIBO Level 1 exam cost? $325 per attempt since January 1, 2026, paid to your exam provider. Each rewrite is another $325.

How many times can I write the exam? Twice per exam provider. After a failed attempt you wait two weeks. After two failed attempts with the same provider, an eight-month waiting period applies, dropping to three months from January 1, 2027.

Can I write the exam online? Through December 31, 2026, yes, online under virtual proctoring or in person. From January 1, 2027, all RIBO exams are in person only.

Do I need a course to write the exam? No. RIBO allows self-study, and the blueprint and the Consolidated Examinee Resource are free on ribo.com. A course helps with structure and practice, but it is not a requirement, and no course fee includes the exam sitting.

When do I get my results? From your exam provider, about two weeks after your exam date. Contact your provider directly for results, not RIBO.