New OSC timelines took effect July 1 - and they set the clock on your next approval
Ontario's securities regulator updated the service standards governing how fast it handles registrations, prospectus filings and compliance reviews, effective July 1.
The Ontario Securities Commission published its 2026 Annual Service Commitment Review on June 30, setting out the timelines that investors, registrants and other market participants can expect when they deal with the regulator. The OSC said the changes take effect July 1 and that all other standards remain unchanged. The specific revisions are listed in the summary of changes within the review.
For wealth firms, fund managers and advisors, the document matters because it sets the clock on the approvals and reviews that shape their businesses. The OSC said it will acknowledge a new firm registration application within five working days and provide initial comments within 30 working days of receiving a complete application, aiming to decide routine applications within 90 working days. For individuals, the OSC said it targets a decision on routine dealing-representative applications within 10 working days, and within 30 working days for advising representatives, associate advising representatives and chief compliance officers. It said it will acknowledge a notice ending an individual's registration within 24 hours.
Fund managers filing offering documents get their own timelines. The OSC said it aims to issue a first comment letter on a long-form or simplified prospectus within 10 working days, and within three working days for a short-form or shelf prospectus. It said it targets completing a review of routine offerings within 40 working days. Requests for routine exemptive relief carry the same 40-working-day decision target.
The commitments apply when the OSC is a firm's principal regulator. The OSC noted that firms seeking registration alongside membership in the Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization fall outside some of these standards, reflecting registration functions delegated to CIRO.
On the compliance side, the OSC said it will complete an ordinary-course examination of a registrant and communicate its findings within 14 weeks of the initial meeting, and will finish a continuous disclosure review within 120 days of its first comment letter. It cautioned that complex matters, or those raising new policy issues, take longer, with progress updates at least every two weeks.
The OSC also reminded firms that files can go dormant. If it does not hear back within three weeks of a request for information or a comment letter, it said it will move to close the file after a further two-week notice.
The OSC said it benchmarks its standards against regulators in other leading jurisdictions and reports quarterly on its performance, explaining any target it misses.
The full text of the OSC Service Commitment is available at https://www.osc.ca/sites/default/files/2026-06/20260630_OSC-Service-Commitment.pdf.
