So you want to sell travel in Ontario. Fair warning: it’s not just about having a slick Instagram and a logo. If you’re taking money for flights, cruises, or package tours, the province treats you like a real business, not a side hustle.
Here’s the deal: every travel business in Ontario that sells to the public has to be registered with the Travel Industry Council of Ontario (TICO) under the Travel Industry Act, 2002. That’s true whether you’re running a storefront, an online agency, or working from your spare bedroom.
You, personally, also need to meet TICO’s Education Standards if you’re giving travel advice or closing sales.
And here’s the catch most people miss:
Passing the TICO exam doesn’t magically make you legal to sell on your own.
You still have to work through a TICO-registered business.
That business can be:
- An agency that hires you as an employee
- A host agency that uses you as an outside sales rep
- A company you register and run yourself
We’ll walk through those three paths, how the 2026 exam change affects your costs, what the $10,000 security deposit really is, and where people quietly get themselves in trouble.
What “travel agent” actually means here
Ontario makes a distinction between:
- Travel retailers (“agents”) – selling directly to consumers
- Travel wholesalers (“tour operators”) – packaging or reselling travel to other agencies
Both are “registrants” under the law, and both fall under TICO’s oversight.
Job-wise, you’ll see titles like travel advisor, travel counsellor, home-based agent. Under the hood, they’re usually either:
- Employees on payroll at a TICO-registered agency
- Independent contractors (Outside Sales Representatives) tied to a host agency’s registration
- Owners/managers of their own registered agency or tour company
Whichever label you use, the legal questions are the same:
- Who’s the TICO registrant?
- Whose name is on the trust account?
- Who’s signing off on financial statements and Compensation Fund filings?
If the answer is “nobody” or “I’m not sure”, that’s a problem.
Path 1: Employee of a TICO-registered agency
If you’re new to the industry, this is usually the least stressful way in.
You pass the TICO exam, get hired by a TICO-registered retailer or wholesaler, and sell under their registration. They already have the registration, the security deposit, the trust account, the accountant, and the annual filings in place. You plug into their system instead of building your own from scratch.
Day to day, that usually means:
- You use the agency’s booking tools, supplier logins, and invoice templates.
- Client payments go into their Travel Industry Act trust account, not your personal chequing.
- They handle Compensation Fund assessments, year-end financial statements, and any TICO inspections in the background.
You still have to follow the rules and give proper disclosures, but you’re not the one worrying if the trust account and financial statements meet TICO’s tests.
This route makes sense if you’re switching careers or just starting out: you get paid sooner, you see how a real agency runs from the inside, and someone else owns the paperwork nightmare. You can always move to a host-agency model or your own registration later, once you’ve survived a couple of busy seasons and know what you’d be taking on.
Path 2: Outside Sales Representative (OSR) with a host agency
A lot of people hear “home-based travel agent” and think it means “no regulation”. It doesn’t.
As an Outside Sales Representative (OSR), you work under a host agency’s TICO registration. You’re often a contractor, but you’re still tied to that registrant in TICO’s eyes.
A few non-negotiables:
- There has to be a written contract between you and the host, spelling out who does what.
- You can only advertise and sell using business names that are registered with TICO under the host. Your own cute brand name has to be properly linked, not just slapped on Instagram.
- All consumer payments are made payable to the registrant, and card processing runs through the host’s merchant account, not yours.
In return, the host:
- Handles registration, security deposit, trust accounting, and financial filings.
- Often gives you supplier training, booking tools, and maybe a website or landing page.
Money-wise, you’re paying in commission split and sometimes monthly fees, but you’re not tying up $10,000 in a security deposit or paying $3,000 for registration.
This route works if you want flexibility (part-time, niche groups, home-based), but don’t want the full burden of running a regulated financial structure on your own.
Path 3: Registering your own TICO agency
This is where it gets serious.
If you want your own TICO registration as a retailer or wholesaler, you’re no longer “just an agent.” You’re responsible for:
- Registration, renewals, and following the conditions on your certificate
- Taking and protecting consumer money properly
- Keeping TICO (and your accountant) happy every year
TICO’s current registration overview for new travel sellers includes:
- A $3,000 non-refundable application fee for the head office, plus $800 per branch
- A $10,000 security deposit (unless you were registered in the last 12 months and meet specific criteria)
- Two Ontario bank accounts in the legal business name:
- one trust account under the Travel Industry Act for client funds
- one general account for commissions and operating expenses
- Financial statements that show positive working capital and meet TICO’s format expectations
TICO says they aim to process a complete, clean application in about 30 days. In real life, you should assume closer to two months once you add time for bank appointments, merchant setup, and answering follow-up questions if your financials aren’t crystal clear.
This path gives you maximum control over your brand and margins. It also gives you full responsibility if the trust account is off, if invoices don’t meet the rules, or if year-end financials are late.
If you haven’t worked inside an agency before, think very hard before jumping straight here.
ICO exams and the 2026 change
Right now (through January 4, 2026), TICO’s Education Standards program has two levels:
- Travel Counsellor exam: $35
- Supervisor/Manager exam: $35
- Or a combination exam that covers both: $50
Starting January 5, 2026, TICO is rolling out a new single Certification Program:
- One interactive e-learning program
- One consolidated exam
- Fee: $150 for new candidates
Plain English version:
- If you register and pay on or before January 4, 2026, you can still use the old exams and combo fee ($50), and you get six months from payment to write.
- If you register and pay on or after January 5, 2026, you’re in the new Certification Program at $150.
So if you’re already studying the current manual, there’s a window where you can save money by writing before the switch. If you’re starting from scratch in late 2025 or 2026, just plan around the $150 and the new format.
Every person who works for a TICO-registered business and sells or advises on travel has to meet these Education Standards by law.
Let’s talk money: what each path really costs
Here’s how the three options usually land on your wallet, purely on the regulatory side (not counting marketing, laptops, etc.).
Employee route
- You pay for the TICO exam or Certification Program yourself:
- $35–$50 if you’re writing before January 5, 2026
- $150 if you’re writing under the new program
- The agency covers:
- TICO registration fees
- Security deposit
- Trust and general accounts
- Accountant and audited/compiled financials
If you just want to earn and learn the ropes, this is the lowest-risk spend.
Host-agency OSR route
- Same exam cost as above.
- Then you’re looking at:
- Maybe a small business registration if you want to operate under a trade name
- A few hundred dollars for tools (website, CRM, email, maybe a booking platform if the host doesn’t provide one)
- Importantly, you never touch the $10,000 security deposit or the $3,000 registration fee. The host handles that.
It’s a middle ground: you spend more than an employee, but way less than a full registrant.
Your own agency
Now the numbers jump:
- $3,000 non-refundable application fee for the head office; $800 for each branch if you have more than one location.
- $10,000 security deposit, held until you’ve filed two consecutive 12-month year-end financial statements and the Registrar is satisfied with compliance.
- Bank fees for two business accounts and whatever your merchant provider charges.
- Accounting costs for proper year-end statements, which most small-business owners underestimate badly.
Most people are surprised by how much money gets tied up before they sell a single trip. That’s why so many start as employees or OSRs first: they use those years to build a client base and see if the margins support owning a registrant business.
Compliance stuff you really can’t ignore
No matter which path you pick, a few themes keep coming up in TICO guidance and audits:
Trust vs general funds
Client money for travel services goes into the trust account and stays there until it’s used to pay suppliers for those services or refunded properly. It’s not a slush fund for rent, advertising, or your own travel.
Working capital
Registrants have to maintain minimum working capital based on sales volumes. If your current liabilities creep higher than your current assets, TICO will want answers.
All-in pricing and disclosures
Advertised prices must show the total cost, including taxes and fees. Before you take payment, you have to disclose key details (supplier, dates, cancellation terms, etc.), then issue receipts that meet the regulation.
OSR supervision
If you’re a host agency with outside reps, TICO expects proper contracts, controls over how they advertise, and clear rules on how money flows. You don’t get to say “they were just contractors” if something goes wrong.
None of this is there to make your life hard; it exists because when an agency collapses, there are real consumers and real money at stake.
Rough launch timelines
You can’t register on Monday and be fully compliant on Tuesday. Here’s a realistic view.
Employee or OSR path
- Study and write the TICO exam / Certification Program: a few weeks, depending on your schedule.
- Job hunt or host-agency onboarding: anywhere from a couple of weeks to a couple of months.
Once you’ve passed and your employer/host finishes onboarding and system access, you can usually start selling fairly quickly.
Your own agency
- Business name and structure sorted: 1–2 weeks
- Bank appointments for two business accounts and merchant setup: easily 2–4 weeks (banks take their time on anything with trust language)
- TICO application: add another 4+ weeks from the point your application is truly complete
TICO’s goal is about 30 days for a clean file, but once you add banking, document collection, and back-and-forth questions, you’re realistically looking at 6–12 weeks from “I’m doing this” to “I can legally advertise and take bookings.”
