MFDA Rules 1.2 and 1.2.6 and Policy No. 9 (MFD Rules 1.2, 1.2.6 and 900 respectively after December 31, 2022), collectively the “CE Requirements”, establish the continuing education (CE) requirements for Mutual Fund Dealer (MFD) Members and Approved Persons. These FAQs are intended to assist in understanding the use and operation of CERTS, the use of which is mandated under the CE Requirements. These FAQS will be updated as needed.
More guidance on CERTS can be found on the Continuing Education Page and within CERTS itself. FAQs on the CE Requirements can be found here. Please see the Continuing Education Page for the complete CE Requirements and additional guidance.
These FAQs start with general questions that might be more broadly applicable followed by questions asked by stakeholder type (Member, Participant and Provider).
General Questions
Q: What is CERTS?
A: CERTS is an online system established for the purpose of administering the CE Requirements and program. Members and Participants must use CERTS to comply with reporting obligations under the CE Requirements.
Q: How will Participants receive their CERTS onboarding notification?
A: An onboarding email is issued to Participants from [email protected] to the primary email address that is provided to us by the Participant’s Member.
Q: I forgot my password, how do I reset it?
A: Go to CERTS and use the “forgot password” functionality.
Q: I forgot my username, how do I obtain it?
A: Go to CERTS and use the “forgot username” functionality. Alternatively, you may contact your Member.
Q: I have been locked out of CERTS. What happened and how do I get access again?
A: An incorrect password was likely entered too many times. Please email [email protected] to reactivate the account.
Q: Is there a way for Members and Providers to bulk upload information (e.g. participant emails, CE activities, attendance, leaves of absence) into CERTS?
A: Yes. Members and Providers may submit the relevant bulk import spreadsheet via Sharefile. For more information about a bulk import spreadsheet for participant emails, CE activities, attendance, or leaves of absence, please contact [email protected].
Generally, the upload is completed onto CERTS within 5-10 business days.
Q: In my completed activities on the CE activity details screen, I see an attendance record marked as invalid. What does this mean?
A: This would mean that attendance at the activity has already been entered. You should see another attendance entry for the same activity that is marked as valid.
Q: Why am I not receiving credits for CE activities that I have reported attendance for on CERTS?
A: Reasons may include:
- the CE attendance date that you have reported is outside the CE activity’s accreditation period or outside the CE cycle;
- you completed the CE activity prior to becoming registered; or
- you have already reached your maximum number of credits in that credit category.
Please review the attendance record entered to check if any of the above reasons apply. It may be that an error was made in the entry of the attendance record.
Member Questions
Q: Can a Member add/update/remove Member Administrator user accounts for CERTS?
A: Yes. To add a Member Administrator user account, submit the New Member Administrator Request form.
To update or remove an existing Member Administrator user account, email the request to [email protected]. These requests can be made by a Member’s Chief Compliance Officer, Ultimate Designated Person or other representative that has been designated as the “User Admin” on the New Member Administrator Request form.
Q: How do Participants get access to CERTS?
A: For Participants who are registered on NRD, Members must input the primary email address of these Participants on CERTS which will automatically issue an onboarding email to the Participants. It is the Member’s responsibility to ensure that the email addresses of Participants are accurate and updated.
For Participants who are not registered on NRD, such as Branch Managers, alternate Branch Managers, and alternate Chief Compliance Officers who are not also registered as Dealing Representatives, Chief Compliance Officers or Ultimate Designated Persons with a Member, the Member will need to provide us with the details of these Participants. Please contact [email protected]. Please also note that for these Participants, their participation in the CE program does not change unless the Member notifies us of any changes.
For further details on how to add a Participant’s email address on CERTS, please refer to the CERTS – Member Administrator User Guide.
Q: After the initial onboarding process, how can a Member add primary email addresses for their Participants?
A: On an ongoing basis, Members may manually input primary email addresses of their Participants on CERTS using the “Add and Edit Participant Email” function. For further details on how to add a Participant’s email address on CERTS, please refer to the CERTS – Member Administrator User Guide.
For large volumes of email submissions, Members may submit a standard format bulk email import spreadsheet. For more information, please contact [email protected].
Q: How often does CERTS update the Participants registered with a Member?
A: The CERTS Participant database is updated on a daily basis by a National Registration Database (“NRD”) data feed overnight. Therefore, any changes to the registration of Participants on NRD will automatically update the CERTS database the following day.
Q: What is the Participant MFDA ID#? Is it the same as the NRD#?
A: No, the Participant MFDA ID# is not the same as the NRD#. The Participant MFDA ID# is a unique identifier used within CERTS. The Participant MFDA ID# is also the Participant’s user login for CERTS.
Q: How do I find the MFDA ID# or Participant ID of a Participant?
A: Go to the “Participants” tab and search using their name under CE Summary Details search. Clicking “Find” and not selecting any criteria should return the entire listing of the Member’s Participants. This list can be exported.
Q: Is there a way to track Participants’ progress in completing their CE Requirements through the CERTS system?
A: On the Member dashboard, the “Compliance Status Detail” section allows Members to view and export a progress report of all their Participants. A more detailed version can be extracted and exported under the Participants Tab using the CE Summary Details search.
Q: Can a Member disable its Participants’ ability to report completion of, or attendance at, CE activities?
A: Yes. However, please note that the Member will now be solely responsible for submitting all CE completion/attendance for all of its Participants. Members may request that we stop their own Participants’ ability to submit their own CE attendance by sending a request to [email protected].
Q: I made an error when I posted a CE activity on CERTS. How do I correct it?
A: If the error pertains to an immaterial element of the CE activity (e.g. the name, description, visibility in CERTS), you may use the “Edit a CE Activity” form for these changes. However, if the error pertains to material elements of the activity (e.g. number of credits or the credit categories), please contact us at [email protected].
Q: I have received new accreditation based on a revision made to an existing CE activity I have posted in CERTS. How do I make the update in the course catalogue?
A: You can make this change using the “Edit a CE Activity” form to report the material changes that have been made to the activity and upload the new accreditation certificate. Please note a new accreditation certificate would only be required to be uploaded for CE activities not accredited by the Member. Please also note that material changes to the CE activity will change the Activity ID and so the completion certificate to Participants will need to be updated.
Q: Does a Member complete the Credit Reduction report on CERTS once a Participant begins a leave of absence or upon the Participant’s return?
A: The Member may choose either option.
Q: Regarding the Credit Reduction report, what happens if the Participant’s return date is unknown?
A: The Member may submit more than one Credit Reduction report for a Participant. For example, a Member may choose to submit a report every 3 months of the Participant’s absence until the Participant returns.
Q: If a Participant’s return date changes after the Credit Reduction report has been submitted on CERTS, can it still be updated?
A: If the leave is for a longer period than previously reported, the Member can simply submit another Credit Reduction report for the additional time. If the leave is for a shorter period than previously reported, please contact [email protected].
Participant Questions
Q: I forgot my password, how do I reset it?
A: Go to the CERTS website and use the “forgot password” functionality.
Q: I forgot my username, how do I obtain it?
A: Go to CERTS and use the “forgot username” functionality. Alternatively, you may contact your Member.
Q: I have been locked out of CERTS, what happened and how do I get access again?
A: An incorrect password was likely entered too many times. Please email [email protected] to reactivate the account.
Q: I have not received my CERTS login credentials, how do I get these?
A: If you have not received CERTS login credentials, it may be for one of the following reasons:
- The Participant’s Member may not have inputted the Participant’s primary email address which is required for onboarding. Confirm with your Member’s CE team that this has been completed. Please note it takes up to 24 hours after the primary email has been inputted for CERTS to issue an onboarding email; or
- The onboarding email may be in your spam folder. The onboarding email will come from [email protected].
If you have confirmed your primary email was entered by your current Member and you also cannot locate the onboarding email in your email inbox (including the junk or spam folder), please contact [email protected].
Q: Why is a CE activity I plan to attend, or have already attended, not listed in the CERTS course catalogue?
A: Providers are responsible for adding the CE activity to CERTS. If the CE activity is not in the course catalogue, you can follow up with the Provider to inquire whether they will be adding the activity.
Q: Can I report attendance for CE activities that are not listed in the CERTS course catalogue?
A: Participants can only report attendance to CE activities that have been input into the CERTS course catalogue by Members or Providers.
Q: When I log in to CERTS, I do not see an option for me to report CE attendance in the Action menu on the right hand side as described in the user manual. Why?
A: Some Members have chosen to disable their Participants’ ability to enter attendance on CERTS as they are undertaking this on your behalf. If you have any questions, please contact your Member’s head office or continuing education team.
Q: Why is my information on the CE summary page not updated after CE attendance has been submitted on CERTS?
A: If the submission is determined to be valid, Participants will see the update reflected under their CE summary page the next business day. To check if a submission is valid, you can go to the Completed Activities section under the CE Details tab.
Q: Can an incorrect attendance submission be edited or removed?
A: Yes. Incorrect attendance should be reported to your Member’s CE team. Please note that Members may only remove attendance records, but not correct them. Once removed, attendance to the CE activity can then be entered with the correct details.
Q: How can I obtain credits for CE activities completed at a previous dealer that have not been reported on CERTS?
A: Members have 30 days after a Participant is terminated to report the Participant’s attendance to Member-provided CE activities. If this has not be done, you will need to speak to your previous Member’s CE team or compliance department to ensure that this is completed. You can contact us at [email protected] if you are unable to reach your previous Member.
Q: If I report CE credits to another CE program, is CERTS automatically updated? Can Participants transfer credits between platforms?
A: No, attendance must be entered onto CERTS. While such attendance may qualify under both programs, attendance records cannot be transferred between CERTS and other platforms.
Q: I have completed more than 20 Professional Development (“PD”) credits but my CE summary reflects that I have only completed 20 credits. Why?
A: The CE Summary in CERTS will only reflect the maximum number of credits that a Participant can earn in each credit category within a cycle. Please note that Participants may carry forward to the next cycle a maximum of 5 excess PD Credits. The credits carried forward will be reflected on CERTS automatically in the next CE cycle.
Q: I have completed my Professional Development and Business Conduct requirements. Why does CERTS still show that I still have outstanding credits to complete?
A: You may not have completed your two mandatory Compliance Credits. To complete these requirements, click on the “Register for MFDA CE Activities” link in the “Actions” menu in your CERTS account to access the Compliance Credits.
Q: I have completed 8 Business Conduct (“BC”) credits but my CE Summary still reflects that I still have BC credits remaining. Why is that?
A: BC credit requirements are divided between ethics and non-ethics credits. For those with full requirements (i.e. 8 BC credits), you must earn a minimum of 1 but a maximum of 2 BC credits related to ethics. The remaining credits must be BC non-ethics credits. The CE Summary in CERTS will only show the maximum number of credits a Participant can earn in each category within a cycle and the maximum number of BC credits related to ethics is 2. For those required to complete less than 8 BC credits (e.g. those who had a leave of absence or became registered mid-cycle), there is no minimum BC ethics requirement, but you still may not earn more than 2 BC ethics credits.
Provider (Non-Member) Questions
Q: How can Providers get access to CERTS?
A: To get access to CERTS, Providers must complete the New Provider Request form on the Continuing Education page and submit the form to [email protected].
Q: Will third party accreditors post Provider CE activities on CERTS?
A: No, it is the responsibility of Providers to add their CE activities into CERTS.
Q: Why is the update to a CE activity that was submitted not reflected on CERTS?
A: Updates to CE activities made on CERTS will take 24 hours to be updated.
Q: Why are Participants not able to see a CE activity posted by a Provider on CERTS?
A: The Provider will need to check that the CE activity was made visible to all Participants when the CE activity was posted on CERTS. To change the visibility of a CE activity, use the “Edit an Activity” form in CERTS.
Q: I made an error when I posted a CE activity on CERTS. How do I correct it?
A: If the error pertains to an immaterial element of the CE activity (e.g. the name, description, visibility in CERTS), you may use the “Edit a CE activity form for these changes. However, if the error pertains to material elements of the activity (e.g. number of credits or credit categories), please contact us at [email protected].
Q: I have received new accreditation based on a revision made to an existing CE activity I have posted in CERTS. How do I make the update in the course catalogue?
A: You can make this change using the “Edit a CE Activity” form to report the material changes that have been made to the activity and upload the new accreditation certificate. Please note that material changes to the CE activity will change the Activity ID and so the completion certificate to Participants will need to be updated. Material changes will also result in a charge of $150 +tax.
