REALTOR.ca DDF: getting your credentials

In Canada, MLSImport connects through the REALTOR.ca DDF Web API, run by CREA. It issues a Client ID and a Client Secret, and those two values are what the plugin needs.

There is no self serve portal that hands you the credentials. CREA manages DDF access as a supported service, so the request goes through their member support.

The credential checklist, in order

Six steps. They only work in this order, and step four is the one people do first by mistake.

1. Brokerage consent. DDF participation belongs to the brokerage. If you are a salesperson, get your brokerage’s permission in writing before anything else. CREA’s DDF Policy covers this in sections 3(a) and 4(a).
2. CREA account. You need an account with CREA to act on the brokerage’s participation, and access to the DDF Dashboard that goes with it.
3. DDF data feed, and the right channel. Opt into the feed type you need through the DDF Dashboard. For a single website that is the Member Website Feed. Do this before you retain anyone to build the site, per Rules 5(a) and 5(j)(ii).
4. Technology provider selection. Choose the plugin or provider now, not earlier. One rule decides the shortlist: CREA Rule 5(j)(iii) says you may not disclose your DDF credentials to a Technology Provider or any other party, so a provider whose setup screen asks you to hand over those credentials is asking for something the rules prohibit. You enter them into your own site yourself.
5. Approval. Ask CREA whether any further approval or registration applies to your account, and complete the agreement they send back. The approval is issued to you, for your site.
6. The credentials you receive. Two values, and only two: a Client ID and a Client Secret. If you are handed a single server token instead, that is a different MLS, not DDF.

What DDF is

DDF stands for Data Distribution Facility. CREA’s own REALTOR.ca DDF page calls it “a managed service for REALTORS and broker owners who are looking to share listings with multiple third-party websites, while providing access to more listings for your own website”, and lists Member Website Feed as one of its feed types, which is the one a single site uses. Checked August 19, 2026. The Web API version of it is a RESO style OData feed, which is what MLSImport reads.

Some Canadian boards also run their own RESO certified server. If yours does, that route works too and may carry more fields than DDF. Check your board before assuming DDF is the only option.

Requesting the credentials

1. Contact CREA through their DDF support request form, checked live August 19, 2026, or the Member Experience Centre.
2. Ask for REALTOR.ca DDF Web API access for your own website, and state that you need a client ID and a client secret.
3. Ask whether any additional approval or registration applies to your account.
4. Complete whatever agreement CREA sends back. The approval is issued to you, for your site.

A message that gets a useful reply reads roughly: I need access to the REALTOR.ca DDF Web API for my own website, my plugin requires a client ID and client secret, please confirm how to obtain these for my account and whether any further approval is required.

Entering them in MLSImport

1. Open MLS Import Settings and select the REALTOR.ca entry in the Your MLS search.
2. Paste the client ID into MLSImport Realtor.ca Client id.
3. Paste the client secret into MLSImport Realtor.ca Client Secret.
4. Save, then run the connection test.

Selecting the REALTOR.ca entry is what reveals those two fields. If the screen shows a single server token box instead, a different MLS is selected.

Filtering a DDF feed

DDF covers a very large area, so filtering matters more here than in a single board feed. Two things are worth knowing before you build your first import task.

The county selector returns numeric identifiers rather than names in this feed, which makes county filtering awkward. Filtering by province works reliably through the Custom parameters field on an import task, written as StateOrProvince eq 'Ontario'. Enter the expression on its own, with no $filter= in front of it, whatever the on screen example in that field shows.

Even one province returns tens of thousands of listings. Split the work into several import tasks, narrowed further by city or price, rather than one task attempting the whole province.

After the credentials arrive: three steps to a syncing site

Credentials on their own display nothing. Three steps take you from the values CREA sent to a site that updates itself.

1. Enter the credentials. Paste the client ID and client secret into the two REALTOR.ca fields in MLS Import Settings, save, and run the connection test. What a DDF connection has to satisfy on a Canadian site, beyond connecting, is in our DDF plugin guide for WordPress.
2. Run a test import. Build one import task with a small listing count, run it by hand, and confirm it finishes before you build the real tasks. A task that has never completed an import is skipped by the scheduler, so this step is not optional.
3. Enable hourly synchronization. Turn on Enable Auto Update every hour on each finished task. How the hourly auto update works covers what each run asks the feed for and what it writes back. A task with the switch off is imported once and never updated again.

Frequently asked questions

Can MLSImport register as a REALTOR.ca vendor for me?

No. We cannot apply, sign, or complete a vendor application on your behalf, and we cannot access your REALTOR.ca account to find your credentials. The DDF process is between you or your broker and CREA.

Does DDF give me every listing in my board?

DDF carries listings whose brokerages have agreed to distribute them, so coverage is broad but not guaranteed complete for a given board. If your market needs full board coverage, ask your board whether they run their own RESO Web API server.

Which fields does DDF include?

DDF carries the core listing fields, and some board specific data present in a local feed is not in it. After connecting, load the field list in the plugin and you will see exactly what your feed returns rather than working from a general answer.

Can I import listings from two provinces?

Yes, if both come through the same DDF connection. That is one MLS connection as far as the plugin is concerned, so build separate import tasks with different filters rather than a second install.

Related

1. What RESO Web API access is and why you need it
2. PropTx and AMPRE for TRREB
3. Who needs to hold the credentials
4. How many listings can you import

If CREA has issued your credentials and the connection test still fails, send us your board name and we will check what the feed returns.