The Maine Property Producer License
Maine defines Property at 24-A M.R.S. §1420-F(1)(C) as "insurance coverage for the direct or consequential loss of or damage to property." It is a full line of authority in its own right, and it pairs naturally with Casualty at (D) - together those two are what most commercial producers end up holding, bought either as two single-line papers or as one combined paper.
Maine also issues Personal lines at (F) as a separate authority, defined as "property and casualty insurance coverage sold to individuals and families." It is narrower rather than easier: a Personal Lines licensee cannot write a commercial property risk. If your book will be homeowners and personal auto, that is the shorter route; if it will include a manufacturer's building or a contractor's equipment, it is not.
There is nothing to complete before you book. No pre-licensing course, no fingerprint appointment, no background-check vendor. What there is instead is a fixed order: exam first, application second, under 24-A M.R.S. §1410(1).
This guide owns the test-centre and scheduling walkthrough for Maine, which carries real weight because Maine no longer offers a remote option at all.
Property Alone, or Property and Casualty Together
The standalone Property paper has a 50-item General Knowledge part with 5 pretest items, plus a Maine Laws and Rules part. The combined Property and Casualty paper carries 140 scored questions - a 50-item Property general section, a 50-item Casualty general section, and a 40-item Maine Laws and Rules section with 7 pretest items - the only Maine state part whose printed parenthetical names seven, where Life's and the combined Life, Accident and Health paper's name five and several others name none at all.
That 40-item state section breaks down, in the content outline's own counts, into 28 items common to property and casualty insurance, 2 pertinent to property and 10 pertinent to casualty. Which tells you something useful about how Maine thinks: the great bulk of its property and casualty law is shared between the two lines, and only a dozen items across both papers are line-specific.
It also tells you what the standalone Property state section contains - the same 28 common items plus the same 2 property-specific ones, for 30. We publish that as arithmetic rather than as a quotation: the printed parenthetical for the Property state part did not reproduce cleanly across repeated reads of the outline document, while every sibling exam's printed total matched its section counts exactly. Treat the Property paper as roughly 80 scored questions and confirm the split with Pearson VUE if it matters to you.
Both are two-part papers. Under 24-A M.R.S. §1410(6) you are "examined on the part of the examination that the individual failed" and no more - a genuinely useful rule on the property side, where the general part is national fire-and-allied-lines material and the Maine part is the standard fire policy and two cancellation acts. Very different studying, separately assessed.
Passing is a scaled 70 rather than a percentage. Raw answers are converted onto a common 0-to-100 reporting scale, and equating corrects for the fact that Pearson VUE runs several versions of each paper - so two candidates who answered the same number of items correctly on different forms can report different scaled scores.
A note on sourcing, because it explains the gaps on this page. Counts come from content outlines #122006 (2 February 2026); the handbook carries none. Times come from the handbook's back cover, which is not extractable from the published PDF - so no time is quoted here, and any site that quotes one without naming its source is guessing.
Most Tested Topics on the Maine Property Exam
Maine's property law is unusually prescriptive, and the reason is a single decision the Legislature made and never reversed: it wrote the standard fire policy into the statute book instead of adopting somebody else's form. From the TESTivity Maine regulations curriculum, statute-verified:
| Concept | The Maine rule |
|---|---|
| Maine standard fire policy | Mandatory, and printed in full. "No insurer may issue fire insurance policies on property in this State other than those of the Maine standard fire insurance policy" - and Maine does not adopt the 1943 New York form by reference, it sets out the entire policy text inline with consecutively numbered lines. An insurer may reach compliance with an endorsement or rider on its multi-state form (24-A M.R.S. §3002) |
| Proof of loss, standard fire policy | "the insured shall render to this Company a proof of loss ... within sixty days after the loss, unless such time is extended" (§3002) |
| When a fire loss is payable | "sixty days after proof of loss ... is received by this Company and ascertainment of the loss is made" (§3002) - and §2436 independently confirms the 60-day figure for a standard fire policy against the 30-day general rule |
| Appraisal, Maine fire risks | Statutory rather than merely contractual, because it sits inside the prescribed form. Each party names "a competent and disinterested appraiser" and notifies the other within twenty days of the demand; the appraisers pick an umpire and, "failing for fifteen days to agree upon such umpire," a judge selects one (§3002) |
| Suit limitation, fire policy | Two years "next after inception of the loss" - written into the statutory form itself, so it is a term of Maine law rather than of the policy jacket (§3002) |
| Vacancy, standard fire policy | Coverage is suspended where the building is "vacant or unoccupied beyond a period of sixty consecutive days"; the form also excludes theft, and excludes explosion or riot unless fire ensues (§3002) |
| Beginning to adjust a fire loss | A separate and earlier clock: "the insurer or its representative shall begin adjustment of such loss within 20 days after the receipt of the notice of loss" (§3041) |
| Commercial property cancellation and nonrenewal | 10 days to cancel, 30 days to nonrenew, with receipt presumed on the 3rd calendar day after mailing, a new-business window of 60 days, and a hearing right exercisable within 45 days on which the insurer bears the burden of proof (§3007) |
| Hurricane deductible trigger | Not wind speed and not a Saffir-Simpson category. A hurricane deductible may apply "only during the period that starts when the National Weather Service issues a hurricane warning for a forecast zone that includes any part of the municipality in which the insured property is located and ends twenty-four (24) hours after the National Weather Service terminates the last hurricane warning" (Rule ch. 960, effective 1 April 2015; Bulletin 398; authority at §3061) |
| Property rate regulation | Competitive filing with prior notice: rates are filed ahead of use and take effect unless the Superintendent acts, and must not be excessive, inadequate or unfairly discriminatory (§§2303, 2304-A) |
| Residual market for property | Maine has no FAIR plan and no property insurance underwriting association. What it has is a two-stage market assistance mechanism: a voluntary plan the Superintendent may establish under §2325-A, and a mandatory standby program under §2325-B that activates only if voluntary participation proves insufficient - requiring proof of 2 declinations, capping dwelling coverage at $300,000 and any liability limit at $300,000, compelling membership from insurers writing basic property and casualty, and expiring 2 years after it becomes operational unless ended sooner |
| Two Maine-only underwriting bans | An insurer may not act on the age of a dwelling alone (§3057), nor refuse coverage because of a previous owner's losses (§3058) |
Everything above starts from one fact, so learn that fact first: the Maine standard fire policy is statute, not a policy jacket. Because §3002 prints the form, every clause inside it has the force of law. That is why the appraisal clause is a Maine legal requirement rather than a term of art, why either party may demand appraisal, and why the twenty-day and fifteen-day appraisal clocks are testable numbers rather than carrier practice.
Then keep the three sixties apart, because they run from different events and only one of them is about paying. Proof of loss is due within 60 days after the loss. The loss is payable 60 days after the proof is received and the loss ascertained. And the vacancy suspension bites after 60 consecutive days of the building standing empty. Alongside them sits a fourth clock in a different section entirely - §3041's 20 days to begin adjustment, which is not a payment deadline and is easy to conflate with one.
The two-year suit limitation is worth memorising as a deviation rather than as a fact. Maine's prescribed form gives the insured two years from inception of the loss to sue. If twelve months is the figure you carry, it is not Maine's - and the error runs in the direction of being too strict, which is the harder mistake to notice.
Finally, the absence question. Maine has no FAIR plan, and the honest way to say it is by naming what Maine built instead: §2325-A creates a voluntary agreement between the Bureau and insurers to write at an agreed rate, and §2325-B creates a mandatory program that switches on only when the Superintendent finds voluntary participation insufficient. Note what makes §2325-B unlike a FAIR plan even when it is running - it expires two years after becoming operational, and its dwelling and liability caps are $300,000 each. Note also the contrast in evidentiary standards that Maine's property law sets up: the market assistance program demands two declinations in terms, while the surplus lines export test at §2004 demands a diligent effort and names no number at all. Same market, two different proofs. The Casualty guide walks the surplus lines route in full.
Where to Sit the Maine Exam
In person, and only in person. This is the single most important logistical fact about the Maine programme, and it changed recently enough that plenty of material still gets it wrong. The Bureau of Insurance directed Pearson VUE to stop administering Maine insurance examinations online: "Effective 5/10/2025, no new registrations will be accepted for online insurance examinations." Candidates already booked could test online only if the sitting was scheduled on or before 16 May 2025; everyone else was rescheduled into a test centre at no additional charge. The Bureau's stated reason was "security risks with online-proctored licensing examinations in uncontrolled environments," noting that other state regulators had done the same. The March 2026 handbook contains no mention of OnVUE anywhere, and Pearson VUE's Maine page offers only a physical appointment.
Where the centres are. Pearson VUE operates Pearson Professional Centers in Bangor and in Westbrook, just outside Portland. Both are confirmed from Pearson VUE's own published centre list, and the handbook independently names them in a rule about calculators: "Calculators will be available ONLY at the Bangor and Westbrook test centers."
Two cautions about that. First, the calculator sentence confirms those two centres exist; it does not establish that they are the only Maine sites, and this guide does not claim they are - Pearson VUE lists a Presque Isle site in Maine for at least one other licensing programme. Second, the handbook prints no street addresses. Handbook #122000 carries no test-centre addresses at all - the only Maine address in the whole document is the Bureau's own at 34 State House Station, Augusta - so the address has to come from Pearson VUE's own locator rather than from the candidate document. The handbook says as much: "Candidates can find a testing site by visiting the Pearson VUE website and selecting 'Find a test center' or by contacting Pearson VUE to confirm specific locations and examination schedules." Do that rather than trusting an address from a prep site.
Booking. Reserve online through the Maine insurance page or by calling (800) 274-4959, at least 24 hours before the date you want. There are no walk-ins. The examination fee is due at reservation, by credit card, debit card or voucher - "fees will not be accepted at the test center" - and a voucher expires 12 months from issue.
Changing or cancelling. Call Pearson VUE 48 hours before the examination. Cancel with proper notice and you may transfer the fee to a new reservation or request a refund; cancel without it, or fail to appear, and you forfeit the fee entirely. Maine does allow an excused absence request within 14 days of the exam date for illness, a death in the family, a traffic accident, court duty, military duty or a weather emergency - which, in a state where a February appointment in Bangor is a real weather question, is worth knowing exists.
On the day. Arrive 30 minutes early to check in; your identification is reviewed and you are photographed for the score report. Maine asks for one form of identification, not the two many states require - "the primary identification must be government-issued and photo-bearing," and it must be in English. Acceptable items include a driver's licence, a state or national identification card, a passport or passport card, a military ID, a US Department of State driver's licence, a plastic-card learner's permit bearing photo and signature, and an alien registration card. Expired is expired: "Pearson VUE does not recognize grace periods. For example, if a candidate's driver's license expired yesterday and the state allows a 30-day grace period for renewing the ID, the ID is considered to be expired." Turn up without it and you "will be denied admission ... will be considered absent, and will forfeit the examination fee."
Calculators are permitted - silent, handheld, solar or battery, non-programmable, no paper tape, no alphabetic keypad - and the centre supplies one at the Bangor and Westbrook centres. You may not bring your own scratch paper; the administrator issues note materials at your seat, you may not write on them before the exam begins, and you may not take them out. Everything else goes in a locker, powered off. The Life and Health guide covers the rest of the exam-day rules, including breaks and the misconduct policy.
Afterwards. You leave the centre with your official score report in hand - pass or fail, printed on the spot. A pass comes with instructions on how to apply for the licence; a fail comes with a numeric score and diagnostic information. Reservations for a resit are not made at the test centre, and you must wait one day before scheduling one. The Personal Lines guide walks scoring, resits and score validity in detail.
What the Maine Property License Costs
$25 to the Bureau - a $15 application fee plus a $10 licence fee - and the Pearson VUE examination fee. That is the whole of it.
Two of the usual line items are missing. Maine requires no pre-licensing course, and does not fingerprint producer applicants, so there is no vendor fee and no service code to look up. The examination fee is the one number Maine does not publish: handbook #122000 contains no dollar amount anywhere, and Pearson VUE quotes it at reservation.
One cost that only applies if you go further. Adding surplus lines authority to a property and casualty licence costs $15 application plus a $150 authority fee - $165 in total, against $25 for the licence itself - and it also requires a surety bond. The Casualty guide sets that route out in full.
And one that does not apply to you at all. Appointments cost $30 per producer per insurer, every two years, and are billed to and paid by the insurer - the appointment renewal cycle runs on the carrier's anniversary month, not on anything of yours. Agency appointments are $0. You need no appointment to hold or keep the licence.
Eligibility Requirements
24-A M.R.S. §1420-E sets the whole test: age 18, no conduct amounting to a ground under §1420-K, fees paid, examinations passed. Maine adds nothing for the property line - no experience requirement, no bond, no sponsor. (Contrast surplus lines authority, which does add a bond and a Maine office; the Casualty guide covers it.)
Nothing to complete first. The statutory pre-licensing requirement went in 2007 and the Bureau asks for no coursework today. A repealed-but-unconformed provision survives in Rule ch. 542; the Life guide explains it, and it is a curiosity rather than an obstacle.
If you will trade through an agency, the agency needs its own licence. §1413 requires a business entity to be licensed before it can authorise individual licensees to act on its behalf or use its name in Maine insurance advertising, and it must designate at least one licensed individual responsible for compliance. The entity's reporting clocks are tighter than an individual's: 14 days to report a change of the designated responsible person, 14 days to respond on members, directors, officers or partners when asked, and 30 days on a change in the individuals authorised to act for the entity.
And each additional office is registered separately. A resident entity operating from more than one location must register every additional location as a branch office, at $25 each. Nonresident entities license the principal location and register the rest as branches. This is the sort of requirement that catches an agency in its second year rather than its first.
Trading under a name that is not your legal name has its own rule, and the timing is unusual. §1420-I requires a producer doing business under an assumed name to notify the Superintendent prior to using it - not within some number of days afterwards. Notice first, then trade.
Keeping the Maine Property License
Important CE details: 24 hours per biennium including 3 ethics. There is no grace period: a penalty of $25 per outstanding credit hour, capped at $250, is assessed the day after the compliance date, and a licensee still short 60 days later faces a 60-day suspension. Providers report completions within 30 days; you file nothing.
24 credit hours every two years, 3 of them ethics, due the last day of your birth month in the odd or even year that matches your birth year. Holding Property alone and holding four lines cost the same 24 hours.
Property producers carry no line-specific training gate in Maine, and that is a finding rather than a gap on this page. Maine's product-specific requirements are long-term care training (24-A M.R.S. §5081) and annuity training (Rule ch. 917 §7), both of which attach to the life and health side. There is no flood course, no wind or hail course and no earthquake course of the kind several other states impose on property licensees.
How the hours are earned is regulated in some detail, and the home-study cap is the number to know. Rule ch. 542 §6 gives one credit for each 50 minutes of classroom instruction, to a maximum of 24, with breaks and meals excluded and credit withheld "unless attendance is verified by the instructor." Home study is capped at 16 credit hours - unless the course ends in "a closed book examination that is proctored in a manner adequate to ensure the integrity of the testing process," which lifts the ceiling to the full 24. So an entirely self-directed producer can reach 16 of the 24 and no further without sitting a proctored test.
Three smaller mechanics from the same section. Home study and classroom instruction may not be combined for credit in a single course. Fractional credits are rounded down to the next whole hour. And an instructor teaching an approved classroom course "may earn credit on the same basis as a student attending the course," at the Superintendent's discretion.
Nonresidents are covered by their home state. Rule ch. 542 treats satisfaction of the home state's continuing education requirement as satisfying Maine's, which follows from §1420-G's reciprocity structure - Maine's CE obligation attaches to resident licensees. That matters if you move: a producer who becomes a Maine resident picks up the Maine obligation on the ordinary birth-month cycle, subject to the first-biennium waiver.
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