Ohio Insurance Exam Guides
Pick the license you're studying for. Each guide covers Ohio-specific requirements, fees, and official links — plus a free practice exam. Then scroll down to explore the Ohio exam's state-law material, mapped.
Free study resource
What's actually tested on the Ohio exam — the state regulations, mapped
Every Ohio insurance exam reserves a block of questions for Ohio-specific law — the fees, deadlines, limits, and rules that generic national study guides gloss over. This is that material: 124 facts from the TESTivity Ohio regulations curriculum, organized the way we teach them. Open a branch, explore, and let the structure do some of the remembering for you.
Every fact below carries its source citation and the date we last verified it (most recently August 2026) — and is re-checked on a schedule. Facts marked tested are ones you should expect to see on the exam.
Life 15 facts
The life insurance rules that differ by state — free look, grace, reinstatement.
- Incontestability period testedNot more than 2 years from the policy's date, during the insured's lifetime. Four exceptions: nonpayment of premiums; violation of conditions relating to naval or military service in time of war; violation of conditions relating to aeronautics; and, at the company's option, provisions for total and permanent disability and provisions granting additional insurance against death by accident or accidental means
- Grace period for individual life tested“A grace of one month” for any premium after the first — a calendar month, so a February policy gets 28 days rather than 30. The policy stays in force, the grace may carry an interest charge, and the policy MAY (not must) provide that an overdue premium is deducted from the death settlement
- Window to reinstate a lapsed policy testedWithin 3 years from the date of default, on evidence of insurability satisfactory to the company and payment of arrears of premiums with interest — the right attaches where the policy's value was applied to other insurance still in force and the original was not surrendered
- Max interest chargeable on reinstatement, if capped testedChapter 3915 fixes no percentage cap — arrears are paid with interest at the rate stated in the policy. Ohio omits the “not exceeding six per cent” ceiling many states carry
- Suicide exclusion period tested2 years from the issue date, and 2 years from any increase in death benefit — fixed by rule for VARIABLE life. No ORC section imposes a suicide clause on ordinary life at all; a 2-year clause there is a product norm, not Ohio law
- Free look for individual life testedNONE is mandated for an ordinary, non-replacement individual life policy. The 10 days in the life disclosure rule are a condition on when the Buyer's Guide may be delivered, not a right to return the policy
- Free look for annuities testedAt least 15 days for an annuity IF the Buyer's Guide and disclosure document were not delivered at or before application (a conditional 'backstop' free look)
- Free look when a policy is being replaced tested30 days to return a life policy or annuity issued in a REPLACEMENT transaction, for an unconditional full refund of premiums
- Free look for long-term care tested30 days from the date of delivery, using the procedures and requirements that apply to individual sickness and accident policies
- Required nonforfeiture options testedA paid-up nonforfeiture benefit elected on notice within 60 days of default; a cash surrender value after 3 full years' premiums on an ordinary policy (5 on industrial); and paid-up term (extended) insurance computed on the 1980 CET table. The statute does not present the familiar three-option menu as mandatory
- Registrations required to sell variable products testedVariable life and variable annuities require the Ohio Life line with the variable-products line of authority PLUS FINRA registration (a Series 6 or 7 with a Series 63/66) — they are securities. Fixed annuities need only the Life line.
- Does the state regulate viatical/life settlements? testedYes — Ohio regulates viatical and life settlements under Chapter 3916; providers and brokers must be licensed
- Viator's rescission window tested15 CALENDAR days after receipt of the proceeds — the statute says calendar. Death inside the window is treated as rescission subject to repayment, and ownership reverts to the viator or the estate
- Has the state adopted the NAIC best interest standard? testedYes — effective 2/14/2021, with the producer's four obligations at (F)(1) and a one-time 4-credit training course required before selling any annuity
- Free look for variable life tested10 days from receipt of the policy
Health 17 facts
Health coverage rules — continuation, prompt pay, mandates, public programs.
- Has the state expanded Medicaid under the ACA? testedYES — Ohio expanded Medicaid under the ACA (adults up to 138% of the federal poverty level), effective January 1, 2014
- Effective date of expansion, if expanded testedJanuary 1, 2014
- Agency administering Medicaid testedThe Ohio Department of Medicaid (ODM)
- Federal marketplace or state-based exchange testedA FEDERALLY-FACILITATED marketplace (HealthCare.gov) — Ohio did not build a state exchange
- Name of the state CHIP program testedOhio operates CHIP through Ohio Medicaid as a Medicaid expansion rather than as a separately branded program
- Clean-claim payment deadline, no documentation needed tested30 days — this is the deadline for a claim that needs no supporting documentation. It is NOT the electronic-submission deadline
- Clean-claim payment deadline, supporting documentation needed tested45 days, where the third-party payer determines reasonable supporting documentation is necessary to establish payment responsibility. It is NOT the paper-submission deadline
- Does the submission method change the deadline? testedNo. The method controls the RECEIPT PRESUMPTION instead — rebuttably presumed received on the fifth business day after mailing, or 24 hours after electronic submission. A materially deficient claim triggers a 15-day notice, after which the 30- or 45-day clock runs
- Interest / penalty on late claim payment tested18% annual interest, AUTOMATIC — the payer “shall pay interest,” no regulator finding and no minimum dollar threshold. It is paid directly to the provider with the claim payment and may not be used to reduce benefits. Note the scope limit: prompt pay does not reach Chapter 3935/3937 property-casualty policies, self-funded ERISA plans, Medicare Advantage, Medicaid or TRICARE
- Is the IRO's external review decision binding on the plan? testedBinding on the issuer and the covered person, but expressly subject to other remedies available to the issuer under state law and to a superintendent-ordered second review. Standard review: decision within 30 days of the HEALTH PLAN ISSUER'S receipt of the request; expedited review: 72 hours, with coverage provided immediately on a reversal
- Employer size at which federal COBRA applies testedFederal COBRA applies at 20+ employees; Ohio continuation reaches smaller groups
- Employer size range covered by state continuation testedNo employer-size limit and no COBRA cross-reference — Ohio continuation applies to any group sickness and accident policy delivered, issued for delivery or renewed in Ohio on or after 6/28/1984, for an employee covered at least 3 months. The only federal carve-out is for self-insured plans where federal law preempts
- Duration of state continuation coverage tested12 months
- Election period for state continuation testedThe EARLIEST of three: 31 days after the coverage would otherwise terminate; 10 days after that termination date, if the employer gave notice before it; or 10 days after the employer's notice where the notice comes later. The two ten-day prongs are the trap
- Max premium as % of group rate testedNot more than 100% of the group rate for the insurance being continued, measured on each payment's due date — Ohio adds no COBRA-style 2% administrative load
- Free look for individual sickness and accident tested10 days — the policyholder may return the policy at least until midnight of the tenth day after receiving it, and no reason need be stated. Only a strictly per diem pro rata premium may be retained; the notice must be printed prominently on the first page; single-premium nonrenewable policies are excluded
- Continuation after the insured's death or a divorce testedA separate right for covered family members on death, divorce, annulment, dissolution or legal separation: notify the insurer and pay the premium within 31 days of termination. The right to renew ends at Medicare eligibility age, and there is no 12-month cap
Auto 13 facts
Auto insurance — minimum limits, fault system, required coverages.
- Fault-based (tort) or no-fault testedTORT (at-fault) — the at-fault driver's liability insurance pays the other party's damages. Ohio is NOT a no-fault state and has no mandatory PIP.
- Minimum bodily injury liability per person tested$25,000 per person
- Minimum bodily injury liability per occurrence tested$50,000 per accident
- Minimum property damage liability tested$25,000 per accident
- The memorizable shorthand (e.g. 30/60/25) tested25/50/25
- Uninsured motorist: mandatory / must be offered & rejectable / not required testedOPTIONAL — Ohio does NOT mandate uninsured motorist coverage, and since 2001 there is no mandatory-offer or written-rejection requirement; the insurer is not required to offer it
- Underinsured motorist status testedOPTIONAL — underinsured motorist coverage is treated the same as UM; when purchased it is reduced (difference-in-limits) by the amounts available from the at-fault driver's liability coverage
- Personal injury protection status testedNot required — Ohio is a tort state with no mandatory PIP (medical payments coverage is optional)
- Contributory / pure comparative / modified comparative negligence testedModified comparative negligence — the plaintiff recovers only if their fault was not greater than the COMBINED tortious conduct of all other persons, including persons from whom the plaintiff does not seek recovery; damages are then diminished proportionally
- The bar percentage, if modified comparative tested51% bar — a claimant whose fault is greater than the combined fault of the others recovers nothing (a claimant exactly 50% at fault still recovers)
- Assigned risk / residual market plan for auto testedYes — authorised by statute as an equitable apportionment agreement among insurers for applicants entitled to but unable to procure insurance through ordinary methods, with rate adjustments subject to Superintendent approval
- Any alternative to buying liability insurance (e.g. VA's UMV fee) testedYes — a bond, a certificate of deposit of money or securities, or a certificate of self-insurance. Self-insurance is open to a person in whose name MORE THAN 25 motor vehicles are registered in Ohio (i.e. 26 or more)
- All claims arising from one person's injury testedA liability policy may provide that all claims resulting from or arising out of any one person's bodily injury, including death, are collectively subject to the per-person limit — so a wrongful-death claim by several survivors does not multiply it. Separately, an intrafamily liability exclusion may not be enforced against the owner or operator in a Chapter 2125 wrongful-death claim, unless the policy carries UM/UIM coverage under 3937.18 and the intrafamily claim is not excluded from that coverage
CE & Renewal 11 facts
Continuing education and renewal rules — the numbers the exam loves.
- How long a license lasts before renewal tested2 years (biennial), due on or before the last day of the licensee's birth month
- What the renewal date keys off (flat term / birthday / birth year) testedBirthday-based — the license renews biennially on or before the last day of the licensee's birth month
- CE hours per renewal period, standard case tested24 CE hours per 2-year renewal period
- CE hours if holding multiple license types (if different) tested24 total each period — a single requirement covering all lines held; it is not stacked per line
- Ethics hours required per period testedAt least 3 hours of approved ethics training each period, within the 24
- Limits on who may provide CE credits testedCourses and providers must be approved by the Department; the biennial renewal fee ($25) is waived for a resident agent who has met the CE requirement
- Initial long-term care training requirement tested8-hour approved LTC course before selling, soliciting or negotiating long-term care insurance, then a 4-hour approved refresher every renewal period. Annuity producers separately owe a one-time 4-credit best-interest course. ALL of this counts inside the 24 hours, not on top of it
- What happens if CE is not completed (fine / expiry / cancellation) testedCE is a gate rather than a fine: all required credits must be complete before a renewal application can be submitted, so a shortfall converts directly into a missed renewal — late fee, then automatic suspension, then cancellation. A CE-deficient resident agent also loses the $25 renewal-fee waiver. No separate monetary fine schedule for a CE shortfall was located
- Late renewal / reinstatement tiers testedLate renewal $50, available only until the first day of the second month following the renewal date; automatic suspension for nonrenewal begins that day; reinstatement $100 within the twelve months following the date the license should have been renewed; automatic cancellation after that, deferred while the Superintendent is investigating or a Chapter 119 proceeding is pending. THE DOLLAR AMOUNTS ARE IN THE RULE, NOT THE STATUTE
- Any CE exemption (e.g. long-service agents) testedInactive status under ORC 3905.16; limited-lines-only licensees; title-only licensees (reduced to 12 credits, 10 title-specific + 2 ethics); and resident surety bail bond agents. Nonresidents are not “exempt” so much as outside the section's reach — ORC 3905.481 applies to resident licensees, and nonresidents comply with their home state
- Carryover of excess CE credits testedUp to 50% of the next period's requirement — 12 hours on a 24-hour cycle — and carried hours count as GENERAL credit only, so they can never cover the 3 ethics hours or a specialty requirement. CE earned in another state does not transfer when a person becomes an Ohio resident agent; credits are earned on the completion date, not the posting date
Property 9 facts
Property insurance — rate regulation, residual markets, catastrophe exposure.
- Rate regulation system (file-and-use / prior approval / use-and-file) testedFILE-AND-USE — an insurer files rates and forms with the Superintendent, and each filing takes effect after a 30-day review window unless disapproved (a competitive, file-and-use system, not strict prior approval)
- Is insurance credit scoring permitted in personal lines? testedPERMITTED but REGULATED — credit-based insurance scoring is allowed in personal lines subject to Ohio Admin. Code 3901-1-55 (certain factors, such as insurance-related inquiries, disputed items, and medical collections, may not count against the consumer, and adverse-action notice is required)
- Does the state have a FAIR Plan? testedYes. The statute requires only that the risk be insurable under reasonable underwriting standards and the applicant unable to procure coverage through normal channels; the TWO-DECLINATION test and the $2,000,000-per-location limit are in the rule, not the statute
- Name of the FAIR Plan, if any testedThe Ohio FAIR Plan Underwriting Association — the property insurer of last resort
- Dominant catastrophe perils in the state testedTornadoes and severe thunderstorms, hail and straight-line (derecho) wind, winter storms, and riverine and flash flooding — an inland Midwest profile
- What license you must already hold to write surplus lines testedBOTH a property license and a casualty license — not a generic producer license. Nonresidents need an active home-state surplus lines license, and a nonresident performing the diligent-effort search personally must also hold an Ohio nonresident property and casualty line of authority
- Is a diligent-effort search of the admitted market required first? testedYes — contact at least FIVE of the authorized insurers the agent represents that customarily write the kind of insurance required, or as many as the agent represents. Not required for purchasing and risk retention groups under Chapter 3960, or for exempt commercial purchasers where the disclosure is made and a written request received
- Loss settlement on a total fire or lightning loss testedOhio is a VALUED POLICY state: absent a change increasing the risk without the insurers' consent and absent intentional fraud, the whole amount stated in the policy is paid on a total loss. The agent must examine the building and fix its insurable value at issue; a replacement-cost policy conditioned on actual repair or replacement is settled as the policy prescribes instead; and cellar and foundation walls are not part of the building in settling losses
- Two or more policies on the same property testedStatutory pro rata contribution — each policy contributes to the whole or partial loss in proportion to the amount of insurance it carries. In Ohio this is the statute, not merely a policy condition
Guaranty 10 facts
The safety nets when an insurer fails — and their limits.
- Name of the life & health guaranty association testedThe Ohio Life and Health Insurance Guaranty Association (OLHIGA)
- Life death benefit limit tested$300,000 life death benefit — and every cap is the LESSER of the insurer's contractual obligation or the scheduled amount
- Life cash surrender / withdrawal value limit tested$100,000 in net cash surrender and withdrawal values — a sub-limit INSIDE the $300,000 life cap, not a separate bucket
- Annuity benefit limit tested$250,000 present value of annuity benefits including net cash surrender and withdrawal values; $250,000 for a governmental retirement plan participant; $250,000 for a structured settlement annuity; and $5,000,000 per contract holder for an UNALLOCATED annuity
- Health benefit limit tested$500,000 for “health benefit plan coverage” — the statute's own term; $300,000 for disability income; $300,000 for long-term care; $100,000 for other health coverage
- Aggregate per-individual cap, if any tested$300,000 per individual across all coverages, rising to $500,000 where health benefit plan coverage is involved. It sits in an UNLETTERED FLUSH PARAGRAPH inside (D)(2) — between (b) and (c) — and applies across (a), (b) and (d) but NOT across the unallocated annuity cap at (c). There is no net-worth exclusion on the life and health side
- Does the state follow the standard NAIC model limits? testedYes, Ohio tracks the NAIC model — including the $500,000 health benefit plan tier and the $5,000,000 unallocated annuity figure that summaries often omit
- Name of the P&C guaranty association testedThe Ohio Insurance Guaranty Association (OIGA)
- Per-claim cap tested$300,000 per claim and $10,000 on any unearned premium claim, with a $100 RETENTION (a claim that does not exceed $100 is excluded, so $100.00 is out and $100.01 is in) and a $50,000,000 NET-WORTH EXCLUSION. Every dollar figure sits in the definition of “covered claim,” not in the obligations section; the association is never obligated beyond the face amount of the policy, and claims must be filed by the earlier of the court's final claims date or 18 months after the liquidation order
- Is using the guaranty association as a sales inducement prohibited? testedYes. The member insurer must also deliver a Superintendent-approved summary document with a clear and conspicuous disclaimer naming the association, warning of substantial limitations and exclusions, and stating that agents may not use the association to sell
Workers Comp 7 facts
Who must carry workers' compensation and what it pays.
- Is workers' compensation mandatory for private employers? testedYes — every private employer with one or more employees must secure workers' compensation through the state fund (or by qualifying to self-insure)
- Employee count at which coverage is required testedOne or more employees — the threshold is in the definition of “employer,” which reaches an entity that has in service one or more employees or shared employees regularly in the same business
- Agency administering workers' compensation testedThe Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation (BWC) — which runs the exclusive State Insurance Fund (the Industrial Commission adjudicates disputed claims)
- Temporary total disability wage replacement rate tested72% of the full weekly wage for the first 12 weeks, then 66 2/3% of the average weekly wage thereafter
- Maximum TTD duration testedTemporary total disability is paid while total disability continues, up to the statewide average weekly wage maximum; after 200 weeks the Bureau may examine for permanency, and benefits end at maximum medical improvement or return to work
- Deadline to file a claim testedOne year after the injury or death, or the claim is forever barred. Occupational disease runs on a different clock: within one year after the disability began, or up to six months after diagnosis by a licensed physician, CNM, CNS or CNP, or within one year after death
- Ways an employer may comply (insure / self-insure / group) testedTwo only: pay premiums into the State Insurance Fund, or qualify as a BWC-approved self-insurer (two-year Ohio operating history, certified financials, surety bond, demonstrated administrative capability). There is no third path and no private carrier
Regulator 5 facts
Who regulates insurance here and what powers the office holds.
- Name of the state insurance regulator testedThe Ohio Department of Insurance (ODI)
- Title of the person who heads it testedSuperintendent of Insurance (who is also the Director of the Department) — Ohio does not use the title 'Commissioner'
- How the commissioner is chosen: elected / appointed by governor / appointed by other body testedAPPOINTED by the Governor, with the advice and consent of the Senate, serving at the Governor's pleasure — not elected
- Where the state's insurance law is codified testedTitle 39 of the Ohio Revised Code (Insurance), with producer licensing in Chapter 3905 and the Superintendent's powers in Chapter 3901; rules are in Ohio Administrative Code Chapter 3901
- Does the regulator sit somewhere unusual (e.g. inside a constitutional commission)? testedNo — the Department of Insurance is a standalone, executive-branch department headed by the Superintendent (who also holds the title of Director); Ohio uses an appointed regulator, not an elected commissioner
Cancellation 9 facts
When and how policies can be canceled or nonrenewed — heavily tested.
- Initial window during which an insurer may cancel more freely tested90 days. ORC 3937.30 to 3937.39 do not apply at all to a policy or coverage in effect less than ninety days when the cancellation notice is mailed, unless it is a renewal policy — so inside that window the enumerated grounds, the notice periods, the reason requirement and the Superintendent-review right all fall away. Separately, an auto policy must be issued for not less than ONE year, or guaranteed renewable to a year
- Notice days to cancel a homeowners policy inside the initial window testedNot less than 10 days for NONPAYMENT, and the notice may accompany a billing statement. Ohio sets no statutory notice period for a homeowners cancellation on any other ground, and NO statutory nonrenewal notice for personal-lines property at all — both are contract terms
- Notice days to cancel a personal auto policy inside the initial window testedNone applies inside the first 90 days of a new (non-renewal) auto policy — the statutory scheme is switched off. Once the policy is past 90 days, cancellation takes effect not earlier than 30 days after the notice
- Notice days for cancellation for nonpayment tested10 days' notice for cancellation for nonpayment of premium (auto and personal-lines property)
- Notice days for cancellation for other permitted causes tested30 days, and only on four enumerated grounds: fraud, concealment or material misrepresentation; suspension, revocation or expiration of a driver's license; nonpayment; and a change of residence or vehicle registration to a state or country where the insurer is not authorized
- Notice days required for nonrenewal testedAutomobile: 30 days before expiration, with the reason furnished within 5 days of a written request — and NO agent-copy requirement and NO late-mailing extension. Those two features belong to COMMERCIAL nonrenewal, where the notice also goes to the insured's agent and a late notice keeps coverage in force until 30 days after mailing at the original rates
- Must the reason be stated proactively, on request, or not at all? testedThe notice must state the reason or offer to supply it within 5 days of a written request, and must tell the insured of the right to Superintendent review; the review itself requires a written application BEFORE the effective date. If the insurer fails to comply with the cancellation procedure, the cancellation is ineffective and the policy continues in force
- Restrictions on nonrenewing because of claims (e.g. weather claims excluded) testedOhio bars surcharging a private passenger auto policy for a single-vehicle accident, or an accident with an uninsured or underinsured motorist, where the insured's action was not a PROXIMATE CAUSE of any loss and the insured was not convicted of and did not plead guilty or no contest to a violation arising from it. Accidents incurred on official duty by law enforcement officers, firefighters, investigators and emergency-vehicle or ambulance operators may not be considered at all, and neither may those of public employees operating mowing or snow-and-ice-removal vehicles or State Highway Patrol motor carrier enforcement personnel, nor Chapter 5577 vehicle-weight convictions
- What “days” means in an Ohio insurance rule testedCalendar days. Very few Ohio insurance rules define the term at all: OAC 3901-1-54(C) does, and OAC 3901-1-07(C)(17)(d) carries the identical definition — calendar days, with a time limit falling on a Saturday, Sunday or holiday extended to the next business day. The rules relied on elsewhere in this map (OAC 3901-6-05, 3901-6-08, 3901-6-13, 3901-6-14, 3901-1-55, 3901-1-18, 3901-5-07, 3901-5-09) all leave “days” undefined, which means calendar; Ohio writes “business days” expressly whenever it means them
Licensing 28 facts
How you get and keep the license — exams, fees, applications, background checks.
- Is there a standalone life license/exam? testedYes — Ohio Life Insurance Agent, Series 11-44: 100 scored questions, 2 hours, $49, one 20-hour certificate
- Is there a standalone health license/exam? testedYes — Ohio Accident and Health Insurance Agent, Series 11-45: 100 scored questions, 2 hours, $49, one 20-hour certificate
- Is there a combined life+health license/exam? testedYes — Ohio Life, Accident and Health Insurance Agent, Series 11-35: 150 scored questions, 2.5 hours, $49, and BOTH course completion certificates (40 hours) must be presented on test day
- Is there a personal lines license/exam? testedYes — Personal Lines is its own line of authority with its own exam, Ohio Personal Line Insurance Agent, Series 11-43: 100 scored questions, 2 hours, $49
- Is P&C one combined license, or split into Property and Casualty? testedSplit into separate Property and Casualty lines of authority, each with its own exam — Property Series 11-46 and Casualty Series 11-47, 100 questions and 2 hours each — plus a combined Property and Casualty exam, Series 11-36, at 150 questions and 2.5 hours requiring two certificates
- Does the life license cover annuities? testedYes — the Life line covers annuities. VARIABLE life and variable annuities require the variable-products line of authority plus FINRA registration (they are securities); fixed annuities need only the Life line.
- Does the P&C license already include personal lines authority? testedYes — the Property and Casualty lines together cover personal-lines risks; standalone Personal Lines is a narrower, noncommercial-only line
- Full list of exam-based agent license types testedLife; Accident and health; Property; Casualty; Personal lines; Variable life and variable annuity products; Credit; Title; Surety bail bond; Portable electronics; Self-service storage; Travel; and any other line the Superintendent designates. Public insurance adjuster is licensed separately and is not a 3905.06(B) line of authority
- Exam administrator (Prometric / PSI / Pearson VUE) testedPSI Services LLC (program OHINS). Remote proctored examinations were discontinued effective 3/13/2026 — all exams are now in person at one of nine Ohio test centers
- Exam fee tested$49 per attempt, the same for every Ohio insurance exam, and the FEE is valid one year from the date of payment. Non-refundable and non-transferable
- License application fee tested$10 per line of authority (each major line); plus a small NIPR transaction fee
- Fee per insurer appointment testedUp to $20 per agent appointment (and per annual renewal), paid by the insurer
- Passing score tested70%
- Minimum age to be licensed tested18
- Is pre-licensing education required? testedYES — 20 hours of approved pre-licensing education per major line of authority (so 40 hours for the combined Life/Accident & Health exam, and 40 for the combined Property/Casualty exam)
- Pre-licensing hours and any exceptions (e.g. Title, adjusters) tested20 hours per line for Life, Accident and health, Property, Casualty, Personal lines and Surety bail bond — so 40 hours for a combined exam, with a separate certificate for each line. Certificates and waivers are valid 180 calendar days from course completion and must be presented as PAPER originals signed by both provider and candidate; PSI refuses electronic copies even though OAC 3901-5-07 lets providers issue them that way. Title requires an exam but no pre-licensing; variable requires neither but does require a CRD number; limited lines require neither; surety bail bond pre-licensing cannot be waived
- Fingerprints, state police report, or none testedElectronic (WebCheck) fingerprinting for a state and federal (Ohio BCI and FBI) criminal background check, required of all resident license applicants (not for renewals)
- Who takes the prints / issues the report testedNational WebCheck (BCI and FBI) through an Ohio Attorney General-approved vendor, including the PSI test centers. $22.00 BCI + $25.25 FBI within a $72.25 maximum. Give the reason “Required for Licensure/Permit, Insurance Lic. or ORC 3905.051” and agency code BQE445; results must reach ODI directly from BCI or FBI or they are refused
- How long the background report stays valid tested12 months — and it is a reuse right, not just a shelf life: no new check is required for an additional line of authority if one was obtained for insurance license purposes within the last twelve months. No check is required at renewal
- Deadline to apply after passing the exam tested180 calendar days from the date you pass — and the application cannot be submitted before passing. This deadline is in the rule only; the candidate bulletin never mentions it
- How long a passed exam remains valid testedEffectively 180 calendar days, because that is the window in which the application must be filed after passing. The separate 180-day clock on the pre-licensing certificate runs from course completion
- Waiting period before retaking a failed exam testedNo limit on retakes — you cannot rebook the same day you tested, but may retest as soon as the next available day (the pre-licensing certificate must still be within its 180 days)
- Notice required to reschedule/cancel without forfeiting the fee testedCancel or reschedule at least 2 days before the appointment to keep the fee; arrive 30 minutes early (not starting within 15 minutes forfeits the fee)
- Where you apply (Sircon / NIPR / state portal) testedNIPR (LicenseHub), at $10 per line of authority; the candidate bulletin also describes applying from the kiosk at the examination center immediately after passing
- Are temporary licenses available? testedYes — but only in limited servicing situations (death or disability of an agent, a member of a licensed agency, or an agent entering active military service, or where the public interest is served); a temporary licensee must be sponsored
- Temporary license duration and training requirement testedNot to exceed 180 days, with no automatic extension, terminating on disposal of the business. Both pre-licensing and the examination are waived. The licensee must be sponsored by a licensed agent or insurer and the sponsor is responsible for the licensee's acts; Chapter 119 does not apply to issuance, restriction or rescission, so there is no hearing right
- Exam waiver for a producer moving into Ohio testedApply within 90 days of establishing a principal place of residence or business in Ohio and BOTH the 20-hour education and the examination are waived, if currently licensed and in good standing elsewhere for the lines requested — or if the prior out-of-state license was cancelled and the application is made within 90 days of cancellation. Verified through the NAIC producer database. The candidate bulletin never mentions this
- Designation waivers of pre-licensing coursework testedThree line-specific lists, waiving the coursework only and never the exam, claimed on ODI form INS3276. Life: insurance degree, CEBS, ChFC, CIC, CFP, CLU, FLMI, LUTCF. Accident & health: insurance degree, RHU, CEBS, REBC, HIA. Property, casualty or personal lines: insurance degree, AAI, ARM, CIC, CPCU. Anyone who has surrendered a license, or had one suspended, inactivated, canceled for nonrenewal or revoked, may not use ANY pre-licensing exemption