How to get your Ohio Property & Casualty license
Ohio runs its Property & Casualty producer license through the Ohio Department of Insurance (ODI), with PSI Services handling every exam. The path is the same five steps for everyone: be at least 18, finish the required pre-licensing hours, pass the PSI exam, clear a BCI & FBI background check, then file your application through NIPR.
The piece that trips people up isn't the exam — it's the paperwork choreography around it. Your pre-licensing certificate has a 180-day shelf life, you have to physically carry the original paper copy into the test center, and the name on it has to match your ID and your PSI registration character-for-character. Miss any of those and you forfeit the $49 exam fee at the door.
TESTivity recommends [Achievable](https://app.achievable.me/study/insurance-property-casualty/purchase#a_aid=getthelicense) to satisfy your Ohio pre-licensing requirement. Achievable is an approved provider, its insurance courses were built by the same subject-matter expert behind TESTivity, and completing the Achievable course earns you the certificate of completion Ohio requires.
One important distinction: TESTivity is not an approved pre-licensing provider in Ohio and does not issue certificates of completion. The TESTivity learning tools and study packages will absolutely help you pass the exam — but treat them as a supplement to your Achievable course, not a substitute for it.
Disclosure: TESTivity has a partnership with Achievable and may earn a commission if you enroll through links on this page.
What the PSI exam day looks like
Schedule online at the PSI Ohio portal or by phone. You can test at a PSI center (Akron, Cambridge, Cincinnati/Hamilton, Cleveland, two Columbus sites, Macedonia, Troy, plus out-of-state PSI centers) or by live remote proctor. Arrive 30 minutes early for check-in.
You get a 15-minute tutorial that doesn't eat into your exam time, plus scratch paper and a pencil at the center (remote proctored candidates get no scratch paper). The minimum passing score is 70%. Your result prints on screen and is emailed; a failing report breaks down your weak areas by topic so you know what to restudy.
Remote testers must clear the system/webcam/audio check beforehand, can't take breaks, and must email their pre-licensing certificate to ohcert@psiexams.com within 24 hours of passing.
Fingerprints & background check
ORC 3905.051 requires a BCI & FBI criminal records check via National WebCheck before ODI can issue your license. Every PSI test center is an approved WebCheck provider; fingerprinting there runs $72.25 (VISA or MasterCard). You can also book elsewhere through FastFingerprints.
WebCheck results usually post within two business days but can take 4–6 weeks. Results are valid for one year, and a single clean check can support multiple license types applied for in that window. ODI cannot finish processing your application until both the BCI and FBI reports arrive.
Filing your license application
The moment you pass, you can apply electronically at the test-center kiosk or later through ODI's site (the “Apply or Renew Agent License” button), which routes through NIPR. NIPR adds a small transaction fee on top of the state fee, payable by credit/debit card or e-check — no cash or paper checks online.
Ohio is one of the faster regulators for clean files, often issuing within days once the background check and certificate are confirmed. You'll be notified by email and can print your license from ODI's Agent Locator.
Renewal and continuing education
Resident producer licenses renew every two years by the last day of your birth month. You can file up to 90 days early through NIPR, but all CE has to be posted to your ODI record first — you can't renew with CE outstanding.
The CE bar is 24 hours per biennium including 3 ethics hours. For resident agents who carry that CE requirement, ODI waives the renewal fee itself (you still pay the NIPR transaction fee). Miss the deadline and you get a one-month active grace period with a $50 late fee; after that the license suspends, and reinstatement within a year costs an added $100.
The Ohio Property & Casualty exam (Series 11-36)
The combined P&C exam is Series 11-36: 150 scored questions in 2.5 hours, 70% to pass. Like L&H, it spans two lines of authority, so you present TWO pre-licensing certificates on test day — 20 hours for Property and 20 hours for Casualty, 40 hours total.
About 10% of the exam is Ohio insurance regulation, followed by P&C basics, the Dwelling ('14) and Homeowners ('22) policies, personal and commercial auto, the Commercial Package Policy, Businessowners, workers' compensation, and other coverages. If you only need one line, Ohio offers stand-alone Property (Series 11-46), Casualty (Series 11-47), and Personal Lines (Series 11-43) exams, each 100 questions in 2 hours.
Ohio auto minimums & uninsured motorist rules
Ohio's Motor Vehicle Financial Responsibility Law (Chapter 4509) sets mandatory liability minimums of 25/50/25 — $25,000 bodily injury per person, $50,000 per accident, and $25,000 property damage (ORC 4509.51). Know that number cold; it shows up directly.
A distinctive Ohio point: uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage is NOT mandatory — insurers must offer it, but the insured can reject it in writing. The exam also tests the intrafamily (household) liability exclusion under 3937.46 and the rules on non-OEM aftermarket crash parts (1345.81). (Note for context only: 2025's House Bill 596 proposed raising BI minimums to 50/100 and mandating UM, but that is not current law.)
Mine subsidence insurance (3929.50–.61)
Ohio's mining history gives it a coverage most states don't test: mine subsidence insurance, governed by 3929.50–.61 and OAC 3901-1-48. In designated counties, mine-subsidence coverage is attached to property policies through a state program, and the exam expects you to recognize the framework and where it applies.
Pair this with the other Ohio property-law items — the Valued Policy Law (3929.25), the Fire Loss / Treasury Certificate demolition-fund rules (3929.86), and the Ohio Insurance Guaranty Association (Chapter 3955) — for a clean sweep of the state-law section.
FAIR Plan and residual markets
Ohio's residual-market backstops are exam staples: the Ohio FAIR Plan (3929.41–.49) for property risks that can't get standard-market coverage, the Commercial Insurance Joint Underwriting Association (3930.01–.18), and the Ohio Automobile Insurance Plan (4509.70) for hard-to-place auto risks.
Cancellation and nonrenewal rules (3929.19–.24; 3937.25–.47), binders (3901-1-18), and the Unfair Property/Casualty Claims Settlement Practices rules (3901-1-54; 3901-1-07) round out the regulatory material most likely to appear.
Pre-licensing waivers by designation
Ohio waives P&C pre-licensing for a degree in insurance or the AAI, ARM, CIC, or CPCU designations. The waiver covers Property, Casualty, and Personal Lines coursework — but you still take the exam.
File the Pre-licensing Education Waiver Request with proof of designation; the approved waiver is good for 180 days and must be brought to the test center, exactly like a course certificate.
Quick Reference
Official Links
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