What This License Is
Property and Casualty is two lines of authority — Property at ORC 3905.06(B)(3) and Casualty at (B)(4) — earned in one sitting. Together they cover the full commercial and personal property-casualty market: homeowners and personal auto, commercial property, general and products liability, business owners policies, commercial auto, umbrella and inland marine.
Series 11-36 costs $49, the same as either single-line exam, so the second line's exam fee is effectively free. The cost is upstream: 40 hours of pre-licensing, 20 per line, and two certificates in your hand at the test center.
Two structural facts shape whether this is the right target. First, surplus lines requires both licenses — ORC 3905.30(B) says a resident surplus lines broker must hold both a property license and a casualty license — so the combined route is the only one that opens that door. Second, workers' compensation is not private business in Ohio: the state runs a monopolistic fund, and the only alternative is BWC-approved self-insurance. A P&C producer here sells everything except the coverage that anchors a commercial book in most other states.
If your business is households rather than businesses, look at Personal Lines first — it is a separate line of authority in Ohio with its own 100-question exam and a single 20-hour certificate.
Exam Options & Format
Series 11-36, "Ohio Property and Casualty Insurance Agent" — 150 scored questions in 2 hours 30 minutes through PSI, plus 1 to 10 unscored experimental items that consume time but not marks. Pass at 70%, a genuine percentage; Ohio does not scale scores.
In person only — the bulletin's cover records that remote proctored examinations ended 3/13/2026.
Register at test-takers.psiexams.com/ohins at least 24 hours ahead or on (855) 807-3995; credit card, company check, money order or cashier's check, never a personal check. The fee is valid a year from payment; the certificates expire at 180 days, and that is the binding constraint.
Both certificates on the day. The bulletin is explicit that for Series 11-35 and Series 11-36 you must present both course completion certificates at testing. Paper originals, signed and dated by the provider and by you — the Life & Health guide owns the pre-licensing rules and the exam-day procedures that go with them.
Most Tested Topics on the Ohio Property & Casualty Exam
The state half of this exam concentrates on the machinery Ohio puts around property-casualty business: the guaranty association in ORC Chapter 3955, the regulator's powers and penalty ladder, the claims-settlement clocks in OAC 3901-1-54, and the commercial cancellation scheme in ORC 3937.25 to 3937.29. Every row is verified against the section cited:
| Concept | The Ohio rule |
|---|---|
| Guaranty per-claim cap, property and casualty | $300,000 on any claim — and it lives in the definition of "covered claim" (ORC 3955.01(D)(2)(b)), not in the obligations section |
| Guaranty cap, unearned premium | $10,000 on any unearned premium claim (ORC 3955.01(D)(2)(a)) |
| Guaranty retention | A claim that does not exceed $100 is excluded — a retention, not a threshold, so $100.00 is out and $100.01 is in (ORC 3955.01(D)(2)(g)) |
| Guaranty net-worth exclusion | No claim is covered under a policy issued to an insured whose net worth exceeded $50,000,000 on the last day of the fiscal year before the insolvency (ORC 3955.01(D)(2)(h)) |
| What else is excluded | Subrogation claims by reinsurers and pools, punitive or exemplary damages, retrospective-rating return premium, and claims of affiliates of the insolvent insurer (ORC 3955.01(D)(2)(c)–(f)) |
| The association's overall ceiling | Never more than the face amount of the policy from which the claim arises (ORC 3955.08(A)(1)) |
| Deadline to file against the association | The earlier of the court's final date for filing claims or 18 months after the order of liquidation (ORC 3955.08(A)(1)) |
| Who the superintendent is | The chief executive officer and director of the Department of Insurance (ORC 3901.011), appointed by the governor with the Senate's advice and consent, serving during the appointing governor's term and removable at the governor's pleasure (ORC 121.03(H)) |
| Producer discipline, maximum civil penalty | $25,000 per violation, after notice and an opportunity for hearing under ORC Chapter 119 (ORC 3905.14(E)(1)) |
| Unfair-practice penalties | Court-imposed civil penalties of $3,500 per violation, capped at an aggregate $35,000 in any six-month period (ORC 3901.22(F)(1)), and $10,000 for violating a cease-and-desist order (F)(2). Separately — and this is not a penalty — the superintendent may order the violator to reimburse up to $100,000, being half the cost of outside attorneys, actuaries and accountants retained for the investigation (ORC 3901.22(D)(5)) |
| Ohio-specific unfair practices | Pattern settlements — using a predetermined liability formula without individual investigation (ORC 3901.21(P)); discrimination against domestic-violence victims (Y); refusing disability income insurance because the applicant's occupation is household management (N); and excessive or discriminatory auto rates based solely on the location of residence (CC) |
| Claim acknowledgement | Within 15 days of receiving notice of a claim, and a response within 15 days to any claimant communication inviting one (OAC 3901-1-54(F)(2), (F)(3)) |
| Accept or deny | Within 21 days of receiving properly executed proofs of loss; where more time is needed the insurer must say so in writing and then update the claimant at least every 45 days while the investigation continues (OAC 3901-1-54(G)(1)) |
| Pay an accepted first-party claim | No later than 10 days after acceptance, where the amount is determined and not in dispute — structured settlements, probate proceedings and documented extraordinary circumstances are carved out (OAC 3901-1-54(G)(6)) |
| What "days" means | Calendar days, extended past a Saturday, Sunday or holiday to the next business day — and OAC 3901-1-54(C) says so expressly — one of the few Ohio insurance rules that defines the term at all (OAC 3901-1-07(C)(17)(d) carries the identical definition). Where a rule leaves "days" undefined it means calendar days, and Ohio writes "business days" whenever it means those |
| Commercial cancellation after 90 days | Once a commercial property, fire or casualty policy has been in effect more than 90 days, cancellation is limited to seven grounds, on 30 days' notice — or 10 days for nonpayment — and the notice also goes to the insured's agent. Medical malpractice and automobile insurance are outside this section (ORC 3937.25) |
| Commercial nonrenewal | 30 days, again with a copy mailed to the insured's agent; a late notice keeps coverage in force until 30 days after mailing at the original rates unless the insured accepts the nonrenewal — that extension is unique to this section (ORC 3937.26(A), (B)) |
| Appointment filing | The insurer files notice of appointment not later than 30 days after the agency contract is executed or the first application is submitted, whichever is earlier (ORC 3905.20(B)(1)) |
The guaranty rows are the ones candidates most often cite wrongly, and the reason is structural: Ohio put its dollar caps in the definitions section. ORC 3955.08(A)(1), the section that sounds like it should hold them, contains no figure at all beyond "the face amount of the policy." Everything numeric — the $300,000, the $10,000, the $100 retention, the $50,000,000 net-worth exclusion — is inside ORC 3955.01(D)(2), the definition of a "covered claim." Learn the numbers with that address attached and the exam's citation questions stop being a coin flip.
Also note the asymmetry between the two guaranty funds, because it is exactly the kind of contrast an exam writer likes. The property-casualty association has a $50,000,000 net-worth exclusion; the life and health association has none — its exclusions are personal and contractual rather than financial. If you sat the Life & Health paper as well, keep the two straight.
The claims-handling clocks reward one insight about units: OAC 3901-1-54(C) actually defines "days," as calendar days with a weekend and holiday rollover. Very few Ohio insurance rules do — the unfair-trade-practices rule, OAC 3901-1-07(C)(17)(d), carries the same definition word for word, and most of the rules you will meet carry a definitions paragraph that never mentions the term. Where it is undefined it means calendar days, and Ohio writes business days expressly whenever it wants those. A candidate who assumes uniform units gets the prompt-payment questions wrong in both directions.
Finally, do not import commercial rules into auto questions or the reverse. The agent-copy requirement runs through the commercial sections — cancellation at ORC 3937.25 and nonrenewal at ORC 3937.26 — and the late-mailing extension is unique to ORC 3937.26(B). Ohio's automobile nonrenewal section has neither. The Personal Lines guide handles the auto and personal-lines property side.
Coming to Ohio With a License — The 90-Day Rule Nobody Publishes
If you are already a licensed producer somewhere else and you are moving to Ohio, the most valuable sentence in Ohio insurance law is ORC 3905.041(A) — and the candidate bulletin never mentions it.
The 90-day exemption waives both the education and the examination. An individual applying for a resident license within ninety days of establishing a principal place of residence or business in Ohio is exempt from the ORC 3905.04 education and examination requirements, on payment of the usual fees, if either: (a) the individual is currently licensed in another state and in good standing for the line or lines of authority requested; or (b) the individual held such a license and applies within ninety days after its cancellation, having been in good standing for the requested lines when it was cancelled.
Read what that means against the alternative. A producer relocating from a neighbouring state who does not know this rule will buy 40 hours of pre-licensing, pay $49 to sit a 150-question exam, and spend weeks on both — and the 90-day clock may expire while they are doing it. Nothing in PSI's document warns them, because the bulletin's exemptions section covers coursework only.
How Ohio verifies it. ORC 3905.041(A)(2) lets the superintendent check your status through the producer database maintained by the NAIC or its affiliates, and to demand documentation from your prior state where the database is silent. Practically: make sure your outgoing state's records show you in good standing before you file, because a database that says otherwise is what turns a clean waiver into a request for paperwork.
What the exemption does not remove. You still file a full application through NIPR at $10 per line of authority, and you still complete the ORC 3905.051 criminal records check — the exemption reaches education and examination only. The Casualty guide walks the background check.
Nonresident licensing is a different route with a different logic. A nonresident applicant is licensed on home-state reciprocity: apply, and if your home state reciprocates, Ohio issues. If it does not, you must meet Ohio's resident requirements. Nonresident renewal additionally requires you to maintain a resident license in your home state for the lines you hold here (ORC 3905.07(C)(2)) — lose the home-state license and the Ohio one cannot be renewed.
A gap worth naming. OAC 3901-5-09 sets out nonresident licensing and resident licensing separately and contains no express procedure for converting an existing Ohio nonresident license to a resident one when you move here. The 90-day rule is written for a person applying for a resident license, and it fits that situation on its face — but the mechanics of the conversion are not published. If that is your position, call ODI Licensing on 614-644-2665 rather than guessing, and do it inside the 90 days.
CE crosses state lines badly. A nonresident complies with the CE requirements of the home state — ORC 3905.481 reaches only resident licensees, so nonresidents are not "exempt" so much as outside its scope. But when you become an Ohio resident agent, OAC 3901-5-01(E)(1) provides that continuing education from another state does not transfer. Expect to start Ohio's 24 hours fresh on your first Ohio renewal cycle.
Temporary licenses are the other route that skips both the coursework and the exam, under ORC 3905.041(B) and ORC 3905.09. They run not more than 180 days, terminate if the business is disposed of, must be sponsored by a licensed agent or insurer — and the sponsor is responsible for the licensee's acts. Four categories qualify: the surviving spouse or court-appointed representative of a deceased or disabled agent; a member or employee of a business entity whose sole or remaining licensed agent has died or become disabled; the designee of an agent entering the armed forces; and anyone else the superintendent finds necessary in the public interest. Note that Chapter 119 does not apply to a temporary license's issuance, restriction or rescission, so there is no hearing right attached to it.
Renewal in Ohio — The Cycle, the CE, and the Ladder If You Miss It
The cycle. A resident producer license runs two years and is renewed on or before the last day of the licensee's birth month (ORC 3905.06(C)(1)). NIPR opens the renewal window 90 days before that date, and ODI sends a reminder no less than 30 days before expiration — to the address of record, which is your responsibility to keep current.
CE is the gate, not a side task. All 24 hours including 3 ethics hours (ORC 3905.481) must be complete before the renewal application can be submitted. One requirement covers every major line you hold; holding both Property and Casualty does not double it.
The fee, and why it is $0. ORC 3905.40(E) sets a biennial renewal fee of $25, and (E)(1) exempts "individual resident agents who have met their continuing education requirements under section 3905.481." That is why NIPR displays $0.00 for an Ohio major-lines renewal — the waiver is applied at the transaction. The internal logic is worth understanding rather than memorising: limited-lines licensees pay the $25 precisely because they are exempt from CE and can never satisfy the waiver's condition. A resident agent who is CE-deficient is not merely late — they owe the $25 as well.
The ladder if you miss the date. Three stages, each with its own window and price:
| Stage | Window | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| On-time renewal | Through the last day of your birth month | $25, waived if CE is complete |
| Late renewal | After the renewal date but before the first day of the second month following it | $50 |
| Automatic suspension for nonrenewal | Begins the first day of the second month after the renewal date | — |
| Reinstatement | Within the twelve months following the date by which the license should have been renewed | $100 |
| Cancellation | After the twelve-month reinstatement period | The license "automatically is canceled" |
The dollar figures come from OAC 3901-5-09, not from the statute — ORC 3905.06 and ORC 3905.40 carry the structure but no amounts, which is why secondary sources so often attach the wrong cite. Cancellation is deferred while the superintendent is investigating allegations of wrongdoing or a Chapter 119 proceeding is pending (ORC 3905.06(F)).
What cancellation costs you is not fully published, and we are not going to guess. OAC 3901-5-09 provides that an agent who surrendered a license and wants another must meet the pre-licensing and examination requirements "as if the person had never been licensed." That sentence is written for surrender. The rule does not say what follows a cancellation for nonrenewal, and the stakes — 40 hours and a 150-question exam — are too high to extend it by analogy. What is certain is the collateral damage: anyone whose license has been surrendered, suspended, inactivated, canceled for nonrenewal or revoked is permanently barred from using any pre-licensing education exemption, so a lapsed CPCU cannot buy their way back with a designation.
Inactive status is the planned alternative to lapsing. Request it on ODI's form and attest to the conditions; while inactive you are exempt from CE, and credits already earned stay assigned to the original renewal cycle. Two constraints matter: inactivation applies to all lines of authority for that license type — you cannot park one line and keep another — and reactivation requires either the CE credits for the license type being activated or a pre-licensing course for it, completed within the preceding twelve months. For a major-lines license that is 24 credits including 3 ethics. Violations of the inactive-status rules carry a civil penalty of up to $25,000.
Extensions. Ohio's CE page publishes an operational route for hardship — military service, long-term medical disability or other extenuating circumstances — through Licensing on 614-644-2665 or licensing@insurance.ohio.gov, with a $100 processing fee. Military deployment also carries a 180-day extension from return for an initial application.
CE mechanics that decide whether you make the deadline. Credits are earned on the completion date, not the posting date, but providers have 15 days to report to the Department and ODI advises allowing that long for a course to appear. Carryover is capped at 50% of the next period's requirement — 12 hours on a 24-hour cycle — as general credit only, so it can never cover ethics or a specialty requirement. And a course completed twice in one renewal period is credited once; the same course in a different period is fine. Check your transcript on the ODI gateway rather than trusting a provider's confirmation email.
No fingerprints at renewal. ORC 3905.051 does not apply to agents renewing an existing license, and ODI says the same. The background check is a once-per-12-months event at licensing time, never a recurring one.
What It Costs
$49 for Series 11-36 — the same as a single-line exam — up to $72.25 for the National WebCheck background check, and $20 in application fees at $10 per line of authority for Property and Casualty. About $141 on a first-time pass, against ODI's fee chart dated 16 April 2026 and ORC 3905.40(C).
The 40 hours of pre-licensing are the substantial private cost, in two separate courses. AAI, ARM, CIC, CPCU or an insurance degree waives the coursework for both of these lines at once, since Ohio runs a single designation list covering Property, Casualty and Personal Lines — the Health guide owns the waiver rules.
Ongoing: renewal $25 and waived with CE complete; late renewal $50; reinstatement $100; a hardship extension request $100. None of the late-stage fees are waived by CE compliance — the waiver applies to the renewal fee alone.
Eligibility Requirements
At least 18 (ORC 3905.06(A)(1)(a)); 40 hours of ODI-approved pre-licensing, 20 per line, or approved waivers; a pass on Series 11-36; the ORC 3905.051 criminal records check; and the NIPR application at $10 per line, filed inside 180 calendar days of passing (OAC 3901-5-09).
ORC 3905.05 adds the paperwork requirements: the uniform application, a sworn declaration that everything in it is true, and consent to the records check. Applicants for variable authority must also supply a CRD number.
If you are moving to Ohio with these lines already in hand, do not start with a course — the 90-day exemption above waives the education and the exam together. And a company appointment is not required to be licensed; it becomes necessary before you sell, solicit or negotiate, with the insurer filing notice within 30 days of the agency contract or your first submitted application, whichever is earlier (ORC 3905.20(B)(1)).
Keeping Your License Active
Important CE details: 24 hours per two-year renewal period including 3 hours of ethics — one requirement no matter how many major lines you hold. It must be complete before the renewal can be filed, and finishing it is what waives the $25 renewal fee for resident individual agents.
24 hours every two years including 3 hours of ethics (ORC 3905.481), completed before the renewal is filed and covering every major line you hold as a single requirement.
For property-casualty producers the specialty training to watch is flood: a one-time 3-hour NFIP course approved by ODI, due by the end of your first renewal period, and counted inside the 24 rather than on top of it. If you also hold life or health lines, the annuity best-interest and long-term care trainings work the same way — see the Life & Health guide.
Who is outside the requirement: agents on inactive status, holders of limited-authority licenses only, and title-only licensees, who have a reduced 12-hour requirement of their own (OAC 3901-5-01(D)). Nonresidents comply with their home state's CE rather than Ohio's, because ORC 3905.481 reaches resident licensees only.
The renewal section above owns the mechanics — carryover, repeat courses, the 15-day provider reporting window, extensions, and what happens if the deadline passes.
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