Oregon Adjuster Insurance Exam 2026

What This License Is

An Oregon adjuster license is issued by the Division of Financial Regulation (DFR), part of the Department of Consumer and Business Services, under ORS chapter 744.

ORS 744.502(1) defines an adjuster as *"a person that receives a fee, a commission or other compensation to investigate, negotiate or settle first party or third party losses that arise as claims under the terms of an insurance contract that insures a domestic risk."*

Read that definition carefully, because it does not turn on independent-contractor tax treatment the way several other states' definitions do. It turns on receiving compensation to investigate, negotiate or settle. That is a broader hook, and it is the reason Oregon's public adjuster rules could later be built on the same statutory foundation.

ORS 744.531 sets the classes of insurance for which an adjuster may be licensed. The names you will see on the exam registration — General Lines, Health, and Crop — are the PSI exam series, and they track the licensable classes.

There is no prelicensing education requirement for any Oregon adjuster class. DFR states it plainly: *"No prelicense training is required."* Pass the exam, get fingerprinted if you are a resident, and apply through NIPR.

Public Adjusters — a License Built Entirely by Rule

Search ORS chapter 744 for "public adjuster" and you will find nothing. The words do not appear in the definitions, the license requirement, the exemptions, the classes section, or the prohibited-conduct section. Oregon has never enacted a public adjuster statute — there is no statutory bond, no statutory contract-cancellation right, and no statutory fee cap, because there is no statute.

And yet Oregon licenses public adjusters. DFR ran rulemaking docket ID 5-2025, *"The Licensing of Public Adjusters,"* adopting twenty rules at OAR 836-071-1100 through 836-071-1195, registered with the Secretary of State on August 1, 2025. Applications went live on NIPR August 18, 2025, and paper applications stopped being accepted after August 15, 2025.

The authority cited is ORS 731.244 — the director's general rulemaking power — and the statute implemented is ORS 744.521, the general adjuster licensing section. DFR reached the same destination as bond-and-contract states without a single line of public adjuster legislation.

OAR 836-071-1100 states the scope: the rule *"specifies the duties of and restrictions on public adjusters, which include limiting their licensure to assisting insureds in first party claims, excluding claims for personal or commercial auto lines of insurance."*

OAR 836-071-1105 defines a public adjuster as a person who, for compensation, acts *"solely in relation to first party claims arising under insurance contracts that insure the real or personal property of the insured,"* or who advertises or solicits that business.

The twenty rules cover licensing, examination, exemptions, reciprocity, denial and revocation, continuing education, fees, the contract between public adjuster and insured, place of business, escrow or trust accounts, record retention, standards of conduct, required notices, and unlicensed actors.

Who Does Not Need This License

ORS 744.505 states the license requirement and ORS 744.515 carries the exemptions. Read them together before you conclude that anyone handling an Oregon claim is unlicensed.

Because ORS 744.502(1) hooks on *"receives a fee, a commission or other compensation to investigate, negotiate or settle,"* the analysis in Oregon is about what you are paid to do, not about how you are classified for tax purposes.

ORS 744.584 is the discipline section and it supplies the enforcement backstop for everything in this chapter. It reaches the licensee personally.

ORS 744.555 provides for a temporary adjuster permit. Confirm the current terms in the rule before relying on it for a catastrophe deployment.

Fingerprints, Fees, and the Application

Fingerprinting is required — of residents. DFR directs applicants to either *"hav[e] your fingerprints digitally scanned at a PSI testing center located in Oregon"* or schedule at FieldprintOregon.com using code FPORDeptConsumerBusServDAS.

The fee is $61.25, which the PSI bulletin breaks out as *"the State processing fee of $46.25, and the PSI processing fee of $15.00."* Processing *"may take up to 4 weeks,"* and *"ink cards will not be accepted by the Division."*

Nonresidents are exempt from fingerprinting if they were fingerprinted for an adjuster license in another state — this follows from ORS 744.518(1)(e) and DFR's own fee page. That is a real saving and it is easy to miss.

The $75 application cost is two fees, not one. OAR 836-009-0007 sets a $30 application fee and a separate $45 license issuance fee, plus the actual cost of the criminal records check. The NIPR transaction fee is additional and DFR publishes only "plus processing fee."

OAR 836-071-0125 kills a stale application: it becomes invalid if the license is not granted by the last day of the ninth month after filing.

The PSI Exam — Three Series, Two Passing Scores

PSI administers Oregon's adjuster exams at $45 per attempt under OAR 836-009-0007. The current Candidate Information Bulletin is revised August 5, 2025.

General Lines Adjuster — Series 12-07: 150 scored questions, 2.5-hour limit. The content outline states it directly: *"Oregon Adjuster's Examination / General Lines Insurance / Series 12-07 / 150 questions – 2.5-hour time limit."* The content areas sum exactly to 150 items, with Property and Casualty Insurance Basics at 20% and the Adjustment Process at 17%.

Health Adjuster — Series 12-06: 100 questions, 2 hours. Crop Insurance Adjuster — Series 12-15: 50 questions, 1 hour.

Every exam carries 5 to 10 unscored questions in addition to the scored count. Budget your pacing against the larger number.

The passing score is a raw percentage, not a scaled score — 70% correct on every adjuster exam except Crop, which requires 80%. That is set in rule at OAR 836-071-0127(1), not merely in the bulletin.

There is no cap on attempts — the bulletin describes testing on an *"unlimited basis during the 1 year period."* You cannot rebook the same day, but you may call the next day and retest as soon as the day after. Cancel or reschedule at least 2 days before your date or forfeit the fee.

Remote online proctoring is available, with no breaks permitted and a requirement to launch within 30 minutes of your booked time. Bring one valid, non-expired, signature-bearing photo ID.

Nonresidents, Reciprocity, and Designated Home State

ORS 744.528 governs nonresident qualifications. A nonresident licensed in good standing in a reciprocal home state is generally exempt from the Oregon exam.

Three states are treated as non-reciprocal, so their residents must sit the Oregon exam: California, Hawaii, and New York. DFR publishes that list on its renew-a-license page — but note the same page writes *"i.e. CA, NY, HI etc."*, and OAR 836-071-0120(1)(b) says the authoritative list of recognized examinations *"is set forth on the department's Division of Financial Regulation website."* Treat the three-state list as current but confirm before advising a candidate from a fourth state.

Oregon recognizes and can serve as a Designated Home State for residents of states that do not license adjusters.

Reciprocity is a continuing condition, not a one-time gate. ORS 744.538 governs a change of circumstance of a nonresident adjuster.

Renewal, Late Renewal, and Continuing Education

The license is biennial. OAR 836-071-0130(1)(a) expires an individual license *"biennially in the month of the individual's birthday anniversary."* A business entity license expires on the last day of the month of the second anniversary of initial issuance, then biennially. The renewal window opens 90 days before expiration and the on-time renewal fee is $45.

Late renewal costs double. ORS 744.521(2)(b)(C) sets the late fee at *"double the amount of the fee"* — $90 — and there is a one-year grace period after expiration. After the grace period lapses you apply as a new applicant under ORS 744.521(1). That means the exam again.

Continuing education is 24 hours per two-year cycle, under ORS 744.521(2)(a)(B). Three hours must be ethics and three hours must be Oregon law — both inside the 24, not on top. Business entities and consultants owe none.

Public adjusters carry the same 24 hours with 3 ethics via OAR 836-071-1155, effective 08/01/2025.

ORS 746.230 — No Frequency Element, and It Names You

ORS 746.230(1) opens: *"An insurer or other person may not commit or perform any of the following unfair claim settlement practices,"* and then lists them — including *"(d) Refusing to pay claims without conducting a reasonable investigation based on all available information"* and *"(f) Not attempting, in good faith, to promptly and equitably settle claims in which liability has become reasonably clear."*

There is no "general business practice" qualifier on that list. The frequency language appears only in subsection (2), a separate and narrower prohibition: *"No insurer shall refuse, without just cause, to pay or settle claims with such frequency as to indicate a general business practice in this state."*

That structural split is the whole ballgame. The NAIC Unfair Claims Settlement Practices Model Act, on which most national courses are built, conditions liability on conduct committed with such frequency as to indicate a general business practice. Oregon strips that qualifier out of the prohibited-practices list entirely. One act, on one file, is a violation.

And the subject is "or other person," not "insurer." The legislature demonstrated the contrast deliberately by writing *"No insurer shall"* in subsection (2) of the same section. OAR 836-080-0210(4) reinforces it, defining "insurer" to include *"any person authorized to represent the insurer with respect to a claim."* The Oregon claims-practices standard travels with the individual adjuster, not just the company.

ORS 746.240 supplies the Director's residual authority over any trade practice *"although not expressly defined and prohibited in the Insurance Code"* that the Director finds unfair or deceptive.

The Claim-Handling Clocks

Oregon's numeric deadlines live in OAR chapter 836, division 80.

OAR 836-080-0225 — Required Claim Communication Practices. An insurer shall: *"Not later than the 30th day after receipt of notification of claim, acknowledge the notification or pay the claim"* with a dated notation in the file; *"Not later than the 21st day after receipt of an inquiry from the Director about a claim, furnish the Director with an adequate response"*; and *"Make an appropriate reply, not later than the 30th day after receipt, to all other pertinent communications about a claim"* from a claimant reasonably expecting a response.

Subsection (4) requires the insurer, on first-party notification, to *"promptly provide necessary claim forms, instructions and assistance,"* and provides that *"compliance with this section not later than the 30th day after receipt of notification of a claim constitutes compliance with section (1)."*

Read subsection (1) precisely: it is an ACKNOWLEDGE-OR-PAY rule, not an accept-or-deny rule. The accept-or-deny deadline is a different rule with a different trigger, in OAR 836-080-0235, *"Standards for Prompt, Fair and Equitable Settlements"* — 30 days after receipt of properly executed proofs of loss. Two rules, two clocks, two triggers.

The statutory authority for division 80 is ORS 731.244 and the statute implemented is ORS 746.230.

Bad Faith — the Front Door Is Locked and the Side Door Opened in 2023

There is no private right of action under ORS 746.230. *Farris v. U.S. Fidelity & Guaranty Co.*, 284 Or 453, 587 P2d 1015 (1978), is the controlling authority and it has not been overruled.

There is no named first-party bad faith tort in Oregon. *Moody* did not create one, and commentators are explicit that it did not.

But *Moody v. Oregon Community Credit Union*, 371 Or 772, 542 P3d 24 (2023), decided December 29, 2023, holds that ORS 746.230(1) supplies an independent standard of care for a common-law negligence claim, with emotional distress damages available. The legislature's own annotation to the section now reads: *"List of unfair claim settlement practices in this section provided independent standard of care for life insurance beneficiary's negligence per se claim against insurer."*

The Court's reasoning: *"in undertaking to provide insurance benefits, an insurer not only undertakes to provide necessary financial resources but also undertakes to provide the peace of mind that comes with knowing that those resources will be promptly paid."* The two paragraphs it leaned on were 746.230(1)(d) and (1)(f).

*Farris* was distinguished, not overruled. The Court noted the *Farris* plaintiffs *"did not allege that the defendant owed them an obligation other than that specified in the contract... In particular, the plaintiffs' complaint did not allege that the defendant's actions were negligent."* The difference between a barred claim and a live one in Oregon is now largely a matter of how the complaint is drafted.

Third-party failure to settle is a genuine tort and it is uncapped. *Georgetown Realty v. Home Ins. Co.*, 313 Or 97, 831 P2d 7 (1992): when the insurer undertakes the defense, *"the insured relinquishes control over the defense... That kind of relationship carries with it a standard of care that exists independent of the contract."* The trigger is control, not state of mind, and the standard is ordinary negligence.

ORS 742.061 is the everyday remedy. If the insurer has not tendered within six months of proof of loss and the insured recovers more than any tender, the insured gets attorney fees. Oregon defines proof of loss loosely — *"any event or submission that would permit the insurer to estimate its obligations"* (*Dockins*, 329 Or 20 (1999)) — and it *"does not need to be in writing"* (*Parks*, 347 Or 374 (2009)). Paying up mid-litigation does not avoid the fees (*Long v. Farmers*, 360 Or 791 (2017)).

Automobile — Mandatory PIP, No Threshold, and UIM That Stacks

Oregon is a tort state with mandatory add-on PIP — not a no-fault state. PIP is required by ORS 742.520(1)(a), but ORS 742.520(5) provides that *"the potential existence of a cause of action in tort does not relieve an insurer from the duty to pay personal injury protection benefits."* There is no verbal threshold and no monetary threshold anywhere in ORS 742.518 to 742.542.

The PIP schedule is entirely in ORS 742.524 — not spread across the article. $15,000 medical, incurred within 2 years of the accident. Income loss at 70% after a 14-day disability, capped at $3,000 per month for 52 weeks aggregate. Essential services $30 per day, 52 weeks. Funeral $5,000 within one year. Child care $25 per day beginning after the first 24 hours of hospitalization, capped at $750.

ORS 742.528 carries the only PIP day-count in the statute, and it governs denials: written notice of a PIP denial to the insured and a copy to the provider, each within 60 calendar days of receiving a claim from the provider.

Minimum liability limits are 25/50/20 — ORS 806.070(2). The property-damage figure rose from $10,000 to $20,000 by 2009 c.66 §2, operative January 1, 2010.

UM and UIM cannot be rejected. ORS 742.502 says a policy *"shall provide"* them, with no rejection mechanism. Limits default to the bodily-injury liability limits; the insured may elect lower in writing but never below the ORS 806.070 floor.

UIM stacks on top of the liability recovery. Oregon Laws 2015 chapter 5 (SB 411) rewrote the UM/UIM statutes for policies issued or renewed on or after January 1, 2016. UIM is now triggered by damages exceeding the recovery, not by comparing limits.

Comparative fault runs against the COMBINED fault of all defendants — ORS 31.600(1) bars recovery only where the claimant's fault is *"greater than the combined fault of all persons"* against whom recovery is sought.

Property — Nineteen Statutes Instead of One Form

Oregon mandates a standard fire policy — but not as a single reprinted form. ORS 742.202 forbids issuing a fire policy *"unless it contains the provisions set forth in ORS 742.206 to 742.242."* Oregon disaggregates the standard policy into nineteen separate statutes, each commanding its own mandated text. The content tracks the 1943 New York form closely — and several of the numbers are different.

ORS 742.204 is the escape hatch that makes modern homeowners forms lawful: a policy covering fire *"and substantial coverage against other perils"* for a single premium need not comply with ORS 742.202.

Proof of loss — ORS 742.230: within 90 days after receipt of proof of loss FORMS from the company. The New York form runs 60 days from the loss. Oregon differs on both length and trigger. ORS 742.053(2), as amended by 2023 c.85, makes it non-waivable downward.

When loss is payable — ORS 742.238: 60 days after proof of loss is received AND ascertainment of the loss is made, by written agreement or a filed appraisal award. Two conditions, conjunctive.

Appraisal — ORS 742.232: on written demand of either party, each side names an appraiser within 20 days; the appraisers have 15 days to agree on an umpire before a judge appoints; each side pays its own appraiser and umpire expenses are split equally.

Suit limitation — ORS 742.240: 24 months after inception of the loss. Oregon Laws 1991 chapter 437 doubled it from the 12 months most states use.

Option to repair — ORS 742.234: notice of intent within 30 days after receipt of proof of loss. Vacancy — 60 consecutive days, with vacancy and unoccupancy treated as a single trigger.

Oregon has NO valued policy law. There is no total-loss "whole amount of the policy" provision. Do not carry that assumption across the border.

Wildfire — Three Enactments Across Three Sessions

Oregon's wildfire insurance law is not one statute, and the commonly cited measure is not the one that does most of the work.

The 24-month additional living expense floor is real but narrower than usually described: it extends time, and it is *"subject to the policy limits for additional living expenses."* A policy with a 12-month or percentage-of-Coverage-A sublimit still caps at that dollar sublimit. This is the most commonly overstated Oregon wildfire provision.

Contents-inventory relief came from HB 2982, Oregon Laws 2023 chapter 85, which amended ORS 742.053 — not from SB 82.

SB 82, Oregon Laws 2023 chapter 67, did pass — but it is a disclosure-and-mapping measure, not a benefits measure. It created ORS 742.277, requiring an insurer that cancels, nonrenews, or raises premium *"for a reason that is not nonpayment of a premium and that is materially related to wildfire risk"* to disclose the property-specific characteristics involved, the wildfire risk mitigation actions the insured could take, and how any wildfire risk score was determined and where this property sits in the range.

ORS 742.277 is the one place Oregon requires a reason to be stated on a homeowners nonrenewal — and only where wildfire risk is the material driver.

ORS 742.278 bars an insurer from using *"a map published by an agency of this state"* identifying wildfire risk. Note the narrowness — it does not reach proprietary vendor wildfire scores, which ORS 742.277 confirms by regulating rather than banning them. And SB 83 (2025) repealed the statewide wildfire hazard map framework, so ORS 742.278 now prohibits the use of a state map the state has since withdrawn.

The Oregon FAIR Plan is statutory, with mandatory member participation, dating to 1971.

Guaranty Association and Fraud

The Oregon Insurance Guaranty Association per-claim cap DOUBLED effective January 1, 2025. ORS 734.570(1)(b), as amended by 2025 c.20: the association's obligation on an insolvency occurring on or after that date *"may not exceed $600,000."* For insolvencies between 1971 and the end of 2024 the figure was $300,000. Note the drafting shift too — the old cap was *"less than $300,000"* (exclusive); the new one is *"may not exceed $600,000"* (inclusive).

Oregon omitted the NAIC model's $100 floor entirely. There is no minimum, no deductible, and no threshold anywhere in ORS 734.510 to 734.710. A $60 covered claim is payable here and would be barred in most model states.

Unearned premium is not capped separately. ORS 734.510(4)(a) folds it into the ordinary definition of covered claim — *"including a claim for unearned premiums"* — so it rides the full per-claim cap. The NAIC model's typical $10,000 unearned-premium sub-limit is absent.

Workers' compensation covered claims are paid in full with no dollar cap — ORS 734.570(1)(c) — and comp is also carved out of the claim-filing bar deadline.

There is no mandatory fraud reporting duty on adjusters. ORS 731.592(2) says *"an insurer shall notify"*; ORS 731.592(4) says *"a person ... may furnish."* The duty binds insurers; adjusters have permission, not obligation. And the only consequence of an insurer's failure is losing eligibility for restitution compensation under ORS 137.106 — no fine, no license action.

Immunity turns on the absence of actual malice, not on good faith — ORS 731.594 — which is more protective of the reporter than the conventional formulation. Negligent or mistaken reports remain immune.

Oregon has no antifraud plan requirement, no SIU mandate, and no state insurance fraud bureau. ORS 731.592(2)'s reference to *"the appropriate agency"* is undefined because there is no agency to name.

Workers' Compensation — the Worker Picks the Doctor

ORS 656.245(2)(a) gives the worker the choice of attending physician from the first visit, statewide — no employer panel, no posted list, no initial-treatment control window — plus two free changes. Directed care is available to an Oregon carrier only by certifying a Managed Care Organization under ORS 656.260, and even then the MCO must permit continued treatment with an outside primary care physician who agrees to refer for specialized treatment.

Two clocks run independently under ORS 656.262. The first TTD payment is due within 14 days of the employer's knowledge (subsection (4)(a)); the accept-or-deny decision is due within 60 days of the employer's knowledge (subsection (6)(a)). The carrier can be paying for up to 46 days while still investigating compensability.

Both clocks start on the EMPLOYER's knowledge, not the insurer's. ORS 656.262(3) gives the employer 5 days to forward the claim — by which time the 60 days is already running.

Current benefit rates are set by WCD Bulletin No. 111 (Revised), issued May 4, 2026, effective July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2027. The state average weekly wage is $1,461.21, up 3.116% from $1,417.06. The maximum TTD rate is $1,943.41 (133% of SAWW) for injuries from 7/1/2023 forward. Burial and final-disposition expenses are capped at 20 times SAWW — $29,224.20.

ORS 656.210(1) sets the TTD minimum as *"90 percent of wages a week or the amount of $50 a week, whichever amount is less."* Read the operator: nationally the minimum is the *greater* of a percentage or a dollar figure. Oregon inverts it.

Permanent partial disability has no dollar-per-degree for modern claims. Oregon abolished degrees for injuries on or after January 1, 2005. Impairment is whole-person percentage × 100 × SAWW; work disability is × 150 × the worker's own weekly wage. The per-degree figures still printed in Bulletin 111 are historical-claim conversion figures for pre-2005 injuries — do not present them as current.

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