The Oregon Life and Health Producer License
Oregon lists Life and Health as separate classes of authority at ORS 744.062(1)(a) and (1)(b), and PSI sells a combined examination - series 12-03 - that qualifies you for both in one sitting. What it does not do is combine the classroom: OAR 836-071-0180 writes the 20-hour pre-licensing requirement per line, so the combined route is 40 hours of coursework against 20 for a single line.
Because Oregon puts every line of authority on one licence, the combined route and the take-them-separately route arrive at the same place. The differences are $10 on the exam fee, forty minutes of extra exam time, and whether you do the coursework in one block or two.
This is the guide that walks the two universal steps - pre-licensing and exam day - because they are the same for every Oregon line. The single-line guides cover the rest: the Life guide walks the NIPR application, Health walks remote proctoring, Property walks the test centres, Casualty walks fingerprints, Personal Lines walks results and retakes, and Property & Casualty walks reciprocity and renewal.
Every Oregon Producer Exam, Side by Side
Oregon runs eight producer examinations. Seven are the licence lines below; the eighth is Surplus Lines (12-05, $45), which is exam-required but sits downstream of a P&C licence rather than beside these:
| Exam | Series | Scored questions | Time | Fee |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Life | 12-01 | 100 | 2 hours | $45 |
| Accident and Health | 12-02 | 100 | 2 hours | $45 |
| Life and Health | 12-03 | 150 | 2 hours 40 minutes | $55 |
| Property and Casualty | 12-04 | 150 | 2 hours 40 minutes | $55 |
| Property | 12-12 | 100 | 2 hours | $45 |
| Casualty | 12-13 | 100 | 2 hours | $45 |
| Personal Lines | 12-14 | 100 | 2 hours | $45 |
The two combined papers give 64 seconds per scored question; the five single-line papers give 72. Every one of them carries 5 to 10 unscored experimental items on top of the count shown - the bulletin says a "small number of five to ten 'experimental' questions may be administered to candidates during the examinations. These questions will not be scored."
For Life and Health specifically, the arithmetic against two separate sittings is: $55 once versus $90 as two $45 exams, and one trip to a test centre rather than two. Against that, two separate papers give you 72 seconds a question instead of 64, and let you fail one line without retaking the other. The coursework is 40 hours either way.
Most Tested Topics on the Oregon Life and Health Exam
The combined paper draws on both chapters, but the highest-value Oregon-specific material clusters in two places: the guaranty association's dollar limits, and the free-look ladder - where Oregon has five different answers depending on the product, and one of them is not in a statute at all. From the TESTivity Oregon regulations curriculum, statute-verified:
| Concept | The Oregon rule |
|---|---|
| L&H guaranty association | The Oregon Life and Health Insurance Guaranty Association, ORS 734.750 to 734.890. Unlike the P&C side, every dollar limit sits in the obligations section - ORS 734.810, "Duties and powers of association; termination of obligations; limit of obligations" - rather than inside a definition (ORS 734.810(11)(b)) |
| Life death benefit limit | $300,000 (ORS 734.810(11)(b)(A)) |
| Life cash value limit | $100,000 in net cash surrender and net cash withdrawal values - a third of the death benefit figure, and the pair is the most commonly swapped in exam items (ORS 734.810(11)(b)(A)) |
| Health limit, other than basic | $100,000 for health insurance other than basic hospital, medical and surgical or major medical (ORS 734.810(11)(b)(B)) |
| Disability income limit | $300,000 (ORS 734.810(11)(b)(C)) |
| Long-term care limit | $300,000 (ORS 734.810(11)(b)(D)) |
| Basic and major medical limit | $500,000 - the highest single figure in the schedule, and the only one that also lifts the aggregate (ORS 734.810(11)(b)(E)) |
| Annuity limit | $250,000 in the present value of annuity benefits, including net cash surrender and net cash withdrawal values (ORS 734.810(11)(b)(F)) |
| Aggregate per one life | $300,000 in the aggregate with respect to any one life - rising to $500,000 where basic hospital, medical and surgical or major medical insurance is involved. The aggregate is a subsection of the same section, not a separate one (ORS 734.810(12)(a)) |
| Free look, ordinary life | No Oregon statute or current rule mandates one. ORS 743.159 scopes the required life provisions to ORS 743.162-743.243 and there is no right-to-return section inside that run. Ten days is DFR's form-approval standard; OAR 836-051-0015(1) treats a ten-day unconditional refund as a condition that relaxes a disclosure duty, which presupposes some policies lack one (ORS 743.159; OAR 836-051-0015(1)) |
| Free look, annuity | Disclosure-triggered, and the only Oregon free look whose length depends on paperwork timing: no less than 10 days if the Buyer's Guide and disclosure document were delivered at or before application (OAR 836-051-0915(4)), no less than 15 days if they arrive with the contract instead (OAR 836-051-0915(3)). Note the subsection order is the reverse of the day order. It runs concurrently with any free look the contract itself gives |
| Free look, health policy | 10 days from delivery, statutory, on every health policy except single premium nonrenewable policies; a returned policy is "void from the beginning" (ORS 743.492) |
| Free look, Medicare supplement and LTC | 30 days each, and they sit in different sections - Medicare supplement at ORS 743.686 (and OAR 836-052-0160(1)(e)), long-term care at ORS 743.655(6), which also requires the refund within 30 days of the return or denial (ORS 743.686; ORS 743.655(6)) |
| Free look, replacement | 30 days, with an unconditional full refund of all premiums or considerations including policy fees and charges - and it is the replacing insurer's duty, not the producer's (OAR 836-080-0029(1)(d)) |
| Replacement, whose clocks are whose | None of the numeric deadlines belong to the producer. OAR 836-080-0014 gives the producer only qualitative, event-timed duties - present and read the notice "not later than at the time of taking the application," obtain both signatures, list every policy proposed to be replaced, leave the sales material. The existing insurer carries five business days to write to the owner and five business days to supply requested information - both in OAR 836-080-0034(2), neither in the producer's rule (OAR 836-080-0014; 836-080-0034(2)) |
The $300,000 and $100,000 pair is the single most productive thing on this list. Oregon's death benefit limit is $300,000 and its cash value limit is $100,000, and an item will hand you a policy with a $250,000 death benefit and $150,000 of cash value and ask what the association covers. The answer uses two different numbers from the same paragraph. The $500,000 for basic and major medical is the other one to hold, because it is the only figure that also moves the aggregate ceiling from $300,000 to $500,000.
The free-look ladder is where Oregon most rewards a candidate who studied the state rather than the model. Five products, five answers: nothing statutory for ordinary life, 10 or 15 for an annuity depending on when the Buyer's Guide arrived, 10 for health, 30 for Medicare supplement, 30 for long-term care, and 30 on any replacement. A candidate who has memorised "Oregon: 10 days" is wrong four times out of six.
Third, the replacement clocks. Every numeric deadline in Oregon's replacement regulation is an insurer's. An item asking "within how many days must the producer..." is built on a premise Oregon's rule does not share - the producer's duty is "not later than at the time of taking the application," which is a sequence, not a count.
Oregon's Pre-Licensing Requirement, and Every Way Around It
Oregon still requires classroom hours before the exam, and requires them per line of authority: 20 hours in each of property, casualty, personal lines, life and health, covering "basic principles of property insurance, the duties and responsibilities of an insurance producer and Oregon-related laws" (OAR 836-071-0180). DFR states the same requirement on its own licensing page: "Complete 20 hours prelicense training, per line of authority."
The requirement is enforced twice. PSI will not register you without it - "You are required to have, in your possession, a valid school Certificate of Completion before contacting PSI to register and schedule for an examination" - and the test centre will not admit you without producing it. An electronic version or a hard copy is accepted.
The certificate is the real deadline on your whole application. The bulletin puts it in capitals: "THIS CERTIFICATE EXPIRES ONE YEAR TO THE DAY FROM THE DATE IT IS ISSUED. CANDIDATES MUST PASS THE EXAMINATION AND APPLY FOR LICENSURE BEFORE THAT EXPIRATION DATE." The clock starts when the school issues it - not when you pass - so it is always earlier than "a year after the exam."
Where to take it. DFR publishes the registered schools - twelve at the last check: @YourPaceOnline/eInsuranceTraining, A.D. Banker, Amerist, ExamFX, Insurance Training Associates, JUSTINSURANCE, Kaplan, Next Steps Career School, OnlineEd, Pass Perfect, WebCE and Xcel Solutions. DFR lists the cost as "price varies by school."
Who is exempt from the course entirely. The bulletin names adjusters and consultants and the Surplus Lines examination. Non-residents are exempt too: "If you are already a licensed agent or broker in your home state, you are exempt from the prelicensing education and examination requirements."
Designations - and here Oregon publishes two lists that do not match. This is worth reading carefully, because whichever one you rely on, the other says something different.
The PSI bulletin waives pre-licensing for exactly two designations: CLU (into Life, Health, or Life and Health) and CPCU (into Property and Casualty), with "verification of designation must be submitted to the Division with your license application."
OAR 836-071-0180(7) lists fifteen, each with an experience minimum - AAI (P&C, 3 years), ACSR (P&C, 2), ARM (P&C, 3), CIC (P&C, 3), CPSR (P&C, 2), CPIW (P&C, 2), HIA (health, 3), REBC (health, 3), RHU (health, 3), CFP (life, 3), ChFC (life, 3), FLMI (life, 3), CEBS (life & health, 3), LUTCF (life & health, 3), and a catch-all for other director-approved designations with comparable coursework.
Neither list contains the other. CLU and CPCU appear nowhere in the rule; none of the rule's fifteen appears in the bulletin. The catch-all at paragraph (o) is the likely reconciliation for CLU and CPCU, but that is an inference rather than something either document says. Confirm with DFR in writing before you skip a course on the strength of either.
Experience can substitute too, on DFR Form 2493: three years in an insurance agency or company as an unlicensed person with part of it inside the last two years; three years licensed as a resident agent or broker in another state, a Canadian province or Mexico within the last two years; an insurance degree from an accredited college or university; or a combination totalling three years. Form 2493 is also broader than the rule on its face, accepting "successful completion of an industry-recognized designation."
One thing none of these waives: the examination. Every designation and experience route above waives coursework only. A CIC or a ChFC still sits the paper. Oregon grants a true exam waiver in only a handful of situations - the 90-day relocation waiver, non-resident licensure, reinstatement inside 12 months, and the lines that carry no exam at all - and the Property & Casualty guide sets those out.
What Actually Happens at the Oregon Test Centre
Arrive 30 minutes before your appointment. Arriving after the examination start time forfeits your fee outright - it sits on the same list as failing to appear.
Bring ONE photo ID. Oregon does not use the two-ID rule some states run. The bulletin: "Candidates are required to bring one (1) form of valid (non-expired) signature bearing identification to the test site." There is no secondary-ID list. The six accepted primary documents are:
| Accepted primary identification (choose one) |
|---|
| State issued driver's license |
| State issued identification card |
| US Government Issued Passport |
| US Government Issued Military Identification Card |
| US Government Issued Alien Registration Card |
| Canadian Government Issued ID |
The name has to match. You must register with the legal first and last name shown on the ID; if it does not match, "the candidate will not be allowed to test and their examination fee will not be refunded." If you have recently married, divorced or changed your name, fix the registration rather than bringing the supporting document.
Bring a second document too - the Certificate of Completion from your pre-licensing school, electronic or hard copy. It is not required for Crop Adjuster, General Lines Adjuster, Health Adjuster or the Surplus Lines Producer exam, and it is replaced by the original waiver letter if a waiver was granted.
What you may not bring in. The bulletin's list is long and specific: reference materials of any kind; electronic devices of any type, "including but not limited to; cellular phones, cameras, computers of any type (e.g., laptops, tablets, iPads), earbuds, electronic games, electronic watches, handheld calculators"; hats or caps, religious apparel excepted; "open sweaters, cardigans, shawls, scarves, vests, jackets and coats"; and "backpacks, briefcases, chewing gum, drinks, food, good luck items, notebooks, paper or other materials on which to write, pens, pencils."
Two of those catch people out every week. Electronic watches are on the list, so a smartwatch has to come off. And outerwear - an open cardigan or a jacket - is prohibited rather than merely discouraged, which matters at a 7am winter appointment in Bend or Baker City. Dress in layers you can leave in the car.
Breaks. At a test centre you may use the restroom, "and only after obtaining permission from the proctor. Candidates will not receive extra time." Time keeps running. On a 2-hour-40-minute combined paper that is a real trade, and it is the argument for the test centre over the remote option, where breaks are prohibited entirely.
Prohibited conduct is what you would expect and is worth naming because it is a licensing ground rather than merely a PSI sanction: giving or receiving assistance, copying or communicating examination content, using outside references, and disruptive behaviour at check-in or during the exam. ORS 744.074(1)(L) makes "improperly using notes or any other reference material to complete an examination" a ground on which DFR may refuse, suspend or revoke a licence.
If the site closes. "In the event that severe weather or another emergency forces the closure of an examination site... your examination will be rescheduled." You are not charged again.
Rescheduling on your own account needs two days' notice - PSI must receive it "2 days before the scheduled examination date," and the bulletin's example is that a Monday appointment must be cancelled by the previous Saturday. Online or by phone on (855) 340-3901; "a voice mail message is not an acceptable form of cancellation."
What the Oregon Life and Health License Costs
| Item | Amount | Paid to |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-licensing, 40 hours (20 per line) | Varies by school | DFR-registered schools |
| Life and Health exam (12-03) | $55 per attempt | PSI |
| Fingerprints | $61.25 - $46.25 state, $15.00 PSI | At the site, on the day |
| Initial application | $75 flat, all lines | DFR, through NIPR |
| Renewal, on time | $45 | DFR |
| Renewal, late | $90 | DFR |
The combined exam saves $35 against two single-line papers ($55 once rather than $45 twice), and saves a second trip. It saves nothing at all on coursework, because Oregon counts the 20 hours per line of authority and the combined exam does not consolidate the classroom.
The variable that dominates the total is therefore the 40 hours of pre-licensing, which DFR prices only as "varies by school" across its registered providers. Shop that number before you shop the exam.
Eligibility Requirements
Be at least 18. Complete 20 hours of pre-licensing for each of the Life and Health lines - 40 in total - unless a designation or experience exemption reaches you. Pass series 12-03 at 70%. Submit electronic fingerprints; ink cards are not accepted. File through NIPR before the pre-licensing certificate's one-year anniversary.
Everything about who is exempt, and from what, is in the pre-licensing section above - including why Oregon publishes two designation lists that do not agree, and why none of them waives the exam.
ORS 744.074 carries seventeen grounds for refusal, suspension or revocation, and three are worth knowing before rather than after: (1)(L) improper use of notes or reference material in an examination; (1)(n) an error by the Director in issuing or renewing a licence; and (1)(q) failure to comply with continuing education. ORS 744.994 means letting a licence expire or surrendering it does not end an investigation already under way.
Keeping the Oregon Life and Health License
Important CE details: 24 credit hours of DFR-approved CE per two-year renewal cycle - OAR 836-071-0215(1) states it two ways, "12 hours of continuing education annually or 24 hours in each two-year renewal period." Subsection (2) requires the cycle to INCLUDE at least 3 hours of Oregon statutes and administrative rules and at least 3 hours of professional ethics; they come out of the 24, not on top of it. No more than 4 hours of agency management counts - OAR 836-071-0230(2) caps the office-management subject at four hours a renewal period - and no more than 8 credit hours may be earned in one day. Carryover is barred - OAR 836-071-0225(1)(e) credits an hour only if it was completed during the licence period immediately preceding the renewal date. The 24 is flat and covers every line you hold; it does not stack per line. On a combined Life and Health licence both product gates can apply: a one-time 4-credit annuity suitability course including Best Interest content after June 30, 2024, and for long-term care a one-time 8 hours plus 4 hours every two years.
Biennial renewal on the last day of your birth month; 24 hours of CE per cycle, including at least 3 in professional ethics and at least 3 in Oregon statutes and administrative rules including recent changes. The 24 is flat - holding both Life and Health does not double it.
This is the licence that can carry both product gates at once. Annuities take a one-time 4 credit hours, which must include the Best Interest content for courses taken after June 30, 2024 following SB 536 (2023). Long-term care takes a one-time 8 hours before your first LTC sale and then 4 hours every two years. Both count toward the 24 if Oregon-approved, which means a producer writing annuities and LTC can find half a cycle already committed - fine, so long as the ethics and Oregon-law hours are still inside it.
The Property & Casualty guide walks renewal timing, the late tiers, reinstatement and the CE mechanics that cause most Oregon late renewals.
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