The Oregon Property Producer License
Property is a class of authority in its own right under ORS 744.062(1)(c), and PSI examines it separately at series 12-12. It is the narrower half of what most states sell only as a combined Property & Casualty licence, and Oregon offers all three doors: Property alone, Casualty alone, and the combined 12-04 paper - plus Personal Lines (12-14), which is defined at ORS 744.062(1)(f) as "property and casualty insurance coverage sold to individuals and families for primarily noncommercial purposes."
The Property line is what you need to write commercial property, dwelling fire, inland marine and the property half of a package - and it is half of the surplus lines prerequisite, which needs the full P&C rather than Property alone.
To be licensed you must be at least 18, complete 20 hours of pre-licensing for the Property line, pass at 70%, be fingerprinted, and file through NIPR before the course certificate expires.
Property Alone, or the Combined Paper, or Personal Lines
Oregon gives you three genuinely different products here, and the choice is about scope of authority far more than about exam difficulty.
| Property (12-12) | P&C combined (12-04) | Personal Lines (12-14) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scored questions | 100 | 150 | 100 |
| Time | 2 hours | 2 hours 40 minutes | 2 hours |
| Exam fee | $45 | $55 | $45 |
| Pre-licensing | 20 hours | 40 hours | 20 hours |
| Writes commercial? | Yes, property only | Yes, both | No |
Personal Lines is the trap door. It is the same price and the same length as the Property exam, and it feels like the easy version - but it is a narrower authority, not a lighter one. It reaches only coverage "sold to individuals and families for primarily noncommercial purposes." A Personal Lines producer cannot write a commercial building; a Property producer can.
The combined P&C paper costs $10 more and 40 hours of coursework rather than 20, because Oregon writes its pre-licensing requirement per line of authority. It is the right buy if commercial liability or auto is in your plan, and it is also the only one of the three that opens the surplus lines door: ORS 735.450 requires a property and casualty producer licence before you may be licensed for surplus lines. Property alone does not get you there.
Every one of the three carries 5 to 10 unscored experimental items on top of the scored count.
Most Tested Topics on the Oregon Property Exam
Oregon's property law rewards a candidate who has actually read the fire-policy sections and punishes one who has memorised the New York standard form. These are the clusters that diverge. From the TESTivity Oregon regulations curriculum, statute-verified:
| Concept | The Oregon rule |
|---|---|
| Standard fire policy, how Oregon mandates it | By incorporation, not by printing a form. ORS 742.202 bars any fire insurer from using or renewing a fire policy on Oregon property "unless it contains the provisions set forth in ORS 742.206 (Insuring agreement) to 742.242 (Subrogation), which shall form a portion of the contract." Nineteen sections, pulled in wholesale (ORS 742.202) |
| The section that is NOT the standard policy | ORS 742.200 is an anti-overinsurance rule - no insurer, producer or insured may knowingly issue or procure fire insurance "for an amount which with any existing insurance exceeds the fair value of the risk." Reading it alone is how a candidate concludes Oregon has no standard form (ORS 742.200; 742.204 for exceptions) |
| Proof of loss deadline | 90 days - and the clock runs from receipt of the proof of loss forms from the company, not from the date of loss. Two departures from the familiar form in one sentence: the number and the trigger. Extendable only in writing (ORS 742.230) |
| Appraisal, who starts it | On the written demand of either the insured or the insurer. Each side then names a competent and disinterested appraiser and notifies the other within 20 days of that demand (ORS 742.232) |
| Appraisal, the umpire | The two appraisers select the umpire; failing for 15 days to agree, a judge of a court of record in the state where the property is located appoints one on request of either party (ORS 742.232) |
| Appraisal, the award and the bill | An award in writing by any two of the three determines actual cash value and loss. Each appraiser is paid by the party who selected them; the umpire and the expenses of appraisal are split equally. Appraisal decides the AMOUNT, never coverage (ORS 742.232) |
| When loss becomes payable | 60 days after proof of loss is received AND the loss is ascertained - by written agreement between insured and insurer, or by the filing of an appraisal award. Both limbs are required; receipt of the proof of loss alone does not start the 60 days (ORS 742.238) |
| Suit limitation on a fire policy | 24 months next after inception of the loss - measured from the loss, not from the denial. Compare life insurance, where ORS 743.225 forbids limiting suit to less than three years (ORS 742.240) |
| Attorney fees for the insured | Two conditions, both required: settlement was not made within six months from the date proof of loss is filed, and "the plaintiff's recovery exceeds the amount of any tender made by the defendant in such action." A timely tender that matches or beats the eventual recovery defeats the fee award entirely (ORS 742.061(1)) |
| FAIR Plan | Oregon has one - the Oregon FAIR Plan Association, the insurer of last resort for basic property coverage (ORS 735.045) |
| Rate regulation | File-and-use open competition - rates are filed and take effect without prior approval for most property and casualty lines (ORS 737.205; 737.310) |
| Credit history in personal lines | Permitted but heavily restricted: credit may not be the sole basis for a decision, and an insurer may not use credit to cancel or nonrenew (ORS 746.661) |
| Surplus lines, the licence you need first | ORS 735.450 is specific and it is not satisfied by a Property licence: "A person may obtain a license to transact surplus lines insurance only if the person is licensed as an insurance producer under ORS chapter 744 to transact property and casualty insurance" |
| Surplus lines, the diligent search | A search "among the insurers who are authorized to transact and are actually writing the particular kind and class of insurance in this state," establishing the full amount or kind cannot be obtained from them. The statute prescribes no number of declinations - the familiar "three declinations" is not Oregon's rule. Waived where an exempt commercial purchaser is told the admitted market may have coverage and then requests the placement in writing (ORS 735.410(1)(b), (2)) |
| Surplus lines premium tax | 2% of gross premiums on Oregon home state risks, plus 0.3% of the premium or fees charged by the insurer - 2.3% all in - and it is the surplus lines licensee who pays the Director, not the insured and not the nonadmitted insurer. Due quarterly, on the 45th day following the calendar quarter in which the premium was collected (ORS 735.470(1)(a), (1)(b), (2)) |
The highest-yield item on this list is the appraisal clause, because it has four separately testable numbers and candidates typically hold one. Twenty days to name your appraiser and tell the other side. Fifteen days before a judge steps in on the umpire. An award by any two of the three - which means the umpire plus either appraiser binds, and the dissenting appraiser's signature is not needed. And the cost split, which is not "loser pays" but "your appraiser is yours, the umpire is ours."
The second is the 90-day proof of loss, specifically its trigger. A candidate who has memorised "60 days from the loss" will get an Oregon item wrong twice over. Oregon says 90, and it says the clock starts when the insurer's forms reach the insured - so an insurer that sits on the forms is delaying its own deadline, not the insured's.
Third, the attorney-fee tender exception at ORS 742.061(1). Everyone remembers the six months. The exception is where the exam points are: the insured recovers fees only if the judgment beats what the insurer already offered. An item that gives you a six-month delay, a tender of $40,000 and a verdict of $35,000 is testing that the answer is no fees.
Every Oregon PSI Test Centre, and How to Book
PSI prints the Oregon site list on page 7 of the candidate bulletin. There are seven, and they are spread far enough that the drive is a real factor in eastern and southern Oregon.
| Site | Address |
|---|---|
| Portland | 9320 SW Barbur Blvd, Suite 170, Capitol Plaza Office Building, Portland, OR 97219 |
| Wilsonville | 25195 SW Parkway Avenue, Suite 105, Wilsonville, OR 97070 |
| Independence | 4901 Airport Rd, Independence State Airport, Independence, OR 97351 |
| Eugene | 1955 Empire Park Drive, Suite A, Eugene, OR 97402 |
| Medford | 1236 A North Riverside Ave, Medford, OR 97501 |
| Bend | 325 NW Vermont Pl, #106, Bend, OR 97701 |
| Baker City | 2101 Main Street, #203, Baker City, OR 97814 |
Two of these are worth a note. Independence is at the Independence State Airport, which is the practical Salem-area option rather than a Salem address. Baker City is the only site east of Bend, which means a candidate in Ontario or Pendleton is looking at a substantial drive - or at the remote-proctored option the Health guide walks through.
Booking. Register online at test-takers.psiexams.com/orins or by phone on (855) 340-3901. You cannot register until the pre-licensing Certificate of Completion is in your possession, and you must bring it - electronic or hard copy - on the day.
Rescheduling. You keep your fee if PSI receives the cancellation two days before the scheduled date. The bulletin gives its own worked example: "for a Monday appointment, the cancellation notice would need to be received on the previous Saturday." Cancel online or by phone. "A voice mail message is not an acceptable form of cancellation" - leaving one is the same as not calling.
On the day, arrive 30 minutes early. Late arrival forfeits the fee outright; it is on the same list as not showing up at all. If severe weather or another emergency closes the site, PSI reschedules you.
Fingerprints at the same visit. Prints are taken at PSI Oregon test centres during regular testing hours on the day of your exam, walk-ins welcome - which collapses two trips into one. DFR maintains a separate fingerprint-location PDF, and the fingerprint-capable list is not necessarily identical to the testing list above, so check it before relying on a particular site for prints. The Casualty guide walks the fingerprint step in full.
What the Oregon Property License Costs
| Item | Amount | Paid to |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-licensing, 20 hours | Varies by school | One of DFR's registered schools |
| Property exam (12-12) | $45 per attempt | PSI |
| Fingerprints | $61.25 - $46.25 state, $15.00 PSI | Paid at the site on the day |
| Initial application | $75 flat, all lines | DFR, through NIPR |
| Renewal, on time | $45 | DFR |
| Renewal, late | $90 | DFR |
If the combined Property & Casualty licence is where you will end up, buying it now is cheaper than buying Property now and Casualty later: one $55 exam and one application against two $45 exams and the same application. The coursework is 40 hours either way, since Oregon counts it per line.
The drive is a real cost on this line. Oregon's seven sites leave large parts of the state two hours or more from a centre, and a forfeited fee for late arrival is $45 plus the trip. If you are booking Baker City or Medford from any distance, the remote option is worth pricing against the fuel.
Eligibility Requirements
Be at least 18. Complete 20 hours of pre-licensing for the Property line. Pass series 12-12 at 70%. Submit electronic fingerprints - ink cards are not accepted - and file through NIPR before the certificate's one-year anniversary.
Six designations in OAR 836-071-0180(7) reach the property and casualty lines and waive the coursework: AAI, ARM and CIC on three years' experience, ACSR, CPSR and CPIW on two. The PSI bulletin instead names CPCU for property and casualty, and CPCU appears nowhere in the rule. Neither list contains the other, and none of them waives the exam - the Life & Health guide sets out how to handle the mismatch.
Experience can substitute for the course as well, on 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 elsewhere within the last two years, an insurance degree from an accredited college, or a combination totalling three years.
Keeping the Oregon Property 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. Selling flood takes a one-time 3-hour NFIP course plus 2 hours per renewal cycle, and OAR 836-071-0215(2)(c) puts those 2 hours inside the 24 rather than on top. The gate binds any producer who sells, solicits or negotiates flood, whatever lines they hold.
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.
The one product gate that touches this line is flood. A producer who sells, solicits or negotiates flood insurance needs a one-time NFIP course of at least 3 credit hours and then 2 hours every renewal cycle - and OAR 836-071-0215(2)(c) writes those two hours as something the cycle must include, alongside the ethics and Oregon-law hours, rather than as an addition to the 24. It binds by conduct rather than by line - DFR writes it as "each producer" and the rule as "a producer that negotiates, sells, or solicits flood insurance" - so it reaches a Property licensee directly.
The Property & Casualty guide covers the renewal mechanics, the late tiers and reinstatement.
Quick Reference
Official Links
Don't study generic. Study Oregon.
You've got the roadmap. Now get the Oregon-specific Property question bank, mock exams, and video course built by instructors with 20+ years teaching this material.