How to Get Your State Insurance License in Oregon

When you decide to pursue an insurance producer license in the state of Oregon, you have some decisions to make. The Oregon Division of Financial Regulation (DFR) issues licensing in individual lines of authority, and you get to pick which lines apply to your license. Be advised, though, that each line of authority you add means a little extra work during the pre-licensing process. 

Step one: Figure out which lines of authority you want

In Oregon, the DFR breaks insurance licensing into separate lines of authority. The most common include:

• Life
• Health
• Property
• Casualty

Before you dive into the pre-licensing process, you need to decide which lines of authority you want to be attached to your license. These are the fields in which you’ll be legally licensed to issue insurance products. 

The main thing to know is that for each line you add, you’ll have extra work during the pre-license process. You need to balance opportunities to issue specific products with your bandwidth to take extra pre-license training hours and exams. 

Step two: Take 20 hours of pre-license training for each line

For each line of authority that you want to add, the state requires you to take 20 hours of pre-license training.

The good news is that you don’t necessarily have to go sit in a stuffy classroom to meet this requirement. You can get your hours done online and on-demand with training you can find here, giving you the flexibility to chip away at this requirement when you have free time. Plus, you can take the hours from any internet-connected device, even your phone. 

Here are some online 20-hour and 40-hour courses so you can easily meet this pre-license training requirement:

• Life
• Health
• Property & Casualty

If you don’t want to feel limited, you can also take an 80-hour course to get all of the above lines of authority added to your license. The extra time you put in now could open up lucrative opportunities as you build your insurance career. 

Step three: Pass the required exams

To get any of the above lines of authority added to your Oregon insurance producer license, you need to take and pass the applicable exam.

Fortunately, if you’re angling for all four lines, you don’t need to take four separate exams. PSI, the company that proctors the exams for the Oregon DFR offers combined life and health (L&H) and property and casualty (P&C) exams. 

To give you an idea of what content to expect on the exam(s) you plan to take, along with the length of the test and other key details, check out this candidate bulletin from PSI. 

Right now, PSI is offering both remote-proctored tests and in-person exams at their testing sites throughout the state. The remote test may seem more convenient. Before you schedule it, though, you should know that if you get tested at a PSI site in Oregon, you can do your fingerprinting there, too. That can make it a lot simpler to knock out the next step. 

Either way, you can sign up for an exam on PSI’s website. From the “Select Organization” dropdown menu, choose “OR Insurance.” Then choose the exam that applies to the line(s) of authority you want.  

Step four: Get fingerprinted for a background check

The DFR uses your fingerprints to check your criminal record before issuing an insurance producer license to you. You have two options here.

As we already mentioned, you can get fingerprinted at an Oregon PSI testing center on the day of your exam.

Alternatively, you can go through FieldPrint to schedule a standalone fingerprinting appointment. If you choose that option, use the code “FPORDeptConsumerBusServDAS” when you make your appointment. 

Step five: Apply online

Once you’ve completed the pre-license training, passed the exam, and submitted your fingerprints, it’s time to actually apply for your license. You’ll use the National Insurance Producer Registry (NIPR) for this. 

You can start the application process here. Choose “Individual,” then use your social security number and date of birth to verify your identity. Then, choose “Start” from the user menu to dive in.  

In case it’s helpful, here’s more info to help you complete the early steps:

• Product type: producer licensing
• Application type: initial
• Residency type: resident
• State: Oregon

From there, you choose the lines you want, input some personal info like your address, and answer some background questions. 

Once you submit your application, it goes in for review, which includes a criminal background check using the fingerprints you submitted. When approved, you’ll get your Oregon insurance producer license.