If you’re thinking about becoming an insurance agent in Oregon, the first step you’ll need to take in order to kickstart your career is to obtain an Oregon insurance license.
In this guide, we’ll walk you through the step-by-step process of how to become an insurance agent in Oregon, as well as what to do once you get licensed.
Tip: Doing a pre-licensing education course dramatically increases your chance of passing your exam on your first attempt, which can end up saving you both time and money in the long run.
Kaplan Education Company
In order to get your Oregon insurance license, you’ll need to complete the following five steps:
Below we have explored each step in more detail.
The first step will be deciding what type of insurance policies you’ll want to sell — at least at the start of your career.
This is because the type of insurance policies you’re hoping to sell will dictate the type of license you’ll need. For example, you’d need a Property & Casualty (P&C) license to be able to sell auto, home, or business insurance.
Here’s a list of all the different types of insurance agent licenses that are available in the state of Oregon:
While there are a large number of different licenses to choose from, the vast majority of insurance agents will either obtain a Property and Casualty (P&C) or a Life and Health license.
In fact, many agents actually opt to go for both of these licenses as it allows them to offer clients a much wider range of the most common insurance products.
However, if you already know you want to specialize in one particular type of policy, you’ll of course only have to focus on the specific license that’s relevant to this insurance type.
It’s worth noting at this point that if you’re looking to work as an insurance adjuster, you’ll need to obtain a separate license — which you can find more information about in our Oregon Adjuster License overview.
The next step you’ll need to take toward becoming a licensed insurance agent in Oregon is completing a pre-licensing education course.
Keep in mind that not just any course will satisfy this mandatory requirement, and you’ll actually need to complete one with a minimum of 20 hours of pre-licensing training for each line of authority you intend to apply for.
This would mean, for example, that you would need to complete 40 hours of training if you wanted to become a Property and Casualty agent.
Due to the sheer number of pre-licensing education courses available, it’s normal to feel a little overwhelmed when deciding which one is right for you. To avoid this, we typically recommend making a decision based on the following factors:
Doing a pre-licensing education course dramatically increases your chance of passing your exam on your first attempt, which can end up saving you both time and money in the long run. For pre-licensing education, StateRequirement recommends:
Kaplan Education Company
If you want more information before getting started, you can also have a look at our in-depth overview of the five best pre-license education courses in 2024.
Note: Your course provider will give you a Certificate of Completion after you finish your course — make sure to hold on to it as you’ll need to bring it with you on the day of your exam.
After completing your pre-licensing education course, you will need to take (and pass) the relevant Oregon insurance license exam.
We say “relevant” because this will depend on the line you wish to specialize in; for example, if you’re planning to become a property and casualty insurance agent, you’ll be required to pass the Property and Casualty exam.
In Oregon, all insurance exams are multiple-choice, administered by PSI, and cost either $45 or $55 depending on the line in question.
You can schedule your exam online through the PSI website up to six weeks in advance, so make sure to book early in order to ensure you get your preferred date. Oregon also allows you to take this exam both in-person in a test center or online using remote-proctored testing software, which allows for more flexibility.
To pass this exam, you must obtain a grade of at least 70% overall. However, there is no limit on the number of attempts you need in order to get a passing score.
Note: Since your Certificate of Completion will only be valid for a year following the date it was issued, it’s important to schedule your exam promptly to avoid having to retake your pre-licensing education. For more information, you can have a look at our Oregon Insurance License Exam guide.
The final step you’ll need to complete before you can submit your insurance agent license application is to provide the Division of Financial Regulation with a set of your fingerprints. This will initiate a state and national background check into your past conduct and criminal history record to confirm you meet the state’s insurance agent regulations.
You can have your fingerprints taken electronically at one of PSI’s Oregon sites on the day of your insurance exam by paying a $61.25 fee. After this, your prints will be forwarded to the appropriate agents for review — which can take up to four weeks to complete.
Note: Any misdemeanors or felonies may affect the outcome of your licensing efforts. If you’re worried about this, you can contact the Oregon Department of Insurance by phone or email for more guidance on this topic.
With your exams and fingerprinting out of the way, you’ll be ready to actually apply for your license. In Oregon, applications are submitted online through the National Insurance Producer Registry (NIPR) for a fee of $75 (plus NIPR’s $5.60 filing fee).
Since all lines of authority are contained within the same license, if you intend to apply for another insurance line after submitting your first application, you’ll need to wait until your initial license has been granted before adding these lines to your existing active license.
If you don’t, and instead choose to apply for a second “license” before your first application has been approved, the second one will automatically fail — wasting both your time and money.
To avoid this, you can submit an application for multiple lines of authority in the same application, but will have to have passed a certification exam for each of these lines beforehand.
And that’s it! After satisfying all the other requirements and submitting a license application to the Oregon Department of Insurance all that’s left to do is wait.
If everything on your application has been filled out correctly, your license should be issued within three to 14 days — which is the amount of time it typically takes for a license application and background check to be reviewed.
It’s important to be aware that the issuance of your insurance license can take a bit longer than this if there are any items from your background check that need to be looked over. However, the state will likely get in touch with you to give some context if they run into any issues.
In any case, the state will send you an email regarding the status of your license once this review has been completed, so keep an eye out for that!
Note: If you submit your insurance license application by paper or through the National Insurance Producer Registry (NIPR), you’ll be required to pay to print it.
Pro tip: Doing a pre-licensing education course dramatically increases your chance of passing your exam on your first attempt, which can end up saving you both time and money in the long run.
Kaplan Education Company
Once you’ve passed all your exams and your licensing application has been approved, you’ll be a qualified insurance agent in Oregon.
At this point, there are four main steps that we recommend new insurance agents to take:
For a more in-depth look at each one of these steps, check out our Steps After Getting Your Insurance License guide.
Mailing Address:
P.O. Box 14480
Salem, OR 97309-0405
Physical Address:
350 Winter Street NE, Room 410-3
Salem, OR 97301-3883
Phone: (503) 947-7981
Fax: (503) 378-4351
Yes, Oregon insurance licenses expire every two years and must be renewed by the last day of your renewal month by completing 24 credit hours of continuing education and paying a $45 renewal fee. Of these 24 credit hours of continuing education, at least three hours must be dedicated to professional ethics and another three hours to Oregon statutes and administrative rules.
The time it takes to obtain an insurance license in Oregon varies depending on several factors, including the type of license you want (e.g., life settlement broker or pharmaceutical sales representative), the preparation course you select, and how many attempts you need at the exam. Once you submit your application to the Department of Insurance, it will typically be processed within one to two weeks.
In Oregon, it costs $75 to submit an insurance licensing application through NIPR (plus a $5.60 filing fee) and $61.25 to request a background check. However, the total cost of obtaining your insurance license will also include the cost of the insurance exam for your insurance line as well as your pre-licensing education course — both of which can vary.
The difficulty of the Oregon insurance license exam will ultimately depend on your individual preparation, insurance line (e.g., the life and health exam), and knowledge of the material. To ensure you pass this exam on your first attempt, check out our Oregon Insurance License article.
There are five main steps you’ll need to complete to obtain an insurance producer license in Oregon. After choosing the insurance lines you want and completing a pre-licensing education course, you’ll need to pass the relevant state licensing exam, request a background check, and submit an application to the Oregon Insurance Division online through NIPR.
Information on this page was researched and gathered from a multitude of sources and was most recently updated on May 23, 2024
Any Information on this site is not guaranteed or warranted to be correct, accurate, or up to date. StateRequirement and its members and affiliates are not responsible for any losses, monetary or otherwise. StateRequirement is not affiliated with any state, government, or licensing body. For more information, please contact your state's authority on insurance.
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