How many hours of continuing education in ethics must agent complete each licensing term?

All required CE credits must be completed before a renewal application can be submitted. Please note that Education Providers have 15 days to submit to the department after a course is completed.

Requirements for Agents Who Hold a Property, Casualty, Personal Lines, Accident & Health, Life or Variable Products License

Persons holding one or more of the above lines of authority are required to complete 24 hours of approved continuing education, 3 of which must be approved as ethics specific, prior to renewing their license.

Requirements for Agents Who Hold a Title License

• Persons holding only a title license need to complete 12 hours of approved continuing education, 10 of which must be approved as title-specific and 2 of which must be approved as ethics-specific, prior to renewing their license. 
• Persons holding a title license in addition to a major lines license must complete 24 hours of approved continuing education, 10 of which must be approved as title-specific and 3 of which must be approved as ethics specific, prior to renewing their license.

Requirements for Agents Who Hold a Surety Bail Bond License

• Persons holding only a surety bail bond license need to complete 7 hours of approved continuing education, 6 of which must be approved as surety bail bond specific and 1 of which must be approved as ethics specific, prior to renewing their license.
• Persons holding a surety bail bond license in addition to a major lines license must complete 24 hours of approved continuing education, 12 of which must be approved as surety bail bond specific and 3 of which must be approved as ethics specific, prior to renewing their license.  These persons will have two different renewal periods, one for the surety bail bond license and one for the resident agent license.
• Resident surety bail bond agents shall be exempt from completing surety bail bond CE requirements for their initial renewal cycle, if the agent was initially issued a surety bail bond license between January 1 thru April 1 of the same calendar year of their initial renewal cycle.  
• Surety bail bond agents will be required to renew their surety bail bond license annually by April 1st.

Requirements for Agents Who Hold a Viatical/Life Settlement Broker License

• Persons holding only a viatical/life settlement broker license are required to complete 15 hours of approved continuing education specifically related to viatical/life settlements and viatical/life transactions.
• Persons holding a viatical/life settlement broker license in addition to a major lines license must complete 24 hours of approved continuing education, 15 of which must be specifically related to viatical/life settlements and viatical/life transactions and 3 of which must be approved as ethics specific.  These persons will have two different renewal periods, one for the viatical/life settlement broker license and one for the resident agent license.
• The initial compliance period for all individuals licensed as a viatical settlement broker shall begin on January 1st immediately following the year of licensure and ends twenty fours months later on December 31st and shall continue every twenty-four months as long as the license is in force.

Specific Product Agent Training Requirements

The Ohio Department of Insurance requires specific training requirements for individual agents selling, soliciting or negotiating Long-Term Care products (LTC), Flood Insurance products (NFIP), and Annuity products (Annuity).  

Long-term Care Training Requirements

Persons holding a Life or Accident & Health line of authority who plan to sell, solicit, or negotiate long-term care insurance must complete an initial 8-hour LTC course approved by the superintendent. In order to be able to continue selling, soliciting, or negotiating long-term care insurance the agent must also complete a 4-hour LTC refresher course approved by the superintendent every renewal period. The initial and ongoing LTC course credits count towards the agent's 24-hour CE requirement. Initial long-term care courses are approved under the LTC-8 course category and ongoing long-term care courses are approved under the LTC-4 course category.

Agents must complete the initial training prior to selling, soliciting, or negotiating long-term care insurance. Failing to complete the initial training or ongoing training may jeopardize the agent’s authority to sell long-term care insurance.

A resident agent may complete these training requirements in any state provided the department has approved the course for long-term care credit prior to the agent taking the course. The satisfaction of the training requirements in any state will satisfy the training requirements in this state for Ohio non-resident agents.

• Ohio Bulletin 2008-2 on LTC Training Requirements

Flood Insurance (NFIP) Training Requirements

Agents holding a Property and Casualty or Personal Lines line of authority who plan to sell a flood insurance policy must complete a one-time 3-hour course related to NFIP that is approved by the Ohio Department of Insurance. NFIP course credits count towards the agent's 24-hour CE requirement. Ohio-approved Flood training courses are approved under the “NFIP Flood” course category type.

Agents must complete the flood-training requirement by the end of his or her first renewal period. The failure to comply with this requirement may jeopardize the person’s authority to sell flood insurance through the NFIP.

Ohio Bulletin 2007 on Flood Training Requirements

Annuity Best Interest Products (Annuity) Training Requirements

Agents holding a Life or Variable Annuity line of authority who plan to sell, solicit or negotiate annuity products must complete a one-time 4-hour course related to annuity. Annuity course credits count towards the agent's 24-hour CE requirement. Ohio-approved Annuity training courses are approved under the “Annuity Best Interest – 4” course category type. The Annuity Best Interest – 4 training course must be completed prior to selling, soliciting, or negotiating any annuity product.

Resident agents who complete the training in another state with laws substantially similar to Ohio’s will be deemed to have complied with Ohio’s requirements. Non-resident agents who complete the training in another state with laws substantially similar to Ohio’s will be deemed to have complied with Ohio’s requirements.

Resident agents who completed an annuity course prior to February 14, 2021, may complete either a new four-hour Best Interest training course or an additional one-time one-hour Annuity Best Interest - 1 training course within six months of the effective date of the rule.

FAQs on Annuity Best Interest. Information on Suitability in Annuity Transactions Model Regulation

Continuing Education Exemptions

The following classes of agents are exempt from continuing education requirements:

• Persons holding a limited authority license.
• Non-resident agents are in compliance with the continuing education requirements of their home state.
• Persons granted inactive "By Agent Request" status by the Ohio director of insurance.

Find CE Providers and Courses

CE credits must be completed by providers who have been approved by the department. 

Education (CE) Transcripts

The department provides online information for Ohio education transcripts and credits.  To obtain your transcript, you will need both your license number and SSN.  Click HERE to view your continuing education transcript. 

Renewal Reminders

The department will send a renewal reminder notice to all licensees no less than 30 days prior to the license expiration date. Effective January 1, 2021, renewal notifications will be sent via email to the email addresses on file with the department.  

Please use the National Insurance Producer Registry’s (NIPR) Contact Change tool to verify email addresses on file with the department and to request any contact information updates. 

Renewal Extensions

An individual licensed as an insurance agent who is unable to comply with the license renewal procedures and who is unable to engage in the business of insurance due to military service, a long-term medical disability, or some other extenuating circumstances may request an extension of the renewal date of their license.  An extension may be granted at the discretion of the superintendent of insurance.  Extension requests must be made in writing, prior to the expiration of the license for non-renewal.  Please send all requests for time extensions, any supporting documentation, and a $100.00 processing fee to:

Ohio Department of Insurance
ATTN:  License Division
50 W. Town Street
Third Floor - Suite 300
Columbus, OH  43215

Please call the License Division at 614-644-2665 or email .
For information on becoming an approved continuing education provider, please contact Prometric at (800) 532-2170.
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