- Total Cost Snapshot for 2026
- The $55 Exam Fee: What It Buys
- Prelicensing Education Requirements and Costs
- License Application, Fingerprints, and the $75 Fee
- Retake Costs If You Don't Pass on the First Try
- Ongoing Costs: Renewal Every Two Years
- Hidden Costs Most Candidates Forget
- Cost Comparison Table
- Budgeting Smart Around the 13 Domains
- Frequently Asked Questions
- The PSI Series 12-04 exam fee is $55 for 150 scored questions in 160 minutes.
- The Oregon license application adds $75, plus fingerprinting for a background check.
- Prelicensing education is 20 hours per line or 40 hours for combined Property and Casualty.
- A CPCU designation can waive the prelicensing education requirement entirely.
Total Cost Snapshot for 2026
Anyone researching the Oregon Property & Casualty Insurance Producer Exam (OR-PC) wants one thing first: a realistic number. The good news is that the Oregon Division of Financial Regulation and PSI Services LLC, which administers the exam, keep the fee structure fairly straightforward compared to many other state licensing paths. The core mandatory costs are the $55 exam fee and the $75 license application fee, plus whatever you spend on prelicensing education and study materials.
Unlike some professional exams where fees fluctuate wildly by region, the OR-PC fee structure is set by the state and by PSI as the testing vendor. That means your total spend is largely a function of how you choose to complete prelicensing education and how many attempts it takes to pass. For a deeper look at what actually shows up on the exam itself, pair this cost breakdown with the OR-PC Exam Domains 2026: Complete Guide to All 13 Content Areas.
The $55 Exam Fee: What It Buys
The $55 fee covers a single seat at the closed-book, computer-based Property and Casualty (Includes Law) Series 12-04 exam. That single fee gets you:
- 150 scored multiple-choice questions covering all 13 exam domains
- Up to 160 minutes of testing time
- A possible 5 to 10 additional unscored experimental items PSI may embed to test future questions
- Your choice of a physical test center or a remote-proctored appointment
No calculators or reference materials are allowed in the room, so the $55 buys you a pure knowledge-and-recall assessment, not an open-book lookup exercise. That distinction matters when you're budgeting study time, because you can't lean on notes during the real thing - every dollar of prep needs to translate into memorized, applicable knowledge. If you're unsure how demanding that actually is in practice, the article How Hard Is the OR-PC Exam? Complete Difficulty Guide 2026 breaks down the format in more detail.
You'll need 70% correct to pass, which on a 150-question scored exam leaves little room for guessing your way through entire domains. For the exact math behind that threshold, see OR-PC Passing Score 2026: Exactly What You Need to Pass.
Key Takeaway
The $55 fee is a one-time cost per attempt. If you fail, you pay it again to reschedule - so investing in solid prep upfront is cheaper than gambling on a retake.
Prelicensing Education Requirements and Costs
Before you can even sit for the exam, Oregon requires resident candidates to complete approved prelicensing education:
- 20 hours of approved coursework per line (Property or Casualty individually)
- 40 hours if you're pursuing combined Property and Casualty licensing
- Candidates must generally be at least 18 years old
- The completion certificate is valid for one year, so timing your exam date matters
Course providers set their own pricing for these hour blocks, so this is the most variable line item in your total OR-PC budget. Some candidates complete the hours through self-paced online modules, others through in-person courses bundled with study materials. Either way, plan your calendar carefully - because the certificate expires after a year, procrastinating on scheduling your exam can force you to repeat the coursework and pay twice.
If you're not sure whether you meet the age, education, or waiver criteria, review the full breakdown in OR-PC Requirements 2026: Eligibility, Prerequisites & How to Qualify before you spend money on a course.
License Application, Fingerprints, and the $75 Fee
Passing the exam is only half the process. To actually hold a license, initial applicants must also:
- Submit fingerprints for a background check
- Pay a $75 license application fee to the Oregon Division of Financial Regulation
Fingerprinting is typically handled through a designated vendor, and while the cost of the fingerprinting service itself varies by location and method, the $75 application fee is fixed by the state. Budget for this as a separate line item from your exam fee - many first-time candidates mentally lump "the exam" and "the license" together, then get caught off guard when the application fee shows up after they've already passed.
Where the Money Actually Goes
Understanding who collects each fee helps you know where to direct questions if something goes wrong with payment or scheduling.
- PSI Services LLC - collects the $55 exam fee and manages test-center or remote-proctored scheduling
- Oregon Division of Financial Regulation - collects the $75 license application fee and processes fingerprint-based background checks
Retake Costs If You Don't Pass on the First Try
There's no discount for a second attempt - a retake means paying the full $55 exam fee again and rescheduling through PSI. This is the single biggest reason cost-conscious candidates treat their first attempt as the only attempt worth budgeting for. Given that Property and Casualty Basics (14%) and Commercial General Liability (13%) together make up more than a quarter of the scored questions, weak preparation in just those two domains can be the difference between a pass and a costly retake.
If you want to gauge your real odds before committing to a test date, the data-driven overview in OR-PC Pass Rate 2026: What the Data Shows is worth reading alongside a structured prep plan like the one in OR-PC Study Guide 2026: How to Pass on Your First Attempt.
Key Takeaway
Every retake costs $55 plus the time and stress of rescheduling. Spending a little more time with practice questions on the main practice test platform before your first attempt is almost always cheaper than a second exam fee.
Ongoing Costs: Renewal Every Two Years
The license itself isn't a one-time purchase - it's renewed every two years, and renewal comes with a continuing education obligation rather than a fixed dollar retest:
- 24 CE hours total per renewal cycle
- 3 hours must cover ethics
- 3 hours must cover Oregon statutes and administrative rules
CE course pricing varies by provider, much like prelicensing education. Producers who plan ahead - spreading the 24 hours across the two-year cycle instead of cramming them in at the last minute - tend to find more affordable course options and avoid late scheduling fees some providers charge.
Hidden Costs Most Candidates Forget
Beyond the fixed government and testing fees, a few costs tend to catch candidates off guard:
- Study materials: practice question banks, domain-specific guides, and review tools for topics like the Dwelling Policy or Businessowners Policy domains
- Remote-proctoring setup: if you choose a remote appointment over a physical test center, you're responsible for a compliant testing environment and reliable internet
- Rescheduling fees: changing an appointment close to the test date may carry a fee through PSI's scheduling system
- Time cost: hours spent studying across all 13 domains aren't a cash expense, but they're a real cost of preparing properly
A structured review resource like OR-PC Cheat Sheet 2026: One-Page Review of Must-Know Facts can reduce the time cost by consolidating what matters most into a single reference for final review.
Cost Comparison Table
| Cost Item | Amount / Requirement | Paid To |
|---|---|---|
| Exam fee (Series 12-04) | $55 per attempt | PSI Services LLC |
| License application | $75 | Oregon Division of Financial Regulation |
| Prelicensing education (single line) | 20 hours (provider fee varies) | Approved course provider |
| Prelicensing education (combined P&C) | 40 hours (provider fee varies) | Approved course provider |
| Fingerprinting | Background check fee (varies by vendor) | Fingerprinting vendor |
| Renewal CE (every 2 years) | 24 hours, incl. 3 ethics + 3 Oregon law | Approved CE provider |
| Retake | $55 per additional attempt | PSI Services LLC |
Budgeting Smart Around the 13 Domains
Since a retake means paying the $55 fee all over again, the smartest way to protect your budget is to study in proportion to how the exam is actually weighted. The heaviest-weighted domains deserve the most study hours per dollar of prep time invested:
Property and Casualty Basics (14%)
The single largest domain on the exam. Candidates must be fluent in foundational P&C terminology, policy structure, and core insurance principles before layering on line-specific rules.
- Highest-weighted domain - prioritize accordingly in your study schedule
Commercial General Liability (13%)
The second-largest domain, requiring comfort with CGL coverage triggers, exclusions, and how liability exposures differ from property exposures.
- Study alongside Commercial Package Policy (7%) for context on how CGL fits into broader commercial coverage
Anchor the Heavy Domains
- Property and Casualty Basics (14%)
- Commercial General Liability (13%)
- Insurance Regulation (11%) and General Insurance Concepts (11%)
Build Out Policy-Specific Knowledge
- Homeowners Policy Concepts (9%) and Personal Automobile Policy (9%)
- Commercial Package Policy (7%) and Dwelling Policy (6%)
Close Gaps in Smaller Domains
- Businessowners Policy (5%), Workers Compensation Law (5%), Other P&C Types (5%)
- Commercial Automobile Policy (3%) and Federal Laws and Regulations (2%)
- Full-length timed practice runs on the practice test site
This weighting-based approach is the core methodology behind the domain-by-domain guidance in OR-PC Exam Domains 2026: Complete Guide to All 13 Content Areas, and it's worth cross-referencing before you finalize how many hours you assign to each topic.
Is the Total Cost Worth It?
Once you add the $55 exam fee, the $75 application fee, prelicensing education, and fingerprinting, the OR-PC license represents a modest upfront investment relative to many professional credentials. Whether that investment pays off depends heavily on the type of insurance role you're targeting and how quickly you can put the license to use. For a fuller picture of where OR-PC-licensed producers work and what the license opens up, see OR-PC Jobs and the broader analysis in Is the OR-PC Certification Worth It? Complete ROI Analysis 2026. If you're also weighing income potential against the cost, OR-PC Salary Guide 2026: Complete Earnings Analysis rounds out the financial picture.
Before you register, it's also worth confirming testing windows so you don't let a prelicensing certificate expire while you wait - details on that are covered in OR-PC Exam Dates 2026: Testing Windows, Deadlines & Scheduling.
Frequently Asked Questions
Before education and fingerprinting vendor costs, the fixed fees are $55 for the PSI exam and $75 for the Oregon license application - $130 combined, plus whatever your prelicensing course and fingerprinting service charge.
No. Each attempt at the Series 12-04 exam requires paying the $55 fee again through PSI Services LLC, along with rescheduling a new test-center or remote-proctored appointment.
Candidates who hold a CPCU designation may qualify for a waiver of the prelicensing education requirement, which can reduce both cost and preparation time significantly.
Renewal itself is tied to completing 24 hours of continuing education, including 3 ethics hours and 3 hours in Oregon statutes and administrative rules, rather than a fixed state renewal fee described in the licensing rules.
The $55 fee applies to the Property and Casualty (Includes Law) Series 12-04 exam. Prelicensing education hours differ by scope - 20 hours per single line versus 40 hours for combined Property and Casualty - which affects your education cost more than the exam fee itself.