- OHLH is Ohio's Life, Accident and Health Producer Combined Exam, administered by PSI as Series 11-35.
- The exam has 150 scored questions in 150 minutes and requires a 70% score to pass.
- Resident candidates need 20 hours of Life and 20 hours of Accident and Health prelicensing education.
- Insurance Regulation is the heaviest-weighted domain at 10% of the exam.
What Is OHLH, Exactly?
OHLH stands for the Ohio Life & Health Insurance Agent Exam - more formally known as the Life, Accident and Health Producer Combined Exam, or Series 11-35. It's the licensing exam that anyone who wants to sell life insurance, annuities, or accident and health products in Ohio must pass before the state will issue a producer license. If you're researching this credential for the first time, our companion piece OHLH Meaning breaks down the acronym in even more detail, and What Does OHLH Stand For? covers the naming convention PSI and the Ohio Department of Insurance use across their exam catalog.
This is not a voluntary professional certification you add to a resume for prestige - it's a state-mandated exam. Without passing it, you legally cannot solicit, sell, or negotiate life or health insurance contracts in Ohio. That distinction matters because it shapes everything about how the exam is built, priced, and scored.
Who Regulates and Administers the Exam
The Ohio Department of Insurance sets the licensing rules, education requirements, and exam content outline. Actual test delivery is handled by PSI, the third-party testing vendor that runs the computer-based exam at approved test centers. This two-party structure - state regulator plus testing vendor - is standard across most U.S. insurance licensing programs, but the specific rules (fees, hour requirements, passing score) are unique to Ohio and won't match what you'd find researching a similarly-acronymed credential in another state or industry.
If you want a full walkthrough of eligibility rules before you even schedule a seat, read OHLH Requirements 2026: Eligibility, Prerequisites & How to Qualify. It covers age, residency, and education prerequisites in more depth than we can here.
Exam Format, Fees, and Scoring
The mechanics of the OHLH exam are straightforward once you see them laid out:
- Cost: $49 per attempt
- Question count: 150 scored multiple-choice questions
- Time limit: 150 minutes
- Passing score: 70%
- Delivery: Computer-based, administered by PSI
That works out to roughly one minute per question, which is generous compared to many licensing exams, but the breadth of subject matter - regulation, life products, annuities, health plans, and federal tax rules - means time pressure isn't the main obstacle. Content mastery is. For a granular breakdown of exactly what "passing" requires numerically, see OHLH Passing Score 2026: Exactly What You Need to Pass, and for a full cost picture beyond the exam fee itself (education courses, fingerprinting, license fees), check OHLH Certification Cost 2026: Complete Pricing Breakdown.
Key Takeaway
At $49 per attempt and 150 minutes for 150 questions, the OHLH exam rewards candidates who study by domain weight rather than trying to memorize every possible topic equally.
The 16 Content Domains
The OHLH exam outline is divided into 16 domains, each with a specific percentage weight. Understanding these weights is the single most useful thing you can do before opening a study guide, because it tells you where to invest your limited study hours.
Domain 1: Insurance Regulation (10%)
The largest single domain. Covers Ohio-specific licensing law, producer conduct, unfair trade practices, and Department of Insurance authority.
- Licensing and appointment rules
- Unfair claims and trade practices
- Producer duties and penalties
Domain 3: Life Insurance Basics (8%) & Domain 5: Life Insurance Policy Provisions, Options and Riders (9%)
Together these two domains account for 17% of the exam and form the core of life insurance product knowledge - policy structure, riders, nonforfeiture options, and settlement provisions.
- Term vs. permanent life structures
- Standard and optional riders
- Nonforfeiture and settlement options
Domain 8: Accident and Health Insurance Basics (8%) & Domain 15: Insurance for Senior Citizens and Special Needs Individuals (8%)
Two more 8%-weighted domains that candidates often underestimate. Senior-focused coverage rules (Medicare supplement, long-term care disclosures) show up frequently in scored items.
- Medicare Supplement standardization
- Long-term care policy disclosures
- Special needs and senior consumer protections
The remaining domains - General Insurance (5%), Life Insurance Policies (7%), Annuities (5%), Federal Tax Considerations for Life Insurance and Annuities (8%), Individual Accident and Health Insurance Policy General Provisions (5%), Disability Income and Related Insurance (5%), Medical Plans (6%), Health Insuring Corporations (HICs) (5%), Group Accident and Health Insurance (5%), Dental Care Plans (2%), and Federal Tax Considerations for Accident and Health Insurance (4%) - round out the exam blueprint. For the complete domain-by-domain breakdown with subtopics, see OHLH Exam Domains 2026: Complete Guide to All 16 Content Areas.
| Domain Group | Combined Weight |
|---|---|
| Insurance Regulation + General Insurance | 15% |
| Life Insurance (Basics, Policies, Provisions/Riders) | 24% |
| Annuities + Life Tax Considerations | 13% |
| Accident & Health (Basics, Provisions, Disability, Medical, HICs, Group, Dental) | 36% |
| Senior/Special Needs + A&H Tax Considerations | 12% |
Notice that accident and health topics, taken together, actually outweigh life insurance topics on the exam. Many candidates walk in expecting a life-insurance-heavy test and are surprised by how much health, disability, and group coverage material appears.
Prelicensing Education Requirements
Before you're even eligible to sit for the OHLH exam, Ohio requires resident applicants to complete 20 hours of approved prelicensing education for Life and 20 hours for Accident and Health - 40 hours total if you're pursuing the combined license. Each course completion certificate is only valid for 180 days, so timing matters: if you finish your prelicensing coursework too far ahead of your scheduled exam date, the certificate can expire before you sit for the test.
Background Checks and Licensure
Ohio also requires BCI and FBI fingerprint-based background checks as part of the licensing process. This is separate from the exam itself but is a mandatory step in becoming a licensed producer, and it's worth scheduling early since fingerprinting appointments and processing can add lead time to your overall licensing timeline. Candidates sometimes overlook this step while focused entirely on exam content - don't let it become a bottleneck.
Who Takes the OHLH Exam
The OHLH exam is taken by people entering - or transitioning into - the insurance sales profession in Ohio. That includes:
- New insurance agency hires who need a license before selling policies
- Career changers moving into financial services or insurance brokerage
- Existing property/casualty producers adding a life and health line of authority
- Bank and credit union employees cross-selling life or health products
Because it's a licensing requirement rather than an optional credential, agencies and carriers frequently sponsor or reimburse the education and exam costs for new hires. If you're weighing whether this career path is worth pursuing, Is the OHLH Certification Worth It? Complete ROI Analysis 2026 and OHLH Salary Guide 2026: Complete Earnings Analysis look at the broader career picture, and OHLH Jobs surveys the types of roles that require this license.
A Domain-Weighted Study Approach
Rather than studying every domain equally, allocate time proportional to its weight - this is the single biggest lever for efficient prep on an exam with 16 distinct content areas.
Regulation and Fundamentals
- Insurance Regulation (10%) - Ohio-specific licensing law
- General Insurance (5%) - foundational terminology and contract law
Life Insurance Core
- Life Insurance Basics (8%)
- Life Insurance Policies (7%)
- Policy Provisions, Options and Riders (9%)
Annuities and Tax Rules
- Annuities (5%)
- Federal Tax Considerations for Life Insurance and Annuities (8%)
Accident and Health Depth
- A&H Basics (8%), Individual A&H Provisions (5%)
- Disability Income (5%), Medical Plans (6%), HICs (5%), Group A&H (5%), Dental (2%)
Senior Coverage, Final Tax Rules, and Review
- Insurance for Senior Citizens and Special Needs Individuals (8%)
- Federal Tax Considerations for A&H (4%)
- Full-length practice exams and weak-area review
This sequencing front-loads regulation (since it's the biggest single domain and shows up in scenario-based questions across the exam) and saves the accident-and-health cluster - collectively the largest domain group - for a dedicated block rather than cramming it in alongside life insurance topics. For a more detailed week-by-week plan with practice question targets, see OHLH Study Guide 2026: How to Pass on Your First Attempt. If you want a fast pre-exam refresher instead of a full plan, OHLH Cheat Sheet 2026: One-Page Review of Must-Know Facts condenses the highest-yield facts into one page.
Key Takeaway
Study accident and health topics as seriously as life insurance topics - combined, the A&H domains outweigh the life insurance domains on the exam blueprint.
After You Pass: Renewal and CE
Passing the exam and getting licensed isn't the end of the process. Ohio producer licenses renew every two years, and renewal requires 24 hours of continuing education, including 3 hours specifically in ethics. Building a habit of tracking CE credits from day one of licensure will save you from a last-minute scramble at renewal time. If you're just starting to research the exam's structure and want to compare how it fits into the broader certification landscape, OHLH Certification and What Is OHLH Certification? provide additional context, and OHLH Training outlines ongoing education pathways beyond initial licensure.
For candidates who want to gauge realistic expectations before test day, How Hard Is the OHLH Exam? Complete Difficulty Guide 2026 and OHLH Pass Rate 2026: What the Data Shows go deeper into difficulty factors, and OHLH Exam Dates 2026: Testing Windows, Deadlines & Scheduling covers scheduling logistics with PSI. You can also start practicing with realistic questions right now on our practice test platform - it's built specifically around the Series 11-35 domain weights described above, not a generic insurance quiz.
Frequently Asked Questions
No. OHLH specifically refers to the Life, Accident and Health Producer Combined Exam (Series 11-35) in Ohio. Property and casualty licensing is a separate exam track with its own content outline.
The exam contains 150 scored multiple-choice questions, and candidates are given 150 minutes to complete it.
You need to score at least 70% to pass the Life, Accident and Health Producer Combined Exam in Ohio.
Yes. Resident applicants must complete 20 hours of approved prelicensing education for Life and 20 hours for Accident and Health, and each completion certificate is valid for only 180 days.
You'll still need to clear BCI and FBI fingerprint-based background checks before licensure is finalized. Once licensed, you must renew every two years and complete 24 hours of continuing education, including 3 hours of ethics.