- How the ORLH Exam Is Structured
- Why Domain Weighting Should Drive Your Study Plan
- Domains 1-3: Regulation and General Insurance Foundations
- Domains 4-7: Life Insurance and Annuities
- Domains 8-13: Health Insurance in Depth
- Domain 14: Federal Tax Considerations
- All 14 Domains at a Glance
- A Domain-Based Study Timeline
- Registration, Fees, and Licensing Mechanics
- Who Hires for These Domains
- Frequently Asked Questions
- The ORLH exam covers 14 domains across 150 scored questions in 160 minutes, requiring a 70% score to pass.
- Group Health Insurance is the single largest domain at 14% of the exam.
- Life Insurance Policies (13%), Annuities (11%), and Specialized Health Insurance for Qualified Individuals (12%) together carry roughly as much weight as the...
- Prelicensing requires 20 hours each for Life and Health, with a completion certificate valid for one year.
How the ORLH Exam Is Structured
The Oregon Life & Health Insurance Producer Exam is administered by PSI under the title Series 12-03, Life and Health (Includes Law), on behalf of the Oregon Division of Financial Regulation. The combined exam consists of 150 scored multiple-choice questions delivered in 160 minutes, and candidates need a 70% score to pass. Unlike exams that separate life and health into two sittings, ORLH bundles both lines into a single test, which means your preparation has to move fluidly between life insurance mechanics, annuity structures, and group and individual health provisions within the same study session.
Understanding exactly how those 150 questions are distributed across 14 content areas is the single most useful thing you can do before you start studying. If you want a broader look at how the exam feels on test day, including pacing and question style, the How Hard Is the ORLH Exam? Complete Difficulty Guide 2026 breaks that down further. This article focuses on what's actually being tested, domain by domain.
Why Domain Weighting Should Drive Your Study Plan
Not every domain deserves equal study time. Group Health Insurance sits at 14%, making it the heaviest single domain on the exam, while Federal Laws and Regulations accounts for only 2%. If you spend three hours reviewing federal law minutiae and thirty minutes on group health provisions, you've almost certainly misallocated your time relative to how the exam is built.
A smarter approach is to rank the domains by weight and let that ranking set your hour budget. Domains worth 10% or more - Group Health Insurance (14%), Life Insurance Policies (13%), Specialized Health Insurance for Qualified Individuals (12%), and Annuities (11%) - should consume a disproportionate share of your review time because they alone represent more than half the scored content when combined with Life Insurance Basics and Medical Plans. For a companion resource that turns this same weighting logic into a week-by-week plan, see the ORLH Study Guide 2026: How to Pass on Your First Attempt.
Key Takeaway
Four domains - Group Health Insurance, Life Insurance Policies, Specialized Health Insurance for Qualified Individuals, and Annuities - together account for exactly half of the exam's weight. Master these before polishing smaller domains.
Domains 1-3: Regulation and General Insurance Foundations
The exam opens conceptually with the regulatory and general-knowledge domains. Combined, these three domains represent only 10% of the exam, but they establish vocabulary and legal context that resurface throughout the life and health sections.
Domain 1: Insurance Regulation (4%)
Candidates need to understand how the Oregon Division of Financial Regulation oversees producers, including licensing authority, unfair trade practices, and the consequences of non-compliance.
- Producer license categories and appointment requirements
- Grounds for license denial, suspension, or revocation
- Unfair claims settlement and trade practices specific to Oregon
Domain 2: Federal Laws and Regulations (2%)
Although the smallest domain on the exam, this section tests awareness of federal statutes that intersect with state-regulated insurance products.
- Federal privacy and disclosure requirements affecting producers
- Interaction between federal law and state insurance regulation
Domain 3: General Insurance (4%)
This domain covers the foundational contract concepts that apply across every insurance product category.
- Elements of an insurance contract and legal principles like insurable interest
- Producer duties, disclosure obligations, and standard policy provisions
Domains 4-7: Life Insurance and Annuities
Life insurance and annuity content makes up the largest single cluster of related domains on the exam, totaling 38% when Domains 4 through 7 are combined. This is where memorization alone breaks down - you need to be able to compare policy types and apply riders to scenario-based questions.
Domain 4: Life Insurance Basics (7%)
Foundational terminology and the mechanics behind how life insurance is priced and structured.
- Mortality tables, premium factors, and beneficiary designations
- Types of life insurance ownership and settlement options
Domain 5: Life Insurance Policies (13%)
The largest life insurance domain and the second-largest domain on the entire exam. Expect detailed comparison questions between policy types.
- Term, whole, universal, and variable life distinctions
- Policy features tied to cash value accumulation and premium flexibility
Domain 6: Life Insurance Policy Provisions, Options and Riders (7%)
Tests your ability to identify which rider or provision solves a specific client need.
- Standard provisions like grace periods, incontestability, and reinstatement
- Common riders including waiver of premium and accelerated death benefit
Domain 7: Annuities (11%)
A substantial domain that requires understanding accumulation and distribution phases as well as annuity classifications.
- Fixed, variable, and indexed annuity structures
- Payout options and tax treatment of annuity distributions
Domains 8-13: Health Insurance in Depth
Health-related domains dominate the back half of the exam and, combined, outweigh the life insurance section. Domains 8 through 13 total 48% of the exam, with Group Health Insurance alone responsible for 14% - the single heaviest domain on the entire test.
Domain 8: Health Insurance Basics (6%)
Core terminology and underwriting concepts that apply to nearly every health product tested later in the exam.
- Underwriting classifications and risk assessment basics
- Managed care concepts and cost-sharing terminology
Domain 9: Individual Health Insurance Policy General Provisions (5%)
Standard contract provisions that apply to individually underwritten health policies.
- Required and optional policy provisions
- Renewability provisions and free-look requirements
Domain 10: Disability Income and Related Insurance (3%)
A smaller but still tested domain covering income-replacement products.
- Definitions of disability and elimination periods
- Benefit periods and coordination with other income sources
Domain 11: Medical Plans (8%)
Covers the structure of major medical products candidates will encounter with clients.
- HMO, PPO, and indemnity plan structures
- Deductibles, coinsurance, and out-of-pocket maximums
Domain 12: Group Health Insurance (14%)
The largest domain on the entire ORLH exam. Expect deep coverage of how group plans are structured and administered.
- Group eligibility, contributory versus noncontributory plans
- COBRA continuation and conversion privileges
Domain 13: Specialized Health Insurance for Qualified Individuals (12%)
The second-largest health domain, testing knowledge of programs designed for specific eligible populations.
- Medicare, Medicare Supplement, and Medicaid basics
- Long-term care insurance features and eligibility triggers
Domain 14: Federal Tax Considerations
The exam closes with a domain that ties life and health products together through federal tax rules - a natural bridge given how many earlier domains touch benefit taxation.
Domain 14: Federal Tax Considerations for Life and Health Insurance (4%)
Requires understanding how premiums, benefits, and cash values are treated under federal tax law.
- Taxation of life insurance death benefits and cash value withdrawals
- Tax treatment of health insurance premiums and disability benefits
All 14 Domains at a Glance
Use this table as a quick-reference companion to the detailed breakdown above, or pair it with the condensed version in the ORLH Cheat Sheet 2026: One-Page Review of Must-Know Facts for last-minute review.
| Domain | Weight |
|---|---|
| 1. Insurance Regulation | 4% |
| 2. Federal Laws and Regulations | 2% |
| 3. General Insurance | 4% |
| 4. Life Insurance Basics | 7% |
| 5. Life Insurance Policies | 13% |
| 6. Life Insurance Policy Provisions, Options and Riders | 7% |
| 7. Annuities | 11% |
| 8. Health Insurance Basics | 6% |
| 9. Individual Health Insurance Policy General Provisions | 5% |
| 10. Disability Income and Related Insurance | 3% |
| 11. Medical Plans | 8% |
| 12. Group Health Insurance | 14% |
| 13. Specialized Health Insurance for Qualified Individuals | 12% |
| 14. Federal Tax Considerations for Life and Health Insurance | 4% |
A Domain-Based Study Timeline
Rather than studying domains in numerical order, sequence your review by weight and by conceptual grouping. This keeps heavier, harder domains from getting crammed into your final days.
Foundations
- Domains 1-3: Insurance Regulation, Federal Laws and Regulations, General Insurance
- Build vocabulary that recurs in every later domain
Life Insurance Core
- Domains 4-6: Life Insurance Basics, Life Insurance Policies, Provisions/Options/Riders
- Practice comparing policy types and matching riders to scenarios
Annuities and Health Basics
- Domain 7: Annuities
- Domains 8-9: Health Insurance Basics, Individual Health Policy Provisions
Heavy Health Domains
- Domains 10-13: Disability Income, Medical Plans, Group Health Insurance, Specialized Health Insurance for Qualified Individuals
- Spend extra time on Group Health Insurance since it's the largest domain
Tax and Full Review
- Domain 14: Federal Tax Considerations
- Full-length timed practice runs at 150 questions in 160 minutes
If you're unsure how many weeks you realistically have before your test slot, check current testing windows in the ORLH Exam Dates 2026: Testing Windows, Deadlines & Scheduling article before finalizing this schedule.
Registration, Fees, and Licensing Mechanics
Domain knowledge only matters if you're actually eligible to sit for the exam. Resident applicants must complete 20 hours of approved prelicensing education for Life and 20 hours for Health, and the resulting completion certificate is valid for one year - so don't finish your coursework too far ahead of your scheduled exam date. CLU holders may qualify for an education waiver, which can shortcut this requirement for candidates who already hold that designation.
The combined ORLH exam costs $55 and can be taken either at a physical PSI test center or through remote proctoring, depending on what's available and convenient for you. Initial resident applicants also complete fingerprinting as part of the licensing process. Once licensed, producers renew every two years with 24 hours of continuing education, including 3 ethics hours and 3 Oregon law hours specifically.
For the full eligibility checklist, see ORLH Requirements 2026: Eligibility, Prerequisites & How to Qualify, and for a complete breakdown of what you'll spend from prelicensing through renewal, see ORLH Certification Cost 2026: Complete Pricing Breakdown.
Who Hires for These Domains
The domain mix on the ORLH exam mirrors the day-to-day work of licensed life and health producers in Oregon. Agencies and carriers writing individual life policies lean heavily on the knowledge tested in Domains 4 through 7, while brokers focused on employer-sponsored benefits rely on Domains 11 through 13 - particularly Group Health Insurance and specialized programs for qualified individuals like Medicare and long-term care. Producers who split their book between life and health products need working familiarity with all 14 domains simultaneously, which is exactly why the combined exam format exists.
Before you commit significant study time, it's worth running the numbers on where this license can take you. Practice with realistic questions on the main ORLH practice test platform to see which domains feel weakest, and compare that against career paths described in the ORLH Jobs overview.
Frequently Asked Questions
Group Health Insurance is the largest domain at 14% of the exam, followed by Life Insurance Policies at 13% and Specialized Health Insurance for Qualified Individuals at 12%.
Yes. The ORLH exam is a combined Life and Health test (PSI Series 12-03, Life and Health, Includes Law) with 150 scored questions spanning all 14 domains in one 160-minute sitting.
Resident applicants complete 20 hours of approved prelicensing education for Life and 20 hours for Health. The completion certificate is valid for one year, so time your coursework close to your exam date.
No. Even at 2%, Federal Laws and Regulations questions still count toward your 70% passing threshold. Skipping any domain entirely adds unnecessary risk on exam day.
You can work through domain-tagged practice questions on the ORLH practice test site, which lets you drill weaker domains like Group Health Insurance or Annuities before attempting full timed simulations.