A real estate broker owns part of an Ohio title agency. Besides payment for services actually rendered, what is the only thing of value that may flow to the broker from it?Answer: A return on the ownership interest. Source: OAC 3901-7-04(F)
An insurer appoints an Ohio insurance agent. The notice of appointment is filed with the superintendent within how many days of the agency contract or the first application, whichever is earlier?Answer: 30. Source: ORC 3905.20(B)
An Ohio business entity title agent changes owners. Within how many days must it notify the superintendent?Answer: 30. Source: OAC 3901-5-09
An Ohio title marketing representative violates Title 39. Unless the sponsor promptly reports it and takes remedial action, the sponsoring title agent faces a civil forfeiture of up to how much per violation?Answer: $10,000. Source: OAC 3901-5-09(G)
By how many title agents may an Ohio title insurance marketing representative be sponsored at one time?Answer: One. Source: OAC 3901-5-09(G)
Every Ohio title insurance agent must carry errors and omissions insurance of at least $250,000. What minimum applies to a subcontractor not covered by the agent's policy?Answer: $50,000. Source: OAC 3901-7-02(D)
Show all 92 questions (86 more)
Agent licensing and regulation, continued
For how long must an Ohio title insurance agent keep records of its escrow operations and escrow trust accounts?Answer: Not less than ten years after the transactions. Source: ORC 3953.33(C)
How many continuing education credits must an Ohio resident who holds only a title agent license complete before renewal?Answer: 12 credits: 10 title and 2 ethics. Source: OAC 3901-5-09(J)
How often must each title insurance company certify to Ohio's superintendent of insurance the names of the title insurance agents representing it?Answer: Annually. Source: ORC 3953.21(A)
In Ohio, a person who only markets the goods and services tied to title insurance needs which license?Answer: A limited lines license as a title insurance marketing representative. Source: OAC 3901-5-09(G)
Ohio rule 3901-7-04 adds two kinds of business to the "prohibited persons" who may not control a title agency. Which are they?Answer: Builders and developers. Source: OAC 3901-7-04(C)
ORC 3953.35 bars a title insurance agent from coercing a consumer into a mortgage loan of what size?Answer: $75,000 or less. Source: ORC 3953.35
Since December 12, 1967, which words may an agent for a title insurance company not put in a newly adopted Ohio firm name?Answer: "Title insurance". Source: ORC 3953.24
Under Ohio rule 3901-7-04, control of a title agency is presumed when a person holds at least what share of its voting securities or interests?Answer: Fifty per cent. Source: OAC 3901-7-04(C)
Under ORC 3953.01, an Ohio title insurance agent is authorized in writing by a title insurance company to solicit insurance, collect premiums and do what else?Answer: Issue or countersign policies on its behalf. Source: ORC 3953.01(H)
What does Ohio require of a title insurance marketing representative before licensing?Answer: Neither pre-licensing education nor an examination. Source: OAC 3901-5-09(G)
When does an Ohio individual title agent license come up for renewal after the first renewal?Answer: Every two years on the last day of the agent's birth month. Source: OAC 3901-5-09(J)
Which act is an Ohio title insurance marketing representative allowed to perform?Answer: Explain in general terms how owner's and lender's policies differ. Source: OAC 3901-5-09(G)
Which business may not act as an agent for a title insurance company in Ohio?Answer: A real estate company. Source: ORC 3953.21(B)
Who is left out of Ohio's definition of "title insurance agent"?Answer: Officers and salaried employees of a title insurance company. Source: ORC 3953.01(H)
Title insurance law 14
A title insurance company files a new policy form with Ohio's superintendent and hears nothing. When may it first issue the form?Answer: Thirty days after filing. Source: ORC 3953.28
An Ohio title agent is issuing only a lender's policy on a home purchase loan and no owner's policy was requested. When must the agent give the buyer the written notice comparing the two policies?Answer: At the time the commitment is prepared. Source: ORC 3953.30(B)
For how long after a policy is issued must evidence of a reasonable examination of title be kept in the files of the Ohio title insurance company or its agent?Answer: Not less than ten years. Source: ORC 3953.07
For the owner's policy notice of ORC 3953.30, a "residential mortgage loan" is secured by Ohio property with how many residential units?Answer: Two or fewer. Source: ORC 3953.30(A)
How long must an Ohio title agent keep the mortgagor's signed copy of the notice about owner's title insurance?Answer: At least ten years after the lender's policy takes effect. Source: ORC 3953.30(B)
In ORC 3953.01, what is a "single insurance risk"?Answer: The insured amount of any policy or contract of title insurance. Source: ORC 3953.01(I)
In ORC 3953.01, who is an "approved attorney"?Answer: An outside attorney on whose title examination a policy may issue. Source: ORC 3953.01(G)
Ohio's definition of title insurance covers insuring against liens, defects and unmarketability of title. What else does it cover?Answer: Guaranteeing the correctness of searches relating to the title. Source: ORC 3953.01(A)
To whom must Ohio closing or settlement protection be offered?Answer: The lender, borrower, seller and any applicant for title insurance. Source: ORC 3953.32(A)
What does ORC 3953.01 call the part of the fee charged for the title insurance company's assumption of the risk created by issuing the policy?Answer: The risk premium. Source: ORC 3953.01(E)
What must the Ohio notice to a mortgagor under ORC 3953.30 say about the lender's title insurance policy?Answer: That it does not protect the mortgagor as owner of the property. Source: ORC 3953.30(B)
When must closing or settlement protection be offered in an Ohio transaction?Answer: At the time an order is placed for the title insurance policy. Source: ORC 3953.32(A)
Which business may an Ohio title insurance company not engage in?Answer: Guaranteeing the completion of improvements. Source: ORC 3953.09
Which charge falls outside Ohio's definition of the "fee" for title insurance?Answer: Settlement, closing or escrow charges. Source: ORC 3953.01(F)
Commissions and controlled business 5
Ohio rule 3901-7-04 lists factors for spotting a sham title agency. Which question is one of them?Answer: Is the entity staffed with its own employees? Source: OAC 3901-7-04(E)
Ohio title agents may divide fees among themselves unless the division is an unlawful rebate or a payment of what?Answer: A forwarding fee or finder's fee. Source: ORC 3953.27
ORC 3953.26 bars paying an applicant or the applicant's representative for title business. Which payment does it still allow?Answer: A fee to an attorney for examining or certifying the title. Source: ORC 3953.26
To whom may a title insurance company pay a commission under ORC 3953.25?Answer: Only a title insurance agent. Source: ORC 3953.25
Under Ohio rule 3901-7-04, which payment may not be treated as a return on an ownership interest in a title agency?Answer: A payment that varies with the amount of each owner's referrals. Source: OAC 3901-7-04(F)
Escrow, IOTA and bonds 11
An Ohio title agent handles escrows in transactions where no title insurance is issued. What is the minimum surety bond under rule 3901-7-02?Answer: $150,000. Source: OAC 3901-7-02(C)
An Ohio title agent may skip the independent review if its insurer reviewed its escrow accounts and it averaged no more than how many Ohio transactions a month?Answer: Five. Source: OAC 3901-7-01(F)
An Ohio title insurance agent may handle escrows of real property transactions on what condition?Answer: It keeps separate escrow records and does not commingle the funds. Source: ORC 3953.23(B)
By when must an Ohio title agent deposit non-directed escrow funds that are nominal in amount or held for a short time into its IOTA account?Answer: No later than the next business day after receipt. Source: ORC 3953.231(B)
How must an Ohio title agent's account for non-directed escrow funds be identified?Answer: As an "interest on trust account" or "IOTA". Source: ORC 3953.231(A)
How often must the bank holding an Ohio IOTA account remit the interest to the treasurer of state?Answer: At least quarterly. Source: ORC 3953.231(D)
In ORC 3953.01, what makes escrow funds "non-directed"?Answer: No written instruction says who benefits from the account or gets the interest. Source: ORC 3953.01(L)
Under ORC 1349.21, cash and checks physically received by an Ohio closing agent but not yet deposited may support a disbursement only up to what aggregate amount?Answer: $10,000. Source: ORC 1349.21(A)
Where does the interest earned on an Ohio title agent's IOTA account go?Answer: To the treasurer of state for the legal aid fund. Source: ORC 3953.231(C)
Who must perform the independent annual review of an Ohio title agent's escrow accounts under rule 3901-7-01?Answer: A certified public accountant. Source: OAC 3901-7-01(G)
The yearly independent review of an Ohio title agent's escrow accounts covers the twelve months ending on which date?Answer: August 31. Source: ORC 3953.33(A)
Real property and conveyances 25
A recorded Ohio affidavit of facts relating to title, such as heirship or possession, has what effect under ORC 5301.252?Answer: It is evidence of the facts stated, insofar as they affect title. Source: ORC 5301.252(A)
A recorded Ohio easement must refer to the instrument under which the grantor claims title. How?Answer: By volume and page of the record. Source: ORC 5301.011
A vendee defaults on an Ohio land installment contract. How long must pass before forfeiture of the vendee's interest may be enforced?Answer: Thirty days from the default. Source: ORC 5313.05
An Ohio deed names the grantees as "Ann or Ben" and says nothing more. How does ORC 5302.20 read the word "or"?Answer: As if the word "and" had been used. Source: ORC 5302.20(A)
An Ohio deed signed in 1998 was acknowledged but not attested by two witnesses. How does ORC 5301.01 treat it?Answer: Deemed properly executed and presumed valid, absent fraud. Source: ORC 5301.01(B)
An Ohio mortgage is presented for record without the mortgagee's current mailing address. What is the effect under ORC 5301.23?Answer: Its validity and constructive notice are unaffected. Source: ORC 5301.23(B)
At what moment does a properly executed Ohio mortgage take effect?Answer: When it is delivered to the county recorder for record. Source: ORC 5301.23(A)
How does an Ohio owner make real property transferable on death to a named beneficiary?Answer: By recording a transfer on death designation affidavit with the county recorder. Source: ORC 5302.22(B)
In an Ohio land installment contract, who holds title while the buyer pays the installments?Answer: The vendor, as security for the vendee's obligation. Source: ORC 5313.01(A)
The last two Ohio survivorship tenants die and the survivor cannot be determined. How does title pass?Answer: As if they had been tenants in common. Source: ORC 5302.20(B)
Ohio recognizes a tenancy by the entireties only where the deed was recorded in which period?Answer: Between February 9, 1972, and April 3, 1985. Source: ORC 5302.22(A)
Two mortgages on the same Ohio premises are presented for record on the same day. Which has preference?Answer: The one presented and recorded first. Source: ORC 5301.23(A)
Under Ohio's "limited warranty covenants", against whose claims does the grantor warrant and defend the title?Answer: Persons claiming by, through, or under the grantor, but none other. Source: ORC 5302.08
Under ORC 5301.25, an unrecorded Ohio deed is fraudulent as to which later buyer?Answer: A bona fide purchaser with no knowledge of the earlier deed. Source: ORC 5301.25(A)
What covenants does an Ohio statutory quit-claim deed carry?Answer: None of any kind. Source: ORC 5302.11
What does an Ohio land installment contract require the vendor to deliver when the contract is completed?Answer: A general warranty deed, unless the vendor is legally unable to give one. Source: ORC 5313.02(A)
What is Ohio dower?Answer: A life estate in one third of the consort's real property held during the marriage. Source: ORC 2103.02
When a survey is made of Ohio land being conveyed, what must appear in the deed?Answer: The name of the person who made the survey. Source: ORC 5301.25(B)
When must an Ohio vendor use foreclosure and judicial sale, and not forfeiture, to recover property sold on a land installment contract?Answer: When the vendee has paid five years or more, or at least twenty per cent of the price. Source: ORC 5313.07
Which covenant is part of Ohio's statutory "general warranty covenants"?Answer: That the grantor is lawfully seized in fee simple of the granted premises. Source: ORC 5302.06
Which event ends an Ohio spouse's dower interest under ORC 2103.02?Answer: The granting of an absolute divorce. Source: ORC 2103.02
Which official is named in ORC 5301.01 as able to take the acknowledgment of an Ohio deed?Answer: A county engineer. Source: ORC 5301.01(A)
Which wording in an Ohio deed to two grantees creates a survivorship tenancy?Answer: "For their joint lives, remainder to the survivor of them". Source: ORC 5302.17
Within how many days after both parties sign must the vendor have an Ohio land installment contract recorded?Answer: Twenty. Source: ORC 5313.02(C)
Within how many years must an action to recover the title to or possession of Ohio real property be brought?Answer: Twenty-one. Source: ORC 2305.04
Liens and clearing title 17
A claimant files a notice to preserve an old interest in Ohio land. Does the claimant's disability or lack of knowledge extend the forty-year period?Answer: No, nothing of that kind suspends it. Source: ORC 5301.51(A)
A private creditor's Ohio judgment goes dormant and stops being a lien unless execution issues or a certificate of judgment is filed within how many years?Answer: Five. Source: ORC 2329.07(B)
An Ohio deed has been of record for five years and its certificate of acknowledgment is defective. What does ORC 5301.07 provide?Answer: The defect is cured and the deed is effective as if properly acknowledged. Source: ORC 5301.07(C)
An Ohio mechanics' lien affidavit for work on a one- or two-family dwelling must be filed within how many days after the claimant's last work?Answer: Sixty. Source: ORC 1311.06(B)
An Ohio mortgagee fails to record a release in time. What damages may the mortgagor and the current owner recover in a civil action under ORC 5301.36(C)?Answer: $250. Source: ORC 5301.36(C)
Before an Ohio child support enforcement agency may assert a lien on an obligor's property, what must have happened?Answer: A final and enforceable determination that the obligor is in default. Source: ORC 3123.66
For a commercial building that is neither a dwelling nor an oil and gas project, an Ohio mechanics' lien affidavit is due within how many days of the last work?Answer: Seventy-five. Source: ORC 1311.06(B)
For registered (Torrens) land in Ohio, where must the certificate of judgment be filed before the judgment is a lien?Answer: With the county recorder, with a memorial on the register of title. Source: ORC 2329.02
From what moment is an Ohio judgment a lien on the debtor's land in a county?Answer: When a certificate of judgment is filed with the county's clerk of the court of common pleas. Source: ORC 2329.02
How long does an Ohio mechanics' lien continue in force after the affidavit is filed, if no action is brought to enforce it?Answer: Six years. Source: ORC 1311.13(C)
How many years of an unbroken chain of title of record give an Ohio owner a marketable record title?Answer: Forty years or more. Source: ORC 5301.48
On what date each year does the state's lien for real property taxes attach to Ohio real property?Answer: The first day of January. Source: ORC 323.11
The presumption that a signed, acknowledged and recorded Ohio instrument is valid may be rebutted by what standard of proof of fraud or forgery?Answer: Clear and convincing evidence. Source: ORC 5301.07(B)
Under Ohio's lis pendens statute, what happens once a complaint is filed over a parcel?Answer: Third persons have notice and cannot acquire an interest against the plaintiff's title. Source: ORC 2703.26
When does an Ohio child support arrearage become a lien on the obligor's real property?Answer: After the lien is filed with a county recorder where the real property is located. Source: ORC 3123.67
Which is a "title transaction" under Ohio's marketable title law?Answer: A sheriff's deed. Source: ORC 5301.47(F)
Within how many days after an Ohio mortgage is satisfied must the mortgagee record a release?Answer: Ninety. Source: ORC 5301.36(B)
How this list was compiled: Ohio Revised Code chapter 3953 (title insurance) and sections of chapters 323, 1311, 1349, 2103, 2305, 2329, 2703, 3123, 3905, 5301, 5302 and 5313, with Ohio Administrative Code rules 3901-5-09 and 3901-7-01 to 3901-7-04, read on October 13, 2026 on the state's own site (https://codes.ohio.gov/). The topics follow the Ohio Title Insurance Agent content outline (Series 11-37) in the Insurance License Examination Candidate Information Bulletin updated March 24, 2026, which prints Revised Code sections beside its topics; the Ohio Department of Insurance links the bulletin from its agent education page (https://insurance.ohio.gov/agents-and-agencies/agent-education/03-agent-education-overview) and hosts a copy at https://dam.assets.ohio.gov/image/upload/insurance.ohio.gov/Agent/Documents/Candidate_Handbook_updated_3.20.2025.pdf. Licence: Own work. Every question, wrong choice and explanation was written for this site from the text of the law. Nothing comes from a testing vendor, a prep course or an exam question pool.
How it works
This free study guide for the Ohio title agent exam is unofficial: 92 of our own questions from the Ohio Revised Code and Administrative Code, with no policy forms or textbook theory. Not affiliated with the Ohio Department of Insurance.
Read the full guide
Follow the five parts of the outline
The Title Insurance Agent exam, Series 11-37, gives 35 percent of its questions to real property, 25 percent to title exceptions and clearing title, 20 percent to title insurance, and 10 percent each to insurance regulation and general insurance.
What only Ohio asks
The outline names Ohio topics of its own: dower, land installment contracts, the child support lien, IOTA trust accounts and closing protection coverage. Each has questions here, written from the statute that sets it.
A title-only agent renews every two years with 12 continuing education credits, 10 in title and 2 in ethics (OAC 3901-5-09).
Ohio dower is a life estate in one third of the real property a spouse held during the marriage; divorce ends it (ORC 2103.02).
A mechanics' lien affidavit is due in 60 days for a one- or two-family dwelling and 75 days for most other work (ORC 1311.06).
Questions and answers
How many questions are on the Ohio title agent exam?
The candidate bulletin updated March 24, 2026 lists the Title Insurance Agent exam, Series 11-37, at 100 questions in 2 hours, with a minimum passing score of 70 percent. It adds that up to ten unscored trial questions may be given.
Is there a free study guide for the Ohio title agent exam?
This page is one: free, with no account. Answer a question and the section of the Ohio Revised Code or Administrative Code appears with a link, so every miss points to the law to read next.
Does Ohio require a pre-licensing course for the title exam?
No. The bulletin's checklist lists no pre-licensing education for the Title line; the exam and a fingerprint background check are required. A title insurance marketing representative needs neither a course nor an exam (OAC 3901-5-09).
Are these the real Ohio title exam questions?
No. They are our own, written from the Ohio Revised Code and the Ohio Administrative Code. This site has never seen the state exam, and the Ohio Department of Insurance did not write or review them.