The Ohio Insurance Navigator license
Insurance Navigator
Helps Ohioans enroll through the health insurance exchange without selling them anything. It carries twenty-four hours of pre-certification education on twelve named subjects, which is the only course requirement in Ohio that is not the twenty hours a producer takes.
Course
24 hrs
The shortest single course route.
Ways in
1
There is no state exam for this license.
Exam
n/a
Not required on any of the routes below.
Every way to qualify
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Route 1 Take the twenty-four hours and certify
No state exam for this license
Pre-certification education
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24 hours of pre-certification education covering HIPAA compliance, ethics, the Affordable Care Act, levels of coverage, eligibility to buy a qualified health plan, appeal and dispute resolution, conflict of interest and impartiality, exchange privacy policies, Medicaid eligibility, advanced premium tax credits and cost sharing reductions, publicly funded health care, and employer eligibility for the Small Business Health Options Program
and comprehensive examination
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A comprehensive examination covering the required education credits. The rule says the requirement is met by passing the examination administered under the regulations of the secretary of health and human services, so the paper is the federal exchange's rather than Ohio's.
and federal funding
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Affiliation with a business entity that has been selected to receive navigator grant funding under section 1311(i) of the Affordable Care Act and has been certified by the Department as a business entity navigator. Individual applications are available only through such an entity.
and criminal records check
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A criminal records check under Ohio Revised Code 3905.051, with a satisfactory result on the superintendent's review. An applicant with a conviction noted may submit information on why it does not affect their fitness.
and conflict of interest disclosure
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The Department's application and disclosure form, on which the navigator discloses any potential conflict of interest.
O.A.C. 3901-5-13(C)(2)(a) sets the twenty-four hours and lists the twelve subjects; Ohio Revised Code 3905.471(F)(1) is what told the superintendent to build the program, and it named HIPAA, ethics and the Affordable Care Act itself. The examination is real but it is not Ohio's, which is why this page says there is no state exam: rule (C)(2)(c) asks for "a comprehensive exam including pertinent information that is included within the required education credits" and then says the requirement "will be met by the successful completion of an examination administered under the regulations implemented by the secretary of health and human services". Paragraph (G)(1) does the same for the hours: an applicant who completes the exchange's own training program and meets the exchange's education standards "has met all initial education requirements". So the figure is Ohio's and the course that satisfies it is the federal government's. A navigator may not sell, solicit or negotiate health insurance, may not recommend a plan and may not advise on which plan is better, all of which is 3905.471(C). Certification expires annually and a late renewal costs $50 up to 1 December, after which the certificate is cancelled.
Read at codes.ohio.gov on 2026-08-21
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A course is required and nobody sells one
The hours are Ohio's and the course that satisfies them is the exchange's own training program, which the Department does not approve schools to give. No national seller prices an Ohio navigator product.