38.2-1814.1 - License required of resident title insurance agent.
§ 38.2-1814.1. License required of resident title insurance agent.
A. No individual who is a resident of the Commonwealth shall obtain a licenseas a title insurance agent from the Commission unless he has passed anexamination in a form and manner prescribed by the Commission. Beforeregistering to take an examination for a license as a title insurance agent,each applicant shall have completed, within the period specified insubsection B, a pre-licensing education course of 16 hours of instruction.The pre-licensing education course may be comprised of or include any form ofclassroom education or distance education in accordance with an examinationcontent outline approved by the Commission. The applicant shall submit proofof completion of the pre-licensing education course in a form acceptable tothe Commission. The proof of completion of the pre-licensing education courseshall be:
1. Signed by the applicant and sworn to under oath before a notary public orother official before whom oaths may be taken, stating that the applicantcompleted a course for which the requisite number of classroom or distanceeducation hours were completed. An applicant who is found to have submitted amaterially false proof of course completion shall, in addition to anyapplicable civil or criminal penalties for perjury, be deemed to havecommitted a knowing and willful violation of this section and be subject tothe penalties as set forth in § 38.2-218. Upon receipt of acceptable proofthat an applicant submitted a materially false proof of course completion,the Commission may administratively terminate any license issued based uponsuch submission; and
2. Signed by the individual who acted as the instructor for the course, whoshall certify that the requisite number of the classroom or distanceeducation hours were completed by the applicant. An instructor who is foundto have submitted a materially false certification that an applicantcompleted the requisite number of classroom or distance education hours shallbe deemed to have committed a knowing and willful violation of this sectionand be subject to the penalties as set forth in § 38.2-218. If the instructoris also a licensed insurance agent or insurance consultant, the Commissionmay also impose on the instructor the penalties set forth in § 38.2-1831 or38.2-1843, as applicable.
As used in this subsection:
"Classroom education" means actual hours in a classroom environment with aninstructor. Instructors shall have the right to consider an applicant to havemet the classroom hour requirement if the applicant was present for not lessthan 95 percent of the required hours.
"Distance education" means instruction delivered or presented by or underthe general supervision of an instructor using a medium other than aclassroom setting. "Distance education" shall not include self-study orcorrespondence courses.
B. An applicant's satisfaction of the education requirement established bysubsection A shall be valid only for the one-year period following the datehe satisfied the education requirement. However, the Commission may waivethis time limit in individual circumstances in accordance with criteriaprescribed by the Commission.
C. Officers or employees who are not agents of a title insurance companyshall be exempt from the provisions of this section.
D. Agents who, as of January 1, 1987, were authorized agents of titleinsurance companies licensed to transact title insurance in this Commonwealthshall be exempt from the requirements of subsections A and B of this section.
(1986, c. 364, § 38.1-327.15:1; 1987, c. 521; 1988, c. 187; 1989, c. 435;2001, c. 706; 2008, c. 250.)