How do I choose a pre-licensing course or school for my insurance license?

The choice depends on your state's rules. States that require prelicensing education accept only courses from providers on the state insurance department's approved-education list, and under the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) Uniform Licensing Standards most accept classroom study, verifiable self-study, or a combination. States without a prelicensing education requirement, such as Texas, leave the choice of study materials entirely to the candidate.

Alabama stopped requiring prelicensing education on January 1, 2024, and the Alabama Department of Insurance no longer requires, regulates, recommends, or approves course providers, so there is no state approved-school list to work from. Any course you buy is optional exam preparation. Judge options against the exam outlines published by the University of Alabama, the state exam administrator.

Alaska has no prelicensing education requirement for insurance licenses, so a course is optional rather than required. If you choose to study, the state's exam handbook lists third-party study materials for information only and states that neither the Division of Insurance nor Pearson VUE endorses any particular materials. Pearson VUE sells official online practice tests for life, health, property, and casualty for $19.95 each.

Arizona requires no pre-licensing education for insurance licensing, so a prep course is optional rather than a licensing step. The state's insurance department does not provide study materials, cannot recommend suppliers, and does not evaluate the quality of any training course or study material. Because the course is voluntary, base your choice on how well it covers the exam content outline for your line of authority, along with format and cost.

Start with Colorado's approved-provider list at sircon.com/colorado, because the state accepts prelicensing credit only from approved schools. Compare format (classroom, self-study, or online), since all are acceptable, and confirm the course covers the required 50 hours, including the mandated ethics and Colorado law hours. Keep your school code, because you must provide it when reserving the Pearson VUE exam.

Choose a provider from Connecticut's approved pre-licensing education list, which the licensing program publishes through its exam administrator. Courses come in classroom, self-study, and online formats, and a single line of authority requires 20 hours while a combined-line course requires 40. Applicants may also ask their employer, since some companies approve specific courses.

DC requires no pre-licensing course, so any course you take serves only to prepare for the Pearson VUE exam. DISB lists the permitted preparation options: a prep course provider, self-study, classroom study, or internet study. Pearson VUE also sells online practice tests for life, health, property, and casualty for $19.95 each.

Choose a course from the Florida Department of Financial Services (DFS) Education Database using the "Prelicensing" search option, because only department-approved courses qualify. Required hours depend on the license: 30 for life (2-14), 40 for health (2-40), 60 for life and health (2-15) or personal lines (20-44), and 200 for general lines (2-20). Approved providers report your completion to the department within 21 days of the passing date.

Choose a provider approved by Georgia's insurance regulator, in either classroom or online format. Confirm the course matches your line of authority: hours range from 8 for a single line to 16 for a combined Property and Casualty course. The provider reports your completion electronically, and the course stays valid for one year, so you must pass the Pearson VUE exam within that window or retrain.

Idaho does not require pre-licensing education, so a prep course is optional. The Idaho Department of Insurance publishes exam content outlines for each line of authority, and those outlines show exactly what the exam covers. The department also maintains a list of approved study-material providers for candidates who want a structured course.

Start with the state's approved-education list, searchable at statebasedsystems.com, since Illinois will not issue a license until your pre-licensing education is complete and on file. Match the course to your line of authority: Illinois requires 20 hours per line (Life, Accident & Health, Property, Casualty, or Personal Lines), with 7.5 of those hours in a classroom or webinar setting; Motor Vehicle is the exception at 12.5 hours. Plan to finish within 12 months, because pre-licensing must be used to obtain your license within one year of completion.

Start with the Indiana Department of Insurance's approved-education list, searchable through the Sircon system; a course must be state-approved to count toward the exam requirement. Match the course to your license line: the combined Life & Health and full Property & Casualty lines each require 40 hours, and Title requires 10. Indiana permits state-approved self-study courses to fulfill the classroom requirement, so you can pick the delivery format that fits your schedule.

Iowa does not require pre-licensing education, so the state neither mandates nor approves a course, and the Iowa Insurance Division does not endorse any study materials or vendors. Any prep course you take is voluntary and comes from a private education provider. When comparing options, check that the course prepares you for both parts of your exam: a general section on insurance products and a state section on Iowa laws and rules.

Kansas requires no pre-licensing education for any line of authority, so you do not need to choose a course at all; you may take the licensing exam without one. Neither the Kansas Department of Insurance nor Pearson VUE endorses any particular school or study material, so no provider is state-approved or state-recommended. Optional commercial exam-prep courses exist, and their prices vary widely by provider.

Pick a course that meets Kentucky's prelicensing requirement: 20 hours of classroom or self-study education per line of authority, or 40 hours for the combined life-and-health or property-and-casualty track. The course must be approved by the Department of Insurance, and the provider reports your completion electronically. Keep the signed, dated Certificate of Completion (Form CPL-01); it is invalid without both, and it is valid for one year from completion.

Louisiana requires no prelicensing education for insurance producer exams, with two exceptions: bail bond applicants must first complete a three-month apprenticeship, and public adjuster applicants need pre-approval from the Louisiana Department of Insurance. Any course you take is therefore optional exam preparation, so choose one that follows the PSI examination content outline for your line of authority. The passing score on every exam is 70%.

Pick a course that issues the certificate Maine requires: at least 16 credit hours of prelicensing education, which applicants must present to the exam administrator unless they can show 6 months of relevant insurance experience instead. Courses come in classroom, webinar, and self-study formats, and prices vary by provider. Pearson VUE also sells online practice tests for $19.95.

Maryland no longer requires any prelicensing course, so there is no state-approved school list to choose from. Effective October 1, 2024, the Maryland Insurance Administration repealed prelicensing education and experience requirements (Bulletin 24-19), and MIA and Prometric no longer publish a roster of approved courses or providers. Candidates may select their own exam-prep courses or study materials and can prepare using Prometric's free exam content outlines for the lines they want.

Massachusetts requires no pre-licensing education for producer licenses, so any course you choose is optional exam preparation rather than a state requirement. When comparing options, check that the materials match the current Pearson VUE exam format, effective July 22, 2026: 80 scored questions (50 general knowledge plus 30 Massachusetts-specific) for the Life, Accident & Health, Property, and Casualty exams. Pearson also publishes the official content outlines and online practice tests at $19.95 each.

Choose a Michigan-approved provider, since the Department of Insurance and Financial Services (DIFS) requires pre-licensing education (PE) from a state-approved source for every producer line. Decide your line first: Life and Accident and Health each require 20 hours on their own, or 40 hours combined; Property and Casualty require 40 hours combined. Both classroom and self-study formats are acceptable, and your Course Completion Certificate is valid for 12 months.

Start with the Minnesota Department of Commerce's pre-approved education list, which appears on Sircon. Minnesota allows classroom, verifiable self-study, or combined courses, but a course may not be sponsored by, offered by, or affiliated with an insurance company or its producers; courses from a bona fide producers' professional association are allowed. Match the course to the line of authority you want, and check whether a degree or designation such as CLU or CPCU exempts you from the requirement.

Choose a Mississippi-approved course from the state's approved-education list, searchable at sircon.com/mississippi. Mississippi allows classroom, online, or self-study formats. The required hours are 20 per line of authority, though applicants seeking the Life line only have been exempt from prelicensing education since July 1, 2024, and the exam is still required.

Missouri does not require pre-licensing education, so you do not need to choose a school at all. You can study on your own and go straight to the Pearson VUE exam, the only state-mandated step before applying. Optional exam prep courses from private providers exist at a wide range of prices if you want structured review before the exam.

In Montana a prelicensing course is optional, not required, so the choice matters less than your exam preparation. The State Auditor's Office does not issue study material, and neither it nor Pearson VUE recommends or endorses any particular manual or course. Pearson VUE does offer official online practice tests in life, health, property, and casualty for $19.95 each if you want structured preparation before the exam.

Nebraska requires no pre-licensing education, and the Department of Insurance does not review, approve, or recommend course providers, so you can study with any materials you choose. The state publishes exam outlines showing the percentage of questions per topic, and PSI offers practice exams for property/casualty and life/health. Because no course is required, pick materials that match your budget and study style.

Nevada no longer requires prelicensing education for producer applicants, so choosing a course is optional. Most candidates study the exam content outlines that Pearson VUE publishes for each license type, which list every tested topic and the number of scored questions. Pearson VUE also sells official online practice tests for life, health, property, and casualty at $19.95 each.

New Hampshire requires no pre-licensing course, and the insurance department does not evaluate or recommend any study material provider, so no school is officially preferred. Your choice comes down to format (self-study, online, or an in-person review class) and cost, which varies by provider. Taking a course alone does not guarantee passing the exam; you must still pass the PSI licensing exam for your line of authority.

Choose a course from the New Jersey Department of Banking and Insurance's approved-education list, and confirm it covers the required hours for your line (20 hours per major line, such as Life, Property, or Casualty). Approved courses must include New Jersey regulation content, including producer licensing, ethics and standards of conduct, and fraud detection. Self-study and interactive online formats are both permitted, and completion certificates never expire.

New Mexico requires no prelicensing course for any producer line of authority, and the Office of Superintendent of Insurance names no official study manual, so you can prepare with any materials you choose. Commercial course prices vary by provider. Whatever you use, you must pass the state exam with a score of at least 70%.

New York requires you to complete a prelicensing course from a provider approved by the Department of Financial Services (DFS); search the approved-provider list on the DFS portal to compare schools. Pick a course that covers your line of authority: 90 hours for property/casualty, 40 hours for life, accident and health combined, or 20 hours for life only or accident and health only. Approved education may be delivered as classroom work or an equivalent such as correspondence or internet study.

Pre-licensing education is no longer required in North Carolina. Under Session Law 2025-45, effective October 1, 2025, producer applicants do not need course hours before taking the state exam. If you want a course anyway, the North Carolina Department of Insurance publishes a list of approved pre-licensing education providers on its website.

North Dakota does not require or regulate prelicensing courses, so there is no official list of approved schools. You may prepare by classroom instruction or self-study, and you do not have to verify your study with the Department or the testing center. When comparing providers, check cost, format, and how well the material covers the exam content in the PSI Candidate Information Bulletin, since the Department cannot recommend one provider over another.

Choose a course from a provider on the Ohio Department of Insurance's approved pre-licensing education list, because only certificates from approved providers qualify you to sit for the exam. Compare delivery formats, since Ohio accepts a 20-hour classroom, distance learning, or self-study course for each line of authority. Costs and course features vary by provider, so compare format and price before enrolling.

Oklahoma requires no prelicensing course, so the choice is about exam preparation. The department publishes a list of providers that developed their own prelicensing courses, but it neither requires nor regulates that education and does not recommend a provider. You can also self-study with the Kaplan study manuals sold by the department ($35 physical, $20 PDF, $30 eBook), which are the source the exams are based on.

Course prices vary by school and format, so compare approved options. Pick an Oregon-approved course for the line you want that covers basic principles, producer duties, and Oregon insurance law; classroom, live online, and verifiable online self-study formats all qualify. Unsupervised self-study is not accepted. You can search approved courses and providers through the State Based Systems (SBS) course lookup for Oregon.

Pennsylvania no longer requires a pre-licensing course at all: Act 142 of 2024 removed the requirement effective April 29, 2025, so any course you take is optional exam preparation. Because no certificate of completion is needed to sit for the exam, the choice comes down to how you prefer to study. Approved course providers may still offer preparation courses for the PSI exam, which requires a minimum score of 70%.

Rhode Island requires no prelicensing education hours, so there is no state-required course to choose among. The only mandated training applies to producers selling annuities: a one-time 4-credit course from a Department of Business Regulation-approved education provider, which must be completed before selling annuity products.

South Carolina requires no prelicensing education, so any course you take is optional exam preparation. Because the state mandates no required curriculum, you can prepare on your own using Pearson VUE's free content outlines and candidate handbook, plus the vendor's $19.95 online practice tests.

South Dakota requires no pre-licensing education for a producer license, so choosing a course is optional preparation rather than a requirement. The Division of Insurance does not specify an official study material, and candidates may use materials of their choice. Testing outlines and exam information are available on the Division's exam page to guide preparation.

Start with the state's approved-education list: providers and courses approved by the Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance are searchable through State Based Systems. Approved providers offer classroom, live online, and self-paced online formats, so you can pick the format that fits your schedule. You must complete 20 hours per line of authority unless you hold an exempt designation such as CLU or CPCU.

Texas does not require pre-licensing education for agent licenses, so any course you take is optional exam preparation, and prices vary widely by provider. Choose a course that covers both the general insurance material and the Texas-specific rules tested on the exam. If you want an adjuster exam waiver instead, only a Texas Department of Insurance (TDI) approved course completed within the last 12 months counts.

Utah does not require any pre-licensing education, so a course is optional preparation rather than a state requirement. The Utah Insurance Department does not review or approve study materials, though it publishes a list of study-material vendors on its exam page. Because the state does not vet materials, you choose based on your own study needs before scheduling the exam with Prometric.

Vermont requires no prelicensing course for any insurance license, so any course you take is optional exam preparation rather than a state requirement. Because the state does not approve or track prelicensing programs, there is no official course list to choose from. Prometric, the state's exam vendor, publishes the exam content outlines and free practice exams, which can guide your study.

Virginia does not require prelicensing education for its insurance licenses, so choosing a course is optional exam preparation. The only line with a course requirement is Title insurance, which requires 16 hours of instruction valid for one year after completion. You can register for any exam directly with Prometric without taking a course first.

Washington has not required pre-licensing education since July 23, 2023, so a course is optional exam preparation rather than a requirement. Choose a course that matches the lines of authority you plan to test for: life/disability, property/casualty, or personal lines. The state Office of the Insurance Commissioner publishes a list of voluntary exam-prep providers on its pre-licensing education page.

Start with the state's approved-provider list, which you can search through Sircon, because only approved courses satisfy West Virginia's 20-hour-per-line education requirement. Compare formats (classroom, self-study, or online), cost, and scheduling, since these vary by provider. Make sure the course matches your line of authority, such as Life or Property and Casualty.

Start with Wisconsin's approved-education list, since the state requires prelicensing hours from an approved provider. Approved courses run 20 hours per line of authority and may be taken synchronously (in real time) or asynchronously (any time); asynchronous courses require a proctored course examination and a signed affidavit. The state also cautions that prelicensing education is not a preparatory course for passing the exam, and that the regulator's own Intermediary's Guide to Wisconsin Insurance Law is the study guide for the state law section.

Wyoming requires no prelicensing education, so you can prepare for the licensing exam with any study materials you choose. The Wyoming Department of Insurance does not endorse providers and only lists companies known to carry study materials. When comparing options, check that the materials cover the exam for the specific lines of authority you plan to sell.