How do I get an insurance broker license?

A broker represents the insurance customer rather than the insurer, but licensing follows the same path as an agent license: complete required prelicensing education, pass the state exam, clear a background check, and apply. New York, which licenses brokers separately, requires the same 90 hours of prelicensing for property and casualty brokers as for agents, though broker candidates may substitute one year of relevant insurance employment within the last three years. In many states brokers fall under the same producer license as agents.

Alaska licenses insurance brokers as insurance producers, so you apply for a producer license with the lines of authority you intend to sell. You must be 18, reside in Alaska, pass the exam for your chosen lines, and file the application through the National Insurance Producer Registry (NIPR) with the $75 fee, one fingerprint card, and the $48.25 fingerprint evaluation fee. If you hold a license in another state, you may apply as a nonresident producer instead, without taking an Alaska exam.

Arkansas licenses insurance producers, the license class that covers selling, soliciting, and negotiating insurance, including broker-style work. You must be at least 18, complete 20 hours of prelicensing education per line of authority, apply through the National Insurance Producer Registry (NIPR), pass a criminal background check, and pass the PSI exam with a 70% score. Surplus lines brokers are licensed separately and need 3 years as a licensed property/casualty producer, a $50,000 bond, and a surplus lines exam.

Connecticut does not issue a separate broker license; brokers use the Insurance Producer license. Complete 20 hours of pre-licensing education per single line of authority (40 hours for combined Property & Casualty or Life/Accident & Health), pass the Pearson VUE exam with a score of at least 70%, and apply online through NIPR with a $140 initial fee. No fingerprinting or background check is required, and most applications are processed in 7 to 10 business days.

Delaware no longer licenses insurance brokers separately. State law uses "insurance agent," "insurance broker," and "insurance consultant" interchangeably with "insurance producer," so you obtain a producer license. You must be at least 18, pass the Pearson VUE exams for your lines of authority, submit fingerprint-based criminal history reports, and apply through the National Insurance Producer Registry (NIPR) with a $150 fee. The state has not issued separate consultant licenses since March 2002.

DC licenses insurance producers, the term covering agents and brokers, so there is no separate broker license. You must be 18 or older, pass the Pearson VUE exam for your line with a scaled score of 70, submit fingerprints through Fieldprint as a resident applicant, and apply online at www.nipr.com. The biennial license fee is $100, and resident and nonresident fees are the same.

Florida does not issue a separate broker license; it licenses insurance agents, and agents who represent multiple insurers are called independent agents. You must complete a state-approved prelicensing course for the line you want (30 to 200 hours), apply online through MyProfile with a $50.00 application fee and a $5.00 License ID fee, be fingerprinted through IdentoGO ($52.50 plus county sales tax), and pass the Pearson VUE state exam ($44.00). Your authority to transact begins once an insurer appoints you.

Georgia licenses insurance producers as agents through the standard path: line-specific prelicensing education, the Pearson VUE exam, and an online application at sircon.com/georgia with a $100 license fee plus a $20 processing fee. The separately licensed broker role is the Surplus Lines Broker, which requires holding a Georgia agent license with Property and Casualty, passing the Surplus Lines Broker exam (waived for CPCU designees), and posting a $50,000 bond. That license costs $600 plus a $20 processing fee.

Iowa does not issue a separate broker license; the state licenses "producers" under Iowa Code Chapter 522B, and that license covers anyone who solicits, negotiates, or sells insurance. You must be at least 18, pass the licensing exam for your line of authority ($44 through Pearson VUE), and apply through the National Insurance Producer Registry (NIPR) system with the $50 fee. Resident applicants must also complete fingerprinting after submitting the application.

Kentucky licenses insurance brokers as agents (producers); there is no separate broker license. You must complete a 20-hour prelicensing course for each line of authority, submit an application through the National Insurance Producer Registry (NIPR) portal, and request a criminal background report from the Kentucky Administrative Office of the Courts via the AOC FastCheck portal. Once the Department of Insurance processes your application, you schedule the licensing exam through the Kentucky eServices account and must answer 70% of the questions correctly to pass.

Louisiana licenses insurance sales as a producer rather than through a separate broker license. You apply through the National Insurance Producer Registry (NIPR) with a $75 fee, pass the required PSI exam for your lines, and complete fingerprinting. To broker surplus lines (coverage placed with non-admitted insurers), you must already hold a Property and Casualty or Accident and Health license with at least 2 years of experience, pass the surplus lines exam, and pay a $250 application fee.

Massachusetts does not issue a separate broker license; brokers hold the insurance producer license issued by the Division of Insurance. To earn it, you schedule and pass the required Pearson exam for each line of authority ($37 per producer exam), then apply through the National Insurance Producer Registry (NIPR) for a $225 state fee, plus a $75 lead paint surcharge for Property, Casualty, or Personal Lines. Resident applicants must be at least 18 and pass the exam for each line they want.

Minnesota does not issue a separate broker license; brokers transact under the insurance producer license. Complete 20 hours of approved prelicensing education per line of authority, pass the PSI exam with 70% correct, submit fingerprints, and apply online through Sircon or NIPR. Nonresidents must hold an active resident license in good standing in their home state.

Mississippi licenses insurance producers rather than brokers; the terms cover the same role. You must be at least 18, complete 20 hours of approved prelicensing education per line of authority, and pass the Pearson VUE licensing exam, which costs $50 per attempt. Then apply online at www.sircon.com/mississippi or www.nipr.com and pay the $100 license fee.

Montana issues insurance producer licenses rather than a separate broker credential, and producers may transact insurance as agents or brokers. Pass the Pearson VUE licensing exam for your line with a score of 75% or better, then apply through the National Insurance Producer Registry (NIPR) — the resident producer application fee is $0. Finally, submit the fingerprint rights and consent form and mail the fingerprint card with the $30 fee to Montana Criminal Records.

Nebraska issues one insurance producer license that covers agents and brokers, so you follow the standard producer path. Pass the licensing exam for your line of authority through PSI, wait 2-3 business days for results to upload, then apply at NIPR.com (National Insurance Producer Registry) with a $50 resident fee. You must be at least 18, be trustworthy and financially responsible, and keep your principal place of residence in Nebraska.

Nevada licenses insurance sales through its producer license, which does not require prelicensing education hours (NRS 683A.251, per NAIC chart PR-20). You pass the Pearson VUE exam for your lines of authority, then apply through NIPR or Sircon with a $185 state fee and submit fingerprints within 90 days of applying. To place coverage with nonadmitted insurers, you need the separate surplus lines broker license ($185), which requires an active producer license with both Property and Casualty lines and is deferred for state review.

New Hampshire has no separate broker license. The state uses a single producer licensing system, and a producer may act as an agent, broker, or consultant under one license. You pass the PSI exam for your lines of authority, apply online at nipr.com with the NAIC Uniform Application, and pay the $210 producer license fee.

New Mexico licenses resident producers, its term for insurance agents and brokers, through the Office of Superintendent of Insurance. You must be at least 18, pass the exam for each line of authority with at least 70% correct, submit fingerprints for a state and federal background check, and apply online through NIPR, where the application fee is $30. The license alone does not authorize you to represent an insurer; an insurer must appoint you.

You complete prelicensing education, pass the licensing exam, and apply online through the New York Department of Financial Services portal. A property and casualty broker must finish a 90-hour approved course, while a life, accident and health broker needs 40 hours (20 for a single line). You then pass the PSI exam, which costs $40, and submit your application within 2 years. New York residents pay an $80 full license fee.

North Dakota does not issue a separate broker license; it licenses insurance producers, and the steps are the same for everyone. You must be at least 18, pass the PSI exam for each line you want to sell, complete fingerprinting, and submit a $100 application through the National Insurance Producer Registry (NIPR). Brokers who represent clients rather than insurers hold the same producer license under North Dakota law.

Oklahoma licenses individuals as insurance producers (agents), and the process is the same one brokers follow: pass the required licensing exam with PSI, wait 3 business days for your results to transmit, then apply online through the National Insurance Producer Registry (NIPR); the resident producer fee is $60. If you mean a surplus lines broker license, no exam is required, but you must already hold an active Oklahoma producer license with property and casualty lines, and the fee is $100.

Oregon does not issue a separate broker license; the state licenses insurance producers, and brokering is not permitted in Oregon. To transact insurance, you obtain a producer license for the lines you want, which requires prelicense education, the PSI exam, fingerprints, and an online application through the National Insurance Producer Registry (NIPR). Nonresidents already licensed in their home state are exempt from Oregon's education and exam requirements.

Pennsylvania does not issue a separate broker license; brokers operate under the insurance producer license from the Pennsylvania Insurance Department. You must be at least 18, pass the licensing exam through PSI, apply online through Sircon or NIPR, and be fingerprinted at an IdentoGO center. The resident application fee is $55, and you must submit the application within one year of passing the exam.

In Rhode Island, individuals who sell, solicit, or negotiate insurance are licensed by the Department of Business Regulation as insurance producers. You must be at least 18 years old, pass the Pearson VUE exam for your line of authority ($80, passing score of 70), and provide a certified background check (BCI) from the Rhode Island Attorney General. You then apply through the National Insurance Producer Registry (NIPR), and the resident license fee is $120 for a two-year term.

Utah licenses insurance agents and brokers as producers under Utah Code Chapter 31A-23a, rather than issuing a separate broker license. You must be at least 18, be a Utah resident, pass the applicable Prometric exam, apply online through SIRCON or NIPR, and be fingerprinted at a Prometric test center. The full-line individual producer license fee is $70, and licenses renew every two years on a birth-month cycle.

Vermont no longer issues separate agent or broker licenses. You apply for an insurance Producer license, which under Title 8, Section 4791 covers anyone who sells, solicits, or negotiates insurance. You must be at least 18 years old, be deemed competent, trustworthy, and financially responsible, pass the written exam for your lines of authority, and submit an application and fees through NIPR.

Wisconsin does not issue a separate broker license; the Office of the Commissioner of Insurance (OCI) licenses brokers, agents, and producers alike as intermediaries. To become licensed, complete 20 hours of prelicensing education per line of authority, pass the PSI exam, submit fingerprints through Fieldprint, and apply online through the National Insurance Producer Registry (NIPR). The resident license fee is $75 per line of authority plus a $10 application fee.

Wyoming does not issue a separate broker license; the state licenses insurance producers, a term that covers both agents and brokers. To act as a broker, you must be at least 18, pass the Wyoming Insurance Licensing Exam for your lines of authority through Pearson VUE, and apply online through Sircon, paying $100 as a resident. Resident applicants must also submit fingerprints for a background check after applying.