How do I prepare for the insurance license exam?

Start with your state's official exam content outline, published by the state insurance department or its contracted exam administrator (Pearson VUE, PSI, or Prometric); it shows the question counts per topic and the state-specific laws tested. Plan on roughly 35 to 40 hours of study spread over several weeks, and take practice exams under timed conditions. Pearson VUE sells national practice tests for $19.95 each (50 general questions plus 25 state-generic questions), and Prometric offers free Life, Health, and Property/Casualty practice tests.

Alabama has not required a prelicensing course since January 1, 2024, so exam preparation is self-directed. The exam administrator, the University of Alabama, sells printed producer study guidebooks for $85 with 7 business days delivery. You need 70% or more correct answers to pass, and every exam is multiple choice with four possible answers per question. For example, the combined Property & Casualty exam has 150 questions over 3 hours, with 105 correct answers required.

Complete a 20-hour prelicensing course for your line of authority, since Arkansas requires the certificate at exam check-in and the certificate is valid for 2 years. The exam is closed book and computer-based, with a general section plus a state section, and you need 70% correct to pass. PSI also offers online practice exams for a fee, and you must pass within 90 days of your original approval-to-test date, with a maximum of 3 attempts in that window.

Start by studying the California Department of Insurance (CDI) License Examination Objectives and completing the approved 12-hour course on ethics and the California Insurance Code, which includes 1 hour on insurance fraud. Producer exams require a 60% score to pass, and your course certificate is valid for three years. Schedule through PSI, arrive at least 30 minutes early with a government-issued photo ID, and cancel or reschedule at least 48 hours in advance to avoid forfeiting the fee.

Start with the requirements for your line of authority. Connecticut requires 20 hours of pre-licensing education for a single line such as Property or Casualty, or 40 hours for the combined Property & Casualty line, taken through an approved provider. Study the Pearson VUE candidate handbook and content outline for your exam, and consider Pearson's online practice tests at $19.95. The passing score is 70% on all exams except Surety Bail Bonds, and there is no limit on attempts, though you must wait 24 hours between schedulings.

Prepare with Pearson VUE's free candidate handbook and exam content outlines, which list every tested topic and its weight for each Florida insurance exam. Pearson VUE also sells official online practice tests for $19.95. The Florida Department of Financial Services identifies the required study manual for each license line, which you must buy separately.

Start with the required prelicensing course: 8 hours for a single line such as Life or Property, or 16 hours for a combined two-line course. The course is valid for one year, so you must pass the exam within 12 months of completion. Pearson VUE publishes free content outlines listing every tested topic and its weight, and sells online practice tests for life, health, property, and casualty at $19.95 each. You must answer 70% of the exam questions correctly to pass.

Start with the free content outline the Idaho Department of Insurance publishes for each line of authority, since exam questions follow those outlines. Download the Pearson VUE candidate handbook for testing procedures and requirements. Idaho requires no pre-licensing education, so commercial study courses are optional; you can self-study using the outlines at no cost. Exams are computer-based multiple choice with a 70% passing score.

Complete the required 20 hours of pre-licensing education per line, then study the Pearson VUE Candidate Handbook and its content outlines, which list every scored topic for your exam. Pearson VUE also sells online practice tests for life, health, property, and casualty for $19.95. The passing score is 70 on a 0-100 scale, and you receive pass or fail results before leaving the test center.

Start with the Pearson VUE content outlines for your exam, which break down the general knowledge and Indiana state-specific topics and show how many unscored pretest questions to expect. Pearson VUE also offers online practice tests for life, health, property, and casualty for $19.95. Every Indiana insurance exam requires a 70% passing score, and you must wait 48 hours before retaking a failed exam. Reserve your seat at least 24 hours before your desired test date.

Start with the Pearson VUE content outline for your exam, which lists every tested topic and the number of scored questions (the Life exam, for example, has 77). Iowa requires no pre-licensing coursework, so you set your own study plan. Reserve your exam at least 24 hours ahead, online through OnVUE proctoring or at a Pearson VUE test center, and bring two forms of signature identification on exam day. If you fail, you must wait 24 hours before scheduling a retest and pay the $44 exam fee again.

Kansas requires no pre-licensing course, so you can prepare on your own. Download the free Kansas content outlines from Pearson VUE, which list the topics and question counts for each exam; for example, the Life exam has 84 scored questions plus 11 unscored pretest questions. The passing score is 70% on every Kansas insurance exam, and if you fail you must wait at least seven calendar days before retaking it, with no limit on attempts. Pearson VUE also sells online practice tests for $19.95.

Kentucky requires a 70% score to pass each licensing exam. Complete the 20-hour prelicensing course for each line of authority first, since the certificate is valid for one year and must be on file before scheduling. Then study the Department of Insurance exam outlines, which list every tested topic with its question count, and take practice exams; you may retake an exam as many times as needed within a 120-day testing window for a $50 fee per attempt.

Maryland does not require a prelicensing course, so preparation is up to you. Start with the free exam content outlines Prometric publishes for each line, which show the topics, question counts, and time limits for your exam. The exams are computer-based, four-option multiple choice, and require a 70% score to pass; if you fail, you must wait 4 days before retaking.

Massachusetts requires no prelicensing education, so you prepare on your own schedule. Pearson VUE, the state's exam vendor, publishes content outlines showing what each exam covers and sells online practice tests for the Life, Health, Property, and Casualty exams at $19.95 each. Each producer exam has 80 scored questions (50 general knowledge plus 30 Massachusetts law), and the passing score is a scaled 70.

Complete the required 20 hours of prelicensing education for your line first, because testing before finishing the coursework voids a passing score. Then study PSI's Minnesota Candidate Information Bulletin, which covers exam content, scheduling, and retake rules. You need 70% correct to pass, and each producer exam attempt costs $45. Schedule through PSI online or by phone at 866-395-1006; PSI also offers practice exams you can take an unlimited number of times, paying each time.

Begin with the state-approved prelicensing course (searchable at sircon.com/mississippi); Life-only applicants have been exempt since July 1, 2024. Then study the Pearson VUE candidate handbook and the exam content outlines, which list the topics and question counts for each exam. Pearson VUE also sells online practice tests for $19.95, and it administers every Mississippi insurance exam except Industrial Life.

Missouri does not require pre-licensing courses, so you can prepare on your own or with a prep course. The exam vendor, Pearson VUE, publishes free content outlines (effective February 1, 2026) for each exam and sells online practice tests for $19.95. The passing score is 70 on a scaled 0-100 range, and each exam covers a general knowledge section plus a Missouri-specific section. If you do not pass, you must wait one day before scheduling a retake.

Montana requires no prelicensing course, so start with the Pearson VUE Montana Candidate Handbook and the exam content outlines, which list the exact topics and question counts for each license type. You need a passing score of 75. Pearson VUE also sells online practice tests for Life, Health, Property, and Casualty at $19.95, and reservations must be made online at least 24 hours before the exam date.

Nebraska requires no pre-licensing education, so preparation is up to you: the Department of Insurance does not provide study materials, and it does not review, approve, or recommend exam-prep providers. The department publishes Exam Outlines for each line of authority showing the percentage of questions per topic, and PSI, the state's exam vendor, offers practice exams for property/casualty and life/health. Exams are open eligibility, with no limit on attempts and no waiting period between attempts.

Nevada requires no prelicensing education hours, so preparation centers on the exam itself. Study the Pearson VUE content outlines, which list every tested topic, and consider the official online practice tests, which cost $19.95. Nevada sets a scaled passing score of 70 on all insurance exams except Bail, which requires 67%.

New Hampshire requires no prelicensing course and specifies no official study manual; the state lets you prepare with materials of your own choosing. The department publishes a list of study-material providers but does not endorse or evaluate any of them, and taking a course alone does not guarantee passing the exam. The exams are administered by PSI and can be scheduled online or by phone.

Complete a state-approved prelicensing course first, since New Jersey requires 20 hours per major line (Life, Accident and Health, Property, Casualty, Title, or Personal Lines). PSI, the state's exam vendor, publishes candidate bulletins with current test content outlines and registration forms. The exam is multiple choice, typically lasts 2 to 3 hours, and requires a minimum score of 70% to pass. Bring your prelicensing course completion certificate or a Department waiver to the test center.

North Carolina does not require prelicensing education for producer license applications submitted on or after October 1, 2025, so you may prepare on your own. Pearson VUE publishes a free Insurance Licensing Examination Candidate Guide that includes the content outlines, and all exam questions are drawn from those outlines. You can download the guide at www.pearsonvue.com or request it by calling 866-265-6329. NCDOI also keeps a list of approved prelicensing providers for anyone who wants a course voluntarily.

Start by completing the required 20-hour pre-licensing education course for each line of authority through an Ohio approved provider, by classroom, distance learning, or self-study. Your course completion certificate is valid for 180 calendar days, and you must pass the exam within that window. The minimum passing score is 70% for all Ohio insurance exams, and there is no limit on retakes while your certificate remains valid. After the exam, PSI provides content outlines for each exam series so you can match your study plan to the tested topics.

Study the content outline for your line in the PSI Candidate Information Bulletin or use the Kaplan study manuals the Oklahoma Insurance Department publishes as its primary exam material, and note that you must score 70% to pass. Schedule the exam with PSI at 833-333-4754 and allow a 3 week window to find a seat. The name, date of birth, and Social Security number on your registration must match your government-issued ID exactly, and mismatches can take weeks for the vendor to correct.

Oregon administers its insurance exams through PSI, and you must hold a valid prelicensing school Certificate of Completion before you can schedule one. The certificate expires one year to the day from issuance, so you must pass the exam and apply for licensure before that date. You need 70% correct to pass (80% on the Crop Insurance Adjuster exam), and after an unsuccessful attempt you can retest as soon as the second day after, depending on space.

Rhode Island requires no prelicensing education, so preparation centers on the exam itself. The Department of Business Regulation publishes content outlines in the Pearson VUE candidate handbook, and Pearson VUE sells practice tests for $19.95. The passing score is a scaled 70, and you must wait 24 hours before reserving a retake.

Start with the official materials: Pearson VUE publishes the Tennessee Insurance Licensing Candidate Handbook and content outlines, which detail the exam structure and the Tennessee law content. The minimum passing score is 70%. Tennessee requires 20 hours of pre-licensing education per line of authority, though holders of designations such as Chartered Life Underwriter (CLU) or Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter (CPCU) are exempt from the education requirement but not the exam. Each exam pairs a national section with a Tennessee-specific section on state insurance law.

Utah requires no pre-licensing education, so preparation is up to you. The Utah Insurance Department does not offer study materials, though it lists commercial study vendors without reviewing or approving them. Prometric provides free practice exams for the Life, Health, and Property and Casualty producer exams. The exams are multiple-choice with four options per question, and 5 unscored experimental questions are included.

Download the free content outline Prometric publishes for your exam series, because it lists every tested topic and its percentage weight, and build your study plan around the heaviest sections. Register and schedule the exam online, then use Prometric's free practice exams to test your readiness. A score of 70% is required to pass. If you fail, you must wait 24 hours before re-registering, and after a third failure you must wait 30 calendar days before retaking the exam.

To prepare for the Washington insurance exam, study the content outline in the PSI candidate bulletin, which lists the topics tested for each line of authority along with exam rules and fees. Prelicensing education is optional, and the Office of the Insurance Commissioner publishes a list of voluntary exam-prep providers. You must score at least 70% to pass, and roughly 10% of exam questions may be unscored pretest items that count against your time.

Start with the required 20 hours of pre-licensing education for your line, and bring the paper Course Completion Certificate to the test center, since electronic copies are not accepted. Study Pearson VUE's published content outline, which lists every tested topic for your exam. For reference, the Life exam has 90 questions in 120 minutes, and the passing score is 70 on a 0-100 scale.

The Office of the Commissioner of Insurance publishes the Intermediary's Guide to Wisconsin Insurance Law as the official study guide for the state-law portion; exam candidates are responsible for chapters I, II, III, and VI plus the chapters for their lines of authority. OCI has not prepared any study program for product-knowledge questions, and prelicensing education is not designed as exam preparation. You need 70% correct to pass, and failed exams may be retaken with no limit on attempts.

Wyoming requires no prelicensing education, so exam preparation is up to you. The Wyoming Department of Insurance publishes a list of providers known to offer study materials but does not endorse any provider. Exams are scheduled through the Department's testing vendor, Pearson VUE, and most candidates study for a few weeks before testing.