How do I take a life and health insurance pre-licensing course?

First confirm your state's requirement, because some states — Texas and Maryland among them — require no prelicensing education at all. Where it is required, the national standard is 20 hours per major line of authority, and states must accept classroom study, verifiable self-study, or a combination. Enroll with a provider on your state insurance department's approved-education list, complete the hours, and pass any provider final exam; Illinois requires you to bring the certificate of completion to the test center or you cannot sit for the exam.

You do not need to take one. Alabama stopped requiring a prelicensing certificate on January 1, 2024, and the Alabama Department of Insurance no longer requires, regulates, or approves prelicensing education for life and health licensing. You only need to pass the state exam, which the University of Alabama administers. Study courses and printed guidebooks are optional preparation.

Alaska does not require a pre-licensing course for life and health licenses, so there is no mandated coursework to complete. You can study independently and register for the Pearson VUE exams; Pearson VUE also sells online life and health practice tests for $19.95 each. Exam scores remain valid for one year, so you must file your license application within that window.

Arizona does not require pre-licensing education for a life and health insurance license, so there is no mandatory course to take. You prepare on your own and register for the exam with PSI, Arizona's examination administrator, online or by phone. The combined Life, Accident and Health or Sickness exam (Series 13-33) costs $59 and requires a 70% score to pass, and you must apply for your license within one year of passing.

You must complete a 20-hour prelicensing course for each line you plan to sell: 20 hours for Life and 20 hours for Accident & Health or Sickness. Courses may be taken in a classroom or electronically, and online study time must be tracked and verified. You must finish the course before your exam date, and the certificate of completion is valid for 2 years; you must present it at check-in for every exam attempt or you cannot sit for the exam.

To get a Life or Accident and Health license in California, you must complete a 12-hour course on ethics and the California Insurance Code, which includes 1 hour on insurance fraud. You can take the course online or in a classroom, and you must complete it before the license can be issued. You only need to complete the course once, even when applying for both license types.

Colorado requires 50 hours of prelicensing education for Life and 50 hours for Accident & Health, each including 3 hours of ethics, 3 hours of general Colorado insurance law, and 4 hours of line-specific law. You must complete the course with a provider on the state's approved list at sircon.com/colorado, and approved providers offer classroom, self-study, and online formats. Prelicensing training is valid for one year, so you must pass the Pearson VUE exam within that window.

You take pre-licensing education through a provider on Connecticut's approved list, in classroom, self-study, or online format. Life requires 20 hours and Accident & Health or Sickness requires 20 hours, or you can complete a combined 40-hour course. Bring the pre-licensing certificate or a waiver letter to the Pearson exam; certain designations, such as CLU, waive the course requirement for the Life and Accident & Health lines.

Delaware requires no prelicensing course for a life and health producer license, so there is no mandatory class to take. You prepare on your own, using the content outlines in the Delaware candidate handbook or an optional exam-prep course, then schedule the Life and Accident and Health exams with Pearson VUE ($90 each, or one fee if you take both major-line exams the same day). Pearson VUE also sells online practice tests for Life and Health.

DC does not require a pre-licensing course. The Department of Insurance, Securities and Banking (DISB) eliminated the pre-licensing education requirement, so you only need to schedule and pass the Pearson VUE licensing exam. If you want structured preparation, DISB lists the options: a prep course provider, self-study, classroom study, or internet study.

Complete a department-approved prelicensing course from any provider on Florida's approved-education list, which you can verify through the Education Database on the DFS licensing hub. For the 2-15 Life and Health license the course is 60 hours (30 hours for the Life-only 2-14 and 40 hours for the Health-only 2-40), and it must be completed within 4 years of your application date. Your provider reports course completion to the department for you, and you then schedule the Pearson VUE state exam.

Enroll in a Georgia-approved prelicensing course: Life is an 8-hour course, Accident and Sickness is an 8-hour course, and a combined Life/A&S course covering both lines is also offered. Both classroom and online formats qualify. The course is valid for one year, so you must pass the Pearson VUE exam within that period, and the provider reports your completion electronically. Schedule the exam at least 24 hours in advance.

You do not need to take a pre-licensing course in Idaho, because the state does not require pre-licensing education. Instead, study the content outlines the Department of Insurance publishes for each line of authority, then register for the exam through Pearson VUE. If you want a structured course, the Department publishes a list of approved study-material providers on its testing page.

Enroll with a provider on the state's approved-education list (searchable at statebasedsystems.com) and complete 20 hours of pre-licensing per line of authority, of which 7.5 hours must be classroom or live webinar instruction. You must pass the course's monitored certification exam to receive your completion certificate. The certificate is valid for 12 months, so you must pass the state licensing exam and obtain your license within that window.

Indiana requires 40 hours of pre-licensing education for the Life & Health license, and state-approved self-study courses may be used to fulfill the classroom requirement. Your school issues a certificate of completion at the end of the course, which is valid for six months. You must bring the certificate to the test center, and you must pass the exam and apply for your license within that six-month window.

Iowa does not require pre-licensing education for life and health producers, so there is no state course to take. You can study on your own or use an optional exam-prep course from a private education provider, since the Iowa Insurance Division does not endorse any study materials or vendors. After preparing, register for the Life exam (12-IA-01) and the Accident & Health exam (12-IA-02) through Pearson VUE; each costs $44 and allows 2 hours.

Kansas does not require pre-licensing education for any line of authority, so there is no required life and health course to take. You may sit for the licensing examination without purchasing study materials or participating in any in-person or online exam study course. If you want preparation anyway, neither the Kansas Department of Insurance nor Pearson VUE endorses any particular study material or school.

Complete a Kentucky-approved prelicensing course of 20 hours for each line of authority, available in a classroom, online, or by self-study. The provider reports your completion electronically to the Department of Insurance, but you are responsible for making sure your Certificate of Completion is on file, and a certificate without a signature and date is invalid. The course is valid for one year from the date of completion, and you must bring a copy of the certificate, plus valid government-issued photo identification, to the exam.

Louisiana requires no prelicensing education for the life and health producer exam, so taking a course is optional. You can study on your own or use an exam-prep course, then schedule the Life, Health and Accident or Sickness exam (PSI Series 103) with PSI. The exam fee is $58, and PSI publishes a content outline for each exam listing the topics tested.

In Maine you satisfy the course requirement by completing at least 16 credit hours of prelicensing education for each line of authority within the two years before your exam. You can substitute a certificate showing 6 months of relevant full-time equivalent experience as an employee of an insurer or producer. Courses are offered by commercial education providers and can typically be taken online. You then present the certificate to the exam administrator, and NIPR verifies the exam before it accepts your license application.

You do not have to take one. Effective October 1, 2024, Maryland repealed the prelicensing education requirement, so exam applicants no longer must complete a Commissioner-approved program of study before testing. The Maryland Insurance Administration and Prometric no longer publish a list of approved prelicensing courses; candidates may choose their own exam prep materials and prepare using Prometric's exam content outlines.

You do not have to take one: Massachusetts has no pre-licensing education requirement for producer licenses. You can study on your own and schedule the Life or Accident and Health exam directly with Pearson VUE, the state's exam vendor. Exam prep courses are optional; each producer line exam costs $37 and requires a scaled score of 70 to pass.

Life and health pre-licensing education requires 40 hours of coursework from a Michigan-approved provider, completed either in a classroom or as self-study. Each completed line earns a Course Completion Certificate valid for 12 months, and you must pass the corresponding exam within that period. Do not bring the certificate to the exam; the provider reports your completion to DIFS electronically, where it is matched to your exam score.

Complete a 20-hour prelicensing course for each line of authority: one for Life and one for Accident & Health, from a provider pre-approved by the Minnesota Department of Commerce and listed on Sircon. The course may be classroom, verifiable self-study, or a combination, and the provider must electronically certify your completion. Bring a paper completion certificate to the test center, because electronic copies are not accepted.

It depends on your line. Since July 1, 2024, Life-only applicants are exempt from prelicensing education, so only the licensing exam is required. Accident and Health applicants complete 20 hours, and the combined Life, Accident and Health course is 40 hours. Approved providers are searchable on the state's Sircon site, and courses may be taken by classroom or self-study.

Missouri does not require a pre-licensing education course for insurance producers, so there is no required course to take. The path is to pass the licensing exam with Pearson VUE and then apply with the $100 fee. An exam prep course is optional, and the state issues licenses without any course completion certificate.

Montana does not require you to complete a prelicensing education course for a life or health insurance license. The state requires only that you pass the Pearson VUE licensing exam with a score of 75% or better, then apply for the license through the National Insurance Producer Registry (NIPR). Study courses and manuals are optional, and neither the State Auditor's Office nor Pearson VUE endorses any particular course.

Nebraska does not require a life and health pre-licensing course, so there are no state-mandated classes to complete. The Department of Insurance does not provide or review study materials, so you can prepare with any materials you choose. When ready, register with PSI for the exam ($47 for the combined Life and Accident & Health exam) and pass with a 70% score.

Nevada does not require prelicensing education for producer applicants, so a course is optional. If you want one, search approved prelicensing courses through Sircon at www.sircon.com/Nevada. Pearson VUE also sells online practice tests for the life, health, property, and casualty exams for $19.95.

No pre-licensing course is required for a New Hampshire life and health insurance license. The state stopped requiring prelicensing education in 2008, and the insurance department does not provide, endorse, or evaluate any study materials. If you still want a course, the state's independent agent association and commercial providers offer optional review classes, but you must pass the PSI licensing exam (Life 12-61, $59, or Life, Accident and Health 12-63, $72) to qualify for the license.

New Jersey requires 20 hours of prelicensing education for Life and 20 hours for Accident & Health (40 hours for both lines combined), taken through a state-approved provider. Self-study and interactive online formats are permitted, and completion certificates never expire. Present your certificate, or a New Jersey Department of Banking and Insurance waiver, when you take the PSI exam.

New Mexico does not require a prelicensing course and specifies no official study manual, so you choose your own study materials and format. After studying, you schedule the life and accident and health exams with PSI, the state's contracted exam vendor, online or by phone. Exams are offered at test centers in Albuquerque, Farmington, Las Cruces, Roswell, and Santa Fe, or through remote online proctoring.

Pick a provider from the state's approved-education list on the Department of Financial Services portal and complete the required hours: 40 for the combined life, accident & health license, or 20 for life only or accident & health only. New York Insurance Law permits the classroom hours to be satisfied by correspondence or internet study instead of in person. Holders of the CLU, CLUA, ChFC, or MSFS designations may waive the course requirement entirely.

North Carolina no longer requires pre-licensing education for producer licenses. Under Session Law 2025-45, effective October 1, 2025, applicants do not need to complete the former 20 hours of instruction before sitting for the state exam. If you still want a course, the North Carolina Department of Insurance (NCDOI) publishes a list of approved pre-licensing education providers on its website for voluntary use.

To take a life and health pre-licensing course in Ohio, you must complete a 20-hour course for each line of authority (20 hours for Life and 20 hours for Accident & Health) through a provider on the Ohio Department of Insurance's approved list. You can complete the coursework in a classroom, through distance learning, or by self-study. When you finish, you receive a course completion certificate for each line, valid for 180 calendar days, and you must pass the corresponding exam during that period.

Oklahoma does not require or regulate pre-licensing education, so you can prepare for the life and health exam however you prefer. The department sells official exam study manuals, usable by producers and adjusters, at $20 for a PDF, $30 for an eBook, or $35 plus a portal fee for a print copy. It also publishes a list of companies offering their own prep courses, though it does not recommend any of them.

Oregon requires 20 hours of prelicense education per line of authority. Training may be completed in a classroom, by supervised video or audio lecture, or through a verifiable online self-study program; unsupervised self-study does not qualify. One hour of training equals at least 50 minutes of instruction, and your Certificate of Completion expires one year to the day it is issued, so you must pass the exam and apply for licensure before that date.

You no longer need a pre-licensing course in Pennsylvania: Act 142 of 2024 removed the pre-licensing education requirement effective April 29, 2025, so you can go straight to the licensing exam. Approved course providers may still offer preparation courses, which are optional, and no certificate of completion is required to sit for the exam.

Rhode Island requires no prelicensing course for life and health insurance candidates. The state sets no education-hour requirement, so you prepare for the Pearson VUE licensing exam on your own, pay the $80 exam fee, and apply through the National Insurance Producer Registry (NIPR) after passing.

South Dakota does not require any pre-licensing course for a resident or nonresident producer license, and the Division of Insurance does not specify an official study material. Candidates may use the materials of their choice to prepare for the Pearson VUE exam, and testing outlines are available on the Division's exam page. First-time licensees must take an exam for each line of authority they wish to sell.

You complete pre-licensing education through a provider approved by the Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance (TDCI). Tennessee requires 20 hours for each line of authority, so a Life and Accident & Health path means 20 hours for Life and 20 hours for Accident and Health. Courses come in classroom, live online, and self-paced online formats, and approved providers and courses are searchable through State Based Systems.

Texas does not require a prelicensing course for the life, accident, and health license, so any course you take is voluntary exam preparation. You enroll directly with an education provider, and course prices vary widely. After the course, schedule the Pearson VUE exam online at pearsonvue.com or by phone at 888-754-7667.

Utah requires no pre-licensing course, so there is no state-mandated class to take. You register with Prometric and pass the exam directly. The Utah Insurance Department lists third-party study-material vendors on its exam page but does not review or approve any study materials, so any prep course you choose is optional. Free practice exams for the life, health, and property and casualty producer exams are also available on Prometric's site.

Vermont requires no prelicensing course, so there is no state-mandated class to take for a life and health license. You only need to pass the licensing exam, administered by Prometric; the combined Life, Accident and Health exam (Series 14-29) qualifies you for both lines of authority. A prep course is optional, and Prometric publishes the exam content outline and free practice exams.

Virginia does not require a prelicensing course for a life and health license. Only Title insurance candidates must complete 16 hours of instruction before their exam. You can register for the Life, Annuities and Health exam (Series 11-01) directly with Prometric, at a test center or through remote proctoring.

Washington no longer requires a pre-licensing course. Effective July 23, 2023, pre-licensing education is not required to take the insurance exam, so any course you take is optional exam preparation. The state Office of the Insurance Commissioner maintains a list of voluntary exam-prep providers, and courses are organized by line, such as life/disability, property/casualty, and personal lines.

West Virginia requires 20 hours of pre-licensing education per line of authority, so a combined life and accident & health course covers both lines' requirements. Search for an approved provider through Sircon, the state's course search system; courses come in classroom, self-study, and online formats. Your course completion certificate is valid for 6 months, and you must bring a paper copy to the test center.

Wisconsin residents complete prelicensing education through a Wisconsin-approved provider: 20 hours per line, made up of 8 shared hours of insurance principles, Wisconsin law, and ethics, plus 12 line-specific hours for each line you add. A combined Life plus Accident and Health or Sickness candidate therefore completes 32 total hours. Courses may be taken synchronously (live) or asynchronously (any time), and asynchronous courses require a proctored course examination and a proctored affidavit. Bring the certificate of completion to the test center; it is valid for one year from completion.

Wyoming requires no prelicensing course for resident producers, so there are no mandatory course hours to complete before the exam. Study materials are optional, and the Wyoming Department of Insurance lists providers that offer them but does not endorse any provider. You schedule the life and health licensing exam directly through the testing vendor, Pearson VUE.