How to get an insurance license in Colorado

Colorado issues an insurance license through a four-step process: complete 50 hours of pre-licensing education for each line of authority, pass the Pearson VUE licensing exam, apply online, and pay $44 per line of authority for a resident producer license. The Colorado Division of Insurance contracts with Pearson VUE to develop and administer the state's exams and to review producer license applications, and most complete applications are processed in under five business days, per the Pearson VUE Colorado program page^[1]. Whether you plan to become an insurance agent selling life and health products or property and casualty coverage, the requirements below cover every fee, deadline, and exam between you and the license.

Colorado producer licensing basics

Anyone who sells, solicits, or negotiates insurance in Colorado must hold a producer license, which is the credential the state issues whether you call yourself an agent, a broker, or a producer. Colorado issues a single Producer license that lists each line of authority you qualify for, per the Pearson VUE candidate handbook^[2]. The available lines are Accident and Health, Casualty, Credit, Crop Hail, Life, Personal Lines, Portable Electronics, Property, Public Adjuster, Self-Storage, Surplus Lines, Title, Travel, and Variable Life and Variable Annuity Products.

To qualify for a resident license you must be at least 18 years old, be a Colorado resident, and be trustworthy, competent, financially responsible, and of good personal and business reputation, and you must disclose any previously revoked, denied, or suspended license. A lawful-presence requirement no longer applies to producer applications and renewals, the Colorado Division of Insurance producer page^[3] states, even though some vendor screens still display the older language.

Colorado does not fingerprint producer applicants. The NAIC's fingerprint requirements chart^[4] lists Colorado fingerprint rules for bail bonding agents, certain insurer officers and directors, and preneed funeral contract applicants, but insurance producers are not on the list. Criminal convictions and bankruptcies do not automatically bar licensure; the Division reviews each application case by case. You answer background questions during the online application and submit supporting documents through the NIPR Attachment Warehouse^[5].

Colorado pre-licensing education requirements

Colorado requires 50 hours of pre-licensing education for each of the five major lines: Life, Accident and Health, Property, Casualty, and Personal Lines. Training is mandatory for resident applicants in those five lines, per the Pearson VUE candidate handbook^[2], and the NAIC's producer education chart records the state requirement at 50 hours per line. Courses must come from a provider on the state's approved list, posted at sircon.com/colorado, and each course covers general insurance knowledge, ethics, and the Colorado law for your line.

RealEstateU offers online, self-paced pre-licensing courses for each of Colorado's major lines, so you can complete the required hours around a work schedule.

Your training is valid for one year: you must pass the licensing exam within one year of finishing the course, or you must retrain.

Pre-licensing and exam exemptions

Three groups are exempt from pre-licensing training under the candidate handbook^[2]: applicants who held a resident license in another state within 90 days before applying, for the lines they held in that state; holders of professional designations, namely AAI, ARM, CIC, or CPCU for Property and Casualty, RHU, CEBS, REBC, or HIA for Accident and Health, and CEBS, ChFC, CIC, CFP, CLU, FLMI, or LUTCF for Life; and Personal Lines applicants who already hold a Property and Casualty license. The exam carries the same 90-day exemption for recent out-of-state residents, and licensed Colorado attorneys applying for the Title line are also exam-exempt. No exemption exists for adding a new line of authority to an existing license.

Taking the Colorado insurance licensing exam

The Colorado licensing exam is a two-part Pearson VUE test, with one section on general insurance knowledge and another on Colorado statutes and rules, and a single $41 fee covers up to two exams taken in one session. Reservations must be made at least 24 hours in advance online, or one business day ahead by phone, and exam fees are non-refundable and non-transferable, per the candidate handbook^[2]. Every Colorado licensing exam is offered both at Pearson VUE test centers and online, the Division of Insurance announced^[6] when it launched remote testing.

On exam day, bring two forms of current signature identification, one a government-issued photo ID, and arrive 30 minutes early; walk-in testing is not accepted. Pearson VUE reports scores on a 0 to 100 scale, sends numeric scores only to failing candidates, and the state publishes no numeric passing score. Spanish-language versions are available, candidates with English as a second language may request extra time, and accommodation requests under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) require testing at a physical Pearson location. If you fail, you must wait 24 hours after the exam before making a re-examination reservation, and you pay the fee again for each attempt.

Life insurance license in Colorado

The Colorado Life exam has 80 scored questions and a 2-hour time limit, with 50 scored questions on general knowledge and 30 on Colorado law, per the official content outlines^[7]. Unscored pretest questions are mixed in and do not count toward your result. The Colorado section tests state law drawn from C.R.S. Title 10, including licensing, unfair practices, rebates, and controlled business.

A life insurance license authorizes you to sell life insurance and annuity products in Colorado. Variable life and variable annuity contracts require an additional line of authority plus federal securities registration, covered under "Other lines of authority in Colorado" below.

Accident and health insurance license in Colorado

The Accident and Health exam also has 80 scored questions in 2 hours, split into 50 general and 30 Colorado-specific questions, per the content outlines^[7]. Many candidates earn a life and health insurance license by sitting both exams in one session, since one fee covers the pair.

The license covers health, disability, and long-term care (LTC) products. Before selling long-term care insurance, a producer licensed in Life or Accident and Health must complete 16 total LTC credits, including 8 classroom credits specific to the LTC Partnership program, and then 5 classroom LTC credits every two years beginning with the second two-year period; carriers verify compliance, per the candidate handbook^[2].

Property insurance license in Colorado

The Property exam has 75 scored questions in 2 hours, with 50 general questions and 25 on Colorado law, per the content outlines^[7]. A property license is one half of what the industry calls a property and casualty license (P&C license), and it authorizes coverage for homes, renters policies, commercial buildings, and other property. Most candidates take Property together with Casualty, because clients who need property coverage usually need liability coverage too, and a single exam session can cover both.

Casualty insurance license in Colorado

The Casualty exam has 81 scored questions in 2 hours, 50 general and 31 Colorado-specific, per the content outlines^[7]. Paired with Property, it completes the P&C license that covers auto, liability, and other casualty lines.

One line-specific rule sits inside Casualty: bail bond producers need the Casualty line plus pre-appointment education of at least 8 clock hours on bail bonding and 16 clock hours on bail recovery practices under CRS 10-2-415.5, per the candidate handbook^[2]. Bail appointments and appointment renewals carry a $95 fee per the NAIC fee chart^[8], resident bail registration costs $113 per the NIPR resident licensing page^[9], and bail bonding agents must submit fingerprints, which cost $39.50 per the NAIC fingerprint chart^[4].

Personal lines insurance license in Colorado

The Personal Lines exam is the longest of the five major-line exams, with 104 scored questions and a time limit of 2 hours 15 minutes, split into 75 general and 29 Colorado-specific questions, per the content outlines^[7]. Personal lines covers insurance sold to individuals and families, such as home and auto policies, rather than commercial customers.

You often do not need this line at all. Property and Casualty authority already covers personal lines, per the NIPR nonresident licensing page^[10], and an applicant who already holds Property and Casualty is exempt from the Personal Lines pre-licensing course and exam, per the candidate handbook^[2].

Other lines of authority in Colorado

Colorado offers several lines beyond the five that require pre-licensing education, and each carries its own conditions.

Variable life and variable annuity products

This line requires an active Life license, and applicants must provide a Central Registration Depository (CRD) number that Pearson verifies against Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) registration, per the candidate handbook^[2]. No Colorado insurance exam applies to this line, per the NIPR resident licensing page^[9].

Surplus lines

The Surplus Lines exam has 35 scored questions in 45 minutes, per the content outlines^[7]. You must hold an active Property and Casualty license or apply for both at the same time, per the candidate handbook^[2]. The license fee is $141 for residents and $291 for nonresidents.

Title insurance

The Title exam has 75 scored questions, 35 general and 40 Colorado-specific, in 1 hour 15 minutes, per the content outlines^[7]. Title agency applicants must submit a notarized accountant letter verifying at least $10,000 in paid-in-cash capital under Regulation 8-1-5 and must report affiliated business arrangements, per the candidate handbook^[2].

Public adjuster

Colorado does not license independent, staff, or company adjusters who work on behalf of insurers; an insurance adjuster license is required only for public adjusters, who work solely for policyholders on contract, per the NIPR resident licensing page^[9]. The Public Adjuster exam has 60 scored questions in 1 hour 15 minutes, per the content outlines^[7]. Applicants must provide a $20,000 signed surety bond and power of attorney under CRS 10-2-417(2) and Regulation 1-2-19, per the Division of Insurance producer page^[3], and the license fee is $44.

Limited lines

The Credit exam has 30 scored questions in 45 minutes, and Crop Hail has 35 scored questions in 45 minutes, per the content outlines^[7]. Travel, Portable Electronics, and Self-Storage require no exam and no pre-licensing training, so only the application and fee remain.

Applying for your Colorado insurance license

You apply online at sircon.com/colorado or nipr.com after passing the exam, because Colorado runs an all-electronic licensing process and returns paper applications unprocessed, per the Pearson VUE Colorado program page^[1]. Passing scores are valid for one year from the exam date, and the application must reach Pearson within that year, per the candidate handbook^[2]. The state processes most complete applications in under five business days.

Colorado's state fees, under the fee schedule effective April 1, 2026, are shown below. The NIPR resident licensing page^[9] notes that amendments and reinstatements cost the same as initial fees, and that NIPR adds its own transaction fees at checkout.

The NAIC fee chart^[8], reviewed in December 2025, still lists earlier amounts such as $47 for a resident license, which predate the current schedule.

If your application is incomplete, you have 20 days from the date of a deficiency letter to respond; an application still incomplete after 30 days is closed and the license application fee is forfeited, per the candidate handbook^[2]. Most candidates move from starting a course to holding a license within a few weeks, with study pace setting the timeline. After licensure, Colorado carriers generally keep their own producer appointment records rather than filing them with the Division, with bail bonding appointments as the paid exception noted above.

Nonresident Colorado insurance license

A nonresident pays $68 per line of authority, or $291 for Surplus Lines, and qualifies through a home-state license rather than Colorado's exam and pre-licensing education, per the NIPR nonresident licensing page^[10]. You must be at least 18 and hold an active equivalent resident license in your home state, unless you are applying for Attorney Title, Health Maintenance, Nonprofits, or Surplus Lines. Your name, Social Security number or FEIN, license number, addresses, and birth date must match your home state's record in the national Producer Database, and a P.O. Box cannot serve as a business or residence address.

Applying for Property and Casualty covers Personal Lines, so a separate application for that line is unnecessary. If you are moving to Colorado, the residency change cannot be completed through NIPR alone; contact Pearson VUE and the Colorado Division of Insurance to update your record, per the NIPR state information page^[11].

Renewal, continuing education, and reinstatement

A Colorado producer license renews every two years on the last day of your birth month, and the state allows no grace period; all continuation requirements must reach Pearson VUE by 10:00 PM Mountain Time on the expiration date, per the candidate handbook^[2] and the Sircon Colorado portal^[12]. The first expiration falls 13 to 24 months after issuance, and later cycles run a full two years. Renewal costs $27 per line of authority as a resident and $40 as a nonresident, with Surplus Lines renewals at $134 and $281. You can renew during the 90 days before expiration, and a license that has expired cannot be renewed through NIPR's renewal application; a new initial application and fee are required instead, per the NIPR resident renewal page^[13]. The license itself is perpetual as long as the continuation fee is paid and all requirements are met.

Continuing education (CE) starts with your second cycle. Resident producers holding Life, Accident and Health, Property, Casualty, Personal Lines, or Public Adjuster must complete 24 CE credits per cycle: 18 in licensed lines, 3 in ethics, and 3 in any category, with Property and Personal Lines producers adding 3 homeowners credits, per the candidate handbook^[2]. Up to 12 excess credits carry into the next cycle if they are earned in the final 120 days of the current cycle, and a course cannot be repeated for credit within 2 years. Producers who sell, consult on, or adjust claims-made policies must complete a one-time 2-hour approved course. Nonresidents are treated as compliant when they have met their home state's CE requirement.

Reinstatement within one year of the license termination or expiration date exempts you from pre-licensing education and the exam for the lines you previously held; past one year, you must complete new pre-licensing education and pass the Colorado exam again, per the candidate handbook^[2]. A line of authority added to an existing license expires when the license expires, so a line added four months before expiration lasts only four months unless renewed with payment, while lines added during the 90-day renewal window renew automatically at no added fee, per the Pearson VUE adding-authority notice^[14].

Your next steps

Choose the lines that match the products you plan to sell: Life and Accident and Health for life, health, and long-term care work, or Property and Casualty for home, auto, and commercial coverage. Register for an approved pre-licensing course and complete the required hours for each line you want. Schedule the Pearson VUE exam at least 24 hours ahead, and book both of your exams in a single session if you are pursuing a combined license. File the online application soon after passing, because scores expire one year from the exam date, then set a reminder for the last day of your birth month so renewal never lapses.