How to get an insurance license in Illinois: requirements, exams, and fees

To get an insurance license in Illinois, you complete 20 hours of pre-licensing education per line of authority, pass the Pearson VUE licensing exams with a score of 70, wait 5 days, and apply online through the National Insurance Producer Registry (NIPR) for a resident license that costs $215 under 215 ILCS 5/500-135(a)(1). The Illinois Department of Insurance (IDOI) issues the license, which the state calls a producer license, and no college degree, industry experience, or fingerprinting is required. Becoming an insurance agent in Illinois follows this same producer path, because "producer" is the statutory term for what other states call an agent or a broker. Most candidates finish in a few weeks to a couple of months.

What an Illinois insurance producer license lets you do

A producer license authorizes you to sell or solicit insurance in Illinois for the lines of authority printed on the license, and anyone who sells insurance must hold the license before doing business. Illinois calls licensees insurance producers; an agent, a broker, and a producer are the same credential in this state. Producers work either as captive agents, who represent one insurer, or as independent agents, who represent several carriers and can offer clients quotes across them.

Compensation is set by contracts with the insurers that appoint a producer rather than by the state, and the license itself puts no ceiling on earnings.

Illinois insurance license requirements at a glance

You must be at least 18 years old, live at an Illinois residence address, complete the pre-licensing education for each line you want, and pass that line's exams before you apply, per NIPR's Illinois resident licensing requirements^[1]. The state does not require a college degree or prior industry experience. Illinois also does not fingerprint resident producer applicants; you answer background questions on the NIPR application, and fingerprinting applies only to public adjuster applicants.

The fixed state costs are set by the IDOI fee schedule^[2] and the IDOI exam fee FAQ^[3]:

NIPR charges a separate transaction fee when you file online. Pre-licensing course prices are set by education providers, not by the state.

Lines of authority on an Illinois producer license

Illinois licenses producers by line of authority, and the major lines are Life, Accident and Health, Property, Casualty, Personal Lines, and Motor Vehicle, per IDOI's resident producer instructions^[4]. Each line carries its own education hours and exams on a single license:

A variable contracts line also exists for Life producers who hold a securities registration.

Life insurance license in Illinois

A Life line authorizes you to sell life insurance and annuity products, and its licensing exams are a 75-minute General exam with 50 scored questions and a 50-minute State exam with 31 scored questions, per the Pearson VUE Illinois insurance candidate handbook^[5]. Two add-ons attach to this line.

Any producer who sells or solicits annuity products must complete a one-time, 4-hour Suitability in Annuity Products certification course, a rule effective July 1, 2012, per IDOI's annuity training page^[6]. Residents may apply the 4 hours toward renewal CE.

To sell variable products, you must also carry the variable contracts line. Illinois adds it only to producers who hold the Life line and supply a Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) CRD number showing a Series 6 or Series 7 registration, faxed to IDOI, per NIPR's Illinois resident requirements^[1].

Accident and health insurance license in Illinois

An Accident and Health line authorizes health coverage, including Medicare supplement and long-term care products, and its exams are a 75-minute General exam with 50 scored questions and a 55-minute State exam with 39 scored questions, per the Pearson VUE handbook^[5]. A combined life and health insurance license is simply one producer license carrying both lines, which doubles the education hours and the exam count.

Long-term care carries its own training rule. Any producer who sells long-term care insurance must complete a one-time 8-hour Partnership course, then at least 4 hours of ongoing training before each subsequent renewal, per IDOI's long-term care training page^[7]. A producer who misses the ongoing deadline has 12 months from the renewal date to catch up without retaking the 8-hour course.

Property insurance license in Illinois

The Property line, which Illinois also names Fire in its materials, covers insurance against property damage. Its exams are a 75-minute General exam with 50 scored questions and a 50-minute State exam with 30 scored questions, per the Pearson VUE handbook^[5].

Flood training attaches to this line. Producers who sell flood policies under the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) must complete the specific course "FEMA-Flood Insurance Requirement" and keep the original certificate, because the state keeps no record of it, per IDOI's flood training page^[8]. Residents may count the course for 3 hours of CE credit.

Casualty insurance license in Illinois

The Casualty line covers liability coverage, and its exams are a 75-minute General exam with 50 scored questions and a 55-minute State exam with 37 scored questions, per the Pearson VUE handbook^[5]. Property and Casualty are separate lines that one license can carry together, so a property and casualty license in Illinois means completing both lines' education and passing four exams in all.

Personal lines insurance license in Illinois

A Personal Lines line is defined as Fire (Property) and Casualty combined, covering personal, non-commercial customers only, per IDOI's resident producer instructions^[4]. Its exams are a 90-minute General exam with 75 scored questions and a 45-minute State exam with 37 scored questions, per the Pearson VUE handbook^[5].

NIPR's Illinois requirements bar applicants who hold Property, Casualty, or both from also applying for Personal Lines, so decide between the full commercial lines and the personal lines credential before you file.

Motor vehicle, limited lines, and other license classes

Motor Vehicle is the one line with a different education rule: 12.5 hours of pre-licensing, of which 5 must be in a classroom, and a single 75-minute exam with 50 scored questions that combines the General and State sections, per IDOI's resident producer instructions^[4] and the Pearson VUE handbook^[5]. Motor Vehicle cannot be held at the same time as Property or Casualty, per NIPR's nonresident requirements^[9].

Limited lines producer classes, such as credit, travel, and legal expense, require no pre-licensing education and no exam, per NIPR's resident requirements^[1]. The appointing company pays the $50 fee through the appointment process, and the license cancels automatically if no appointment is submitted and approved within 30 days of issuance.

A temporary producer license costs $50, expires after 90 days, is not renewable, and is allowed once per lifetime, per NIPR's resident requirements^[1] and the IDOI fee schedule^[2].

Producers who want to place coverage with non-admitted carriers can add a surplus lines producer license, which costs $400 and requires an active Illinois producer license with an equivalent P&C qualification, per NIPR's resident requirements^[1].

Pre-licensing education in Illinois

Illinois requires 20 hours of pre-licensing education per line of authority, of which 7.5 hours must be completed in a classroom setting that a live webinar satisfies, per IDOI's resident producer instructions^[4]. The remaining hours can be self-study, and the course ends with a certification exam you must pass to earn the certificate of completion.

Providers must appear on the state's approved-education list, searchable at statebasedsystems.com, and the state will not issue a license until your completion is on file. RealEstateU offers approved Illinois pre-licensing courses built around the state's 20-hour requirement for each line, pairing self-paced study with the live classroom or webinar hours, so you finish with the certificate you bring to the test center.

Certificates are valid for one year from the course completion date, and you must finish the exam and the license application inside that window, per the Pearson VUE handbook^[5]. You must bring the certificate to the test center, or you cannot sit for the exam.

Designation holders can skip the coursework but not the test. Under 50 Ill. Adm. Code 3119.45(a)(2), the education requirement is waived for holders of the following designations, and for applicants with a college degree in insurance from an accredited institution:

No designation waives the licensing examination. Designation holders still pass both the General and State exams for the line.

Taking the Illinois insurance exam through Pearson VUE

Most lines require two Pearson VUE exams, a General exam on insurance products and a State exam on Illinois law, and you must pass both within 90 days of each other, per IDOI's exam FAQ^[3]. Each exam costs $92, and when you register a line's General and State exams on one order, the pair costs $92 total; the fee includes a $50 Illinois administrative fee. The passing score is 70 on a 0-to-100 scale, and the number is not a percentage of correct answers.

Every exam now requires a trip to a Pearson VUE test center. Effective January 17, 2025, IDOI discontinued the OnVUE remote-proctored option, per the ILSA bulletin relaying the IDOI announcement, though the education portion can still be done largely from home.

Reserve at pearsonvue.com or by phone at 800-274-0402 at least 24 hours ahead; walk-ins are not available, per the Pearson VUE handbook^[5]. Bring your pre-license course certificate and two forms of current signature ID, one a government-issued photo ID. You can schedule two exams back-to-back in one test-center session, and Spanish-language exams are available at test centers. Exam scores stay valid for 12 months, per NIPR's Illinois state page^[10].

If you fail, you must wait 24 hours before making a reexamination reservation, and you pay the exam fee again for each retake. Illinois does not publish pass rates, and first-time failures are common on these exams, so preparation matters. Pearson VUE also sells official online practice tests for the life, health, property, and casualty exams.

Applying for your Illinois insurance license through NIPR

After you pass, wait 5 days, then file the application online at www.nipr.com, per IDOI's resident producer instructions^[4]. Illinois has returned paper applications since July 1, 2023 and requires every filing to go through NIPR, per IDOI's licensing notices^[11]. NIPR transmits the filing to the state electronically, and states typically take 7 to 10 days to review an application, per NIPR's application guide^[12].

The resident license fee is $215, prorated to the birth-month expiration, so an initial term runs between 18 and 29 months and ends on the last day of your birth month, per NIPR's resident requirements^[1]. NIPR adds a transaction fee of $5.60 as of October 2026 on top of the state fee. Have your Social Security number, date of birth, and an electronic payment method ready, per NIPR's application guide^[12], and answer every background question on the application.

Nonresident licenses and moving to Illinois

Nonresidents pay $380 and skip the Illinois exam, because the license is based on your home-state record. File at www.nipr.com under Apply for License, then Non-Resident Licensing, entering your home state and home-state license number, per IDOI's nonresident instructions^[13]. The lines you request must already be active on your home-state record, the application asks for 5 years of employment history, and a license that expired within the last year triggers a reinstatement fee, per NIPR's nonresident requirements^[9].

New Illinois residents get relief on the coursework and the exam. An applicant previously licensed in another state for the same lines is exempt from both if still licensed there, or if the application arrives within 90 days after the prior license was cancelled with a Letter of Clearance showing good standing, per the Pearson VUE handbook^[5]. Residency changes are handled through IDOI's moving-to-or-from-Illinois page, per NIPR's Illinois state page^[10].

Adjuster licensing in Illinois

Illinois does not license company or staff adjusters who handle claims for their employer; the state licenses only public adjusters, who represent policyholders. To become one, pass the public adjuster exam through Pearson VUE: a single 165-minute exam with 100 scored questions, costing $92, which includes the state administrative fee, per IDOI's public adjuster exam page^[14]. Failed attempts carry a 7-day wait before rebooking after a first failure and a 30-day wait after later ones.

The license application goes through NIPR with a $250 fee, plus a $50,000 surety bond or irrevocable letter of credit uploaded to the NIPR document warehouse, and a public adjuster contract form that IDOI must approve. Public adjuster applicants are the one group that must be fingerprinted: an Illinois-approved livescan vendor takes the prints, and no license issues until the Illinois State Police and FBI results arrive, per IDOI's public adjuster license page^[15]. Illinois residents who adjust claims for insurers commonly obtain a designated home state license from Texas or Florida instead, since Illinois issues no company adjuster credential.

Renewing your license and continuing education

Renew every 2 years through NIPR's Licensing Center before the last day of your birth month, for a $215 fee, after completing 24 hours of continuing education (CE) that includes 3 hours of classroom or webinar ethics, per NIPR's renewal requirements^[16] and IDOI's renewal instructions^[17]. The electronic renewal window opens 90 days before expiration, renewals must cover all active lines at once, and NIPR verifies your CE record before accepting the filing. Providers need time to report your hours, so finish coursework early; the state expects CE compliance 10 business days ahead of the renewal date.

CE applies to the Life, Health, Property, Casualty, Personal Lines, and Motor Vehicle lines, and not to the variable contracts line or surplus lines. An expired license cannot be renewed late. Within 12 months of expiration, you reinstate through NIPR's Resident License application at double the fee, $430, with CE still required but no exam; after 12 months, you reapply as a new applicant and retake the education and the exam, per NIPR's resident requirements^[1].

After issuance: appointments, printing, and adding lines

IDOI no longer mails paper licenses; you download an electronic copy through the license print tool linked from NIPR's print your license help page^[18], per NIPR's Illinois state page^[10]. A full producer license stays active without a carrier appointment, while limited lines and temporary licenses depend on one.

To add a line later, pass that line's exams, wait 5 days, and process the amendment through NIPR; the state charges no fee for amendments, per IDOI's new line instructions^[19]. Current licensees do not file a new application; IDOI updates the record and issues an amended license once the education provider confirms completion, per the Pearson VUE handbook^[5].

Next steps

Choose your lines first, because education hours and exams attach per line. Verify your provider on the state's approved list at statebasedsystems.com, complete the hours, and register for a line's General and State exams on one order so the pair costs the single-exam price. Pass both within the 90-day window, wait 5 days, and file at www.nipr.com. From there, put the birth-month renewal date on your calendar and finish your CE early, ethics hours included, so the renewal goes through without a penalty.