How to get a life and health insurance license

A life and health insurance license is a state insurance producer license that covers two lines of authority: Life and Accident and Health or Sickness. The path is the same in every state: you must be at least 18 years old, complete pre-licensing education where your state requires it, pass the state licensing exam, clear a fingerprint background check, and file an application, usually through the National Insurance Producer Registry (NIPR). Most candidates go from first study session to issued license in a few weeks to a few months.

What the life and health lines let you sell

A life and health license authorizes you to sell, solicit, and negotiate life insurance and health coverage under one producer credential, and it is the license behind most personal financial protection sales, from term life policies to Medicare-related products. Anyone who sells, solicits, or negotiates these products must hold the license in every state where they do business. Under Section 3 of the NAIC Producer Licensing Model Act^[1], the template nearly every state bases its licensing law on, "a person shall not sell, solicit or negotiate insurance in this state for any class or classes of insurance unless the person is licensed for that line of authority."

The two lines are defined by the risks each covers. The model act defines them as:

"Life—insurance coverage on human lives including benefits of endowment and annuities, and may include benefits in the event of death or dismemberment by accident and benefits for disability income."

"Accident and health or sickness—insurance coverage for sickness, bodily injury or accidental death and may include benefits for disability income."

Annuities sit on the life side, while medical, dental, and disability coverage sit on the health side. The split matters at the product level: in California, a licensee who holds only the Accident and Health license "is not authorized to negotiate, transact, or sell annuities" (California Department of Insurance FAQ^[2]).

States license agents and brokers the same way, as producers. New York draws the working distinction: an agent represents the companies that appoint them, while a broker represents the insured and can place business with any authorized company (New York Department of Financial Services^[3]). A life and health license does not cover home, auto, or commercial coverage; property and casualty is a separate license family (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics^[4]). For pay context, insurance sales agents earned a median of $62,280 per year in May 2025 (BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook^[4]).

Requirements every state shares

Every state sets the same baseline qualifications, even though hours, fees, and exam details differ. You must be at least 18 years old, pass the state's written exam for the lines you want, clear a background check, and have committed no disqualifying acts, such as a felony conviction or a material misstatement on the application (NAIC Producer Licensing Model Act, Sections 6A and 12^[1]). Florida states the age floor directly in its life agent statute: applicants "must be a natural person of at least 18 years of age" (Fla. Stat. 626.785^[5]).

States issue resident licenses to people who live or hold their primary place of business in the state, and nonresident licenses to producers already licensed in another state (NIPR state licensing requirements index^[6]).

Pre-licensing education hours: what your state requires

Some states require no pre-licensing coursework for these lines at all, while others require 40 or more hours of study. Where coursework is required, you must finish a course from the state's approved-provider list before you can sit for the exam.

Not every state requires coursework. Maryland removed its requirement effective October 1, 2024 (Maryland Insurance Administration Bulletin 24-19^[7]), and North Carolina removed its requirement effective October 1, 2025 (North Carolina Department of Insurance memo^[8]). Texas lists no education step in its application process at all (Texas Department of Insurance^[9]).

Where hours are required, the counts differ widely:

• Georgia cut its requirement to 8 hours of instruction per major line of authority in a 2025 rule change (Georgia OCI education rules page^[10]).
• California requires one 12-hour course on ethics and the state insurance code, including 1 hour on insurance fraud, even when you apply for both lines (Cal. Ins. Code Sec. 1749^[11]).
• Illinois requires 7.5 of the coursework hours for each line to be completed in a classroom (Illinois Department of Insurance^[12]).
• New York requires 40 or more hours of instruction to cover both lines together (New York DFS^[3]).
• Florida requires 40 or more hours of approved health coursework for the health line, including 3 hours of ethics, completed within the 4 years before applying (Fla. Stat. 626.8311^[13]).

Course certificates expire. California's pre-licensing certificates are valid for 3 years from the completion date (Cal. Ins. Code Sec. 1749(c)^[11]).

Pick your provider from the state's approved list, because approvals do not cross state lines.

The table below compares six states on pre-licensing hours, the exam vendor, and whether one exam covers both lines.

Sources: Texas Department of Insurance^[9], California DOI^[14], Florida Department of Financial Services^[15], New York DFS^[3], Georgia OCI^[16], Illinois Department of Insurance^[12].

The life and health insurance exam

Every state requires resident applicants to pass a written exam that covers the lines of authority applied for, producer duties, and state insurance law (NAIC Producer Licensing Model Act, Section 5^[1]). States contract the testing to national vendors, mainly Pearson VUE and PSI. California schedules its exams through PSI, which runs 20 exam sites statewide and offers remote online proctoring for every insurance licensing exam, with a $43 convenience fee (California DOI exam information^[17]). Other states offer test-center testing only, so confirm your state's delivery format before you plan your exam day.

Questions cover general insurance concepts, policy provisions, and state-specific law (BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook^[4]). Life and health exams are multiple-choice, and each state sets its own question count, time limit, and passing score.

One exam or two

Many states let you earn both lines with one combined exam, while a few make you test each line separately. In California you can select both the Life-Only and Accident and Health license types when scheduling at PSI and file one application for the "full Life Agent" license (California DOI life agent requirements^[14]). Georgia offers a Life, Accident and Sickness combination examination (Georgia OCI^[16]). Illinois requires a separate General and State exam registration for each line, passed within 90 days of each other (Illinois Department of Insurance^[12]), and New York law provides separate exam types for the life agent and accident and health agent licenses (N.Y. Ins. Law 2103^[18]).

Practice tests and prep

The exam vendors publish the most reliable practice material. Pearson VUE sells national practice tests for General Life and for Accident and Health at $19.95 each, with 50 general-insurance questions and 25 state-generic questions, available to start for 30 days after purchase (Pearson VUE practice tests^[19]). The tests are not state regulated, but they contain items similar in content and format to the actual exam.

Fingerprints and the license application

Most states require a fingerprint background check before they will issue a license. Texas applicants get fingerprinted through IdentoGO and submit the receipt showing the prints were sent to the Texas Department of Public Safety (Texas Department of Insurance^[20]); Florida uses the same vendor (NIPR Florida state information^[21]).

You apply online through NIPR or your state's portal. First-time applicants provide a Social Security number and date of birth, pay electronically, and upload any documents the state requests through NIPR's Attachment Warehouse (NIPR apply-for-a-license page^[22]). Georgia residents apply through Sircon and file a citizenship affidavit with a copy of ID (Georgia OCI^[16]).

Sequence matters in some states. Texas requires you to pass the exam before you apply, and filing out of order means starting a new application and paying the fee again (Texas Department of Insurance^[9]). Illinois requires applicants to wait 5 calendar days after passing the exam before applying online (Illinois Department of Insurance^[12]).

Your exam pass has a shelf life. Texas gives you 1 year from the pass date to apply, or you retake the exam (Texas Department of Insurance^[9]); Florida gives you 12 months (NIPR Florida state information^[21]); New York gives you 2 years (New York DFS^[3]).

How much a life and health license costs

Application fees vary widely. In Texas, the resident agent application fee is $50, and the non-resident fee is the same (Texas Department of Insurance^[20]); New York's full resident license fee is $80 (New York DFS^[3]); Georgia requires payment of $120 whether you pursue the Life line, the Accident and Sickness line, or the combination examination (Georgia OCI^[16]); and California's filing fee is $188, which covers the Life line, the Accident and Health line, or both applied for together, though adding the second line later costs another $188 filing fee (California DOI FAQ^[2]). Florida adds a charge for each line of authority on top of its base application fee (Florida DFS fee schedule^[23]).

Beyond the application fee, budget for the exam, fingerprinting, and a course where your state requires one.

How long it takes to get licensed

Plan on a few weeks to a few months from first study session to issued license, with most of the time going to study and exam scheduling. The application itself moves quickly: states typically take 7 to 10 days to review an application (NIPR apply-for-a-license page^[22]), and Georgia averages 14 business days (Georgia OCI^[16]).

If you are stepping in for a producer who died or became disabled, or you meet a similar hardship condition, states can issue a temporary license without an exam for up to 180 days (NAIC Producer Licensing Model Act, Section 11^[1]). Texas offers a one-time 180-day temporary life agent license for $150 with a sponsor's certification (Texas Department of Insurance^[20]).

After the license: appointments, other states, and extra training

To sell and earn commissions, you need a carrier appointment on top of the license. Agents represent the insurers that appoint them, and New York requires the appointment notice to be filed within 15 days of contract execution or the first application (New York DFS^[3]).

Once licensed in your home state, you can add other states without retaking the coursework or the exam. The model act exempts anyone previously licensed for the same lines in another state who is currently licensed, or who applies within 90 days of the license's cancellation and was in good standing (NAIC Producer Licensing Model Act, Section 9^[1]). You file the nonresident application through NIPR, with proof of your home-state license (NIPR licensing process overview^[24]).

Some products require more than the license:

• Variable annuities and variable life are securities, so you must also register with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), typically through the Series 6 or Series 7 exams (BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook^[4], New York DFS^[3]).
• To sell Marketplace plans, you must hold a health-related line of authority and complete annual registration and training through the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS); agents without a health line cannot assist consumers with Marketplace enrollment (CMS registration and training page^[25]).
• California requires 8 hours of annuity training before a life agent solicits annuities, and 8 hours of long-term care training in each of the first four years after licensing (Cal. Ins. Code Sec. 1749.8^[11]).

Licenses renew on a cycle that runs from annually to every four years depending on the state, and most renewals carry a continuing education (CE) requirement (NIPR state licensing requirements index^[6]).

The licensing exam is not a medical exam

No medical exam of any kind is part of getting licensed. The exam in the licensing process is a multiple-choice knowledge test on insurance concepts and state law, with no physical, bloodwork, or health questions.

Phrases like "no medical exam life insurance" are about consumer policies, not licensing: those policies skip the paramedical exam insurers use to evaluate an applicant's health before issuing coverage.

What to do next

Start with your state's page in the NIPR state licensing requirements index^[6], which lists the hours, fees, and steps for resident and nonresident applicants. Confirm whether your state offers one combined life and health exam, complete any required coursework from the approved-provider list, and schedule the exam with your state's testing vendor. Then pass, get fingerprinted, and apply; the license typically follows within days.