How to get an insurance license in Louisiana

Louisiana issues insurance licenses through the Louisiana Department of Insurance (LDI). To earn a producer license you must be at least 18, reside in or maintain a principal place of business in the state, pass a PSI licensing exam with a score of at least 70%, pay a $75 state application fee through the National Insurance Producer Registry (NIPR), and complete fingerprinting for a background check. Louisiana requires no prelicensing education for producer lines except the public adjuster and bail bond paths, so most people learning how to become an insurance agent move straight from studying to testing. Most applicants finish the process in a few weeks.

Who must be licensed to sell insurance in Louisiana?

Anyone who sells, solicits, or negotiates insurance in Louisiana must hold a producer license. La. R.S. 22:1541^[1] governs the qualifications and procedures for licensing producers, and it applies to all lines of insurance and all types of insurers. The state licenses related occupations separately: claims adjusters act for insurers, public adjusters act for policyholders, and insurance consultants and navigators hold their own credentials. Louisiana does not issue a general broker license. Producers transact insurance, and the one broker-specific credential is the surplus lines broker license described later in this guide.

Louisiana insurance license requirements

To qualify for a producer license, you must be at least 18 years old, be competent and trustworthy, and reside in or maintain a principal place of business in Louisiana, according to LDI's becoming a licensed producer brochure^[2]. No prior insurance experience is required.

A felony conviction involving dishonesty or breach of trust bars you from participating in insurance under 18 U.S.C. 1033 and 1034 unless the Commissioner of Insurance issues written consent, as LDI's license application page^[3] explains. If you have a criminal record, La. R.S. 37:33^[1] allows you to request an optional pre-application eligibility determination from LDI before you pay for an exam.

When you apply, you must not hold an active resident license in another state, and you must provide a Louisiana residence, business, or mailing address; only the mailing address may be a post office box, per the NIPR Louisiana resident licensing page^[4].

Lines of authority and exam fees

A Louisiana producer license is issued by line of authority, and most lines require an exam. LDI's license application page^[3] requires an exam for Life, Accident & Health or Sickness, Property, Casualty, Personal Lines, Bail Bonds, Title, Surplus Lines, Surety, and Industrial Fire. The producer lines of Credit, Travel, Variable Life and Variable Annuity, and Limited Life, Health and Accident carry no exam requirement. The PSI candidate information bulletin^[5] publishes the exam fee for each series:

Under La. R.S. 22:1545^[6], you pass by achieving a score of at least seventy percent (70%), and the exam tests the lines of authority you applied for, producer duties and responsibilities, and Louisiana insurance laws and regulations.

Prelicensing education in Louisiana

Louisiana requires no prelicensing education hours for an insurance producer license. LDI repealed its prelicensing education rule, Rule 9, effective November 2022, according to the LDI summary report on the repeal, and both the PSI candidate bulletin^[5] and LDI's licensing handbook^[7] state that no prelicensing requirements exist for any exam except the public adjuster and bail bond paths. Bail bond applicants must instead complete an apprenticeship, covered under the specialty lines below.

Some education providers still advertise mandatory Louisiana course hours. Those requirements predate the November 2022 repeal, so any prep course you take is optional exam preparation, not a licensing step.

Scheduling and taking the Louisiana insurance exam

PSI administers every Louisiana insurance exam, and you schedule through the portal listed on LDI's license application page^[3] or by calling 800-733-9267, per the NIPR Louisiana state page^[8]. PSI runs testing sites in Baton Rouge, Metairie, and Shreveport, plus additional locations across the state, and candidates located elsewhere can arrange a sitting out of state by phone, according to the PSI candidate bulletin^[5].

Bring valid, non-expired photo identification bearing your signature, and make sure the name on it matches your exam registration exactly. Each exam may include 5 to 10 unscored experimental questions, which count against your time. Your score appears on screen at the end of the exam and is emailed to you; if you fail, you receive a diagnostic report showing your weak areas.

A failed exam cannot be rebooked the same day: a candidate who tests unsuccessfully on a Wednesday can call Thursday and retest as soon as Friday, space permitting. There is no limit on attempts while your eligibility period is open, and exam fees are not refundable or transferable. You can cancel or reschedule without forfeiting the fee if PSI receives notice at least 2 days before the appointment. Passing scores remain valid for 12 months, per the NIPR Louisiana state page^[8].

Life insurance license in Louisiana

The Life line of authority lets you sell, solicit, and negotiate life insurance, and La. R.S. 22:1547^[9] lists it as the first producer line. You qualify by passing the Series 101 exam for a $36 fee. Candidates who want both major lines can take the combined exam described under the health line below. Life producers should also review the annuity and long-term care training rules later in this guide, because both attach to life authority before you can sell those products.

Accident and health or sickness license in Louisiana

The Accident & Health or Sickness line authorizes health insurance sales, and you qualify by passing the Series 102 exam. Louisiana also offers a combined exam that qualifies you for both the life line and the health line in a single sitting, which is the route most candidates take toward a life and health insurance license.

Property insurance license in Louisiana

Property authority covers insurance against property loss, and the Series 104 exam qualifies you for a $36 fee. Most candidates pursuing a p&c license take the combined Property and Casualty exam (Series 106, $58) instead, which qualifies both lines in one sitting.

Casualty insurance license in Louisiana

Casualty authority covers legal liability for injury to other people and damage to their property, including automobile liability coverage. The Series 105 exam qualifies you for a $36 fee. Holders of casualty authority should plan for the flood continuing education hours described later in this guide.

Personal lines license in Louisiana

A personal lines license authorizes property and casualty coverage for individuals and families for primarily noncommercial purposes, as La. R.S. 22:1547^[9] defines the line. The Series 107 exam costs $36. The NIPR Louisiana resident licensing page^[4] notes that you cannot apply for Personal Lines if Property and Casualty authority is already held or requested at the same time, because Property and Casualty includes Personal Lines.

Specialty producer lines: bail bonds, title, surplus lines, surety, and industrial fire

Bail Bonds, Title, Surplus Lines, Surety, and Industrial Fire each require a $19 exam, and two of them add prerequisites. Bail bond applicants must complete a three-month apprenticeship with a licensed producer and receive preauthorization from LDI before scheduling the Series 108 exam, per the LDI license application page^[3]. Surplus lines applicants must already hold a Property and Casualty or Accident & Health or Sickness license with at least two years of experience, or have two years of professional experience with an insurer, and must maintain a designated office in Louisiana, under La. R.S. 22:1547^[9]. Title (Series 111), Surety (Series 109), and Industrial Fire (Series 110) carry no additional prerequisites.

Producer lines with no exam requirement

Credit, Travel, Variable Life and Variable Annuity, and Limited Life, Health and Accident producers skip the exam entirely. LDI's license application page^[3] states that these four lines do not have an exam requirement, though you still file the application and complete fingerprinting. Variable line applicants must supply a FINRA Central Registration Depository (CRD) number on the application, per the NIPR Louisiana resident licensing page^[4], and Limited Life, Health and Accident coverage is capped at $30,000 of life insurance under La. R.S. 22:1547^[9].

Claims adjuster license in Louisiana

Louisiana requires a separate license for claims adjusters, and every adjuster line requires an exam. La. R.S. 22:1671^[10] authorizes adjuster qualification in property and casualty, workers' compensation, crop, and limited lines, and LDI's becoming a licensed claims adjuster brochure^[11] lists the available authorities: Property & Casualty (which includes automobile, personal, and commercial lines), Workers' Compensation, Crop, Automobile Only, Personal Lines Only, and Commercial Lines Only. Exam fees by series, from the PSI candidate bulletin^[5]:

The adjuster application fee is $75, filed through NIPR. Adjusters must read and acknowledge the claims adjuster standards of conduct under La. R.S. 22:1674.1 at issuance and at each renewal, per the NIPR Louisiana resident licensing page^[4].

Public adjuster license in Louisiana

Public adjusters assist policyholders on first-party claims, and their path reverses the usual order: you must file the license application before scheduling the exam, because LDI notifies PSI of your eligibility, per the LDI license application page^[3]. Public adjuster applicants must hold a $50,000 surety bond or an irrevocable letter of credit from a qualified financial institution, and the original bond with wet signatures must reach LDI before the license issues, according to the PSI candidate bulletin^[5]. Each notarized signature on the bond requires two witnesses, and the notary cannot serve as one, per the NIPR Louisiana resident licensing page^[4]. Their licensure is limited to assisting insureds on first-party claims without the unauthorized practice of law, under La. R.S. 22:1691^[12].

Filing your application and getting fingerprinted

The sequence is fixed: pass the exam first, then submit the license application through NIPR, then be fingerprinted. LDI's license application page^[3] sets this order, and all applications are filed electronically through NIPR with the fee collected at submission. The producer application fee is $75 regardless of how many lines of authority you request, except Surplus Lines at $250; these are state fees only, and NIPR adds its own transaction fees on top, per the NIPR Louisiana resident licensing page^[4]. All supporting documentation must reach LDI within 30 days of submission or the application will be declined.

Do not be fingerprinted before you apply. LDI's fingerprinting requirements page^[13] warns that applicants who fingerprint before submitting the application, completing the background check authorization form, and receiving LDI's instructions will be required to fingerprint again. Effective March 1, 2024, the Louisiana State Police use IdentoGO/Idemia as the statewide Livescan vendor. You schedule the appointment at uenroll.identogo.com with service code 27N339, and the state and federal Livescan fee is $60.75, collected by IdentoGO at the appointment, per LDI's fingerprinting instructions^[14]. Prints are submitted electronically to the Louisiana State Police, and results typically reach LDI within about 3 days of the appointment, with LDI's application page giving 7 to 10 days as the conservative outer estimate. Fingerprinting is not required for nonresidents, for residents already actively licensed who are adding a license type or line of authority, or for licensees reinstating within two years of a lapse.

Timeline from exam to issued license

Most applicants move from exam to issued license in a few weeks. You see your exam result the same day you test, and PSI sends the scores to LDI within one to two days, per the LDI license application page^[3]. Fingerprint results typically arrive within about 3 days of the appointment, with 7 to 10 days as the conservative estimate. After that, the remaining wait is LDI's application review, and NIPR reports that states generally complete that review within a similar window.

Company appointments and commissions

You cannot act as an insurer's agent, and no insurer may pay you commissions, until the insurer appoints you. Under La. R.S. 22:1558^[15], the appointing insurer files a notice of appointment within 15 days of executing the agency contract, and no commissions may be paid to a producer until the appointment is recorded by the commissioner. Only the insurance company can make or cancel an appointment; producers cannot appoint themselves, per LDI's company appointment page^[16]. The initial appointment fee is $45 for an individual producer and $100 for a producer agency, and renewals cost $35 and $100 respectively. Under Act 226 of 2019, individual producer appointments renew annually on January 1 and agency appointments on August 1. Appointments are filed electronically through NIPR. You may submit business to an insurer before the appointment is approved, but the insurer cannot pay commissions until the appointment is confirmed.

Product training for annuities and long-term care

Two product-specific trainings sit outside the line exams and outside continuing education, and both apply to life and health producers. Producers selling annuity products must complete a one-time 4-hour training course, required of resident and nonresident producers alike, per LDI's annuity training requirements page^[17] and La. R.S. 22:1576^[18]. Amendments to Regulation 89 implementing the NAIC best-interest standard took effect September 20, 2024: producers newly licensed for Life authority on or after that date must complete the training before selling annuities, and producers who had completed older suitability training had to finish updated training by March 20, 2025. Best-interest training completed for any state satisfies the Louisiana requirement.

Long-term care insurance requires a one-time training course of no less than 8 hours, plus no less than 4 hours of ongoing training every two years, under La. R.S. 22:1575^[19] and LDI's long-term care training page^[20]. The requirement applies to producers licensed for Life or Accident & Health or Sickness, and insurers must verify completion before allowing a producer to sell their long-term care products.

Nonresident licenses and reciprocity

Louisiana grants a nonresident producer license to anyone currently licensed and in good standing as a resident in their home state, provided that state awards nonresident licenses to Louisiana residents on the same basis. Under La. R.S. 22:1548^[21], nonresidents must also designate the commissioner as their agent for service of process before the license issues. The nonresident application fee is $75, or $250 for surplus lines, filed through the NIPR nonresident licensing page^[22], and nonresidents are not fingerprinted. Nonresident licensees are exempt from Louisiana continuing education when they satisfy their home state's CE and that state grants reciprocal credit, under La. R.S. 22:1573^[23].

If you move to Louisiana, you qualify for an exemption from the exam when transferring a resident license from your prior state, provided you are currently licensed there or LDI receives your application within 90 days of the cancellation of your previous license, per the LDI license application page^[3]. A producer moving between states files a change of address and a certification from the new resident state within 30 days of the move, with no fee or new application required, under La. R.S. 22:1548^[21]. Adjuster applicants whose home state does not license resident adjusters may use a designated home state through the NIPR nonresident adjuster page^[24], though an applicant may not designate Louisiana itself as the home state when applying for a Louisiana nonresident adjuster license.

Renewing your Louisiana insurance license

Producer and adjuster licenses renew every 2 years on the last day of the licensee's birth month, with the license number setting the renewal year: licenses ending in an even number renew in even-numbered years, and licenses ending in an odd number renew in odd-numbered years, per the LDI renewals page^[25] and La. R.S. 22:1547^[9]. Effective January 2026, the producer renewal fee is $75, or $350 for surplus lines, and late filing adds a $50 penalty. Claims adjuster renewals are $75 with a $50 late penalty, and public adjuster renewals are $75 with a $150 late penalty. Producers file a single renewal that covers all eligible lines on the license.

You can renew through LDI's Industry Access Producer/Adjuster Portal, which opens 90 days before expiration and requires at least 24 hours for initial registration, or through NIPR, which requires renewing every line held and verifies CE compliance before accepting the filing, per the NIPR resident renewal page^[26]. You must report address, legal name, or application-information changes within 30 days, or face a $50 penalty per violation under La. R.S. 22:1547^[9].

Continuing education requirements

Resident producers and adjusters complete 24 hours of continuing education (CE) per two-year cycle, including 3 hours of ethics. Holders of Property, Casualty, or Personal Lines authority add 3 hours of flood insurance, and renewals of July 2027 onward add 2 hours of legislative updates in insurance law, per LDI's continuing education requirements page^[27]. Bail bond producers complete 12 hours including 6 hours of bail enforcement education, and title producers complete 12 hours including 2 hours on consumer financial protection.

A course cannot be repeated for credit unless 24 months have passed between completions, and no more than 10 excess general hours carry over to the next cycle. A newly licensed property and casualty producer must complete 3 hours of flood instruction at the first renewal where CE is required, under La. R.S. 22:1573^[23]. Producers who are 65 or older with at least 15 years of licensure may be exempt if they are no longer actively engaged or remain engaged through a licensed Louisiana insurer or agency, per the same statute.

If your license lapses

A lapsed producer license can be reinstated within two years of expiration by proving CE compliance and paying all fees due, and beyond that window you must meet the requirements for a new license, per La. R.S. 22:1547^[9]. Claims adjusters have the same 24-month reinstatement window under La. R.S. 22:1671^[10]. The NIPR resident renewal page^[26] runs the late renewal window from one day after expiration to two years after, and you must reapply through the initial license application if the license has been inactive for more than two years or is inactive for a status reason other than lapsed. A canceled line of authority can be reactivated within two years by meeting CE; after two years, the exam requirements apply again, per the LDI renewals page^[25].

Your next steps

Pick your path and move through it in order. Choose your line or lines from the fee table above, confirm the exam series in the PSI candidate bulletin^[5], and study the bulletin's content outline for your exam. Schedule with PSI, pass the exam, then file the NIPR application while your score is fresh. Wait for LDI's fingerprinting instructions after you apply, complete the IdentoGO appointment, and line up an insurer appointment before you plan to sell. If you are targeting a specialty path like bail bonds or public adjusting, arrange the apprenticeship or the $50,000 bond first, because both gate the exam itself.