How to Get a Rhode Island Insurance License: Requirements, Exams, and Fees

Rhode Island issues an insurance license to anyone who passes the Pearson VUE exam for their line of authority, waits 3-5 days for the results to post, and applies electronically through the National Insurance Producer Registry (NIPR) with a $120 resident fee for a two-year term. The Department of Business Regulation (DBR) Insurance Division is the licensing authority, and it requires no prelicensing education hours, so the exam is the main hurdle between you and the license. Agents are licensed formally as insurance producers, and the same electronic system covers claims adjusters, motor vehicle damage appraisers, and several specialty titles.

Rhode Island insurance license requirements

Rhode Island requires a licensing exam, a state background check, and an electronic application, with no prelicensing coursework of any kind. The NAIC producer education chart^[1] records no education-hour requirement for Rhode Island producers, and the NIPR resident licensing page^[2] lists no course prerequisite before testing.

The specific requirements are:

• Minimum age of 18. Applicants must be legal adults, per the NIPR resident licensing rules.
• A certified background check (BCI) from the Rhode Island Attorney General. The BCI costs $5, per the Rhode Island Attorney General's background check page. Rhode Island does not fingerprint insurance applicants; the NAIC fingerprint requirements chart^[3] lists no fingerprint provision for the state.
• Errors and omissions (E&O) insurance. All resident producers who sell, solicit, or negotiate insurance must carry E&O coverage under R.I. Gen. Laws § 27-2.4-23, per the NIPR resident licensing page. Evidence of coverage does not have to be furnished with the application.
• A valid business email address, which the division uses for renewal reminders.
• Proof of work eligibility for non-citizens, emailed to dbr.inslic@dbr.ri.gov.

One exemption shortens the path: an applicant whose previous resident license went inactive within 90 days of the application date does not have to retake the exam, and the same applies to a requested line that was inactive within the past year.

Lines of authority on a Rhode Island producer license

A producer license carries whichever lines of authority you select, and five major lines each require an exam: Life, Accident & Health or Sickness, Property, Casualty, and Personal Lines. Several limited lines require no exam at all: Variable Life and Variable Annuity, Car Rental, Credit, Crop, Travel, Pet, Life Settlement Broker, and Other Limited Line (Surety). Variable Life and Variable Annuity applicants must supply a Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) Central Registration Depository (CRD) number on the application.

Specialty licenses have their own prerequisites. A surplus lines broker must hold an active producer license with property and casualty lines, and the $100 surplus lines fee is in addition to the producer fee, under 230-RICR-20-50-5, the state fee regulation^[4]. A reinsurance intermediary must hold an active producer license and select both property and casualty, or both life and accident and health. A motor vehicle damage appraiser must pass the Rhode Island Appraiser exam before applying.

Life insurance license in Rhode Island

You earn the life line by passing the Life Producer exam (code 01), which has 80 scoreable questions split between a national general section and a Rhode Island state section. Per the Pearson VUE candidate handbook^[5], the Life exam allots 50 general and 30 state questions, with 1 hour 15 minutes for the general section and 45 minutes for the state section.

Selling annuities takes one extra step. Under 230-RICR-20-25-1, the annuity suitability regulation^[6] effective April 1, 2021, a life-licensed producer must complete a one-time 4-credit annuity training course approved by the DBR before selling annuity products. Producers who obtained the life line on or after the effective date may not sell annuities until the course is completed. The training covers annuity types and classifications, income taxation, and sales practices and disclosure rules, and a substantially similar course completed in another state satisfies Rhode Island's requirement.

Accident & health insurance license in Rhode Island

Health coverage is sold under the Accident & Health or Sickness line, which requires the Accident & Health Producer exam (code 02). The exam has 80 scoreable questions, 50 general and 30 state, with the same 1 hour 15 minute and 45 minute time allotments as the Life exam. Producers who hold both the life and accident & health lines hold what the industry calls a life and health insurance license, the most common pairing for agents selling individual coverage.

Property insurance license in Rhode Island

The property line requires the Property Producer exam (code 03), which has 76 scoreable questions, 50 general and 26 state. First-time property and casualty candidates must register for both the Property and Casualty exams, because Rhode Island tests the two lines as separate exams rather than one combined test. A first-time candidate who wants a property and casualty (P&C) license therefore sits for both in the same test session.

Casualty insurance license in Rhode Island

The casualty line requires the Casualty Producer exam (code 04), with 82 scoreable questions, 50 general and 32 state. Together, the property and casualty lines authorize a producer to sell commercial and personal casualty coverage, including liability and workers compensation products.

Personal lines insurance license in Rhode Island

Personal lines covers personal, non-commercial products such as auto and homeowners insurance, and requires the Personal Lines Producer exam (code 55). This exam has 100 scoreable questions, 75 general and 25 state, with 1 hour 30 minutes for the general section. A personal lines license is narrower than the property and casualty combination, which also covers commercial policies.

The Rhode Island insurance exam

Pearson VUE administers every Rhode Island insurance exam under contract with the DBR, each exam costs $80, and the passing score is 70 on a 0 to 100 scale. The content outlines in the Pearson VUE Rhode Island candidate handbook^[5], effective May 28, 2026, are the official study material, since neither the DBR nor Pearson VUE publishes study guides.

Practical rules for exam day:

• Reserve at least 24 hours ahead at pearsonvue.com/us/en/ri/insurance.html or by phone at (800) 274-3739. Walk-ins are not accepted.
• Pay the fee at reservation by credit card, debit card, or voucher. Fees are not accepted at test centers, are non-refundable, and require 48 hours notice to change or cancel without forfeiting.
• Bring two forms of current signature identification: a primary government-issued photo ID and a secondary ID with a valid signature. Names must match the registration exactly, and candidates who cannot present the required items forfeit the fee.
• Arrive 30 minutes before the exam for check-in, photographing, and the candidate rules agreement.
• Failing candidates receive diagnostic information and must wait 24 hours before booking a retest.
• Spanish-language versions exist for all five major-line exams, and Spanish examinees can toggle between Spanish and English during the test.

Rhode Island operates one test center, in East Providence, open Tuesday through Thursday and Saturday. Candidates may instead test at any national Pearson VUE center, including Worcester, Boston, Woburn, Springfield, and North Dartmouth in Massachusetts, at no additional charge. Candidates can take two major-line exams, two limited-line exams, or one of each in a single session, and exams scheduled back-to-back are buy-one-get-one-free.

Applying for your Rhode Island license through NIPR

NIPR verifies your exam before it lets you submit an application, and results take 3-5 days to report after you pass, per the NIPR resident licensing page^[2]. You then apply through NIPR's LicenseHub with your Social Security number, date of birth, and an electronic payment method, and states typically take 7 to 10 days to review an application, per the NIPR application page^[7]. Passed scores stay valid for 12 months, so submit the application within a year of testing, per the NIPR Rhode Island state information page^[8].

The resident producer fee is $120 for the two-year term, and the DBR does not prorate it. Under 230-RICR-20-50-5^[4], that figure combines a $55 per year license fee with a $5 per year continuing education tracking fee. Email the BCI to dbr.inslic@dbr.ri.gov, and note that the division does not refund fees for wrong license classes, duplicates, or wrong lines of authority, because the electronic application is entirely user driven.

Insurance company appointments

A producer does not need a company appointment to apply for the license, but each insurer you represent must file a Notice of Appointment electronically through NIPR within 15 days of the date the first insurance application is submitted, under R.I. Gen. Laws § 27-2.4-14.1 as set out in 230-RICR-20-50-5^[4]. The appointment fee is $15 per producer per licensed company, appointment renewal is $15, terminations are free, and appointments run through January 31 annually.

Insurance adjuster license in Rhode Island

Rhode Island licenses company, independent, and public adjusters, each with a $250 biennial fee, and unlicensed persons may not adjust or solicit the adjustment of insurance claims in the state. Residents pass the applicable adjuster exam at a Pearson VUE test center, then apply through NIPR once the results post for electronic validation, per the NIPR adjuster licensing page^[9]. Resident applicants must email a BCI that is no more than 30 days old, and a licensee cannot hold a company/independent adjuster license and a public adjuster license at the same time.

Adjusters now have a continuing education obligation: company/independent and public adjusters must complete 24 hours of CE, including 3 hours of ethics, every two years, a requirement added by amendment to 230-RICR-20-50-4, the claim adjuster regulation^[10] effective May 28, 2024. Persons not licensed for one full year before the CE biennium ends are exempt, as are nonresidents whose home state credits Rhode Island adjusters on the same basis. Adjuster licenses renew every two years in the licensee's birth month.

Emergency adjuster licenses exist for catastrophes. When a disaster is declared by the President, the Governor, or the Insurance Commissioner, an insurer may deploy emergency adjusters who apply through NIPR within 5 days of deployment at no state fee. Under R.I. Gen. Laws § 27-10-8, an emergency license runs no more than 120 days unless the commissioner extends it, it cannot be renewed, and a new one may be applied for the day after expiration. Public adjusters are never eligible, and holders of an active Rhode Island adjuster license cannot hold one.

Public adjusters face consumer-protection rules: the catastrophe fee is capped at 10% of any settlement or proceeds, no fee or retainer may be demanded before settlement, contracts must be written, and the insured has 3 business days to rescind. The division can deny or revoke any adjuster license for a felony conviction, cheating on an examination, or failure to respond to a Department inquiry within 21 calendar days.

Nonresident licenses and reciprocity

Rhode Island grants reciprocity, so a nonresident producer pays $130 for the two-year license and skips the exam entirely by holding an active producer license in the home state, per the NIPR nonresident licensing page^[11]. Nonresident public adjuster applicants need a resident public adjuster license in their own state, and non-citizens must hold a resident license in one of the 50 U.S. states. Nonresident motor vehicle damage appraisers must pass the Rhode Island Appraiser exam and provide a certified background check from their resident state. Reinstating a lapsed nonresident producer license totals $180 in state fees.

Renewing your license and completing continuing education

Resident producers complete 24 continuing education credit hours per biennial license period, including 3 hours of ethics, under 230-RICR-20-50-2, the continuing education regulation^[12] effective December 1, 2025. Up to 12 excess credits carry into the next renewal period, but ethics credits carry forward only as general credits, so the 3 ethics hours must be earned fresh each cycle. Exemptions cover residents in lines that require no exam, residents limited to credit, crop, travel, surety, car rental, or title insurance, nonresidents whose home state CE is reciprocal with Rhode Island, and residents licensed continuously for 25 years who are 55 at renewal.

Renewal opens 90 days ahead of the expiration date on the Producer Database, and a 30-day grace period after expiration carries no additional fee. From day 31 through one year after expiration, reinstatement adds a $50 fee on top of the renewal fee, which comes to $170 total for a resident producer, and the request runs through NIPR's Resident License Renewal application. A license cannot be reinstated more than a year late, a reinstated producer must complete CE exactly as if the license had been renewed on time, and partial renewals are not allowed, so all lines renew together. Producers can add lines of authority only while the license is in active status.

Producers who sell federal flood insurance have a one-time training obligation: under DBR Insurance Bulletin 2006-7, reproduced on FEMA's state training requirements page^[13], a producer satisfies the federal requirement by completing a National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) course approved for 3 hours of CE credit. Rhode Island has approved the NFIP online and classroom courses for 3 credits each under provider number 688.

How to look up an insurance license in Rhode Island

License verification runs through NIPR, which pulls producer records from state regulators nationwide, and a printed copy of the Rhode Island license comes from NIPR's license-printing tool. Employers and insurers track appointments and terminations through the Producer Database (PDB), which the Fair Credit Reporting Act restricts to entities with a permissible purpose. The DBR licensing desk can be reached at 1511 Pontiac Avenue, Building 69-2, Cranston, RI 02920, by phone at (401) 462-9520, or by email at dbr.inslic@dbr.ri.gov.

Auto coverage for unlicensed drivers in Rhode Island

A producer license authorizes you to sell insurance, and it is entirely separate from the driver's license Rhode Island requires to operate a car. Buyers who do not hold a driver's license can often still purchase car insurance in the state, though insurers handle these policies case by case and some decline the business.

Next steps

RealEstateU publishes an online Rhode Island insurance exam prep course built around the Pearson VUE content outlines, which you can complete before scheduling your test. From there, the sequence is:

1. Choose your lines of authority based on the products you want to sell, remembering that first-time property and casualty candidates register for two exams.
2. Order the $5 BCI from the Rhode Island Attorney General.
3. Reserve the exam at least 24 hours ahead at pearsonvue.com or (800) 274-3739 and pay the $80 fee.
4. Pass with a scaled score of 70, then wait 3-5 days for the results to reach NIPR.
5. Apply through NIPR within 12 months of passing and pay the $120 resident fee.
6. Once licensed, arrange E&O coverage and have each insurer file its appointment within 15 days of your first application.