How to get a Texas life insurance license

What is a Texas life insurance license?

Texas issues a Life agent license for selling life insurance. The Texas Department of Insurance (TDI) also issues a General Lines license for life, accident, health and HMO, which adds health insurance, and a limited license for life insurance not exceeding $25,000. Most people who want to sell life insurance start with the Life agent license.

The Life Agent exam content outline covers life policy types, annuity topics, and Texas insurance law. If you also want to sell health insurance, TDI's General Lines life, accident, health and HMO page lists its own exam, so choose the license before you register for an exam.

Do you need a pre-licensing course in Texas?

TDI's life agent application page lists three steps and none is a course: take an exam, begin the application on TDI's online fingerprint portal, and apply for the license. The Pearson VUE candidate handbook lists the general requirements as being at least 18, passing the exam, applying within 12 months, and submitting the fee and fingerprint receipt. Many people still buy a prep course to get ready for the exam. That is a study choice, not a state step. Confirm with TDI at 512-676-6500 if you are unsure.

How do you get a Texas life insurance license?

Pass the exam first, then apply. If you apply before you pass, TDI says you must submit a new application and pay the fee again.

1. Reserve and pay for the Life Agent exam with Pearson VUE. Walk-ins are not available, and the handbook asks for a reservation at least 24 hours ahead. To sit the exam you must be at least 18 and have a valid Social Security number.
2. Start your application on TDI's online initial application and fingerprint portal to get your fingerprint service code. Most applicants then get fingerprinted at IdentoGO, and TDI needs the receipt showing the prints went to the Texas Department of Public Safety.
3. Take and pass the exam. You leave the test center with a score report.
4. Apply online through Sircon or the National Insurance Producer Registry (NIPR) and pay the $50 application fee. Submit within 12 months of passing.
5. Wait for TDI to process the file. It cannot finish until it receives your criminal history reports from the Department of Public Safety and the FBI.

Your background matters, because TDI can deny a license for acts listed in section 4005.101 of the Texas Insurance Code and 28 Texas Administrative Code section 1.502, and the handbook points applicants to those rules. If you have a criminal history or a past administrative action, read them before you spend money on an exam, and ask TDI at License@tdi.texas.gov how they apply to you. Match your name, date of birth, and Social Security number exactly between your exam registration and your application, because the handbook says a mismatch means no license is issued until you prove the correct information.

What does the exam cover, and what does it cost?

The Life Agent exam has 80 scored questions: 50 on life insurance general knowledge and 30 on Texas law. Pearson VUE adds 10 unscored pretest questions, so you see 90 in total. The exam is 120 minutes, and a Spanish version is offered at the same fee. Candidates for whom English is a second language can request extra time with the ESL request form.

The two fees TDI and Pearson VUE set for a first license add up to $89, before fingerprinting and any prep course you choose. The scaled passing score is 70 on a 0 to 100 scale. That number is not a percentage of questions answered correctly. If you fail, you can schedule a new exam within one day, and the handbook sets no limit on attempts. Each new reservation carries a new exam fee.

Can you start before you pass the exam?

Yes, in one case. TDI offers a one-time, 180-day temporary life agent license. It is the main alternative path in Texas, and it needs an insurance company or agency to sponsor you.

• The application fee is $150, and it covers both the temporary license and the permanent license application.
• The sponsor completes TDI Form FIN700, confirming it is considering you for appointment as a full-time agent and will supervise your training.
• You must complete at least 40 hours of training given by the appointing company, no later than the 30th day after the application, fee, and certificate reach TDI.
• You must pass the state exam within the 180 days and email TDI at Applications@tdi.texas.gov to say so. If you do not, you submit a new application and fee.
• The temporary license is issued once and cannot be renewed.

What does continuing education look like in Texas?

TDI requires 24 hours of continuing education (CE) every two years for a life agent license. Three hours must be in ethics, and at least 12 hours must be classroom or classroom-equivalent courses. Finish before midnight Central Time on your expiration date, and aim for 30 days earlier so providers can report your completion.

The cost of missing it is real. TDI fines $50 for each hour you have not completed by your expiration date, capped at $500 per license type for terms expiring after June 1, 2018, and you still owe the hours. Renewal is $50, plus a $25 late fee after midnight Central Time on the expiration date. Most licenses renew every two years, and a first license can have a shorter first term so it lines up with your birth month.

Can you sell in Texas if you live in another state?

Yes, with a nonresident license. TDI requires an active license in good standing in your home state with the same or greater authority. The application is $50 through Sircon or NIPR, and you do not need the Texas exam if you hold a license in good standing in a reciprocal state. Nonresidents generally follow their home state's CE rules. The same logic runs the other way: a Texas resident license is your base for nonresident licenses elsewhere, which you apply for through NIPR at each state's own fee. See our Georgia guide for a worked example, and our general license guide for how a second state works.

A license alone does not let you place business with a carrier. After you are licensed, each insurer you represent files a notice of appointment with TDI, and the handbook lists a $10 fee for each additional company appointment. Our carrier contracting guide explains what that step involves.

How Checkmate fits

Checkmate Financial Group LLC is an independent, licensed insurance agency domiciled in Florida, with more than 1,000 licensed agents and 40+ A-rated carriers, and it serves clients in all 50 states. No carrier owns us. Each agent needs an active license in the state where they serve clients, and you can apply even if you are not licensed yet. The team will talk you through the next steps for your state.

Once you are licensed, onboarding is handled for you: contracts, appointments, and portal access. Agents get inbound calls and qualified web leads, an AI CRM and dialer, and daily live training. If you would rather study and work in Spanish, the Texas Life Agent exam is offered in Spanish, and Checkmate supports English, Spanish, and Portuguese, and our bilingual agent guide covers that path. Call (833) 997-6934, Monday to Friday, 9am to 8pm ET.