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How to get a Texas life and health insurance license

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To get a Texas General Lines – Life, Accident, Health and HMO license or a Life Agent license, TDI lists four steps: pass the Pearson VUE exam, start your application on TDI’s fingerprint portal, get fingerprinted by IdentoGO, and apply on Sircon or NIPR within one year of passing. The application fee is $50.

Step 0: choose the license

  • General Lines – Life, Accident, Health and HMO: life insurance, annuities, health insurance and HMOs. Exam: Life, Accident and Health, 130 scored questions.
  • Life Agent: life insurance and annuities only. Exam: Life Agent, 80 scored questions.

TDI treats them as separate licenses, each with its own application and fee.

The steps, in order

  1. Pass the exam. Book with Pearson VUE online or by phone at least 24 hours ahead. You test at a Pearson VUE test center and pay when you book ($49 for Life, Accident and Health, $39 for Life Agent, per the handbook fee table). Fees are non-refundable.
  2. Start your application on TDI’s fingerprint portal. You enter your information and TDI emails you a service code. Portal: TDI fingerprinting process.
  3. Get fingerprinted by IdentoGO. Schedule at identogo.com with the service code, bring a photo ID and payment, and keep the receipt. Your fingerprints go electronically to the Texas Department of Public Safety and the FBI. TDI asks for a copy of the IdentoGO receipt; it cannot accept the online payment confirmation instead.
  4. Apply for the license on Sircon or NIPR and pay the $50 TDI application fee. You must apply within one year of passing the exam, or you will need to retake it.

Do I need a pre-licensing course?

TDI’s pages for both licenses list the exam, fingerprints and the application, and they do not list a pre-licensing education requirement. Some prep sites say otherwise, so check TDI’s page before you pay for a course you may not need.

The “40 hours of training” on TDI’s page applies to the temporary license: a one-time, 180-day license with a $150 fee, which requires a sponsoring insurance company.

Who can skip the exam?

  • Someone whose Texas license expired more than 90 days but less than one year ago.
  • Someone with a license in good standing from a reciprocal state.
  • For the General Lines license only, holders of the Chartered Life Underwriter (CLU) designation.

Some people do not need new fingerprints, for example Texas residents who already hold an active TDI license and submitted fingerprints before. Check TDI’s fingerprint instructions.

After you are licensed: renewal

Licenses renew every two years. You need 24 hours of continuing education per period, including 3 hours of ethics, and at least half of the hours must be classroom or classroom-equivalent courses. The renewal fee is $50, with a $25 late fee if you pay after your expiration date. TDI fines $50 for each continuing-education hour you do not complete.

What we do not state

TDI’s pages do not give the IdentoGO fingerprint fee, so we do not quote one. The exam fees come from the candidate handbook’s fee table; Pearson VUE confirms the amount when you book.

Sources

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