By the end of this, you'll know exactly how to get an insurance license — and which pre-licensing school to spend your money on to get there fast.
To legally sell insurance you need a state license, and the path to one is the same everywhere: pick your line, take a state-approved pre-licensing course (where it's required), pass the state exam, clear a background check and fingerprints, then apply through NIPR. The course is the part you choose and pay for, so it's worth choosing well. This post ranks the best insurance pre-licensing schools, then walks the rest of the path. Requirements vary by state — verify the specifics with your state's Department of Insurance (DOI) before you spend a dollar.
How getting licensed actually works
Five steps. None of them are mysterious once you see the whole sequence.
1. Pick your line. You don't get "an insurance license" — you get licensed for a line of authority. The two big ones:
- Property & Casualty (P&C) — auto, home, commercial, liability. This is the agency-and-carrier track.
- Life & Health (L&H) — life insurance, health, annuities. This is the benefits-and-financial track.
You can hold both, but you license them separately: a separate course and a separate exam for each. New producers usually start with the one that matches the job offer in front of them.
2. Check your state's hours requirement. Most states mandate a set number of pre-licensing hours per line — commonly 20 to 40 — before you're allowed to sit for the exam. A few states require none. Your DOI publishes the number. This is the single most important thing to verify, because it dictates which course package you buy.
3. Take the pre-licensing course. This is where the schools below come in. The course exists to (a) satisfy the state's hour requirement and (b) get you ready to pass. Pick a state-approved provider for your line and your state.
4. Schedule and pass the state exam. States outsource the exam to a testing vendor — usually Prometric, PSI, or Pearson VUE. You register, pay the exam fee, and sit it at a testing center or online with a proctor. You'll get a pass/fail result on the spot.
5. Background check, fingerprints, and the NIPR application. Most states require fingerprinting and a background check before they'll issue. Then you apply for the license through NIPR (the National Insurance Producer Registry) at nipr.com, pay the licensing fee, and — assuming everything clears — the license is issued, often within a few days.
That's the whole machine. The course is the lever you actually control, so here are the providers worth your money.
The best insurance pre-licensing schools
A ranked, honest field guide to the national providers. Cost is shown as a relative signal — $ (budget), $$ (mid), $$$ (premium) — because real prices shift by state, line, and promotion. Check current pricing with each provider before you buy, and confirm the course is approved for your state and line.
1. Kaplan Financial Education
- Good for: the all-rounder who wants a trusted name, deep question banks, and strong exam-prep tooling.
- Format: self-paced online video and reading, live online classes, and printed textbooks depending on the package.
- Cost: $$–$$$.
- Who it's for: people who learn well from structured material and want a recognizable brand behind their prep.
2. ExamFX
- Good for: pass-the-exam efficiency. Its adaptive "Guarantee Exam" style prep is built to predict your readiness.
- Format: self-paced online, with optional instructor support and virtual classes.
- Cost: $$.
- Who it's for: self-motivated learners who want a tech-driven, drill-heavy path and a pass guarantee on premium tiers.
3. A.D. Banker & Company
- Good for: clear, plain-English instruction and famously approachable customer support.
- Format: self-paced online, live virtual, live in-person classes in many markets, plus textbooks.
- Cost: $$.
- Who it's for: people who want a real classroom option or human help, not just a video to grind through alone.
4. The CE Shop
- Good for: a clean, modern online experience and strong continuing-education offerings once you're licensed.
- Format: fully self-paced online.
- Cost: $$.
- Who it's for: online-first learners who want one provider for both pre-licensing now and CE later.
5. Kaplan's Prometric-aligned prep / Prometric study materials
- Good for: aligning your studying to the exact testing vendor when your state uses Prometric.
- Format: study guides and practice tests geared to the test you'll actually sit.
- Cost: $–$$.
- Who it's for: people whose state exam runs through Prometric who want prep mapped to that experience. (Confirm your vendor first — it may be PSI or Pearson VUE instead.)
6. America's Professor
- Good for: video lectures from instructors who explain the why, not just the definitions. Great for visual learners.
- Format: on-demand video courses with workbooks.
- Cost: $–$$.
- Who it's for: people who retain more from a teacher talking them through concepts than from reading a manual.
7. XCEL Testing Solutions (Pearson)
- Good for: a polished online program with a strong pass-rate reputation and tight exam alignment.
- Format: self-paced online with simulated exams.
- Cost: $$.
- Who it's for: candidates who want simulated, exam-realistic practice as the core of their prep.
8. StateRequirement (free info)
- Good for: figuring out what your state requires before you spend anything — hours, fees, steps, vendor — in one place.
- Format: free online guides and checklists (not an approved course on its own).
- Cost: free.
- Who it's for: everyone, as step zero. Use it to confirm requirements, then buy an approved course elsewhere. Always cross-check against your DOI, since requirements vary by state.
9. Your state's community colleges and adult-ed programs
- Good for: in-person instruction, often at a lower cost, sometimes with financial aid.
- Format: live classroom, scheduled terms.
- Cost: $–$$.
- Who it's for: people who learn best in a room with a teacher and classmates, and who aren't in a rush. Confirm the program is state-approved for licensing credit before enrolling.
The short version: ExamFX and XCEL lean hardest into exam-passing tech, A.D. Banker and community colleges win on live human instruction, Kaplan and The CE Shop are the safe all-rounders, and StateRequirement is the free map you should read first. Any of them can get you licensed — the difference is how you like to learn.
How to actually pass the exam
The course gets you eligible. These habits get you through.
- Drill practice exams, don't just read. Reading the manual creates the illusion of knowing it. Taking timed practice exams reveals what you actually know. Keep taking them until you consistently score in the low-to-mid 80s — then you're ready.
- Memorize the definitions cold. A big share of questions are vocabulary: indemnity, subrogation, coinsurance, riders, exclusions, consideration. These are free points if you've drilled them and traps if you haven't.
- Learn the state-specific rules separately. Every exam has a general section and a state-law section. The state portion — license terms, required notices, guaranty associations, time limits — is pure memorization and trips up people who only studied the national content.
- Do the math by hand. P&C has coinsurance and loss-settlement math; L&H has premium and benefit calculations. Don't hand-wave it. Work enough problems that the formulas are automatic.
- Use the process of elimination. Cross out the two obviously wrong answers first; you're usually choosing between two. Watch for "all of the following EXCEPT" — misreading the stem fails more candidates than not knowing the material.
- Schedule the exam to create a deadline. Open-ended studying drifts. Book the test through your vendor (Prometric, PSI, or Pearson VUE), then study toward the date.
If you fail, you can retake it — note your state's waiting period and retake fee. Most people who fail once pass the second time after fixing the weak section the score report points to.
Once you're licensed, the job is forms
Here's what nobody tells you in the pre-licensing course: the exam tests insurance theory, but the job is paperwork. Day one as a producer or CSR, you're not reciting definitions — you're filling out ACORD applications, supplemental forms, and certificates, over and over, for every quote and every renewal. The same client data, rekeyed across a dozen forms.
That's the part we built a tool for. Salience's form-filler reads what you already have — a prior application, an email from the client, a dec page — and fills the ACORD PDF for you, flags what's missing, and exports it ready to submit. It's the difference between a 30-minute submission and a 3-minute one.
See the form-filler new agents use — free
It pairs naturally with the next two things you'll learn on the job: how to overcome objections when selling insurance (passing the exam gets you the license; handling "your price is too high" gets you paid), and how to fill out an ACORD 125 — the commercial application you'll live in once the quotes start coming. When you're ready to stop retyping, upload a form and watch it fill itself.
FAQ
Do I need a pre-licensing course? In most states, yes — a state-approved course of a set number of hours, before the exam. A few states waive it. Confirm with your DOI; requirements vary by state.
How much does it cost? Self-paced single-line courses run in the low hundreds; live and premium packages cost more. Add the exam fee and fingerprint/background costs. Check current pricing with each provider.
P&C or Life & Health first? Whichever matches the job you want. P&C is auto/home/commercial; L&H is life/health/annuities. You license one line at a time.
How long does it take? Full-time, a week or two of study plus exam and application — often licensed within days of applying through NIPR. Part-time, three to six weeks. Fingerprint processing is usually the slowest step.
How hard is the exam? Passable but real. Drill practice exams until you score consistently in the 80s, memorize definitions and state-specific rules, and do the math by hand.
Skip the data entry
Already have the details in an email, a prior application, or a dec page? The Salience form-filler reads them, fills the form, flags what's missing, and exports the PDF — free to try.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a pre-licensing course to get an insurance license?
In most states, yes — a state-approved pre-licensing course of a set number of hours is required before you can sit for the exam. A handful of states waive it. Always check your state's Department of Insurance (DOI) for the exact hour requirement and whether it's mandatory, because requirements vary by state.
How much do insurance pre-licensing courses cost?
Self-paced online courses for a single line typically run in the low hundreds of dollars; live classes and premium packages with extra exam prep cost more. Some sites offer free study guides. Add the state exam fee (usually around $40–$120) and fingerprint/background costs on top. Check current pricing with each provider — it changes.
Which insurance license should I get first — P&C or Life & Health?
Get the one that matches the job you want. Property & Casualty (P&C) covers auto, home, and commercial. Life & Health covers life, health, and annuities. Many producers eventually hold both, but you license one line at a time, with a separate course and exam for each.
How long does it take to get an insurance license?
If you study full-time, you can finish a pre-licensing course in a week or two, pass the exam, and have your license issued within a few days of applying through NIPR. Most people, studying part-time, get it done in three to six weeks. Fingerprint processing is often the slowest step.
How hard is the insurance licensing exam?
It's passable but not a gimme — pass rates hover well below 100%, and the questions test definitions, state-specific rules, and math you have to actually know. People who only read the textbook fail; people who drill practice exams until they consistently score in the 80s pass.
What's the difference between pre-licensing and continuing education?
Pre-licensing is the course you take before your first exam to get licensed. Continuing education (CE) is the ongoing hours you complete every renewal cycle to keep the license. Many of the same schools sell both — but don't buy CE when you need pre-licensing.