Life Insurance Producer Licensing Exam (general, non-state portion)
The national core of every state's life agent exam — policy types, annuities, riders and provisions, underwriting, taxation and the federal rules that apply everywhere.
About the exam
Every state licenses insurance producers by line of authority, and Life is one of the six major lines the NAIC's uniform standards define. To sell life insurance and fixed annuities you pass your state's Life exam (or a combined Life and Health exam). The exams are written from the same national outline — the general-knowledge portion — plus a separate section on your own state's laws and rules.
The general portion tests the products and how they work: whole, term, universal, variable and indexed life; fixed, indexed and variable annuities; riders, beneficiary designations, nonforfeiture and settlement options; completing the application, underwriting and delivering the policy; and taxation, retirement plans and business uses such as key person and buy-sell coverage. Federal rules that apply in every state — the Fair Credit Reporting Act, HIPAA disclosures, the USA PATRIOT Act's anti-money-laundering rules and privacy notices — appear here too.
Our practice covers that general portion only. Real exams vary by state: a single-line Life exam typically runs 2 hours with roughly 75–100 scored questions, and a combined Life and Health exam about 2½–3 hours with 125–150, each adding a state-law section of about 25–40 questions that we don't cover. Where state rules differ — grace periods, free-look lengths, replacement — our questions use the common NAIC model values and say so.
How we track your progress
Every blueprint domain moves through five levels as you study:
- Not startedNo questions answered in this domain yet.
- Getting startedFirst questions answered — not enough yet to judge.
- DevelopingAt least 5 answered and 50% or better on your recent questions.
- ProficientAt least 15 answered and 70% or better on your recent questions.
- Exam readyAt least 25 answered, 80% or better recently, and holding up on hard questions.
The exam blueprint
QuizMe general-knowledge outline built from current state content outlines (Pearson VUE Texas outlines effective September 1, 2026; Georgia, October 22, 2024; Florida, January 1, 2026) and PSI state bulletins — 100 general-knowledge items across 5 areas; weights are QuizMe estimates averaged from published state outlines — real exams add a state-law section. Tap a domain to see its topics.
1 Types of Life Policies and Annuities about 28% (est.) of the exam
84 practice questions in this domain so far
2 Policy Provisions, Options and Riders about 26% (est.) of the exam
78 practice questions in this domain so far
3 Application, Underwriting and Policy Delivery about 18% (est.) of the exam
54 practice questions in this domain so far
4 Taxes, Retirement and Other Concepts about 14% (est.) of the exam
42 practice questions in this domain so far
5 Insurance Basics, Contracts and Regulation about 14% (est.) of the exam
42 practice questions in this domain so far
What you get when you access this exam
Free with your QuizMe account.
Questions built on the common outline
Every question is tagged to one of the 5 life-insurance areas and its topics — written as client and policy scenarios, not trivia.
Hints that teach the rule
Reveal the principle behind the question — the provision, the tax rule, the producer's duty. Every answer comes with the full rationale.
Adaptive practice
Questions steer toward your weakest areas, weighted like the common state outlines, and get harder as you get stronger.
Timed practice exams
Outline-weighted general-knowledge exams — 100 questions in 2 hours — with a pacing indicator and full review.
Flashcards, case simulations and guides
100 flashcards, 6 unfolding client cases where every decision shows its consequence, and interactive illustrated guides you explore hotspot by hotspot.
Progress in every area
Each area moves from Not started to Getting started, Developing, Proficient and Exam ready — so you know exactly what to study next.
Test at home or at a center
Each state's department of insurance picks one testing vendor — Pearson VUE, PSI or Prometric — and publishes a candidate handbook with the exam's length, time, fee and passing score. Many states require a pre-licensing course before you can book. You schedule directly with your state's vendor.
At a test center
- Available in every state, and the only option in a growing number of them.
- Arrive about 30 minutes early with current government-issued photo ID whose name matches your registration exactly.
- Some states also want a pre-licensing course certificate at check-in — check your handbook.
- Phones, bags, watches and notes go in a locker; a calculator, if allowed, is provided on screen.
- Most vendors show your pass/fail result as soon as you finish.
Online with a live remote proctor (some states)
- Some PSI and Pearson VUE (OnVUE) states let you test at home with a proctor watching by webcam.
- Several states have dropped online testing over security concerns — for example Maine in May 2025 and North Dakota in April 2026 — so confirm before you plan on it.
- Run the vendor's system check on the same computer and network well before exam day.
- Test alone in a quiet room with a clear desk — no phone, notes, smartwatch or second monitor; breaks are usually not allowed.
Exam-day game plan
How to walk in ready — and how to pace 100 general-knowledge questions in 2 hours.
Pacing checkpoints
Hit these and you finish with time to revisit your flagged questions. Our timed practice exams run at this same pace.
The week before
- Take one full-length timed practice exam 3–5 days out, then rest.
- Spend your last sessions on the heaviest areas — policy types and annuities (28%) and provisions, options and riders (26%) — plus anything still below Proficient.
- Drill nonforfeiture and settlement options, beneficiary designations, the parts of an annuity and how each product is taxed.
- Your real exam also has a state-law section: review your pre-licensing course's state chapter for licensing, marketing and producer-conduct rules.
- Read your state's candidate handbook for ID rules, what to bring and whether online testing is offered.
Exam morning
- Eat a real breakfast; go easy on caffeine.
- Test center: arrive 30 minutes early with your ID and any course certificate your state requires. Online: log in early and close every other program.
- Use the restroom right before you start.
During the exam
- Read the whole stem and find the cue word — EXCEPT, NOT, MOST, FIRST, BEST.
- Watch who is who: owner, insured, beneficiary, applicant, named insured, third party.
- Pick your best answer, flag it and move on. Revisit flags at the end.
- Answer every question — there's no penalty for guessing.
- A few questions are unscored pretest items you can't identify.
Keep your head
- A few nerves sharpen focus. If you freeze, take three slow breaths and reread the stem.
- In most states the general and state sections combine into one overall score — a weak spot in one area won't sink you alone.
- Change an answer only when you find a real reason in the stem.
Keeping your license
- Passing the exam doesn't license you: apply to your state (often through NIPR) within its deadline, usually with fingerprints and a background check.
- Most producer licenses renew every 2 years.
- Continuing education varies by state — typically 24 hours every 2 years, including 3 hours of ethics, following the NAIC's uniform standard.
- Selling annuities usually requires a one-time annuity best-interest training course under the NAIC's suitability model rule.
- Licensed in your home state? Under the NAIC's reciprocity standards you can usually add nonresident licenses in other states without retesting.
Official sources and further reading
- NAIC — Producer licensing ↗How producer licensing, NIPR and nonresident reciprocity work across the states.
- NAIC — Uniform Licensing Standards ↗The uniform standards behind the major lines of authority, exams and the 24-hour CE requirement.
- Pearson VUE — Texas insurance exams (example state) ↗A typical Pearson VUE state page with the candidate handbook and content outlines; your state has its own.
- Pearson VUE — Texas content outlines (effective Sept. 1, 2026) ↗Shows how a state splits each exam into general-knowledge and state-law sections.
- California Department of Insurance — exam times and questions (PSI) ↗A PSI-delivered state's exam lengths, times and passing scores.
Ready to start?
300 questions and scenarios across the blueprint — and growing.
QuizMe and thinQtank Learning are not affiliated with or endorsed by any state department of insurance, Pearson VUE, PSI, Prometric or the NAIC. This practice covers the general-knowledge portion only — questions on your state's insurance laws and rules are not included. Exam formats, passing scores, fees and remote-testing rules differ by state and change; always confirm in your state's current candidate handbook before you register.