The licensing guide
Nothing about this is difficult. It is a course, a test, a background check, and an application. What trips people up is not knowing the order, not knowing what it costs, and not knowing that a license alone does not let you sell anything yet. Here is all of it.
The short version
Take an online pre-licensing course, pass your state exam, get fingerprinted, apply for the license, then get appointed with carriers through an agency. Most people who stay with it are licensed in two to six weeks and spend a few hundred dollars total. Requirements and fees are set by your state and vary, so confirm the specifics with your state's department of insurance.
01
Most states require a set number of pre-licensing education hours before they will let you sit for the exam. A handful do not require it at all, but take the course anyway, because the exam is genuinely hard if you walk in cold.
You do it online, at your own pace, on your own schedule. Take the Life and Health combination course rather than life only: it is the same price, it takes a little longer, and it opens up health, Medicare, and supplemental products later without you having to go back and do this again.
02
Your state contracts with a testing vendor, most commonly Pearson VUE or PSI, and you book your seat through them. Many states now offer online proctored testing from home in addition to physical testing centers.
The exam is multiple choice and split between general insurance concepts and your specific state's rules. You find out whether you passed before you leave. If you do not pass, you can retake it. Plenty of good agents needed two attempts, and it is not a referendum on your future.
The single biggest mistake is studying the course material and skipping the practice exams. Do the practice exams until you are consistently scoring well above passing, then book the test.
03
Most states require fingerprinting and a background check as part of licensing. You schedule it through a vendor your state designates and it takes a few minutes in person.
A blemish on your record is not automatically disqualifying. States care most about financial crimes and anything involving dishonesty. If you have something in your history you are worried about, tell us early. We would rather help you find out where you stand than have you spend money and get surprised.
04
Once you have passed, you file the actual license application, nearly always electronically through NIPR, the National Insurance Producer Registry, which nearly every state uses. You pay your state's application fee at that point.
When it is approved you get your license number and your NPN, your National Producer Number. That NPN follows you for the rest of your career.
05
A license lets you sell insurance. It does not, by itself, let you sell any particular company's insurance. For that you need a carrier appointment, a contract between you and that carrier, which comes with your writing number and your commission level.
This is the step that strands people who try to do it alone. Carriers do not generally contract brand-new individual agents off the street; they contract through agencies and IMOs. When you come through us, we submit the contracting, chase the carriers, and get your writing numbers issued.
06
Your first license is your resident license, in the state you live in. After that you can add non-resident licenses in other states. No additional exam, just an application and a fee through NIPR.
If you are selling over the phone, this is how the business scales: one resident license to start, then more states as your volume justifies them.
Step one, in detail
We partner with Xcel Solutions, one of the largest pre-licensing providers in the country. Our partner code brings the course down to about $50 in most states. We do not take a cut of it. The discount exists so cost is not the reason somebody does not start.
Go to https://partners.xcelsolutions.com/lionsascent and follow the instructions on screen.
That is the course that qualifies you to sit for your state exam.
The combo course covers both lines. Take it even if you plan to start with life only. It costs the same and opens more doors later.
Our code brings the course down to about $50 in most states. Apply it before checkout, because you cannot add it after.
Enter only the required student info, then review it carefully. Your name has to match your government ID exactly or it will cause problems at the exam center. A welcome email arrives immediately.
That is what routes your enrollment to us so we can track your progress and get you contracted the day you pass.
Our honest advice is to apply and talk to somebody before you buy the course. Not because we want to sell you something (the course is not ours), but because a fifteen-minute conversation tells you whether this business is actually right for you, and that is worth knowing before you spend the money.
What it costs
Every one of these is paid by you, to a third party: a course provider, a testing vendor, a fingerprint vendor, your state. None of it is paid to us, and anyone who asks you to pay them for the license itself is not somebody you should be talking to.
Exact amounts are set by your state and change from time to time. Treat these ranges as a planning number, not a quote.
| What you pay for | Typical cost |
|---|---|
| Pre-licensing course | About $50 in most states with our partner code |
| State exam fee | Commonly $40 to $150, set by your state |
| Fingerprints and background check | Commonly $30 to $75, where required |
| State license application | Commonly $30 to $200, set by your state |
Where people get stuck
The combo course costs the same and covers health. Agents who go life-only almost always end up paying to go back for health within a year.
Your course registration, your exam booking, and your license application all have to match your government ID exactly. A missing middle initial can get you turned away at the testing center.
Book the exam when you start the course. An open-ended timeline is how a two-week project becomes a six-month one.
Contracting takes time. Talk to us while you are studying so your carrier appointments are moving the day your license is issued, not two weeks after.
Next step
Apply now and we will send you the exact course enrollment steps, get you a study plan, and start your carrier contracting so you can go to work the week you pass.