Licensing pathHow to get licensed
How to get your property and casualty license
To get a property and casualty license, you meet your state's requirements, finish pre-licensing education if your state asks for it, pass that state's P&C exam, clear a fingerprint background check, apply, and get appointed by an insurer. The order and every number along the way belong to your state: there is no national P&C exam, fee or passing score.
Eight steps from first search to first sale
Read your state's rules before anything else
Your state's department of insurance (DOI) chooses the exam, the testing vendor, the fees and the order of the steps. Texas, California and North Carolina set a minimum age of 18. The state pages for Texas, Florida and California walk through three very different versions of this path.
Finish pre-licensing education if it applies
Requirements run from no course at all to a long approved program. North Carolina dropped its course in 2025 and California cut its own to 12 hours of ethics study in 2026. The pre-licensing hours by state page has the current numbers with sources.
Book the exam with your state's vendor
Pearson VUE, PSI or Prometric runs the exam, depending on the state; Texas, Georgia, Illinois and North Carolina take the fee when you reserve. Florida reverses the usual order: its DFS checklist has you apply for the license first and test after the department approves you.
Pass the exam, then watch the clock
A passing result expires if you don't apply in time, and the window is set by the state (see the table below). Exam length and item counts differ too; questions and time limits by state lines them up.
Get fingerprinted
Texas, Georgia, Florida, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, New York, Ohio and California all require fingerprints for a background check among the states we checked; California wants them after you pass and before you apply (CDI notice, checked October 8, 2026). The vendor and the timing differ: Texas fingerprints after the exam, at IdentoGO.
Apply for the license
In the states we checked, applications go through NIPR or the state's own portal (Sircon in Texas, Georgia and Pennsylvania). NIPR says states typically take 7 to 10 days to review an application (checked October 8, 2026).
Get appointed
A license lets you hold the authority; an appointment from an insurer lets you sell that insurer's policies. Georgia's handbook, for one, says a company appointment is required after licensure. The agency or carrier you join normally files it.
Renew on your state's cycle
In most states we checked, the license renews every two years with continuing education. Renewal and CE by state covers the hours, the ethics requirement and out-of-state licenses.
Where the order and the deadlines change
| State | Pre-licensing | Vendor | Fingerprints | Apply after passing within | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Texas | None | Pearson VUE | Yes, IdentoGO | 12 months | Pearson VUE, Texas insurance candidate handbook checked October 8, 2026 |
| Florida | 200-hour course, or an experience route | Pearson VUE | Yes | 1 year | Florida DFS, Resident General Lines License (2-20) checked October 8, 2026 |
| Pennsylvania | None listed | PSI | Yes, for new resident producers | 1 year | PSI, Pennsylvania candidate information booklet checked October 8, 2026 |
| New York | 90 hours | PSI | Yes, electronic | 2 years | PSI, New York DFS candidate information bulletin (2023) checked October 8, 2026 |
Choose the license before the course
A full P&C producer license carries two lines of authority, property and casualty. California's notice on its 2026 rule change reminds applicants to select both lines on the application, which is easy to miss when you only think of the license as one thing.
Settle the license before you pay for a course. Some states sell a narrower personal lines license limited to auto and homeowners; full P&C or personal lines sets them side by side. Life and health is a separate license with its own exam, compared in P&C vs life and health.
Where the exam fits
Every state's exam has a general part on national insurance concepts and policy forms plus a state-law part written from that state's outline. The general part is what our P&C practice test and property and casualty study guide cover; state law comes from your state's outline and your course if you take one.
What it costs and how long it takes
Expect at least two separate charges, the exam fee to the vendor and the license fee to the state, plus fingerprinting where your state requires it. P&C license cost lists them by state, and how long it takes to get licensed adds up the waiting periods between steps.
Words on the forms
- NIPR
- The National Insurance Producer Registry, an online service for state license applications. It asks for your NPN or Social Security number, date of birth and residency type.
- Line of authority
- The kind of insurance a license lets you sell, such as property or casualty.
- Appointment
- An insurer's authorization for a licensed producer to sell its policies.
- Resident license
- The license from the state you live in; it is the one you test for.
- Non-resident license
- A license from another state. A producer in good standing at home can generally get one without that state's exam, a reciprocity that the NAIC traces to the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act of 1999.
Before you book anything
Which comes first, the exam or the application?
It depends on the state. Texas has you pass the exam, get fingerprinted, then apply within 12 months (Pearson VUE Texas handbook); Florida's checklist puts the application before the exam (Florida DFS), both checked October 8, 2026. The Florida 2-20 page walks through that reversed order.
What happens if I fail?
You book again, under your state's rules. Texas lets you rebook after one day with no attempt limit (Pearson VUE Texas handbook); Florida caps attempts at five per exam type in 12 months (Pearson VUE Florida handbook), both checked October 8, 2026. Retake rules by state covers the rest.
How long does the state take after I apply?
NIPR says states typically take 7 to 10 days to review an application (checked October 8, 2026). Missing documents, such as a fingerprint receipt, are what stretch it.
Can I sell in a second state later?
Generally through a non-resident license rather than a second exam, once your home-state license is active. The NAIC describes NARAB as a clearinghouse for licensing in non-home states. Each state still sets its own fees, so check with that state's DOI before you apply.
Sources
- Pearson VUE, Texas insurance candidate handbook · checked October 8, 2026
- Florida DFS, Resident General Lines License (2-20) · checked October 8, 2026
- Pearson VUE, Florida insurance candidate handbook (2024) · checked October 8, 2026
- PSI, Pennsylvania candidate information booklet · checked October 8, 2026
- PSI, New York DFS candidate information bulletin (2023) · checked October 8, 2026
- California Department of Insurance, notice of Nov 10, 2025 (AB 943) · checked October 8, 2026
- Pearson VUE, Georgia insurance candidate handbook · checked October 8, 2026
- NIPR, apply for a license · checked October 8, 2026
- NAIC, producer licensing · checked October 8, 2026