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California Life & Health Insurance Agent Exam: Fees, Registration & Licensing Steps

Official exam fees, registration links, fingerprinting, license types, and non-resident notes — all in one place.

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California

Verified Nov 8, 2026 · Source: PSI Candidate Information Bulletin, revised October 2026 (a page also says September 2026); CDI fee table effective March 3, 2019

Testing vendor
PSI Services
Testing format
Not offered for Life / Accident & Health producer exams. The bulletin limits remote testing to specified adjuster and analyst exams.
Before registering
Ethics and California Insurance Code study is required before license issuance, but need not be completed before the examination.

Exam options & fees

  • Life-Only Agent$55License application basis: $188 full two-year term; $94 if one year or less remains · Source
  • Accident and Health Agent$55License application basis: $188 full two-year term; $94 if one year or less remains · Source
  • Life Agent — Life-Only and Accident and Health$55License application basis: $188 full two-year term; $94 if one year or less remains · Source
  • Life — Limited to Payment of Funeral and Burial Expenses$55License application basis: $188 full two-year term; $94 if one year or less remains · Source
  • Life & Disability Insurance Analyst (specialty, not a standard producer license)$155License application basis: $622 full term; $311 if one year or less remains · Source

The exam fee is separate from PSI’s $43 convenience fee. CDI’s own Los Angeles Department test center does not charge that PSI convenience fee. Standard Life / A&H exams are not eligible for remote testing. The $155 analyst examination is a separate specialty, not the basic insurance agent license.

License application amounts are not a new charge for every exam component. Separate examinations, combined examinations and discounted sessions are labeled above.

Other licensing costs

  • License application — standard Life / Health route$188 full two-year term; $94 if one year or less remainsOfficial source
  • NIPR transaction — only if applying through NIPR$5.60 per applicationOfficial source
  • PSI test-center convenience charge$43; not charged at CDI’s own Department test centerOfficial source
  • Other vendor / processing chargesCheck the official page for any additional processing chargesOfficial source
  • Fingerprinting / backgroundFingerprinting costs are listed below. Some states collect them with your application; any included charge is not an additional fee.

Go directly to the official source

Register / schedule your examFind test centers / locationsCandidate handbook / official exam guideOfficial examination fee sourceState insurance licensing authorityResident license application requirements

Location and remote availability depend on examination eligibility, date and vendor rules.

Register for the California insurance agent exam

  1. Ethics and California Insurance Code study is required before license issuance, but need not be completed before the examination.
  2. Open the official testing program; create an account using the legal name on your identification.
  3. Choose the correct examination and permitted testing format, select an appointment, and pay the official examination fee.
  4. Keep the confirmation. Review the handbook’s exact name-match, photo ID, certificate, check-in, cancellation and retake requirements.

After passing

Submit the resident license application using CDI’s approved application route, complete required ethics/Code study, and follow the state fingerprinting instructions. Simultaneous Life/Variable/A&H applications may share one state filing fee.

Source differences & fee cautions

  • Base exam versus vendor convenience charge · Fee detailsThe base exam fee is $55. PSI’s separate $43 convenience charge depends on the test location; $98 is not the base exam fee.

Fingerprinting & background checks

Requirement
Required, subject to listed exemptions
State instructions
Resident license applicants must submit fingerprints to the Department’s live-scan vendor after passing the exam and submitting their resident application.
Vendor / contact
Capital Live Scan (CLS); California DOJ/FBI · California Department of Insurance, Licensing Processing Section
Separate cost
$74 total

When to fingerprint, fee details & official sources

When in the process
Complete the license exam and submit your resident application before providing fingerprints.
Fee / route notes
$17 FBI processing + $32 DOJ processing + $25 CLS fee. This is the CDI-designated vendor price, not every independent live-scan operator’s price.
Official fingerprint scheduling / instructions

Additional life-related, restricted & specialty license types (6)

These are not shortcuts to unrestricted Life & Health authority. Appointment, securities, employer, tenure and exemption conditions can apply.

  • Insurance Producer — Funeral and Burial Expense

    Examination
    Life — Limited to Funeral and Burial
    Exam fee
    $55
    Application
    $188 full term; $94 if one year or less remains
    Official source 1Official source 2

  • Insurance Producer — Life and Disability Ins Analyst

    Examination
    Life & Disability Insurance Analyst
    Exam fee
    $155
    Application
    $622 full term; $311 if one year or less remains

    Specialty analyst license with separate eligibility requirements, not the basic producer license.

    Official source 1Official source 2

  • Insurance Producer — Variable Life and Variable Annuity

    Examination
    No state insurance examination required for this authority
    Exam fee
    Not required — state insurance exam
    Application
    $0 for Variable authority itself; underlying Life $188 (proration may apply); simultaneous Life/Variable/A&H one fee
    Official source 1Official source 2

  • Insurance Producer — Part Time Fraternal

    Examination
    No state insurance examination required for this authority
    Exam fee
    Not required — state insurance exam
    Application
    $188 initial filing (CDI fee table)
    Official source 1Official source 2Official source 3

  • Resident Credit Insurance Agent — Credit Insurance Agent

    Examination
    No state insurance examination required for this authority
    Exam fee
    Not required — state insurance exam
    Application
    $449 initial filing (CDI fee table)
    Official source 1Official source 2Official source 3

  • Life Settlement Broker — Life settlement brokerage (specialty)

    Examination
    CDI table examination column: N/A
    Exam fee
    N/A — no separate exam listed
    Application
    $188 initial filing

    Separate specialty qualifications apply; not the basic Life insurance agent license.

    Official source 1

Non-resident licensing summary

Already licensed in another state? Qualifying matching Life / A&H authority usually does not require a new target-state exam. Home-state-dependent fees, fingerprint exemptions and other conditions differ from the resident path. Confirm your final eligibility and payment total on the official application.

Non-resident state fees

Life-only state application
$188
A&H-only state application
$188
Life + A&H in the same application
$188
NIPR transaction — separate, only for NIPR applications
$5.60 general initial-application transaction fee; confirm the final charge for your selected state and application with NIPR before paying.

Life-only, A&H-only, or both submitted together: $188. Not $188 per line when both requested together. Fingerprinting, if required, is separate.

Fingerprinting & background

Requirement
Conditional — review official home-state rules on the interactive map and the target-state instructions
State instructions
Fingerprint exemptions depend on your home state and when your resident license was issued; see the rules for your selected path below. A previously fingerprinted California resident producer may also qualify for an exemption. If fingerprints are required, submit the license application first, then provide fingerprints before approval. CDI form LIC 442-39A, revised 10/2026, requires this order. Two distinct FD-258 cards through Capital Live Scan cost $72 from 2026-10-14 ($17 FBI + $32 DOJ + $23 CLS), plus rolling and postage. The resident Live Scan fee is separate and applies to a different process.

Continuing education and other notes

Ordinary CE is normally met in home state under reciprocity; California-specific LTC and annuity training can still apply before sales. Only transact authorities held at home; variable products have separate securities requirements. Fingerprint exemptions depend on HOME state and sometimes resident-license issue date. CDI specifies initial annuity training 8 hours, then 4 each two-year term; LTC initial 8 hours and annual 8 for first four licensed years, then 8 each two-year term. See cited CDI training page for nonresident/product-specific application.

Non-resident license types

  • Life-Only Agent

    Lines
    Life
    Fee
    $188

  • Accident and Health or Sickness Agent

    Lines
    A&H
    Fee
    $188

  • Life-Only Agent and Accident and Health or Sickness Agent (same application)

    Lines
    Life, A&H
    Fee
    $188

General non-resident rules

  • Home-state identity/license record in NIPR Producer DatabaseApplication identifying/license/address fields specified on the NIPR target-state requirements page must match current resident-state PDB record. Correct home record before applying.
  • Applicant is not covered by a current home-state/date fingerprint exemptionUnder LIC 442-39A Rev.10/2026, submit application before fingerprints; obtain two distinct cards and transmit them for processing before approval. $72 NR hard-card processing from 2026-10-14, rolling/postage extra.

Source differences

  • Fingerprint timingApply first; if not exempt, submit fingerprints after application and before approval. NR hard-card processing $72 effective 2026-10-14.
  • South Carolina fingerprint exemptionAn active South Carolina resident license qualifies for the fingerprint exemption without the older issue-date condition.

Official non-resident application links

NIPR online licensingNIPR target-state requirements and feesSircon

Explore the interactive non-resident path for California