Texas Life & Health Insurance Exam Guide 2026: Format, Fees, Steps

Texas Life & Health Insurance License Exam: The Complete 2026 Guide

The license most people call the "Texas Life & Health" license is officially the General Lines - Life, Accident, Health and HMO Agent license. It is issued by the Texas Department of Insurance (TDI), and the qualifying exam (exam code InsTX-LAH05) is delivered by Pearson VUE at test centers across Texas and online. Passing it lets you sell life insurance, annuities, accident and health (medical, disability, long-term care) coverage, and HMO contracts in Texas.

This guide verifies every number against the official TDI Agent Licensing pages and the Pearson VUE Texas Insurance Licensing Candidate Handbook (content outlines effective December 1, 2025), then turns those facts into a study and application plan. If you want a single accurate page that beats the generic prep-school summaries, this is it.

Exam Format at a Glance (Official Numbers)

The exam has two parts: a general (national) section worth 100 scored questions on insurance products and concepts, and a Texas state-law section worth 30 scored questions. Your score is based on the exam as a whole, not on each part separately, so a strong general score can offset a weaker state score and vice versa. The 15 pretest questions are unscored and unmarked, which is why you answer 145 questions but only 130 count.

Beat-the-competition note: Many prep sites report "150 questions" for this exam. That conflates the 145 administered questions with the 150-minute time limit. The official content outline is precise: 130 scored, 15 pretest, 145 administered, 150 minutes.

Eligibility: Who Can Sit the Exam

TDI will issue this license to an applicant who:

• Is at least 18 years old before sitting for the exam
• Has a valid Social Security number
• Passes the InsTX-LAH05 exam (or qualifies for an exemption)
• Submits a completed application, the $50 application fee, and a fingerprint receipt within 12 months of passing
• Has no disqualifying criminal history under Texas Insurance Code Sec. 4005.101

There is no residency or college-degree requirement. A holder of the Chartered Life Underwriter (CLU) designation may qualify for the Life, Accident and Health portion by exemption without testing.

Pre-licensing Education: Not Required (With One Exception)

Texas does not require pre-licensing education to sit for the permanent license exam. You may study however you like and walk straight into a Pearson VUE test center.

The only time training is mandatory is the temporary license path. Under Texas Insurance Code Sec. 4001.160, an applicant sponsored by an appointing company may receive a one-time, 180-day temporary license before passing the exam. To use it you must complete 40 hours of training from the sponsoring company or agency within 30 days of applying, and you must still pass the exam within those 180 days. The temporary license cannot be renewed and a temporary licensee cannot obtain additional company appointments. The combined temporary-plus-permanent application fee is $150.

So the honest summary is: pre-licensing is not required, but a self-study course is strongly recommended because the general section covers a lot of product detail. The 40-hour figure you see elsewhere applies only to the temporary-license route, not to everyone.

What the Exam Tests: Official Content Outline

The content outline (effective December 1, 2025) splits the 130 scored questions like this.

General Knowledge - Life and Health (100 scored questions)

This is national product knowledge that transfers across states:

• Life policy types - whole life, limited-pay/single-premium, universal, variable, variable universal, indexed, and term (level, decreasing, return-of-premium, annually renewable)
• Riders, provisions, options, exclusions - waiver of premium, guaranteed insurability, accidental death, long-term care rider, entire contract, free look, owner's rights, beneficiary designations, premium modes, reinstatement, policy loans, nonforfeiture options, dividends, incontestability, assignments
• Annuities - single vs. flexible premium, immediate vs. deferred, fixed vs. variable, indexed, accumulation vs. annuity period, payout options
• Retirement and tax - qualified vs. nonqualified plans, third-party ownership, life settlements, modified endowment contracts (MECs), taxation of premiums, proceeds, and dividends
• Health insurance - disability income, medical expense, long-term care, Medicare and Medicare Supplement, group vs. individual, renewability provisions (noncancelable, guaranteed renewable, conditionally renewable, optionally renewable, cancelable), coordination of benefits, exclusions and riders
• Contract law - consideration, offer/acceptance, competent parties, legal purpose; and the unique aspects of insurance contracts (conditional, unilateral, adhesion, aleatory)

Texas State Law (30 scored questions)

This is where Texas-specific candidates win or lose points. The outline groups it as statutes common to life and health, then statutes pertinent to life only:

• Commissioner of Insurance - general powers, examination of records, investigations, penalties
• Marketing and unfair trade practices (TIC Chapter 541) - misrepresentation, false advertising, defamation, rebating, fraud, boycott/coercion/intimidation, commingling, unfair discrimination
• Claims practices and prompt payment (TIC Chapter 542) - unfair claim settlement methods
• Texas Life and Health Insurance Guaranty Association (TIC Ch. 463) - the safety net that protects policyholders if an insurer becomes insolvent (a frequently tested Texas item competitors omit)
• Agent licensing and duties - appointment (TIC 4001.201), continuing education (TIC 4004.051), records maintenance, license denial/renewal/expiration, termination/revocation/suspension, required notifications (address change, felony conviction, administrative action)
• Life-only provisions - advertising and illustrations, policy summary/buyer's guide, free look (TAC Sec. 4.2311), grace period (TIC 1101.105), policy loans, prohibited provisions, group life, credit life
• Replacement (TIC Chapter 1114) - purpose, definitions, duties of the replacing agent and the replacing insurer
• Nonforfeiture law (TIC Chapter 1105) - guaranteed values when a policy lapses

Key Texas Numbers and Provisions to Memorize

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Step-by-Step: How to Get Your License

1. Confirm eligibility - be 18+, have an SSN. No pre-licensing course is required for the permanent license.
2. Study to the official content outline (general product knowledge plus Texas law). Plan 40-60 hours.
3. Make a Pearson VUE reservation at pearsonvue.com (or 888-754-7667), at least 24 hours ahead, and pay the $49 fee by card or voucher. Walk-ins are not accepted.
4. Schedule fingerprinting with IdentoGO by IDEMIA (888-467-2080 or identogo.com). Appointments are required; same-day walk-in service is not available. Save the IdentoGO receipt - your application needs it.
5. Take the exam. Arrive 30 minutes early with two forms of current signature ID (primary must be government photo ID). You leave with an official score report in hand.
6. Apply electronically at www.sircon.com/texas (or via NIPR) after you pass. Submit the application, the $50 fee, and your fingerprint receipt.
7. Wait for the background check. TDI cannot finish processing until it receives your criminal history report from DPS and the FBI.
8. Get appointed by an insurer to start writing business (each appointment carries a $10 fee; appointments are filed via NIPR or Sircon).

Cost Breakdown

Continuing Education and Renewal

Your license is valid for two years. To renew, you must complete 24 hours of CE every two years, including 3 hours of ethics, with at least half the hours in a classroom-equivalent format. TDI mails one renewal notice about 90 days before expiration; you can renew through Sircon, NIPR, or Texas Online. Miss your CE and you face a $50 fine per deficient hour (up to $500 per license), and if CE, fines, and renewal are not cleared within 90 days of expiration the license is canceled and you must reapply.

Study Timeline

Recommended total: 40-60 hours.

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Common Mistakes to Avoid

1. Treating the exam as "150 questions." It is 130 scored (100 general + 30 state) plus 15 pretest. Budget the 150 minutes accordingly.
2. Skipping Texas law. The 30 state questions are about a quarter of your score and are easy points if you memorize the chapters above - especially the Guaranty Association, replacement, and free look.
3. Confusing the grace period. Texas life insurance uses 31 days (TIC 1101.105), not 30.
4. Assuming pre-licensing is mandatory. It is not, except for the 180-day temporary-license route.
5. Mixing up Medicare, Medicare Advantage, Medicare Supplement, and Medicaid. The exam rewards candidates who notice which program is named.
6. Memorizing replacement as simply "bad." Replacement is legal; it becomes a violation only when disclosure, comparison, or suitability duties are ignored (TIC Ch. 1114).

How to Use This Guide Without Missing State-Specific Details

Treat this article as your working roadmap, then verify the administrative details against official sources before you schedule. Insurance licensing changes are usually small, but small changes matter on exam day: a vendor switch, new fingerprinting workflow, revised candidate handbook, or updated application checklist can delay a license even when you know the content. Start with your state insurance department, then confirm the testing vendor account, then check the National Insurance Producer Registry licensing flow if your state uses it. The NAIC state insurance department directory is a practical starting point when you need the current regulator website, and NIPR state requirements can help you verify application steps after the exam.

For the content itself, separate national insurance knowledge from Texas-specific law. National life and health questions test concepts that transfer across states: contract parties, insurable interest, beneficiary designations, policy riders, annuity phases, health policy renewability, disability income definitions, Medicare supplement basics, group health coordination, and unfair trade practices. The state section asks how those ideas are administered in Texas. When a question includes a number, deadline, appointment step, replacement notice, continuing education rule, or regulator power, slow down and decide whether it is a national default or a Texas rule.

A Practical Study Workflow for the Final Two Weeks

Use the last two weeks to convert recognition into decision speed. On day one, take a mixed diagnostic in /practice/tx-life-health and tag every missed question by reason: did you miss a definition, confuse two similar products, overlook a state rule, or run out of time? Definitions need flashcards. Similar products need comparison tables. State rules need a short checklist. Timing mistakes need practice blocks with a visible clock.

During the first week, work in focused sets. Do life insurance one day, health insurance the next, annuities after that, and Texas law at least every other session. Do not wait until the end to study regulations. Many candidates know term versus whole life but lose points on replacement, advertising, producer authority, unfair claims practices, or what must happen before a license is issued. After each set, rewrite the explanation in your own words. If you cannot explain why the wrong answer is wrong, you have not finished the question.

During the second week, switch to exam simulation. Use full mixed quizzes, then spend more time reviewing than answering. For life insurance, drill policy provisions, riders, beneficiary changes, settlement options, nonforfeiture options, and taxation at a high level. For health insurance, drill renewability, exclusions, disability definitions, long-term care, Medicare supplement rules, group versus individual contracts, and coordination of benefits. For annuities, make sure you can distinguish accumulation from annuitization, fixed from variable, immediate from deferred, and suitability from general sales preference.

Common Life and Health Traps

A common trap is answering from everyday sales language instead of policy language. "Cash value," "premium," "benefit," "owner," "insured," and "beneficiary" have precise exam meanings. Another trap is treating Medicare, Medicare Advantage, Medicare Supplement, and Medicaid as interchangeable. They are different programs or products, and exam questions often reward the candidate who notices which one is actually named.

Replacement questions deserve special attention. The exam may ask what must be disclosed, when notices are required, how existing coverage should be treated, or why twisting is prohibited. Do not memorize replacement as simply "bad." Replacement can be legitimate, but it becomes a compliance issue when comparison, disclosure, or suitability duties are ignored.

Health questions also use similar-sounding renewability terms. Noncancelable, guaranteed renewable, conditionally renewable, optionally renewable, and cancelable policies allocate power differently between insurer and insured. Build a one-page table and practice from both directions: given the term, state the rule; given the rule, name the term.

Exam-Day Checklist

Before test day, confirm your appointment time, approved identification, remote-proctoring rules if applicable, calculator policy, and reschedule deadline from the testing vendor. Use the exact legal name from your licensing and exam records. If your ID and registration do not match, content knowledge will not help at check-in.

On the exam, answer the direct question first before reading extra meaning into the facts. Insurance exams often include plausible distractors that are true statements but do not answer the question asked. Mark long calculation or scenario questions and come back after securing the easier definition and rule points. If you are stuck between two options, identify which answer is broader, which is more specific, and whether the question asks for an exception. Exceptions are where many state-law points hide.

If You Do Not Pass on the First Attempt

A failed attempt is useful data if you treat the score report correctly. Do not simply reread the same chapter. Sort weak areas into national product knowledge, Texas law, and test-taking process. For product knowledge, rebuild comparison charts. For state law, verify the current rule from official regulator materials and then practice short recall prompts. For process issues, take timed sets and force yourself to explain why each wrong answer was attractive.

Schedule the next attempt only after your weakest two categories have improved in practice. A good target is not just a passing average; it is consistency. When you can pass several mixed sets in a row without relying on memorized question wording, you are closer to exam readiness.

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