Iowa Life & Health Exam Overview

Iowa Life & Health Exam: Structure and Logistics

Iowa uses a separate Life producer exam and Accident & Health (A&H) producer exam. The Iowa Insurance Division (IID) sets licensing requirements and the passing standard; Pearson VUE administers the exams. Candidates seeking both lines take and pass both exams.

Each exam contains a general-knowledge section and an Iowa-specific section. The current Pearson VUE handbook states that IID determines the passing score, but it does not publish a fixed passing percentage or an independent cutoff for either section. Do not rely on older prep materials that claim a 70% per-section rule.

2026 exam specifications

Pretest questions do not affect the score. They are mixed among the scored questions and are not identified, so answer every item. Both exams contain exactly 10 pretest questions: 5 in the general section and 5 in the Iowa-specific section.

Common traps

• Treating Life and A&H as one combined exam; they are separate exam codes and sittings.
• Confusing the scored count with the delivered count: Life is 77/87 and A&H is 80/90.
• Repeating an unofficial fixed percentage or per-section cutoff that the current handbook does not publish.

Iowa has no prelicensing education requirement. Preparation is still important, but the state does not prescribe a course-hour minimum.

Costs, Fingerprinting, and the Application Path

Current published costs

Fingerprinting and the correct order

Iowa requires an initial resident producer applicant to complete state and federal criminal-history checks with fingerprints. Certain nonresident applicants also must do so if their resident state has not already completed the required check. Iowa uses Fieldprint for fingerprint collection.

The order matters: submit the NIPR application first. The NIPR confirmation message supplies the IID Fieldprint code and National Producer Number needed to schedule the appointment. Fingerprints taken previously for another purpose cannot be reused for this process.

Step-by-step to the license

1. Prepare for the appropriate line; Iowa requires no prelicensing course.
2. Schedule and pay the $44 Pearson VUE exam fee for each line sought.
3. Pass the appropriate exam. IID sets the standard; the current handbook publishes no fixed percentage or per-section cutoff.
4. Allow the result to transfer electronically, then submit the NIPR application within 90 days of passing and pay the current license and transaction fees.
5. If fingerprinting applies, use the code in the NIPR confirmation to schedule Fieldprint and complete the background-check process.
6. Monitor the application while IID completes its review.

Timing traps to avoid

• Exam results are valid for 90 days; the licensing application must be completed within that window.
• Do not attempt to schedule the Iowa producer fingerprint process before the NIPR confirmation provides the required code.
• The $44 exam fee, $50 resident license fee, fingerprint fee, and any current NIPR transaction fee are separate charges.

Official Content Counts, CE, and a 4-Week Study Plan

The Pearson VUE outlines effective January 1, 2026 publish scored-item counts rather than estimated percentages. Use these counts when allocating study time.

Life general knowledge (50 scored):

• Types of policies: 15
• Policy riders, provisions, options, and exclusions: 15
• Application, underwriting, and policy delivery: 12
• Retirement and other insurance concepts: 8

Accident & Health general knowledge (50 scored):

• Types of policies: 16
• Policy provisions, clauses, and riders: 15
• Social insurance: 6
• Other insurance concepts: 5
• Field underwriting procedures: 8

Each Iowa-specific section assigns 15 scored questions to laws and rules common to all lines. The remaining line-specific allocation is 12 scored questions for Life and 15 for A&H. Each general and Iowa-specific section also includes 5 unscored pretest questions.

Continuing education for license maintenance

A focused 4-week plan

• Weeks 1-2 — General knowledge: study the exact outline domains for the line you plan to take.
• Week 3 — Iowa law: cover the 15 common-law questions plus the 12 Life-specific or 15 A&H-specific questions.
• Week 4 — Practice and review: use 2-hour timed practice, rework misses, and remember the verified logistics: Life 77/87, A&H 80/90, $44 per line, and a 90-day NIPR application window.

Verify current rules with the Iowa Insurance Division and current structure with Pearson VUE before testing.