1.3 License Maintenance and Continuing Education

The Biennial Renewal Cycle

A Louisiana resident producer license runs for 2 years and renews on a biennial cycle keyed to the licensee's birth month. Continuing education must be completed before the license expires, and the renewal must be filed by the deadline.

How the deadline works

You complete your required CE and renew by the end of your birth month in your renewal year. If your birthday is in March, your CE and renewal are due by March 31 of the renewal year. Miss it and the license lapses, but Louisiana allows reinstatement within 2 years if you complete the CE and pay the late/reinstatement fee. After 2 years lapsed, you generally must re-qualify (re-exam) rather than simply reinstate.

Continuing Education - 24 Hours Including Ethics

A producer licensed for one or more of life, accident & health (or sickness), property, casualty, or personal lines must complete 24 hours of CE every 2 years, of which a minimum of 3 hours must be ethics.

New legislative-update requirement (know the date)

Beginning with renewals due on or after July 31, 2027, resident producers and consultants in those lines must include at least 2 hours on current legislative updates to Louisiana insurance law as part of - not on top of - the 24-hour total. So the breakdown for those renewals becomes 3 ethics + 2 legislative + 19 elective = 24.

Exam trap: The 2-hour legislative requirement is inside the 24 hours, not additional. And it phases in by the July 31, 2027 renewal date - do not state it as a flat current rule for everyone.

Line-specific add-ons

These sit inside the 24-hour total for the relevant lines:

• Property/casualty/personal lines: minimum 3 hours of flood insurance CE
• Title: minimum 2 hours on state/federal consumer-finance protection
• Bail: minimum 6 hours of bail enforcement

CE Rules and the Renewal Steps

• Courses must be from LDI-approved providers; online and classroom both count.
• You may not earn credit for the same course twice in one compliance period.
• Providers report your hours electronically - keep your own certificates as backup.

Renewing

1. Complete 24 hours of CE (with the required ethics/legislative components).
2. Log in to NIPR or the LDI Industry Access portal.
3. Verify that your CE is posted.
4. Submit the renewal.
5. Pay $75 per line of authority.

30-Day Reporting Duties

Louisiana producers must notify the LDI of certain changes within 30 days. Failing to report is itself a violation that can support discipline.

Worked example: An agent moves and pleads guilty to a misdemeanor theft, all in the same month. Both events are separately reportable to the LDI within 30 days - the address change and the criminal matter. Reporting one does not excuse the other.

Report through the Industry Access portal (ia.ldi.state.la.us) or in writing to the LDI.

Non-Resident Licensing (Reciprocity)

Under the producer-licensing reciprocity required by the federal Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, Louisiana grants non-resident licenses without a second exam:

• The applicant must hold an active home-state license in good standing.
• The non-resident license carries the same lines of authority as the home state.
• No Louisiana exam is required while the home-state license stays current.
• If the home-state license lapses or is revoked, the Louisiana non-resident license is affected too.

Discipline - Grounds, Powers, and Penalties

The LDI may act against a licensee under Title 22 for cause.

Grounds for discipline

• Violating insurance laws or LDI regulations
• Fraudulent or dishonest practices; misrepresentation to clients or insurers
• Misappropriation/commingling of premium funds held in trust
• Twisting (misleading replacement of a policy) or churning (needless replacement to generate commission)
• Failing to meet CE or to make a required 30-day report
• Felony conviction

Range of penalties

License Status Terms

Product-Specific Training

Two training duties recur on the exam:

• Annuity suitability: before selling annuities, a producer must complete an LDI-recognized annuity suitability/best-interest training, then document a suitability analysis for each client (consistent with the NAIC best-interest model Louisiana adopted).
• Flood: producers writing flood must complete FEMA/NFIP-approved flood training and keep it current.

Memory hook: "24-3-30" - 24 CE hours, 3 of them ethics, and 30 days to report a change. Add the 2-hour legislative rule for renewals due on/after July 31, 2027.