Virginia Life & Health Exam Overview

Virginia Life & Health Insurance Exam

The Virginia Life & Health insurance exam licenses producers to solicit, negotiate, and sell life and health insurance products across the Commonwealth. Licensing falls under the Virginia Bureau of Insurance, a division of the State Corporation Commission (SCC), which administers insurance law through Virginia Code Title 38.2. The actual test is delivered by Prometric as the combined Life & Health producer examination (Series 11-01).

Exam Structure and Scoring

The exam is computer-based, multiple-choice, and scored immediately. Unlike some states that report two separate national/state subscores, Virginia's Series 11-01 produces one combined result: a total percentage score and a pass or fail grade (the bulletin does not publish the cut score). The 10 pretest items are unscored research questions you cannot identify, so treat every question as if it counts.

That pacing leaves roughly one minute per question. A practical strategy: make a fast first pass answering everything you know, flag the rest, and circle back. Never leave a blank — there is no penalty for a wrong guess, so an educated elimination always beats an empty box.

Content Mix

Virginia's exam interleaves national insurance fundamentals with state-specific rules. Expect questions on:

• General life and health insurance principles (policy types, riders, underwriting)
• Virginia Code Title 38.2 producer licensing and conduct rules
• The free-look period, replacement rules, and required policy provisions
• The Virginia Life, Accident and Sickness Insurance Guaranty Association
• Unfair trade practices, rebating, and twisting prohibitions under Virginia law
• Continuing-education and renewal obligations

Trap to avoid: Do not assume national defaults apply in Virginia. Free-look windows, replacement timelines, and guaranty-association coverage caps are frequently tested with Virginia-specific numbers that differ from generic textbook figures.

Pre-Licensing, Registration, and Exam Day

No Required Pre-Licensing Education

Virginia imposes no mandatory pre-licensing education — no classroom hours, no certificate of completion. You may sit for the exam after simply registering and paying the fee. That freedom is a double-edged sword: with no enforced study, your preparation is entirely self-directed. Most candidates who pass on the first attempt invest 40-60 hours across a structured course, a question bank, and at least two full-length timed practice exams.

Scheduling with Prometric

You register and schedule directly through Prometric:

• Online: prometric.com
• Phone: (866) 891-6396
• Delivery options: a physical Prometric testing center, or remote at home via the ProProctor application

If you choose ProProctor, run the system readiness check in advance: a webcam, a stable connection, and a private, walled room with a clear desk are required, and a live proctor will scan the room before you begin.

Exam-Day Identification

Whether testing in-center or remotely, you must present two valid forms of government-issued identification. At least one must contain both a photograph and a signature (a driver's license, passport, or military ID). The first and last name on your IDs must match your registration exactly. Candidates without compliant ID are turned away and forfeit the fee.

Retake Policy

Virginia escalates the waiting period after repeated failures. The first two retakes are quick, but a fourth attempt is gated by a month-long pause designed to push candidates back into serious study.

Worked example: You fail on a Monday, retake Wednesday (24-hour rule satisfied), fail again, then fail a third time the following week. Your fourth attempt cannot be scheduled until 30 calendar days after that third failure — plan your study runway accordingly rather than burning attempts.

From Passing to Licensed: Application, Fees, and Renewal

The Licensing Path After You Pass

Passing the exam does not by itself grant a license. The full sequence is:

1. Pass the Prometric exam — results print immediately.
2. Complete fingerprint-based background check through Fieldprint ($34.95).
3. Submit the license application electronically through the National Insurance Producer Registry (NIPR) or Sircon.
4. Pay the $15 Bureau of Insurance application fee (non-refundable) plus the vendor's processing/transaction fee.
5. Await Bureau review — once approved, the resident producer license is issued.

Total Cost Breakdown

Every one of these fees is non-refundable, including the Prometric fee once the exam is administered or the reschedule deadline passes. Budget for at least one possible retake.

Continuing Education and Renewal

Virginia licenses renew on a 2-year cycle. The CE obligation scales with how many license types you hold:

A Life & Health producer holding that single combined line needs 16 hours, 3 of which must be Ethics. Additional rules: no more than 75% of required credits may come from courses sponsored by insurance agencies or companies, and excess Ethics credits may be applied toward the general requirement.

Common misconception: Candidates memorize "16 hours" and stop there. The exam frequently pairs the hour count with the 3-hour Ethics carve-out and the two-or-more-lines bump to 24 hours — know all three figures together.

Bureau of Insurance Contact

• Website: scc.virginia.gov (Bureau of Insurance)
• Phone: (804) 371-9741
• Mail: P.O. Box 1157, Richmond, VA 23218

This guide covers Virginia-specific law; pair it with national Life & Health fundamentals before test day.