How Do I Become an Insurance Agent In California?

June 15, 2023

California state requirements

To sell life and health insurance in California, you must be licensed by the California Department of Insurance (CDI).

The California Department of Insurance has a process consisting of:

• Completing a pre-license education course;
• Passing the California insurance license exam;
• Submitting your fingerprints for a background check;
• Applying for the California insurance license;
• Application review by the state of California; and
• Approval by the state of California.

 

To retain your insurance license, you must

• Attend approved continuing course credits; and
• Renew the insurance license every two years online with the California Department of Insurance.¹

The pre-license education course

Pre-licensing education courses help prepare you for the licensing exam.

There are several educational insurance schools in California. When shopping for a school, please confirm they are certified by the California Department of Insurance (CDI). The school will have an ID you can verify on the CDI official website.

A line of authority is 20 hours of pre-licensed education and 12 hours of Ethics for a total of 32 classroom hours. If you want to sell life insurance, the pre-license course work would be 32 hours of classroom time.

If you want to sell life insurance, accident, and/or health insurance, you’ll need an additional 20 hours of education making the total 52 hours, including the required 12 hours of Ethics.

Upon completion of the pre-license course, the applicant will receive a certificate of completion is needed later in the licensing process.

The California license test:

The Candidate Information Bulletin (CIB) provides information about the examination and licensing process.² Once you have successfully completed the pre-licensing education course, you are ready to take the Producer Licensing exam.³
Currently, exams for both health and life insurance licenses are held online and in various physical locations throughout California. Exams are available online with a proctor.

PSI is a testing provider that services online and in person test centers for government, non-profit, and profit organizations.⁴

The prerequisites for being licensed in the state of California are:

• You must be eighteen (18) years old or older.
• You must show proof of U.S. citizenship.

 

Fingerprinting

Once you have passed the insurance licensing exam, you need to be fingerprinted. California requires all insurance license applicants to provide fingerprints prior to licensing, but not before they have submitted a license application.⁵

Live scan fingerprinting technicians are available at these locations: California Department of Justice and the California Department of Insurance (CDI) in the Los Angeles location.

Fingerprinting is also offered at PSI, a nationwide testing center, on the day of your examination. Allow time before your examination to have your fingerprints scanned.

If you are non-resident of California but seeking a California life insurance license, you can be fingerprinted by an authorized vendor at a location in your area. The applicant is to mail the original copy of the completed live scan form, the applicant’s fingerprint card, and Accurate Biometric payment form to this address in California:

Accurate Biometrics
Center Drive, Suite 600
Los Angeles, CA 90045

Application for License

Once you have passed your insurance license exam, you will need to apply for your insurance license. The application can be completed online for a fee at SIRCON or at the NIPR website.⁶ You can check the status of the license application on the License Application Status Services (CLASS).⁷

License Renewal

Keeping your insurance license renewed is important. It requires 24 hours of continuing education prior to your renewal date. The license expiration date is shown on the front of the license.

The renewal license notices are emailed to the address you registered with the California Department of Insurance. Be sure you keep your email address current with CDI. You can also check your license status online to review your continuing education hours and renewal date.⁷

Team up with the experts

Once your application has been approved by the California Department of Insurance, you will be ready to sell insurance in California. Congratulations!

Finding a home with a team of successful and motivated insurance agents is the next big step in achieving your potential. Look for a reputable insurancecompany and find a licensed agency where you will receive additional training and mentoring.

Sources:

1. California Insurance, https://www.insurance.ca.gov/0200-industry/0050-renew-license/0100-renew-online/, accessed 2023.
2. California Government, https://www.insurance.ca.gov/0200-industry/0020-apply-license/0100-indiv-resident/CandidateInformation.cfm, accessed 2023.
3. PSI, https://www.psiexams.com/test-takers/, accessed 2023.
4. California Government https://www.insurance.ca.gov/0200-industry/0005-quick-guides/01-applicant/index.cfm, accessed 2023.
5. California Government https://www.insurance.ca.gov/0200-industry/0010-producer-online-services/index.cfm, accessed 2023.
6. California Government https://www.insurance.ca.gov/0200-industry/0040-seek-producer-forms/0100-broker-agents/upload/Fingerprint-Instructions-and-Payment-form.pdf, accessed 2023.
7. Sircon,https://www.sircon.com/landingPages/states/california/content.jsp, accessed 2023.
8. California Government, http://www.insurance.ca.gov/0200-industry/0038-CLASS/, accessed 2023.
9. CDIC, https://cdicloud.insurance.ca.gov/cal, accessed 2023.