Getting Your California Life-Only License
Life-Only is the leanest entry if life and annuities are your market: prepare, pass the Life exam, file your application, fingerprint through Capital Live Scan, and finish the 12-hour Code & Ethics course before issuance. AB 943 removed the line-specific coursework that used to gate the exam.
If you expect to write health business too, weigh sitting the combined Life, Accident & Health exam once rather than adding the line later.
For the 12-hour Code & Ethics course California still requires before your license is issued, TESTivity recommends [Achievable](https://app.achievable.me/study/california-insurance-code-and-ethics/purchase#a_aid=getthelicense). The Achievable insurance courses were built by the same subject-matter expert behind TESTivity, so the two are designed to work together.
One important distinction: TESTivity is not an approved pre-licensing provider in California and does not issue certificates of completion. The TESTivity learning tools and study packages will absolutely help you pass the exam — but treat them as a supplement to your Achievable course, not a substitute for it.
Disclosure: TESTivity has a partnership with Achievable and may earn a commission if you enroll through links on this page.
The Life-Only Agent Exam
The Life exam is 75 scored multiple-choice questions with a 105-minute (1 hr 45 min) limit, passing at 60%. PSI adds roughly 10% unscored experimental questions, and in California those count against your exam time.
Test at a PSI center, CDI's Los Angeles center, or by remote proctor. You may fail up to 10 times in a 12-month period before a 12-month bar applies — and note a combined Life, Accident & Health attempt counts toward your Life total.
What It Costs
Plan on about $360 in state and vendor fees for a first-time pass: roughly $98 exam at a PSI site ($55 base + $43 convenience), the $188 license filing fee, and $74 fingerprinting, plus the 12-hour Code & Ethics course.
The $43 convenience fee is waived at CDI's Los Angeles center, and exam fees are non-refundable.
Fingerprinting & Background Check
California's live-scan vendor is Capital Live Scan (CLS). Register at applicantservices.com/CADOI, choose from 800+ sites statewide, and pay the $74 total ($17 FBI + $32 DOJ + $25 CLS).
Submit fingerprints only after your license application is filed; keep your completed BCIA 8016 form in case prints need resubmitting.
Submitting Your Application
File through NIPR (nipr.com) or Sircon, paying $188. The 12-hour Code & Ethics course must be completed before the license issues.
You have one year from your pass date to apply. A license alone does not authorize sales — a carrier must file an appointment for you (the California appointment filing fee is $32).
Keeping Your License Active
Important CE details: 24 hours every 2 years, including at least 3 hours of ethics, for Life and Variable Products licensees. Renews on the last day of your birth month every 2 years; finish all CE before filing the renewal. Annuity sales carry their own training requirement (see notes).
California requires 24 hours of CE every two years, including at least 3 hours of ethics, renewing on the last day of your birth month. Complete all CE before filing the renewal.
Remember the 8-hour initial annuity training before you sell annuities, plus ongoing annuity CE thereafter. If you add the health line later, the LTC training requirement comes with it.
Quick Reference
Official Links
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