What the Florida 2-14 License Covers
Florida numbers its licenses, and the standalone life line is the 2-14 — Life Including Annuities and Variable Contracts. It is issued by the Department of Financial Services (DFS), Division of Insurance Agent and Agency Services, which sits under Florida's elected Chief Financial Officer. That structural fact matters more than it sounds: Florida has no Department of Insurance. DFS licenses the people; the separate Office of Insurance Regulation (OIR) licenses the companies and approves the rates and forms. The exam tests the distinction, and the P&C guide covers it in full.
Two boundaries define the line. Annuities and variable contracts are inside the 2-14 — you do not add a separate variable line the way Arizona or California would. But under F.S. § 626.041 you still need your FINRA securities registrations to sell a variable product, because the contract is a security whatever the state license says. Second, health is outside it entirely. If you will ever quote disability, Medicare supplement, long-term care, or group health, look hard at the combined 2-15 before you book anything — the comparison is in the next section.
Florida also issues a 0-93 Life (Foreign/Military) nonresident credential and a T2-14 temporary life license for the executor or next of kin of a deceased life agent. The temporary one runs six months and — a detail worth remembering — only one may ever be issued to a person in their lifetime.
For the 30-hour prelicensing course Florida requires before this license can issue, TESTivity recommends Achievable. 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 Florida 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.
Exam Options & Format
Florida's life exam is InsFL-Life01, delivered by Pearson VUE under the client code FLINS: 85 scored questions plus 10 unscored pretest items — 95 on screen — in 2 hours, for $44 per attempt. The passing standard is 70%, which the Candidate Handbook states as a flat percentage.
The combined alternative is the 2-15 Health & Life exam (InsFL-LHA05), and it is a genuinely bigger sitting: 150 scored plus 15 pretest questions in 2 hours 45 minutes. It is the same $44. The trade is prelicensing hours, not exam dollars — 30 hours for the 2-14 against 60 for the 2-15 (or the 30-hour life course plus the 40-hour health course, which also qualifies).
There is no online option. DFS discontinued OnVUE remote proctoring for Florida insurance candidates: "Effective immediately, Florida insurance candidates seeking to schedule an exam may only reserve their appointment in a physical test center." The Health guide covers test centers and scheduling in detail.
Two scheduling numbers to hold on to: you can book as late as one calendar day before your desired test day if a seat exists, and you must cancel or reschedule at least 48 hours out or the fee is gone.
Most Tested Topics on the Florida Life Exam
Florida's life questions cluster where the state's numbers depart from the national outline. Each of these is verified against the Florida Statutes, and each is a place a nationally-trained candidate loses a mark:
| Concept | The Florida rule |
|---|---|
| Incontestability | 2 years from the date of issue (F.S. § 627.455) |
| Grace period, individual life | At least 30 days (F.S. § 627.453) |
| Reinstatement window | 3 years from the date of premium default, on evidence of insurability and payment of overdue premiums (F.S. § 627.459) |
| Free look, individual life | 14 days — an unconditional right to return the policy for a full refund (F.S. § 626.99(4)) |
| Free look, annuities | 21 days — the same 21 for fixed and variable alike (F.S. § 626.99(4)(b)) |
| Nonforfeiture options | Cash surrender value, reduced paid-up insurance, extended term insurance (F.S. § 627.476) |
| Variable contracts | Inside the 2-14 or 2-15 line, but FINRA registration is required on top (F.S. § 626.041) |
| Viatical settlements | Regulated by the Florida Viatical Settlement Act (F.S. §§ 626.9911–626.99295) |
| Viator's rescission | 15 days after the viator receives the proceeds — and the viator must return the proceeds to rescind (F.S. § 626.9924(2)) |
| Annuity sales standard | Florida adopted the NAIC best interest standard effective 1 January 2024 (F.S. § 627.4554) |
The free-look ladder is where the marks are. A candidate carrying a national number into the exam room will answer "21 days" for a life policy and "10 days" for an annuity, and Florida is the reverse of both: 14 for life, 21 for annuities, and the 21 does not split by fixed versus variable the way several states' do. Long-term care and Medicare supplement each get 30 days — those two belong to the Health and Life & Health guides, and it is worth reading the ladder as a whole rather than memorising one rung.
The second reliable point is the viatical rescission mechanic. Fifteen days is the number, but the tested part is the condition attached to it: the viator does not simply change their mind, they must return the settlement proceeds. A question that describes a viator rescinding on day ten while keeping the money is describing something the statute does not allow.
Applying for Your Florida License — Every Step
Florida runs its own portal. There is no NIPR step for a resident application: you file through MyProfile, the DFS licensee portal at dice.fldfs.com, reached from MyFloridaCFO.com. And the order is the part most guides get backwards.
Step 0 — Understand the sequence. In Florida the exam comes first. The Candidate Handbook says to submit the license application "upon successful completion of the examination," and DFS's FAQ confirms you have one year from the passing date to apply. This is the opposite of Texas-style states where you apply for eligibility before you can book a seat. (The lone Florida exception is bail bond, 2-34 and 2-37, where DFS issues an Examination Authorization Notice first — irrelevant to a life applicant, but it is why you will find contradictory instructions online.)
Step 1 — Finish the 30-hour course. Your coursework has to have been completed or taught within 4 years of the application. Providers report completion to DFS electronically; you do not upload the certificate yourself.
Step 2 — Pass InsFL-Life01. Results are on screen when you finish. A passing grade is valid for one year under F.S. § 626.291 — the statute, not just a vendor policy.
Step 3 — File the application in MyProfile. Create the account, select the 2-14 Life Including Annuities and Variable Contracts resident application, and pay $50 filing plus the $5 license ID fee. Fees are nonrefundable. Members of the armed forces, their spouses, and veterans separated within the previous 24 months are exempt from the filing fee with supporting documentation (F.S. § 626.171).
Step 4 — Get fingerprinted through IdentoGO, immediately. Register under the DFS ORI code DFS-1-FL921060Z. The statutory rule is that DFS "may not approve an application for licensure … if fingerprints have not been submitted" — so prints gate approval, and they are the single most common reason a Florida file sits. The Personal Lines guide walks the fingerprint process step by step, including the mail-in card route for out-of-state applicants.
Step 5 — Answer the background questions properly. A "yes" needs the supporting documents attached in MyProfile — court dispositions, letters of explanation. An undisclosed matter that surfaces in the FDLE and FBI results is treated far worse than a disclosed one, and misrepresentation on the application is independently actionable under F.S. §§ 626.611 and 626.621.
Step 6 — Watch MyProfile for deficiencies. The portal is also where DFS posts what is missing, where you track the pending application, and where you later print the license, manage appointments, monitor CE, and generate a Letter of Certification or Clearance.
Step 7 — Get appointed. This is the step that is not optional. A Florida license by itself does not let you transact: DFS is explicit that no one may act as an insurance agent "unless he or she is currently licensed by the department and appointed by an appropriate appointing entity." The appointment costs $60 ($42 appointment fee + $12 state tax + $6 county tax) and the appointing entity files and pays it, not you.
Which Designations Actually Waive a Florida Exam
This is the single most mangled subject on Florida licensing pages, and it costs people real money in course fees. Florida runs two different waivers — one for the examination, one for the prelicensing education — and they are governed by different authorities and honour different credentials. A designation that gets you out of the course does not get you out of the exam.
The exam waiver lives in F.S. § 626.221. The general rule in subsection (1) is absolute: the department "may not issue any license as agent or adjuster to any individual who has not qualified for, taken, and passed … a written examination." Subsection (2) then lists the exceptions. For a life or health applicant there are exactly two routes that matter:
| Route | Authority | What it waives |
|---|---|---|
| CLU — Chartered Life Underwriter, from The American College of Financial Services | § 626.221(2)(g) | The examination, for a life or health agent applicant |
| A degree in insurance with at least 9 credit hours covering life, annuities and variable products | § 626.221(2)(l) | The examination, for a life agent applicant |
| CPCU — Chartered Property and Casualty Underwriter | § 626.221(2)(h) | The exam for a general lines, personal lines, or all-lines adjuster applicant — not life |
| Nonresident holding a comparable license in a state with similar exam requirements | § 626.221(2)(o) | The examination |
| Temporary license applicants | § 626.221(2)(f) | The examination, except where the code says otherwise |
Read the fine print on the designation waivers. Each of paragraphs (g), (h), (i), (k), (l) and (m) carries the same rider: the applicant may still be tested on the provisions of the Florida Insurance Code. "CLU means no test at all" is an overstatement of the statute — it means no general licensing examination.
Now the education waiver, which is a different list. DFS's 2-14 qualification sheet accepts ChFC (The American College) or FLMI (Life Management Institute) in place of the 30-hour course. On the 2-40 Health sheet the equivalents are CEBC, ChHC, HIA, REBC and RHU. Every one of those designations waives prelicensing education only — the examination is still required. If a course provider or a forum post tells you FLMI means you are done, they have collapsed two different statutes into one.
And two designations that do nothing here at all. LUTCF does not appear anywhere in § 626.221 — it waives no Florida exam. CIC does not waive the 2-20 or 20-44 exam either; CIC, AAI, AINS, ACSR and their relatives are 4-40 Customer Representative qualification routes under F.S. § 626.7351, which is a different credential entirely.
The residency route is the quiet one worth knowing. A person who moves to Florida holding the equivalent resident license in another state for at least one continuous year gets both prelicensing and the exam waived — provided the Florida application is filed within 90 days of establishing residency. File on day 91 and you fall back to the reciprocal-state path, where prelicensing is waived but the exam is not. The P&C guide covers relocation and nonresident licensing in full.
What It Costs
The government and vendor side of a Florida 2-14 is modest; the course is the variable. $44 to Pearson VUE for InsFL-Life01, $55 to DFS at application (a $50 filing fee plus a $5 license ID fee), and $49.50 to IdentoGO for LiveScan fingerprints plus Florida county sales tax — about $149 all in, before your 30-hour course. Fingerprint cards by mail cost $50.75 instead. Every one of these fees is nonrefundable, and each exam retake is another $44.
Two costs people expect and do not pay. There is no license renewal fee in Florida — the license is perpetual, and the P&C guide explains the appointment cycle that replaces renewal. And the $60 appointment fee ($42 + $12 state tax + $6 county tax) is a charge on the appointing entity; F.S. § 626.381 even bars an appointing entity from passing its late filing fees on to the appointee.
Eligibility Requirements
You must be a natural person at least 18 years old, a United States citizen or a legal alien with work authorization, and a bona fide Florida resident for a resident 2-14 (nonresidents apply for the 8-14 instead). You must be untainted by the conduct grounds in F.S. §§ 626.611 and 626.621, and your fingerprints must be on file before DFS can approve the application under F.S. § 626.171.
A criminal record is not an automatic bar in Florida, but it is handled by rule rather than discretion: DFS applies waiting periods that vary by the class of offence and by whether the matter involved fraud or dishonesty. What consistently makes things worse is non-disclosure — the FDLE and FBI results reach DFS regardless, and a matter you did not disclose is evaluated as a candour problem on top of whatever it originally was.
One incompatibility to note before you file: Florida will not let a 0-55 Service Representative hold a general lines agent license, and the 2-20 sheet lists further incompatible classes. The 2-14 itself sits comfortably alongside a 2-40, which is exactly the pair the 2-15 combines into one credential.
Keeping Your License Active
Important CE details: The mandatory 4 hours must be the Law & Ethics Update coded 5-214 for a life licensee — a general lines 5-220 update will not satisfy a 2-14.
Florida's compliance clock is your birth month. Under F.A.C. 69B-228.220 you must complete your hours "by the end of the licensee's birth month after being licensed 24 months and every 2 years thereafter" — so your first deadline can land as much as 35 months after licensure, and every one after that is the last day of your birth month, two years apart.
The standard requirement is 24 hours per cycle: a 4-hour Law & Ethics Update plus 20 elective hours. For a 2-14 licensee the update course must be the one coded 5-214. This is not a formality — the statute requires "a 4-hour update course every 2 years which is specific to the license held," so a general lines 5-220 update sitting on your transcript does not satisfy a life licence. Providers have 21 days to report a completion to DFS, which is the real reason to finish well before the last week of your birth month.
Miss the deadline and the mechanism is indirect but fatal: a $250 CE fine, and DFS "shall refuse to renew or continue the appointments or issue new appointments" until you comply. Since a Florida license dies only after 48 months with no appointment, CE failure kills the licence slowly, through the appointment. The P&C guide covers the renewal and appointment mechanics in full.
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