Getting your Idaho Life & Health license
Idaho is an easy state to break into: there's no mandatory pre-licensing course and no seat-time requirement. You just need to pass the required exams, clear a fingerprint background check, and apply through NIPR.
The structural piece to know up front: Idaho has no single 'Life & Health' exam. To carry both lines you take two separate exams - the Life exam and the Accident & Health (or Sickness) exam. Both lines then sit on one producer license under one application.
So the full Life & Health path is: study -> pass the Life exam -> pass the A&H exam -> get fingerprinted through Pearson VUE -> apply online at NIPR -> get licensed.
Two exams, each split into separately scored sections
Each Idaho exam has a General (national) section and a State (Idaho law) section. Idaho actually lets you register for the General, the State, or the Combo - but each section is scored on its own and you need 70% on each.
The Life exam runs 120 minutes with 75 scored questions (50 General + 25 State). The Accident & Health exam also runs 120 minutes with 75 scored questions (50 General + 25 State). Both carry a few unscored pretest questions you can't identify, so answer everything.
Here's Idaho's candidate-friendly rule: if you pass one section and fail the other, you only retake the section you failed - you don't lose your passing section, as long as you wrap up within 180 days of your first attempt. That makes the Idaho state-law section far less punishing than all-or-nothing states.
What the Life & Health exams actually cover
On the Life side, the General section is dominated by Types of Policies (whole life, universal, variable, indexed, term, annuities, combination plans) and Life Provisions, Riders, Options & Exclusions - those two blocks carry most of the scored questions. The rest covers application/underwriting/policy delivery plus retirement and tax concepts (qualified vs. nonqualified plans, MECs, Social Security).
On the Accident & Health side, the General section is anchored by Types of Policies (disability income, medical expense, HMO/PPO/POS, HSAs/HRAs/FSAs, Medicare supplement, LTC, dental/vision/critical illness) and Policy Provisions, Clauses & Riders. Then social insurance, other concepts (coordination of benefits, taxation, cost containment), and field underwriting.
The Idaho State section shares a big common block - the Director of the Department of Insurance's powers, definitions, licensing, producer responsibilities, and marketing practices (rebating, twisting, misrepresentation, unfair claims). Then each adds its line content: Life covers replacement, annuity suitability, the Life Settlements Act, individual and group life standard provisions, and credit life; Health covers minimum standards, mandated coverages (newborns, maternity, mammograms, handicapped dependents), Medicare supplement, LTC, and Idaho's Small Employer and Individual Health Insurance Availability Acts plus the External Review Act.
Test center vs. OnVUE, what to bring, and retakes
Test at a Pearson VUE center (Boise, Coeur d'Alene, Nampa, Post Falls, Pocatello, Twin Falls, Idaho Falls, Lewiston, or Spokane WA) or from home via OnVUE online proctoring. Reserve online at least 48 hours ahead (24 hours by phone) - there are no walk-ins. A nice Idaho perk: exams are offered in both English and Spanish.
Bring one valid, unexpired primary ID that is government-issued, photo-bearing, and signed (driver's license, passport, military ID). The name must exactly match your exam registration, and Pearson doesn't recognize ID grace periods - expired is expired. You'll get your results the moment you finish, and at a test center you leave with a printed score report.
Retakes: you can re-book 24 hours after a failed attempt, and there's no limit on the number of attempts - but every section must be passed within 180 days of your first try, and each attempt costs another $65. If you want both lines, just book the Life and A&H exams as two appointments - Idaho doesn't bundle them into one test.
From passing scores to an actual license
Idaho folds fingerprinting into the Pearson VUE system. Schedule an electronic fingerprint appointment (InsID-FPELC) right in your Pearson account - same-day fingerprinting may be available at the Boise, Pocatello, and Spokane locations - or use the hard-card option (InsID-FPHC). Don't mail cards or fees directly to the Department or Pearson. Your prints stay valid for six months.
Then apply online at NIPR and pay the $80 resident producer license fee. You must apply within 180 days of passing, and your exam results are valid for 180 days, so don't let either clock run out. You'll also submit your exam pass slip and a signed Criminal History Record Information (CHRI) release to the Department.
Because Idaho licenses by individual lines of authority in any combination, your Life and Accident & Health lines ride on a single producer license and a single $80 application - you're not paying per line. Passing the exam doesn't guarantee a license; the Department still reviews and approves your full application.
Costs, continuing education, and renewal
Budget roughly: $65 per exam ($130 for Life + A&H), $65 for fingerprinting, and $80 for the license - about $275 all-in for the Life & Health path, assuming first-try passes.
Idaho licenses renew every two years by the last day of your birth month. Complete and post all CE before you apply to renew - the Department won't let you renew until your CE is on file (they recommend finishing 30+ days early).
Continuing education is 24 hours per two-year term, including at least 3 hours of ethics. Note the product-specific gates: selling annuities or long-term care requires additional one-time training in those products before you can solicit them.
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