What This License Is
A Kentucky Life license lets you sell life insurance and annuity products to people and businesses in Kentucky. It is issued by the Kentucky Department of Insurance.
Licensing runs through the same process as every Kentucky producer line — the difference is the focused Life exam. Note that Kentucky requires 20 hours of pre-licensing education for this line before you can sit for the exam.
Exam Options & Format
The Life exam is Life (Kentucky DOI state-administered exam): 50 (VERIFY — from prep-provider sources) questions, 1 hr (VERIFY), $50 per attempt per attempt. Passing standard: 70%.
Kentucky also offers the combined exam (Life + Accident & Health (combined sitting): 150 questions, 3 hr 10 min, $50), which licenses both lines in one sitting. If there is any chance you will sell health products later, the combined exam is usually the better value.
Kentucky runs its own exams - there is no Pearson VUE handbook
Most states hand their licensing exams to a national vendor like Pearson VUE, PSI, or Prometric, and you study from that vendor's candidate handbook. Kentucky does it differently: the Kentucky Department of Insurance administers the exams itself. That is why you will not find a Kentucky candidate handbook on Pearson VUE - everything lives on the DOI's own site.
The practical effect is a different order of operations. In a vendor state you can often schedule a test almost immediately. In Kentucky you have to get the DOI to process your application first, and only then does the door to scheduling open.
Pre-licensing education: 20 hours per line
Kentucky requires 20 hours of state-approved pre-licensing education for each line of authority. Because the Life & Health license covers two lines, you complete 40 hours total before you can sit the exams.
Your provider files the completion electronically with the DOI, but the responsibility to confirm the DOI actually has your certificate on file is yours. If it is missing, you can upload Form CPL-01 through eServices. A pre-licensing completion certificate is valid for one year.
TESTivity recommends [Achievable](https://app.achievable.me/study/insurance-life/purchase#a_aid=getthelicense) to satisfy your Kentucky pre-licensing requirement. Achievable is an approved provider, its insurance courses were built by the same subject-matter expert behind TESTivity, and completing the Achievable course earns you the certificate of completion Kentucky requires.
One important distinction: TESTivity is not an approved pre-licensing provider in Kentucky 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.
Criminal background report - not fingerprinting
Kentucky does not require fingerprinting. Instead, you request an electronic criminal background report through the Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC). This is a Kentucky court-records check rather than the IdentoGO / fingerprint vendor process used in many other states.
The DOI cannot review your history before you apply, so a prior record does not block you from applying - each application is reviewed case by case once it and the supporting documents are in.
Submit the application through NIPR
File your resident producer application electronically through NIPR. The state application fee is $40 per line of authority, paid by card or e-check and non-refundable once submitted.
Allow roughly three to five business days for DOI staff to review your application, background report, and pre-licensing certificate. Within about 24 hours of submitting, you can create your eServices account to track status.
Continuing education and renewal
Resident producers renew every two years and must complete 24 hours of approved continuing education each period, including at least 3 hours of ethics. A minimum of 6 hours must relate to each line of authority you hold, and up to 12 unused hours can carry over to the next period as general credit.
CE completed even one day late can result in termination of the license, so do not cut the deadline close. CE hours are credited across all of your licenses at once if you also hold an adjuster or related license.
Quick Reference
Official Links
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