The Maine Life, Accident and Health Producer License
Maine does not issue a combined "Life and Health" licence. It issues one producer licence carrying whichever lines of authority you have qualified for, and §1420-F(1) lists Life at (A) and Accident and health or sickness at (B) as separate authorities. What Pearson VUE offers is a combined examination that qualifies you for both at once. The licence you end up holding shows two lines; it is not a third kind of licence.
That distinction has a practical consequence worth knowing before you file anything. The Bureau charges $25 per licence, not per line, so two lines on one licence cost what one line costs. It also means adding the second line later is an amendment rather than a new licence - but it is still another examination fee and another trip to a test centre.
Between them the two lines carry almost everything sold to individuals on the personal side: term and permanent life, fixed and indexed annuities, major medical, disability income, dental, vision, Medicare supplement and long-term care. Two of those products carry their own training requirements on top of the licence, and this guide's continuing-education section sets out both.
This guide owns two modules for Maine: the exam-day walkthrough, and the temporary and apprentice licensing routes.
The Combined Paper, or Two Single Lines
The combined Life, Accident and Health paper carries 136 scored questions in three sections: a 50-item Life general section, a 50-item Accident and Health general section, and a 36-item Maine Laws and Rules section, with 5 pretest items attached to each part. The single-line papers are 75 scored for Life (50 general, 25 Maine) and 88 scored for Accident and Health (50 general, 38 Maine).
The case for the combined paper is the Maine section, and it is stronger than it looks. Sit the two single lines and you answer 63 Maine-law questions - 25 on the Life paper and 38 on the Accident and Health paper. Sit the combined paper and you answer 36. That is 27 fewer state-law questions for the same two lines of authority, because the content outline builds the combined Maine section as 18 items common to both subjects, 4 pertinent to life only and 14 pertinent to accident and health only, rather than running two full state sections back to back.
The general knowledge does not compress the same way - 50 plus 50 either route - so the whole saving is in the Maine half. Which is also the half most candidates find hardest, because it is the part that is specific to Maine.
Every Maine producer paper is built from a General Knowledge part and a Maine Laws and Rules part, and the combined paper is built from three sections rather than two - Life general, Accident and Health general, and one shared Maine section. 24-A M.R.S. §1410(6) treats a two-part exam as separately passable; on a three-section combined paper, ask Pearson VUE how the parts are constituted before you rely on resitting only a piece of it.
Passing is a scaled 70, and on a 136-question paper the temptation to convert it into 96 correct answers is strong. Resist it. Maine reports a score that is "neither the number of questions you answered correctly nor the percentage of questions you answered correctly."
The counts above come from content outlines #122006 (2 February 2026), and they close exactly on the outline's own section arithmetic - the combined Maine section's 36 items are 18 common to life and health, 4 pertinent to life only and 14 pertinent to accident and health only. Times are not in the outlines and not in the body of the handbook; the handbook points to its back cover, which is not extractable from the published PDF.
Most Tested Topics on the Maine Life, Accident and Health Exam
The combined Maine section is built from what life and health have in common, which in practice means two things: the safety net when an insurer fails, and the rules about giving the customer a way out. From the TESTivity Maine regulations curriculum, statute-verified:
| Concept | The Maine rule |
|---|---|
| Guaranty association, life death benefit | $300,000 per individual (24-A M.R.S. §4603(3)(B)) |
| Guaranty association, life cash value | $100,000 in net cash surrender or net cash withdrawal value - a third of the death-benefit cap, and the pair is a favourite item (§4603(3)(B)) |
| Guaranty association, annuity | $250,000 in present value of annuity benefits, including net cash surrender and withdrawal values; structured settlement annuities are capped at $250,000 in the aggregate (§4603(3)(B), (C)) |
| Guaranty association, health tiers | Maine splits health. $500,000 for a health plan; $300,000 for coverages that are not health plans, disability income or long-term care; and $300,000 for disability income and long-term care (§4603(3)(B)) |
| Guaranty association, aggregates | "An aggregate of $300,000 in benefits with respect to any one life" - except health plans, where the aggregate is $500,000 - and a ceiling of $5,000,000 on a single owner of multiple nongroup life policies (§4603(4)) |
| Guaranty association as a sales tool | Flatly prohibited. §4620 bars advertising or using the existence of the association to induce a sale - one of the few Maine provisions that regulates what a producer may say rather than what an insurer must do |
| Free look, the Maine grid | Four products, two numbers. 10 days on an individual life policy (§2515-A) and on an individual health policy (§2717); 30 days on a Medicare supplement policy (§5007) and on a long-term care policy or certificate (§5075(4), and Rule ch. 425 §8(I) in identical words) |
| Free look, annuities | Maine has no general annuity free look. §2515-A is limited by its own words to "every individual life insurance policy," and §2517 incorporates only §§2518-2523, none of which is a right to examine. What exists is conditional: 15 days where the Buyer's Guide and disclosure document were not delivered at or before application (Rule ch. 915 §5(A)(2)(d)) |
| Replacement, the 30-day right to return | On a replacement the buyer gets "notice of the right to return the policy or contract within thirty (30) days of the delivery of the contract" and an "unconditional full refund of all premiums or considerations paid on it, including any policy fees or charges" - cash surrender value plus fees for a variable or market-value-adjusted product. It is a replacing insurer duty (Rule ch. 919 §5(A)(4)) |
| Replacement, the producer's duties | Rule ch. 919 §3 carries no day count at all. The producer submits a signed statement about existing coverage with the application; if the answer is yes, presents and reads aloud the replacement notice "not later than at the time of taking the application"; and leaves the sales material with the applicant "at the time an application ... is completed." Every numeric clock in ch. 919 belongs to an insurer |
| Annuity best interest | Maine adopted the NAIC best-interest standard by Rule ch. 917, effective 1 January 2022, with four obligations - care, disclosure, conflict of interest, documentation - and an express statement that the rule creates a regulatory rather than a fiduciary obligation |
| Producer training, the two gates | 4 credit hours once for annuities (Rule ch. 917 §7(2)(A)(1)); 8 hours once plus 4 hours every 24 months for long-term care (§5081(1)) |
| Continuing education headline | 24 credit hours every two years including 3 hours of ethics, due the last day of the birth month in the odd or even year matching the birth year - with §1482 capping what the Superintendent may require at "not to exceed 30 hours" |
Learn the guaranty caps as a shape rather than as six numbers, because the shape is what makes them memorable. Three hundred thousand is Maine's default: life death benefit, basic health, disability income, long-term care, and the per-life aggregate. Two numbers break away from it - cash value drops to $100,000, and a health plan rises to $500,000, which drags the aggregate up to $500,000 with it. And annuities sit at $250,000, alone. One default, two exceptions up and down, and one outlier.
The free look grid is the other reliable cluster, and the annuity answer is the one to be careful with. It is tempting - and wrong - to say Maine gives ten days on an annuity because it gives ten on a life policy. §2515-A says "individual life insurance policy" and means it; §2517's list of required annuity provisions runs grace, incontestability, entire contract, misstatement of age or sex, dividends and reinstatement, and contains no right to examine. So Maine's annuity buyer gets a return right only in two situations: 15 days if the Buyer's Guide came late, and 30 days if the contract is a replacement. Note also the trap next door - Rule ch. 310's variable annuity article contains "a period of grace of 30 days," which is a premium grace period, not a free look.
Finally, get the replacement actor right, because it is the single easiest way to lose a mark on this paper. The thirty-day unconditional-refund right in Rule ch. 919 §5(A)(4) is a duty of the replacing insurer, and so are the five-business-day notification clock at §5(A)(2) and the ten-day post-issue contact at §5(C)(2); the existing insurer owes the five-business-day in-force illustration letter at §6(B). The producer's rule, §3, contains no numbers at all - only event triggers. Any sentence beginning "under Maine's replacement rule the producer has N days to..." is wrong before it finishes.
Exam Day in Maine
Book at least 24 hours ahead. Reservations are made online through Pearson VUE's Maine insurance page or by phone on (800) 274-4959, and "walk-in examinations are not available." The fee is due at reservation by credit card, debit card or voucher; "fees will not be accepted at the test center," and a voucher expires 12 months from the date it is issued.
Arrive 30 minutes early. Candidates "should report to the test center 30 minutes before the examination and check in with the test center administrator," whereupon "the candidate's identification and other documentation will be reviewed and he or she will be photographed for the score report." That photograph ends up on the score report itself.
Bring one ID, and check the date on it. Maine asks for one form of identification, not two: "The primary identification must be government-issued and photo-bearing. Identification must be in English." The accepted list runs to a driver's licence, a US Department of State driver's licence, a US learner's permit (plastic card only, with photo and signature), a national, state or country identification card, a passport, a passport card, a military ID, a military ID for spouses and dependents, and an alien registration card. Then the sentence that costs people their fee: "Pearson VUE does not recognize grace periods. For example, if a candidate's driver's license expired yesterday and the state allows a 30-day grace period for renewing the ID, the ID is considered to be expired." Turn up without valid ID and you "will be denied admission to the examination, will be considered absent, and will forfeit the examination fee."
Check-in, then a tutorial that costs you nothing. You sign a Candidate Rules Agreement - breach it, or be suspected of cheating or tampering, and the fee is not refunded, the exam may be invalidated and the state may bar you from retaking it or deny the licence. Then "the time spent on this tutorial will not reduce the examination time," so there is no reason to rush it. The administrators will answer questions but "are not familiar with the content of the examinations or with the state's licensing requirements," and are instructed not to advise on licensure.
Nothing goes in with you. "No personal items are allowed in the testing room. Personal items include but are not limited to cellular phones, hand-held computers or other electronic devices, pagers, watches, wallets, purses, firearms or other weapons, hats, bags, coats, books, and/or notes, pens, or pencils." Everything goes in a secure area or back to your car, and "all electronic devices must be turned off before storing them in a locker." The test centre is not responsible for lost items. Studying inside the centre is not allowed, and visitors, children, family and friends are not admitted.
Scratch paper is issued, not brought. "Dictionaries, books, papers (including scratch paper), and reference materials are not permitted in the examination room" - the administrator hands you materials at your seat, you "may not write on these items before the exam begins," and you may not remove them. Calculators are permitted if they are silent, handheld, solar or battery, non-programmable, without paper tape and without an alphabetic keypad; centre-supplied calculators are available at Bangor and Westbrook.
Breaks stop nothing. Most exam sponsors allow unscheduled breaks; raise your hand to ask. But "the exam clock will not stop while the candidate is taking a break," you must leave the testing room for any break, and you may not leave the floor or the building for any reason - a candidate discovered to have done so "will not be permitted to proceed with the examination and may forfeit the exam fees." You may reach stored personal items during a break only where necessary, such as medication that must be taken at a set time, and only with the administrator's permission first.
Changing your mind costs 48 hours' notice. "Candidates should call Pearson VUE at (800) 274-4959 forty-eight (48) hours before the examination to change or cancel a reservation." With proper notice you may transfer the fee or request a refund; without it, or if you are absent or late, you forfeit it. Maine also allows an excused absence request within 14 days of the exam date for illness, a death in the family, a traffic accident, court duty, military duty or a weather emergency.
And it ends the moment the clock does. "The examination will end automatically after the examination time has expired, and candidates will leave the test center with their official score report in hand." Misconduct - giving or receiving help, using notes or other aids, impersonation, or removing examination materials - brings summary dismissal and a report to the Bureau, which decides the disciplinary consequence. Note that improperly using reference materials during a licence examination is its own ground for licence action under §1420-K(1)(K).
If English is not your first language, Pearson VUE grants additional time equal to "one and a half times the length of the examination" on an approved ESL request, and the approval is valid for one year from the date of the request at the level requested. The ESL request form is published with the handbook.
Maine's Two Routes In Without an Examination
Maine has two licences that do not require passing an examination, and they do different jobs. One keeps a book of business alive when the producer cannot; the other lets a newcomer start selling under supervision. Both run 180 days and both cost $50.
The temporary licence, §1420-J, is a hardship instrument. The Superintendent may issue a producer licence without examination, for up to 180 days, in four situations: to the surviving spouse or personal representative of a licensed producer who dies or becomes disabled, "to allow adequate time for the sale of the insurance business owned by the producer or for the recovery or return of the producer to the business"; to a member or employee of a business entity whose designated licensed individual dies or becomes disabled; to the designee of a producer entering active military service; and, as a catch-all, in any other circumstance where "the public interest will best be served."
The Superintendent may attach limitations, may require a sponsor, and may revoke the temporary licence at any time to protect the public. The fee is $50 under §601. Note what the section is not: it is not a route for an applicant who has failed the exam, and it is not a probationary licence.
The apprentice licence, §1420-Q, is Maine-specific and genuinely unusual. It lets someone who is 18 or older, a Maine resident, and "employed by and sponsored by a licensed resident producer" meet every producer requirement except the examination. The scope is narrow and deliberately so: an apprentice may handle property and casualty risks in Maine within the sponsor's authority only, and may not touch life, annuities, long-term care or federal Affordable Care Act activity.
The sponsor side carries its own conditions. A sponsor must hold a Maine licence in good standing for at least one year with no restrictions, and the Superintendent may limit a sponsor to no more than two active apprentices per year. The statute is explicit about duration: "An apprentice insurance producer license may not be authorized for more than 180 days." The fee is $50, the same as a temporary licence, and the Bureau's fee schedule lists it as its own line.
Which is which, in one line. A temporary licence answers "the licensed producer is gone and the book still needs servicing." An apprentice licence answers "this person is going to be a producer and is learning the job while the paperwork catches up." Neither is a way around the examination for someone who simply does not want to sit it - the apprentice route runs out after 180 days, and there is no renewal path that avoids the exam.
And a third route that is not a licence at all. If you are moving to Maine already licensed elsewhere, none of the above applies - §1420-H exempts you from examination outright in three defined situations. The Property and Casualty guide sets those out.
What the Maine Life, Accident and Health License Costs
$25 to the Bureau for both lines, made up of a $15 application fee and a $10 licence fee, plus the Pearson VUE examination fee. Because Maine prices the licence rather than the lines, this is the single clearest saving available in the whole programme: two authorities for the price of one, and one examination fee rather than two.
The examination fee is the one figure Maine does not publish - handbook #122000 carries no dollar amount anywhere in it, and the Bureau's fee schedule covers only licence fees. Pearson VUE quotes it at reservation.
The training gates are the real budget line on this licence. Selling annuities needs a one-time 4 credit hour course; selling long-term care needs 8 hours initially and 4 hours every 24 months thereafter. Both are courses you buy, both may be approved as continuing education so the hours can count toward your 24, and neither is optional if you intend to sell the product.
Two temporary routes cost $50 each - the §1420-J temporary licence and the §1420-Q apprentice licence - which is double the ordinary producer licence fee for a fraction of the duration. That is the price of skipping the examination.
Nothing recurs. An individual resident producer pays no Maine renewal fee, and no appointment is needed to keep the licence. Where a carrier appoints you, the $30 biennial appointment fee is the carrier's.
Eligibility Requirements
24-A M.R.S. §1420-E sets the test - age 18, no §1420-K conduct, fees paid, examinations passed - and it is the same test whether you take one line or both. Because the Bureau charges $25 per licence rather than per line, taking Life and Accident and Health together costs exactly what taking one of them costs.
Variable products need a second authority and a securities registration. Variable life and variable annuity is its own line at §1420-F(1)(E), and §1410 requires a variable-contract applicant to meet the "minimum requirements of a national association of securities dealers" - FINRA registration, in practice. A combined Life and Health licensee may sell fixed and indexed annuities; variable annuities need the extra line and the securities licence.
No pre-licensing education is required in Maine. The statutory requirement was repealed in 2007, which is why the Bureau's own first-time-licensee walkthrough goes straight from "take the appropriate licensing exam first" to the application. The Life guide covers the rule text that the repeal left stranded.
Do not confuse a producer licence with a consultant licence. Maine issues both, and the consultant route is much harder: §1410 requires "not less than 5 years of actual experience," §1464 requires a bond, and §1465 requires a written consulting contract before you may charge a fee for advice. The consultant fee is $75 resident against $25 for a producer, and consultants - unlike individual resident producers - pay a biennial continuation fee timed to their CE due date. If a source tells you Maine producers pay a biennial fee, it has probably read the consultant row of §1416-A(2).
Two training gates attach to this licence rather than to the exam, so they come after licensure rather than before it: 8 hours of long-term care training plus 4 hours every 24 months under §5081, and a one-time 4 credit hours of annuity training under Rule ch. 917 §7. Neither is a condition of being licensed; both are conditions of selling the product.
Keeping the Maine Life, Accident and Health License
Important CE details: How the hours are counted is regulated in detail. A classroom session earns one credit for every 50 minutes of instruction, excluding breaks and meals, and no credit at all unless the instructor verifies attendance. Anything left over as a fraction is rounded down to the next whole hour. Teaching counts too: an instructor on an approved classroom course may earn credit on the same footing as a student. A course carrying only partly qualifying content earns credit at a reduced rate reflecting the proportion that qualifies.
24 credit hours every two years, at least 3 in ethics, due on the last day of your birth month in the odd or even year matching your birth year. Holding both Life and Accident and Health does not double it - the Bureau's answer is that the 24 covers every line on the licence, and that is the practical argument for taking both lines rather than choosing one.
This licence carries both of Maine's product-training gates, and they are different sizes. Annuities: "a one-time four (4) credit hour training course approved by the Bureau of Insurance," Rule ch. 917 §7(2)(A)(1). Long-term care: "a one-time training course that is no less than 8 hours in length" plus "ongoing training of no less than 4 hours every 24 months thereafter," 24-A M.R.S. §5081(1). Four once, against eight-plus-four-forever. Get them the wrong way round and you will either over-buy training or sell a product you are not qualified to sell.
The annuity gate came with a deadline that has now passed, which is why it is easy to miss. Rule ch. 917's 2021 amendments - the ones that adopted the NAIC best-interest standard - took effect 1 January 2022, and producers who already held a life line at that date and wished to sell annuities had "no later than six (6) months after the effective date of the amendments" to complete the course. A producer licensed since then simply cannot solicit an annuity until the four hours are done, and the insurer must verify it first.
What the annuity training has to cover is set out in the rule rather than left to the vendor: annuity types; the parties to an annuity; how fixed, variable and indexed contract provisions affect consumers; the income taxation of annuities; the primary uses of annuities; and "appropriate standards of conduct, appropriate sales practices, and replacement and disclosure requirements." Training completed in another state may be recognised reciprocally.
Moving in from another state does not import your CE history, and moving out does not end it. Maine's obligation attaches to resident licensees; a nonresident satisfies Maine by satisfying the home state, which is the mirror of §1420-G's reciprocity structure. Become a Maine resident and you join the birth-month cycle, subject to the first-biennium waiver the Personal Lines guide sets out.
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