Getting your Life & Health license in Montana
In Montana, 'Life & Health' isn't one exam - it's two. The state licenses by individual line of authority, so the Life producer license and the Accident & Health producer license are earned through separate exams. The good news is you can schedule them back-to-back in the same visit and knock both out in a day.
Each of those exams is split into two parts: Part 1 is the general (national) insurance material and Part 2 is Montana statutes and rules. You need 75% on each part of each exam. No pre-licensing course is required to sit either one.
This guide walks the whole path - both exams, fingerprints, applying, and keeping the license alive with CE - the way I'd coach a friend through it.
What's on the Life and the Accident & Health exams
The Life exam carries 86 scored questions: 50 on general life product knowledge (policy types, riders, provisions, underwriting, retirement and tax concepts) plus 36 on Montana law. You get 2 hours total - 1 hour 15 minutes for the general part and 45 minutes for the state part.
The Accident & Health exam is a bit heavier at 92 scored questions: 50 general (disability income, medical expense plans, Medicare/Medicaid, provisions and renewability, field underwriting) plus 42 on Montana A&H law. You get 2 hours 15 minutes - 1 hour 15 for general and a full hour for the state part. Each exam also includes a handful of unscored pretest questions that don't count.
Pre-licensing education: not required (but don't skip the studying)
Here's some good news that surprises people coming from other states: Montana does not require you to complete any pre-licensing course hours before you sit an exam. There's no certificate to upload, no minimum seat-time to log. You can register and test whenever you're ready.
That freedom comes with a catch, though - the exams are real, and 'not required' is not the same as 'not needed.' Montana scores Part 1 and Part 2 separately and you need 75% on each, so walking in cold is a fast way to forfeit a $65 fee. Treat a good study package as the thing standing between you and a retake.
Fingerprints & background check
Every resident applicant has to be fingerprinted - it feeds the state and federal criminal background check the CSI runs on you. Before you get printed, complete the Applicant Rights and Consent to Fingerprint form and email it to csiapplicantrights@mt.gov.
The convenient part: you can get your prints captured right at a Pearson VUE test center, so many people knock it out the same day they test. Budget about $30 for the capture.
Exam day: what to bring and what to expect
Reserve your seat online at Pearson VUE (or by phone) at least 24 hours ahead - there are no walk-ins. The $65 fee is paid when you book, by card or voucher, and it's non-refundable, so lock in a date you'll actually keep.
Show up 30 minutes early with TWO forms of current signature ID. Your primary ID must be government-issued with photo and signature (driver's license, passport, military ID); the secondary just needs a matching signature (a credit/debit card or Social Security card works). The name on both must match your registration exactly. Pearson VUE does not honor ID grace periods - an ID that expired yesterday is expired.
Everything personal goes in a locker - no phones, notes, books, or smartwatches in the room. You'll get a tutorial that doesn't eat into your exam clock, and the proctor provides note materials. You can also take this exam online via OnVUE if you've got a quiet room, a webcam, and solid internet.
How scoring works - and the 75% trap
Montana uses a scaled passing score of 75. The number on your report isn't a raw count or a straight percentage - it's an equated scaled score, so 'below 75' just tells you how close you came, not how many you missed.
The detail that trips people up: each exam has two parts (a General part and a Montana state-law part), and you have to clear the bar on EACH part. Crushing the general part won't rescue a weak state-law part. Pass and you get a report telling you how to apply; fail and you get diagnostic feedback by topic area so you know exactly where to focus.
Need a retake? You wait 24 hours before rebooking, and you retake the ENTIRE exam - both parts - not just the half you missed. Online (OnVUE) testers get two online attempts before any further retakes must be at a physical center.
Applying for your license
Pass the exam, clear fingerprints, then apply online at NIPR (nipr.com). Montana doesn't charge a state fee for a resident producer application - you'll just pay NIPR's small transaction fee (about $5.60).
Your exam result is good for one year, so don't sit on it. Once the CSI approves you, you're licensed; if there's an issue, the CSI's licensing division will reach out.
Continuing education & renewal
Montana licenses run on a 2-year (biennial) cycle. You owe 24 CE hours each cycle, and two slices are mandatory: at least 3 hours of ethics and at least 1 hour covering legislative/regulatory changes to Montana insurance law.
Renewal is refreshingly low-friction for residents: when your CE posts to your SBS transcript by the expiration date, your resident producer license renews automatically - no application, no renewal fee. Miss the CE window, though, and you're into a late renewal application with a fee, so finish CE at least 30 days early to give providers time to report it.
Quick Reference
Official Links
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