The Nevada Personal Lines Producer License
Personal Lines is exam code 55, and the handbook captions it "Personal Lines (Noncommercial Property & Casualty)." That caption is the whole of the authority: personal auto, homeowners, renters, personal umbrella - and nothing commercial.
It is a third route rather than a subset. Nevada offers Property as code 03, Casualty as code 04, and both together as code 06. Personal Lines sits beside those rather than inside them, and the direction of travel matters: a full property and casualty authority covers noncommercial risks, but a personal lines authority does not reach commercial ones, and there is no $50 upgrade path. Moving up means another examination.
The paper's shape is unusual in a way worth planning around. Its general-knowledge outline is the largest of any Nevada single-line paper at 75 scored questions, and its Nevada-specific outline the smallest at 25. It is also the only Nevada producer paper with 7 pretest items rather than 10 - 5 on the general-knowledge section and 2 on the state section. So the state-law advantage a Nevada candidate has on the other papers is at its thinnest here, and the national material carries three-quarters of the weight.
The Nevada Personal Lines Exam
Exam code 55, 2 hours 15 minutes, $37. Two printed outlines: Personal Lines general knowledge at "75 scored plus 5 pretest questions" and Personal Lines Nevada-specific at "25 scored plus 2 pretest questions." That is 100 scored and 7 pretest, 107 items in all, at about 76 seconds an item.
Note the pretest count, because it is the exception. Every other Nevada producer paper carries 5 pretest questions per outline. Personal Lines carries 5 on the general section and 2 on the state section - the only place in the Nevada scheme where the number moves. It is a small thing, but it is exactly the kind of detail that makes a derived total wrong if you assume rather than read.
As with every Nevada paper, the totals here are sums of printed sections. The candidate handbook gives exam codes, time limits and fees and no counts; the content outlines give counts per section and no times and no exam-level total. This site adds the sections and states pacing on an all-items basis throughout, so the numbers can be compared between lines.
| Route | Code | Scored | Pretest | Time | Pace | Authority |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Personal Lines | 55 | 100 | 7 | 2 hours 15 minutes | ~76 s/item | Noncommercial only |
| Property | 03 | 82 | 10 | 2 hours | ~78 s/item | Property |
| Casualty | 04 | 89 | 10 | 2 hours 15 minutes | ~82 s/item | Casualty |
| Property and Casualty | 06 | 141 | 15 | 3 hours 35 minutes | ~83 s/item | Both |
The choice between code 55 and code 06 is the decision this page exists to inform. Code 55 costs $37, runs two hours fifteen, and gives noncommercial authority. Code 06 costs $47, runs three hours thirty-five, and gives the whole of property and casualty. The $10 and the extra eighty minutes buy commercial authority that cannot be added later for a fee - only for another examination.
Passing is a scaled 70 under NAC 683A.270, and the pass is good for one year: the examination "must have been successfully completed within 1 year immediately preceding the date of application for the license."
Most Tested Topics on the Nevada Personal Lines Exam
Twenty-five scored questions come from Nevada law, and the cancellation and nonrenewal scheme at NRS 687B.310 to 687B.420 supplies more of them than any other single subject. Nevada runs one scheme for property, auto and most other lines together rather than separate ones, so the notice periods below apply to a homeowners policy and a personal auto policy alike - though two of the prohibitions at the end of the table are line-specific, and knowing which is which is the point of them.
| Concept | The Nevada rule | Where it lives |
|---|---|---|
| The window before the grounds bite | 70 days, not 60 - and a RENEWAL counts too: the restriction reaches a policy "that has been in effect for at least 70 days or that has been renewed" | 687B.320(1) |
| What the restriction actually restricts | Cancellation "before the expiration of the agreed term or 1 year from the effective date of the policy or renewal, whichever occurs first" | 687B.320(1) |
| The grounds, and how many | Seven, lettered (a) to (g) - and the chapeau is not one of them. Ground (d) is itself a sub-list, so pin cite (1)(d)(1) or (1)(d)(2) | 687B.320(1)(a)-(g) |
| Cancellation notice periods | "At least 10 days" for nonpayment and "at least 30 days" for any other ground - both floors, not fixed figures | 687B.320(2) |
| What every notice must carry | Personal delivery or first-class or certified mail, the effective date, and "a written explanation of the specific reasons" | 687B.310(6) |
| Two ways a notice can be void | It is ineffective unless it tells the policyholder of the right to ask for the grounds, and ineffective unless it explains applying through certain plans | 687B.360; 687B.370 |
| Nonrenewal notice | 60 days for a commercial or business policy, 30 days for all others | 687B.340(1)(a), (1)(b) |
| What a late nonrenewal notice costs the insurer | The renewal. "If an insurer fails to provide a timely notice of nonrenewal, the insurer shall provide the insured with a policy of insurance on the identical terms as in the expiring policy" | 687B.340(1) |
| The right of renewal itself | "On the terms then being applied by the insurer to persons similarly situated," for a term equal to the expiring one if a year or less | 687B.340(1) |
| A third clock, for multi-year policies | Cancellation before an ANNIVERSARY - 60 days commercial, 30 days otherwise | 687B.330 |
| Claims history as a ground | Barred - and read the opening words, because this one is narrower than its neighbours: it reaches "a policy of motor vehicle insurance covering private passenger cars or commercial vehicles," not homeowners. Inside that scope: no refusal, cancellation, nonrenewal or premium increase for a not-at-fault claim, a claim on which no payment was made or the insurer recovered its whole payment, or a mere inquiry | 687B.385 |
| Characteristics that cannot cancel auto liability | Age, residence, race, colour, creed, national origin, ancestry, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or occupation - none of them alone | 687B.390 |
| Dog breed and homeowners | Cannot be the sole ground for refusing coverage | 687B.383 |
| Reaching a certain age | No refusal, limit reduction or premium increase on auto liability solely for it - with the burden of proof on the insurer | 687B.400 |
| Why a notice failure is worse than it looks | It is itself an unfair claims practice: failing "to comply with the provisions of NRS 687B.310 to 687B.390, inclusive, or 687B.410" is on the statutory list | 686A.310(1)(m) |
| And what that unlocks | "An insurer is liable to its insured for any damages sustained by the insured as a result of the commission of any act set forth in subsection 1 as an unfair practice" | 686A.310(2) |
| What sits outside the scheme | Rescission or reformation of a life or health contract, and any class the Commissioner exempts by rule "where the policyholders do not need protection against arbitrary termination" | 687B.310(3), (5) |
The 70-day figure is the one Nevada question a national course will get wrong, because the industry standard is 60. And the second half of the same clause is missed even by material that gets the 70 right: the grounds restriction applies to a policy in effect 70 days or that has been renewed. So a renewal policy is inside the protected zone on day one - there is no fresh 70-day free period at each renewal, which is exactly what an insurer relying on the standard rule would assume.
The nonrenewal remedy is the second high-value row, and it is unusually blunt. Most states make a late nonrenewal notice merely ineffective, so the policy runs on until proper notice is given. Nevada goes further: "the insurer shall provide the insured with a policy of insurance on the identical terms as in the expiring policy." Identical terms - not the terms the insurer would now apply, which is what the ordinary right of renewal in the same subsection gives. Missing the notice is therefore worse for the insurer than nonrenewing lawfully and worse than renewing normally.
And the enforcement link is what turns all of this from contract law into producer conduct. NRS 686A.310(1)(m) folds the entire run of cancellation sections into the unfair claims settlement statute by reference. Nevada then needs no pattern: a single act violates. So one late nonrenewal notice is an unfair practice, and NRS 686A.310(2) gives the insured a damages remedy for it.
Nevada Exam Results and Retakes
Nevada reports on the spot. The handbook is plain about it: "candidates will leave the test center with their official scores in hand." There is no waiting period, no email and nothing to log in for - you find out before you leave the building. How the result reaches the Division is not something the handbook describes, so this page will not describe it either; what it does say is that you leave with the paper in hand.
What the number means, and what it does not. Passing is a score of 70, fixed by NAC 683A.270 - and the handbook goes out of its way to explain that the reported figure is a converted one: "Raw scores are converted into scaled scores that can range from 0 to 100. The scaled score that is reported to candidates is neither the number of questions they answered correctly nor the percentage of questions they answered correctly." It then says what the number is for: "With a passing score of 70, any score below 70 indicates how close the candidate came to passing, rather than the actual number or percentage of questions the candidates answered correctly."
So a 68 is not two questions short. On a 100-scored paper it is tempting to read a scaled 68 as 68 correct out of 100, or as two more needed. Neither is safe. The conversion is the vendor's and its relationship to the raw count is not published, so the only reliable reading of a failing score is the one the handbook offers - a distance, not a count. Treat 68 as "close" and 52 as "not close," and plan study accordingly rather than hunting for two questions.
Failing means the whole paper again. "Failing candidates will be required to retake the entire examination" - there is no section-level retake in Nevada, no carry-forward of a passed general-knowledge half, and no partial credit. On code 55 that is all 107 items again.
You must wait 24 hours before you can even book. "Reservations for re-examination are not made at the test center, and candidates must wait twenty-four (24) hours before making one." Note what that sentence contains and what it does not: it is a bar on booking, not a bar on sitting, and it starts when you fail rather than when you next try. It also rules out the thing candidates most want to do, which is rebook at the desk on the way out.
How many attempts do you get? At a test centre, the handbook prints no cap - and it does not say attempts are unlimited either, so this page will not say so on its behalf. What Nevada does publish is a cap on the remote route: "Candidates taking an online examination are allowed two attempts per exam. All subsequent examination attempts will have to be taken at a Pearson VUE testing center." That is the only attempt limit in the Nevada scheme, and it is one-directional - exhausting it closes the remote option, not the licence.
Every attempt costs $37 again. Examination fees are "nonrefundable and nontransferable," so a retake is a fresh reservation at the full price. The 48-hour cancellation rule applies to it exactly as to the first sitting.
The clock that matters more than the retake rule is the one-year validity. NAC 683A.270: "The examination must have been successfully completed within 1 year immediately preceding the date of application for the license." A pass is not a credential; it is a twelve-month ticket to apply. Candidates who pass, then wait for a job offer, then apply fourteen months later, sit the paper again.
And that one year is worth stating against the outlier, because a candidate who checks a second source may find a different number. NIPR's Nevada state-information page prints "Insurance exam scores in Nevada are valid for 2 Years." It is the only source that says so. The regulation says one year, the Division says one year, and the candidate handbook says "within one year after passing the examination, apply for your license online through Sircon." Three to one, and the one that disagrees is not a Nevada authority.
A practical retest strategy for this paper specifically. Seventy-five of the 100 scored questions are national material and 25 are Nevada's, so a first failure is far more likely to be a general-knowledge problem than a state-law one - the arithmetic alone makes it three times likelier. Resist the instinct to spend the retake window on Nevada statutes. The exception is a candidate who scored close: at that margin the 25 Nevada questions are the cheapest place to find marks, because they are the only ones a national course did not already cover.
Nevada Personal Lines License Fees
$37 for code 55 and $185 for the licence - $125 under NRS 680B.010(5) and $60 under NRS 680C.110(4)(d). NIPR adds $5.50 to the application; printing is free for 30 days from ISSUANCE rather than from filing, on a Sircon-approved application or renewal.
The comparison that matters is not with other states but with code 06. Personal Lines and every other Nevada single-line paper cost the same $37, so choosing the narrow authority saves nothing. The combined Property and Casualty paper costs $47 - ten dollars more - and produces the full authority on the same $185 application.
And the upgrade is not a fee. Nevada charges $50 to add a line of authority to an existing licence, but a personal lines producer moving to full property and casualty is not adding a line in that sense: the property and casualty lines require their own examinations. Budget $37 plus $37 plus $50, or $47 plus $50 - against the $47 the combined paper would have cost at the outset.
Later costs are the same for every Nevada producer: $185 to renew every three years, a statutory "penalty of 50 percent of all applicable fees for renewal" to renew inside 30 days after expiry, and "twice all applicable fees for renewal" to reinstate within 12 months without re-examination.
Nevada Personal Lines License Eligibility
Four findings at NRS 683A.251(1) and no coursework among them: 18 years of age; no act that is a ground for refusal, suspension or revocation; all applicable fees paid, "which may not be refunded"; and the examinations passed for the lines applied for unless exempt.
The examination exemptions do not include a designation - Nevada's designation list is a continuing-education exemption and nothing more. NRS 683A.291(1) exempts "an applicant for licensing in this state as a producer of insurance who was previously licensed for the same lines of authority in another state ... if the applicant is currently licensed in that state," or where the application arrives within 90 days after the cancellation of that licence and the other state certifies good standing. The same subsection exempts a producer confining activity to the listed limited lines, and subsection 3 puts the residency clock in the statute rather than only on a Division page.
Read "the same lines of authority" carefully if you are moving in with a personal lines licence. The exemption is line-for-line. A producer arriving with a full property and casualty authority from another state is exempt as to property and casualty; a producer arriving with a personal lines authority is exempt as to personal lines. Neither is exempt as to a line they did not hold.
Two 90-day clocks apply to an incoming producer, they measure different events, and both are statutory rather than mere Division practice. NRS 683A.291(3) carries the residency one: a person licensed elsewhere who moves here "must apply for licensing within 90 days after establishing legal residence." NRS 683A.291(1) carries the examination one, extending the exemption where the application arrives "within 90 days after the cancellation of the license" and the other state certifies good standing. The Property and Casualty guide owns the reciprocity route.
Nevada Personal Lines Continuing Education
Important CE details: A personal lines producer should know one limit on the Nevada continuing-education rule that is not about hours at all. NAC 683A.330 requires the non-ethics hours to relate to the lines of authority held - and Personal Lines is the narrowest authority Nevada issues, a noncommercial subset of property and casualty rather than the whole of it. That does not shrink the thirty-hour requirement, and it does not narrow what counts as an approved course, but it does mean a producer who intends to move into commercial work is spending three years of education inside a line they plan to leave. Adding the full property and casualty authority is not a line addition in the ordinary sense: it means sitting code 03 and code 04, or code 06, and passing. The Property and Casualty guide owns renewal and the Life and Health guide owns the designation-based exemption that can remove the thirty hours altogether.
Thirty hours in the three-year period before renewal, three of them ethics, under NAC 683A.330. The remaining twenty-seven must relate to the lines of authority held - which, on a personal lines licence, is a narrower field than on a full property and casualty one.
Holding more lines does not raise the total, so a producer who later adds life or health is still doing thirty hours; what changes is the range of subjects those hours may cover. That is a reason to think about the licence you want before the education you buy.
Reporting runs through the provider. Approved education providers upload credits to the Division through Sircon and are charged $1 per hour per student for it; the Division will not take a certificate from a licensee. Check the Sircon transcript, and leave the provider room to file - the compliance date is the upload, not the class.
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