The New Hampshire Life, Accident & Health Producer License
The combined paper puts both the Life and the Accident & Health lines on your producer licence in one sitting. New Hampshire issues a single producer licence and lists lines of authority on it — there is no separate agent, broker or consultant credential under RSA 402-J — so 12-63 is a route to two entries on one licence rather than to two licences.
The arithmetic favours it. Life alone (12-61) and Accident & Health alone (12-62) are $59 each, or $118 for the pair across two appointments. The combined paper is $72 and one appointment, covering 150 items in 2 hours 30 minutes. That is $46 saved and a trip avoided.
One thing changed in July 2026 and it changes the calculus. On July 6, 2026, PSI withdrew remote proctoring from this paper and from the standalone Life paper. Both are now test-center only. The standalone Accident & Health paper (12-62) kept it. So if remote testing matters to you, the combined paper is no longer the frictionless option it was — and there is no route to the Life line that avoids a test center.
The eligibility bar is RSA 402-J:6: be 18, have no ground for denial under RSA 402-J:12, pay the fees, pass the exam. No pre-licensing education, repealed July 11, 2008. No fingerprints and no criminal history record check — New Hampshire requires neither of any resident producer.
Variable life and variable annuities need this licence plus FINRA registration; the insurance lines alone do not reach securities. This guide owns two things the other guides point at: what actually happens at the test center, and New Hampshire's temporary licence.
The Combined Paper, or Two Singles
| Paper | Series | Items | Time | Fee | Remote proctoring |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Life, Accident and Health | 12-63 | 150 | 2 hr 30 min | $72 | No — withdrawn 7/6/2026 |
| Life | 12-61 | 100 | 2 hr | $59 | No — withdrawn 7/6/2026 |
| Accident and Health | 12-62 | 100 | 2 hr | $59 | Yes |
| NH Life, Accident & Health Laws and Regulations | 12-80 | 40 | 1 hr | $59 | Not stated |
On cost and time, the combined paper wins outright: $72 against $118, and 150 items against 200. It is also the denser paper — 50 more items for only 30 more minutes than a single sitting, which works out to a slightly tighter pace per item. Candidates who read slowly, or who want to bank one line before tackling the other, sometimes prefer the two-sitting route despite the cost.
On remote testing, the picture inverted in July 2026. Before then, 12-63 could be sat from home. Now only 12-62 among the life-and-health family can. There is no combination that gets you the Life line without visiting a test center — if you need remote testing, the most you can obtain that way is the Health line via 12-62, and the Life line will still require a center visit later.
PSI adds 5 to 10 unscored experimental questions to the examinations, which do not count toward your result. The outline publishes "150 Items - 2.5 Hours" without splitting scored from pretest, so read that as the paper in front of you rather than as a scored-question count. The pre-exam tutorial takes up to 15 minutes and does not come out of your two and a half hours.
12-80 is the state-law-only paper. It is sat by candidates the Department has determined are exempt from the general portion — typically producers bringing an existing out-of-state licence in under RSA 402-J:9. It is not something you elect as a shortcut.
Most Tested Topics on the New Hampshire Life, Accident & Health Exam
The state-law portion of this paper has one organising idea, and grasping it early is worth more than memorising any single number: New Hampshire keeps a lot of its consumer-protection law in Department rules rather than in the RSA. Free looks, replacement duties, annuity suitability — none of them are in the insurance code. A candidate who studies the statutes carefully and stops there will conclude New Hampshire has no free look at all, which is both wrong and the most confidently-given wrong answer on this exam. From the TESTivity New Hampshire regulations curriculum, statute-verified:
| Concept | The New Hampshire rule |
|---|---|
| The three free-look numbers | New Hampshire runs three different windows out of one rulebook. Individual life and annuity: 10 days (Ins 401.05(f)). Individual accident and health: 30 days (Ins 401.06(b)(10)). A replacement transaction: 30 days for an unconditional full refund (Ins 302.06(a)(4)). All three are mandatory face-page or notice provisions with wording the rule prescribes verbatim — and none of them is in the RSA (Ins 401.05(f); Ins 401.06(b)(10); Ins 302.06(a)(4)) |
| Where the free look is NOT | Not in RSA 408:13, the life policy-requirements statute, whose six paragraphs cover premiums, grace, entire contract, incontestability, misstatement and suicide — and nothing else. Not anywhere in RSA chapter 408. This absence is the trap, not the answer (RSA 408:13) |
| Replacement duties | Governed by rule Ins 302, which sets duties for producers, for insurers using producers, for replacing insurers and for existing insurers, plus direct-response solicitation rules and a penalties part. The producer-facing consequence is the 30-day right to return, which must be disclosed as notice (N.H. Admin. Code Ins 302) |
| L&H guaranty caps | $300,000 life death benefits · $100,000 net cash surrender and withdrawal values · $250,000 present value of annuity benefits · $500,000 health benefit plans (basic hospital, medical or major medical) · $300,000 disability income · $300,000 long-term care · $100,000 other health coverages (RSA 408-F:5, III(b)(1)) |
| L&H guaranty aggregate | $300,000 for any one life — raised to $500,000 where a health benefit plan is involved (III(b)(4)(A)). Separate ceilings cap one policy owner's multiple non-group policies at $5,000,000 (III(b)(4)(B)) and unallocated annuities at $5,000,000 (III(b)(5)). Governmental retirement plan annuitants sit at $250,000 (III(b)(2)) and structured settlement annuitants at $250,000 (III(b)(3)) — four different subsections, so cite precisely |
| Which guaranty chapter governs | RSA 408-F, the Act of 2019, effective January 1, 2020. New Hampshire prints three guaranty chapters and marks none of them repealed — RSA 404-D (1971), RSA 408-B (1996) and RSA 408-F. They layer by insolvency date rather than superseding one another: 408-F "shall not apply to any member insurer which is insolvent … on December 31, 2019." All three feed one association (RSA 408-F:1; 408-F:20; 408-F:6) |
| Advertising the guaranty association | Expressly prohibited, and it is itself an unfair trade practice: no person may use "the existence of the insurance guaranty association of this state for the purpose of sales, solicitation or inducement to purchase." Note there is no matching section in the property and casualty act, RSA 404-B (RSA 408-F:19) |
| Annuity best interest | Adopted as rule Ins 305, effective February 16, 2024: a producer recommending an annuity must act in the consumer's best interest "without placing the producer's or the insurer's financial interest ahead of the consumer's interest." New Hampshire did not adopt the NAIC model's producer-training section (Ins 305.05) |
| Producer training hours, LTC and annuity | New Hampshire sets none. No hour count for long-term care or annuity training appears in Ins 3600, RSA 415-D, Ins 305 or Ins 1300. The LTC rules put the duty on the insurer — it must establish producer training requirements and train producers in its suitability standards. Do not import a national "8-hour LTC" figure (Ins 3601.22(a)(1); Ins 3601.23(b)(2)) |
| CE, the headline numbers | 24 hours per 24 months, of which at least 3 and no more than 10 may be ethics — New Hampshire caps ethics as well as requiring it. Due 60 days before renewal, and renewal falls on the last day of your birth month. Passing the licensing exam satisfies the ensuing renewal. CE is at RSA 402-J:7-a — not RSA 402-J:19, which is Severability (RSA 402-J:7-a; Ins 1302.03) |
| Temporary licence | Up to 180 days with no examination — on the death or disability of a designated individual, on entry into military service, or where the Commissioner deems the public interest served (RSA 402-J:11) |
The free-look cluster decides more points on this paper than anything else, and it does so in two ways. First as a straight recall item — 10 for life, 30 for health, 30 on a replacement — where the danger is carrying one number across all three. Second, and more insidiously, as a reasoning trap: because RSA chapter 408 contains no right to return, a well-prepared candidate reading only statutes can construct a confident argument that New Hampshire mandates no life free look. The right exists, it is compulsory, and Ins 401.05(f) prescribes its exact wording — "This policy may, at any time within 10 days after its receipt by the policyholder, be returned…" If an answer choice says New Hampshire has no free look for ordinary life, it is wrong.
The guaranty caps are the second cluster, and the one detail candidates miss is the aggregate. The per-benefit numbers are memorable enough — 300/100/250. The aggregate is $300,000 for any one life except $500,000 where a health benefit plan is involved, which means the aggregate is not simply the largest single cap and is not the sum of the caps. An item that gives you a person holding both a life policy and a major medical plan with the same insolvent insurer is testing the $500,000 exception.
Third, a citation point that is worth one easy mark and a great deal of professional credibility: CE lives at RSA 402-J:7-a. New Hampshire's chapter numbering puts Severability at 402-J:19 and Assumed Names at 402-J:10, and both get miscited for continuing education in circulating material — including in older versions of this site's own data. If an item offers you a statute number for the 24-hour requirement, 7-a is the one.
What Actually Happens at the New Hampshire Test Center
Because this paper lost remote proctoring on July 6, 2026, everyone sitting 12-63 is doing it in person. The Property guide lists all six New Hampshire centers with addresses; this is what happens once you are there.
Arrive 30 minutes early. PSI's instruction is that "you should arrive 30 minutes before your appointment." That half hour is check-in, not padding — it is when identification is verified, the security screening happens, and your seat is assigned. Two of New Hampshire's centers are inside other businesses (Portsmouth is in an H&R Block office; Keene is at Monadnock Aviation), so build in time to find the right door.
Bring exactly one piece of identification, and make it the right one. New Hampshire requires (1) form of identification. It "must be government issued, current and include your name, signature, and photograph," and PSI is categorical about the alternative: "No form of temporary identification will be accepted." That rules out a paper interim licence, a renewal receipt, or a temporary card issued while a replacement is in the post.
Accepted forms are a state driver's licence, a state identification card, a US passport, a US military identification card, a US alien registration card, a foreign passport, or a foreign government identification card. The signature requirement is the one that catches people — some state ID cards issued to non-drivers carry no signature, and a document without one will not get you seated.
The security screening is more thorough than most candidates expect. You may be asked to empty your pockets. Proctors may ask candidates to "lift up the ends of their sleeves and the bottoms of their pant legs," and will "carefully inspect eyeglass frames, tie tacks, or any other apparel that could be used to harbor a recording device." None of this is directed at you personally — it is the standard posture — but it is worth knowing so it does not rattle you before a 150-item paper.
What you cannot bring into the room is a long list, and it is longer than the obvious: "Reference materials of any kind. Scratch paper. Pens/pencils. Electronic devices of any type … cellular phones, cameras, computers … backpacks, briefcases, chewing gum, drinks, food … notebooks, paper … purses, reading material … wallets." Note that scratch paper, pens and pencils are on that list — you do not bring your own, the center supplies what it permits. Note also wallets and chewing gum. Leave anything you do not need in the car.
The tutorial is free time. Before the examination begins you get a tutorial on the testing system, and "the time you spend on this tutorial, up to 15 minutes, DOES NOT count as part of your examination time." Use it. The 150-item paper gives you 2 hours 30 minutes — exactly one minute per item, and less than that once PSI adds its 5 to 10 experimental questions. There is no surplus in that budget, which is why the tutorial is the place to settle rather than the first ten items.
When you finish, your score appears on screen and a report follows by email — with a diagnostic breakdown by content area if you did not pass. New Hampshire publishes no cut score, so there is no number to compare against; the Personal Lines guide covers results and retakes in full.
If you need to move the appointment, the window is 2 days before the scheduled date, and it must be done through the PSI website or by speaking to a representative. Voicemail and email are expressly not accepted. Inside that window, or as a no-show, the fee is gone — examination fees are "not refundable or transferable," and RSA 402-J:5 requires a candidate who fails to appear to reapply and pay again just as a failed candidate does.
New Hampshire's Temporary Producer License
Most states in this rollout use this slot for pre-licensing education. New Hampshire repealed its requirement on July 11, 2008, so there is no course to describe — which frees the slot for something a life and health producer is far more likely to actually need: the temporary licence under RSA 402-J:11.
What it is. A licence issued without an examination, for a period "not to exceed 180 days," to keep a book of business serviced when the person who ordinarily services it cannot. It is not a trainee permit and it is not a way to start selling while you study — it exists to protect policyholders from being stranded, which is why every ground for issuing one is somebody else's misfortune.
When the Commissioner may issue one. RSA 402-J:11 names the situations:
- to the surviving spouse or court-appointed personal representative of a licensed producer who has died, or to the producer's employee, to allow the business to be wound up, sold or continued;
- to a producer who becomes disabled, or to a person acting for them, on the same terms;
- to the designee of a licensed producer entering active service in the armed forces; and
- in any other circumstance where "the commissioner deems that the public interest will best be served" by issuing one.
That last ground is deliberately open, and it is the one worth remembering: New Hampshire did not close the list.
The conditions attached. The Commissioner may require the temporary licensee to be sponsored by a licensed producer or insurer, and may impose other reasonable requirements to protect the interests of insureds and the public. The Commissioner may also revoke the temporary licence — including where the interests of insureds or the public are endangered.
Where the 180 days actually matters in practice. It is the outer bound on winding up an agency after a death, and 180 days is not long for that. For a life and health book in particular — where policies are long-dated, beneficiaries need servicing, and a sale takes months — the practical answer is usually that someone in the agency sits the exam quickly rather than relying on the temporary licence to bridge the whole gap. Given that New Hampshire imposes no pre-licensing course, no fingerprints, and no waiting period between exam attempts, that is a realistic option here in a way it would not be in a course-and-prints state.
What a temporary licence does not do. It does not exempt anyone from appointment: RSA 402-J:14 still requires that a producer not act as an agent of an insurer without being appointed, and the appointing insurer still files notice within 15 days. And it is not a route around the examination for someone who simply wants a licence — the grounds are exhaustive as to category even though the fourth is open as to circumstance.
The adjacent route that is often the better answer. If the person stepping in is already licensed in another state, they may not need a temporary licence at all. RSA 402-J:9 waives both prelicensing education and examination for someone previously licensed for the same lines elsewhere — if currently licensed, or applying within 90 days of the previous licence's cancellation. The Property & Casualty guide walks that route in full.
What the New Hampshire License Costs
New Hampshire is one of the cheapest states in the country to get licensed in, and the reason is what it does not charge you for. There is no pre-licensing course to buy, because the requirement was repealed on July 11, 2008. There is no fingerprint fee, because New Hampshire fingerprints no resident producers at all. What is left is the exam and the license.
| Item | Cost | Paid to |
|---|---|---|
| Exam, this line | $72 per attempt | PSI |
| Pre-licensing education | $0 — not required | — |
| Fingerprints / background check | $0 — not required | — |
| Application and license fee | $210 | NH Insurance Department, via NIPR |
| NIPR transaction fee | A few dollars, shown at checkout | NIPR |
| Running total | about $282 |
The $210 is set by RSA 400-A:29, X(a) as an "application and license fee," and it is charged per licence rather than per line of authority — New Hampshire issues one producer licence and lists the lines on it. Adding a line later costs you an exam plus the $50 amendment fee under RSA 400-A:29, X(c) — not another $210.
The exam fee is not refundable and not transferable, and the bulletin puts that in capitals for a reason: if you fail, you re-register and pay again. There is no discount on a retake. The fee itself stays valid for one year from the date of payment, so a registration you never use does not evaporate immediately.
The fees you will meet later are worth knowing now. From RSA 400-A:29, X: biennial renewal $150, appointment $25 and termination of appointment $25, amendment to a licence $50 (a name or address change is excluded from that fee), additional fee for late renewal $150, and late completion of continuing education $50. Reinstatement is not in that fee schedule: NIPR publishes $300 for a New Hampshire reinstatement, while the Department's own FAQ describes the late charge as double the licence fee and RSA 402-J:7 states the penalty as double the unpaid renewal fee. Confirm the current figure with the Department before relying on it.
The combined paper's $72 against $118 for two single papers is the clearest saving available in New Hampshire licensing. What it costs you since July 2026 is the remote option — 12-63 is test-center only, so factor in the trip if you are outside the southern half of the state.
Eligibility Requirements
RSA 402-J:6 sets a short list, and it is worth reading for what is absent as much as for what is there. The Commissioner issues the licence to an individual who:
- is at least 18 years of age;
- has not committed any act that is a ground for denial, suspension or revocation under RSA 402-J:12;
- has paid the fees set out in RSA 400-A:29; and
- has successfully passed the examinations for the lines of authority requested.
That is the whole test. There is no pre-licensing education, no fingerprint card, no criminal history record check, and no residency waiting period. New Hampshire is one of a small number of states that runs a producer licensing system with no biometric background check at all — nothing in RSA 402-J, nothing in RSA 400-A:29's fee schedule, and nothing in rule chapter Ins 1300 creates one.
What replaces it is self-disclosure. The Uniform Application carries background questions, and a "yes" answer obliges you to submit a written explanation and the court or regulatory documents behind it. Those documents must reach the Department within 30 days of the electronic application or the application is denied. A felony conviction remains an express ground to deny or revoke under RSA 402-J:12, I(f) — New Hampshire simply learns about it from you rather than from a records check.
One ground in that list is distinctly New Hampshire and worth naming: RSA 402-J:12, I(k) makes "improperly using notes or any other reference material to complete an examination for an insurance license" a statutory ground for denial or revocation in its own right. Most states handle exam misconduct as a vendor matter. New Hampshire wrote it into the licensing statute, and the administrative fine reaches $2,500 per violation.
Keeping the New Hampshire Life & Health License
Important CE details: 24 hours per 24-month cycle. Ethics has a floor AND a ceiling: at least 3, at most 10. Deadline is 60 days before expiry, and expiry is the last day of your birth month. First-cycle producers are covered by their exam pass. No carryover, no long-service or designation exemption, $50 penalty for a late filing.
New Hampshire licences are biennial, and they expire on the last day of your birth month — not on the anniversary of issue, and not on a fixed statewide date. Your first term is therefore short or long rather than a clean two years: it runs to the second birth month after the licence is issued, which in practice is anywhere from about 13 to 25 months.
RSA 402-J:7 frames the licence as continuous rather than expiring: it "shall remain in effect unless revoked or suspended as long as the fee set forth in RSA 400-A:29 is paid and educational requirements for resident individual producers are met by the due date." Miss either and it stops.
The CE requirement — RSA 402-J:7-a and Ins 1302.03:
- 24 hours of Commissioner-approved instruction in the preceding 24 months.
- At least 3 and no more than 10 of those hours may be ethics. New Hampshire caps ethics as well as requiring it, which is unusual — most states set only a floor. You cannot fill the cycle with ethics courses.
- A credit hour means at least 50 minutes of instruction, and the same course cannot be counted twice in one renewal period.
- Everything must be completed and reported 60 days before your renewal date. Not by the expiration date — sixty days ahead of it.
- Passing the state producer licensing exam satisfies the ensuing renewal (Ins 1302.03(g)). A brand-new producer does not owe CE for the first cycle.
The 60-day lead is the single most expensive detail on this page, because it is not the deadline people assume. Your licence expires on the last day of your birth month; your CE was due two months before that. The renewal window itself opens 60 days before expiration and closes at midnight on the expiration date, so the CE deadline and the opening of the renewal window fall on roughly the same day. A producer who starts thinking about renewal when the window opens has already missed the CE deadline.
Fall short and Ins 1302.05 is blunt: no further licence issues until compliance is demonstrated. A $50 late-CE fee applies on top. Miss the renewal fee instead and RSA 402-J:7 charges a penalty of double the unpaid renewal fee. A lapsed licence can be reinstated within 24 months without re-examination; past two years you apply as a new licensee and sit the exam again.
New Hampshire allows no carryover of excess hours into the next cycle, and grants no exemption for long service or for professional designations — a producer with thirty years and a CLU owes the same 24 hours as everyone else. The only exemptions are nonresident reciprocity and the exam-passage credit above.
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