Getting Your Pennsylvania Life & Health License
The path is short and entirely under your control: prepare, pass the PSI exam, apply through Sircon or NIPR, and submit fingerprints. There is no mandatory coursework standing between you and the exam — Pennsylvania removed that requirement in 2025 — but the exam itself is broad, so treat the 'optional' prep as essential.
You must be at least 18, keep a Pennsylvania residence or business location, and be able to read and write English. Everything after that is a sequence you can complete in a single focused week.
The Life, Accident & Health Exam (Series 16-03)
The combined exam is 150 scored multiple-choice questions with a 170-minute (2 hr 50 min) time limit, and you must score 70% or higher to pass. PSI also slips in 5–10 unscored experimental questions; they do not count, and the time allowance already accounts for them.
Questions come in three formats — incomplete sentence, direct question, and 'all of the following EXCEPT.' You can flag and revisit any question before time runs out. If you would rather narrow your scope, the single-line options are Series 16-01 (Life & Annuities) and Series 16-02 (Accident & Health).
You can test at a PSI center or via remote online proctoring. There is no limit on retakes if you fail — you just cannot rebook the same day, since scores process overnight.
What It Costs
Plan on roughly $145 for a clean first-time pass: a $55 exam fee (Series 16-03), a $55 resident application fee, about $12.50 in online service fees, and roughly $23 for fingerprinting. Single-line exams (16-01 or 16-02) are $45 each.
Exam fees are non-refundable and non-transferable, so do not book until you are ready to sit. Fingerprinting is paid at the IdentoGO center by card, certified check, or money order — no cash and no personal checks.
Fingerprinting & Background Check
Initial resident producers must be fingerprinted at an IdentoGO center so the Department can pull an FBI criminal-history report. Register first at uenroll.identogo.com (or 844-321-2101) using Insurance Department service code 1KGBGJ — the correct code is what routes your check to the right agency.
Timing is the trap students fall into: do not submit fingerprints until after you have passed the exam and filed your application. Prints received with no matching application are destroyed, and you have to pay and reprint.
Submitting Your Application
Immediately after passing, use the kiosk at the PSI test site — or your own computer — to apply online through Sircon (sircon.com/pennsylvania) or NIPR (nipr.com). The $55 resident fee and ~$12.50 service fee are paid by credit card at filing.
You have one year from your pass date to apply. The Department no longer mails licenses; once approved, you print yours from insurance.pa.gov. Remember a license alone does not let you sell — you also need at least one company appointment, which the carrier files on your behalf.
Keeping Your License Active
Important CE details: 24 hours every 2 years, including at least 3 hours of ethics. Renewal falls on your birth month on a 2-year cycle, and up to 24 hours may carry into the next term. (The separate 2-hour flood-CE rule applies to P&C and Personal Lines producers, not to Life & Health.)
Pennsylvania producers complete 24 hours of CE every two years, including at least 3 hours of ethics. Your renewal lands on your birth month on a 2-year cycle, and you can carry up to 24 hours into the next term.
Two product-specific rules matter for Life & Health: the one-time 4-hour annuity training before you sell annuities, and the 8-hour initial LTC training (plus a health line) before you sell long-term care. Finish all CE before you file your renewal, not after.
Quick Reference
Official Links
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