Getting Your Pennsylvania Life License
The Life-only path is the leanest way into the business if annuities and life insurance are your market: prepare, pass the Series 16-01 exam, apply through Sircon or NIPR, and submit fingerprints. No mandatory coursework stands in the way — Pennsylvania removed that in 2025 — but the exam still spans federal product knowledge and Pennsylvania law, so prepare in earnest.
You must be at least 18, maintain a Pennsylvania residence or business location, and be able to read and write English. If you think you may want the health side too, weigh sitting the combined 16-03 once instead of adding it later.
The Life Insurance Exam (Series 16-01)
The Life exam is 100 scored multiple-choice questions with a 120-minute (2-hour) limit, and you need 70% to pass. PSI adds 5–10 unscored experimental questions that do not count, and the time allowance already covers them.
Expect the three standard PSI formats — incomplete sentence, direct question, and 'all of the following EXCEPT' — and you can flag and revisit items before time runs out. Test at a PSI center or by remote online proctoring; retakes are unlimited, just not same-day.
What It Costs
Plan on about $135 for a clean first-time pass: a $45 exam fee (Series 16-01), a $55 resident application fee, roughly $12.50 in online service fees, and about $23 for fingerprinting.
Exam fees are non-refundable and non-transferable, so only book when you are ready. Fingerprinting is paid at the IdentoGO center by card, certified check, or money order — no cash, no personal checks.
Fingerprinting & Background Check
Initial resident producers must be fingerprinted at an IdentoGO center for an FBI criminal-history check. Register first at uenroll.identogo.com (or 844-321-2101) using Insurance Department service code 1KGBGJ — the right code routes your check to the correct agency.
Watch the timing: do not submit prints until after you pass the exam and file your application. Fingerprints with no matching application are destroyed, and you have to pay and reprint.
Submitting Your Application
Right after passing, use the PSI kiosk — or your own computer — to apply online through Sircon (sircon.com/pennsylvania) or NIPR (nipr.com), paying the $55 resident fee and ~$12.50 service fee by credit card.
You have one year from your pass date to apply. The Department no longer mails licenses; once approved, print yours from insurance.pa.gov. A license alone does not authorize sales — you also need at least one company appointment, filed by the carrier.
Keeping Your License Active
Important CE details: 24 hours every 2 years, including at least 3 hours of ethics. Renewal is on your birth month on a 2-year cycle, and up to 24 hours may carry over. (The 2-hour flood-CE rule applies only to P&C and Personal Lines producers, not to a Life line.)
Life producers complete 24 hours of CE every two years, including at least 3 hours of ethics, renewing on your birth month on a 2-year cycle. Up to 24 hours can carry forward.
Remember the one-time 4-hour annuity training before you sell annuities. If you add the health line later, the LTC training requirement comes with it. Finish all CE before you file your renewal.
Quick Reference
Official Links
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