What This License Is
A Tennessee Personal Lines license lets you sell property and casualty coverage to individuals and families — homeowners, renters, personal auto, and similar non-commercial risks in Tennessee. It is issued by the Tennessee Department of Commerce & Insurance.
Licensing runs through the same process as every Tennessee producer line — the difference is the focused Personal Lines exam.
Exam Options & Format
The Personal Lines exam is Personal Lines Producer (Pearson VUE): 80 total (75 scored + 5 pretest) questions, 2 hr, $55 per attempt. Passing standard: 70 (scaled).
Tennessee also offers the combined exam (Property + Casualty (both exams in one OnVUE sitting): 110 (two standalone exams) questions, 3 hr 30 min, $80), which licenses both lines in one sitting. If there is any chance you will sell commercial products later, the combined exam is usually the better value.
What the Property exam covers
General knowledge (50 scored): homeowners (HO-2 through HO-8), dwelling policies (DP-1/2/3), commercial property and the CPP, BOP, builders risk, inland marine, the National Flood Insurance Program, plus earthquake, mobile home, watercraft, and farmowners forms.
Insurance terms and policy provisions: insurable interest, hazards and perils, loss valuation (ACV, replacement cost, agreed value), coinsurance/insurance-to-value, declarations, conditions, exclusions, mortgagee rights, subrogation, TRIA, and the Fair Credit Reporting Act.
Tennessee law (18 scored): the common producer-law block plus property-only rules — fire insurance fair value and inspection (56-7-801–803), personal-risk nonrenewal and mandated offers, and commercial-risk cancellation/nonrenewal, rates, and loss-run requests.
What the Casualty exam covers
General knowledge (50 scored): commercial general liability (occurrence vs. claims-made, the coverage parts and limits), personal and business auto, workers’ compensation and employers liability, crime, surety and fidelity bonds, professional liability (E&O, D&O, EPLI, cyber), and umbrella/excess.
Insurance terms and policy provisions: negligence, liability and damages (compensatory vs. punitive), occurrence, supplementary payments, loss-settlement and consent-to-settle provisions, and TRIA.
Tennessee law (18 scored): the common producer-law block plus casualty-only rules — auto financial responsibility (25/50/25), SR-22, ride-sharing, uninsured-motorist coverage, accident-prevention courses, auto cancellation, assigned-risk notice, and workers’ compensation.
Tennessee laws common to all lines
Roughly 14 of the state-specific scored questions on each exam come from the body of law common to every line — Title 56, Chapter 6 (“Licensing of Producers”) and the unfair-trade-practices statute at 56-8-104.
Expect questions on the Commissioner’s powers (hearings, investigations, regulatory authority, and penalties), core definitions (insurance producer, business entity, limited lines producer, unauthorized insurer, fiduciary, domestic vs. foreign insurer), and license mechanics (resident vs. nonresident, appointments and terminations, temporary licenses, renewal, and suspension/revocation).
The unfair-practices block is heavily tested: false advertising, defamation, boycotting/coercion/intimidation, unfair discrimination, rebating, and unfair claims-settlement practices.
A producer must be separately qualified and licensed for each line they sell, solicit, or negotiate.
How to get your Tennessee Property & Casualty license
Confirm you meet the basics: at least 18 years old, a Tennessee resident, and competent, trustworthy, financially responsible, and of good business reputation.
Schedule and pass the required Pearson VUE exam(s): Property and Casualty. Each exam must be taken alone in one test-center session; OnVUE offers paired online sessions for convenience.
Complete a fingerprint-based background check through IdentoGO (service code ORI #TN920680Z) and submit the signed Fingerprint Policy & Acknowledgement form to TDCI. You can fingerprint before or after the exam.
Apply through NIPR (www.nipr.com) with the $50 filing fee. If applying electronically you must wait 48 hours after testing; paper applications take about 15 days to process.
You’re issued a license once TDCI is satisfied you meet all requirements — but you can’t transact business until an insurer appoints you.
Keeping your P&C license active
All resident producers complete 24 hours of CE every 2 years, including 3 hours of ethics.
The compliance period ends on the last day of your birth month; renew through NIPR (the major-lines renewal fee is $60). You can renew up to 90 days early.
Up to 12 unused CE credit hours can carry over to the next period; you can’t repeat the same course within a 24-month window.
Quick Reference
Official Links
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