What This License Is
The General Lines — Life, Accident & Health license, issued by the Texas Department of Insurance (TDI), is Texas's complete life-and-health producer credential: life insurance, annuities, accident and health, disability, Medicare-market products, and long-term care.
Two structural facts set Texas apart. First, there is no standalone health license — a producer who wants any health authority needs this license; the narrower Life Agent license stops at life and annuities. Second, Texas names its full licenses "General Lines" rather than "producer" — when a carrier asks for your "GL license," this is what they mean.
Variable products stack FINRA registration (Series 6/7 + 63) on the life authority. LTC and annuity sales each carry product-specific training on top of CE.
Exam Options & Format
The GL-L&AH exam is administered by Pearson VUE: 130 scored questions — 100 general knowledge plus 30 on Texas law — with 15 unscored pretest items mixed in, 2 hours 30 minutes, $49 paid when you book. Passing is a scaled 70 on a 0–100 scale (a statistical standard, not 70% correct). Spanish forms are available with an in-exam English/Spanish toggle; ESL candidates may request 1.5× time.
One thing older guides get wrong: Texas has no online-proctored option. Pearson VUE discontinued OnVUE for TDI exams in March 2024 — every Texas insurance exam is taken at a physical test center (in Texas, at Pearson VUE centers in other states, or on military installations). Appointments book up to one calendar day ahead at the Texas portal or 888-754-7667.
The narrower alternative is the Life Agent exam — 80 scored questions, 2 hours, $39 — covered in its own guide. It saves $10 and an hour of testing, and costs you the entire health side of the industry.
Refreshed content outlines take effect September 1, 2026 (same question counts, re-weighted topics) — if your test date is near the changeover, study from the outline that matches it.
Most Tested Topics on the Texas L&AH Exam
The 30 Texas-law questions cluster around the state's health-coverage architecture and its guaranty association. From the TESTivity Texas regulations curriculum, statute-verified:
| Concept | The Texas rule |
|---|---|
| Medicaid expansion | NO — Texas has not expanded Medicaid and has the largest coverage gap in the country |
| Medicaid agency | The Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) |
| Marketplace | Federal (healthcare.gov) — no state exchange |
| Prompt pay | Split deadlines: 30 days electronic, 45 days paper — Texas distinguishes where many states don't |
| External review | The IRO's decision binds the plan |
| COBRA / state continuation | Federal COBRA at 20+ employees; Texas continuation adds up to 9 months for those not COBRA-eligible and 6 more months after COBRA is exhausted, elected within 60 days |
| Guaranty association | The Texas Life and Health Insurance Guaranty Association (TLHIGA) |
| Guaranty limits | $300K life death benefit · $100K cash value · $250K annuity · $500K health benefit plan |
| Aggregate cap | $300K per individual — except up to $500K where a health benefit plan is involved |
| Sales inducement | Using guaranty protection to sell is prohibited |
Two answers that separate Texas-prepped candidates: the non-expansion status (questions about eligibility gaps assume you know Texas said no), and the split prompt-pay clock — Arizona-style uniform-deadline answers are wrong here; Texas gives paper claims 15 extra days.
The life-side provisions (Texas's 31-day grace period, the 20-day deferred-annuity free look) are tabled in the Life Agent guide, and every one of them is fair game on this exam too.
What to Expect on Exam Day
Texas exam day has more paperwork friction than most states — the details below are from the current Pearson VUE candidate handbook, and each one has ended somebody's test day:
Bring TWO forms of ID. Texas requires two current signature IDs: a primary with photo and signature (driver's license, passport, military ID) and a secondary with at least a signature (Social Security card, debit or credit card). The name on your registration must match your ID exactly — a middle initial on one and not the other is a real problem, so register exactly as your ID reads.
Arrive 30 minutes early. Check-in includes ID verification and secure storage of personal items. There are no walk-ins — every candidate needs a reservation, and payment happens at booking, never at the center.
The reschedule window is 48 hours. Change or cancel by phone (888-754-7667) at least 48 hours before your appointment or the fee is forfeited. Texas statute allows a refund exception only for documented emergencies with at least 24 hours' notice (TIC §4002.005).
During the exam you'll have 150 minutes for 145 questions — just over a minute each, so flag-and-return rather than stalling. The Spanish toggle (if you booked a Spanish form) switches per question.
The finish: you leave the center with an official score report in hand — scaled 0–100, 70 passes. Pass, and your 12-month application clock starts (the Life Agent guide walks the Sircon/NIPR filing; the Personal Lines guide walks fingerprinting). Fail, and you can rebook for as soon as tomorrow — Texas sets no attempt limit; the retake economics are covered in the Personal Lines guide.
Texas's Temporary License: Working Before You've Passed
Texas offers something most states don't: a temporary license that lets a sponsored candidate start working in the business before passing the state exam. Here's how it actually works:
The deal: a carrier or agency sponsors you; you file the temporary application with a $150 fee — which covers both the temporary and the permanent license application. The temporary license runs 180 days, is issued once, and cannot be renewed.
The obligations: your sponsoring company must put you through 40 hours of training, and you must pass the state exam within the 180 days. Pass in time and your permanent license issues without a new application; run out the clock and you're an ordinary applicant again — with the exam still in front of you.
Who it's for: career-agency recruits (the classic sponsored path into life and health sales) whose employer wants them productive — appointed, compliant, learning the field — while they study. If you're self-directed with no sponsor, this route isn't available; budget your timeline around passing first.
The honest warning: the 180 days feels infinite in week one and desperate in month five. Treat the temporary license as a study runway with a paycheck, not a substitute for the exam — the candidates who fail out of this path are the ones who let production swallow their prep time.
What It Costs
Roughly $140 end to end on a first-attempt pass: $49 to Pearson VUE, about $40 to IdentoGO for fingerprints (exact fee at booking), $50 to TDI via Sircon or NIPR. The sponsored temporary-license path swaps the timeline, not the total — its $150 fee covers both applications. No pre-licensing course is required; with a 145-question exam and scaled scoring, prep materials are where the smart money goes.
Eligibility Requirements
At least 18, with fingerprint-based DPS and FBI checks on every resident application (nonresidents are exempt from Texas fingerprinting). TDI evaluates criminal history under the Insurance Code's fraud and breach-of-trust standards — disclosure with documentation consistently outperforms hoping the FBI check misses something. It won't.
Keeping Your License Active
Important CE details: At least 3 of the 24 hours must be ethics; at least half must be classroom or classroom-equivalent. LTC and annuity products carry their own product training requirements.
24 CE hours per two-year license period, including 3 hours of ethics — at least half classroom or classroom-equivalent. LTC and annuity products add their own training requirements on top. The license expires with your birth month; the full renewal timetable, deficiency fines ($50/hour, $500 cap), late tiers, and the 20-year exemption are detailed in the P&C guide and apply identically here.
Quick Reference
Official Links
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