Virginia Insurance Exam Guides
Pick the license you're studying for. Each guide covers Virginia-specific requirements, fees, and official links — plus a free practice exam. Then scroll down to explore the Virginia exam's state-law material, mapped.
Free study resource
What's actually tested on the Virginia exam — the state regulations, mapped
Every Virginia insurance exam reserves a block of questions for Virginia-specific law — the fees, deadlines, limits, and rules that generic national study guides gloss over. This is that material: 119 facts from the TESTivity Virginia regulations curriculum, organized the way we teach them. Open a branch, explore, and let the structure do some of the remembering for you.
Every fact below carries its source citation and the date we last verified it (most recently August 2026) — and is re-checked on a schedule. Facts marked tested are ones you should expect to see on the exam.
Life 16 facts
The life insurance rules that differ by state — free look, grace, reinstatement.
- Incontestability period testedTwo years. The policy is incontestable after it has been in force during the lifetime of the insured for two years from its date of issue, except for nonpayment of premiums
- Grace period for individual life testedNot less than 31 days for any premium after the first — not 30, and not "one month"
- Window to reinstate a lapsed policy testedWithin three years from default, on evidence of insurability, payment of arrears with interest, and reinstatement of any policy indebtedness
- Max interest chargeable on reinstatement, if capped testedInterest on overdue premiums at a rate not exceeding 6% per year
- Suicide exclusion period testedUp to two years, and it is a permitted policy provision rather than an automatic exclusion. § 38.2-3106 makes suicide generally NOT a defense, then validates “an express provision in the body of the policy” limiting liability where the insured, sane or insane, dies by his own act within two years from the date of the policy — and the insurer must still return at least the premiums paid
- Free look for individual life tested10 days from delivery, and it reaches INDIVIDUAL LIFE POLICIES ONLY. The owner surrenders the policy to the insurer or its agent with a written cancellation request, the policy is “void from the beginning,” and the insurer refunds any premium paid. An insurer may print a longer period, never a shorter one
- Free look for annuities testedNOT VERIFIED THIS CYCLE. § 38.2-3301, Virginia’s life free-look section, is written for individual LIFE insurance policies and does not by its terms reach annuity contracts. The commonly quoted 10 days was not confirmed against a section this session — do not rely on a number here without checking the current section
- Free look when a policy is being replaced testedNOT VERIFIED THIS CYCLE. Virginia regulates replacement of life insurance and annuities by administrative rule rather than in § 38.2-3301, and the commonly quoted 30-day replacement free look was not confirmed against a current regulation this session. Confirm with the Bureau before relying on it
- Free look for long-term care testedNOT VERIFIED THIS CYCLE. The commonly quoted 30-day long-term care free look was not confirmed against a Virginia section or regulation this session, and § 38.2-3301 does not reach LTC on its face. Confirm before relying on it
- Required nonforfeiture options testedCash surrender value, reduced paid-up insurance, extended term insurance
- Registrations required to sell variable products testedA Virginia Life license plus FINRA Series 6 or 7 and Series 63
- Does the state regulate viatical/life settlements? testedYes — Virginia Viatical Settlements Act
- Viator's rescission window testedAt least 15 CALENDAR DAYS FROM RECEIPT OF THE PROCEEDS — the clock runs from the money, not from signing, and there is no “whichever is later” alternative in Virginia. § 38.2-6008(C): the contract must give the viator “an unconditional right to rescind the contract for at least 15 calendar days from the receipt of the viatical settlement proceeds.” If the insured dies during the rescission period the contract is deemed rescinded
- Has the state adopted the NAIC best interest standard? testedYes — NAIC best interest standard adopted
- Policy loan availability and interest ceiling testedA policy loan is available only after the policy has been in force THREE POLICY YEARS. A FIXED loan rate may not exceed 8% PER YEAR whenever the policy was issued — the 8% cap sits on both sides of the date. What July 1, 1981 divides is the ALTERNATIVE: policies issued on or after that date may instead carry an adjustable maximum rate tied to Moody’s Corporate Bond Yield Average, which earlier policies could not
- Misstatement of age testedThe benefit is adjusted to the amount the premium paid would have purchased at the insured’s correct age at the time the policy was issued
Health 19 facts
Health coverage rules — continuation, prompt pay, mandates, public programs.
- Has the state expanded Medicaid under the ACA? testedYes
- Effective date of expansion, if expanded testedJanuary 1, 2019
- Agency administering Medicaid testedDepartment of Medical Assistance Services (DMAS)
- Federal marketplace or state-based exchange testedFederal marketplace (healthcare.gov)
- Name of the state CHIP program testedFAMIS — Family Access to Medical Insurance Security
- Clean-claim payment deadline, electronic tested40 days
- Clean-claim payment deadline, paper tested40 days
- Does the state distinguish electronic vs paper claims? testedNo — one uniform 40-day standard for both electronic and paper claims
- Interest / penalty on late claim payment tested§ 38.2-3407.15 SETS NO RATE OF ITS OWN — the widely repeated “prime plus 1%” has no basis in Virginia law. Subsection B 3 requires the carrier to pay, without necessity of demand, “any interest owing or accruing on a claim under § 38.2-3407.1 or 38.2-4306.1.” Those sections compute interest DAILY AT THE LEGAL RATE OF INTEREST, running from 15 working days after the insurer’s receipt of proof of loss to the date of payment
- Is the IRO's external review decision binding on the plan? testedYes — § 38.2-3564 is captioned “Binding nature of external review decision” and provides that an external review decision is binding on the health carrier. It is not advisory
- Employer size at which federal COBRA applies tested20 or more employees
- Which groups the continuation right reaches tested§ 38.2-3541 states NO employer-size range. It applies to group hospital, medical and surgical and major medical policies delivered or issued in Virginia without reference to how many employees the group has — so the familiar "2 to 19 employees" framing is not Virginia’s statutory text
- Duration of state continuation coverage tested12 months immediately following the date of termination — not the 18 months of federal COBRA, and not the 3-, 6- or 9-month windows several other states use
- Election period for state continuation testedTwo clocks in front of it. The POLICYHOLDER must give written notice within 14 days of learning of the loss of eligibility; the individual then elects within 31 days after issuance of that notice, but in no event beyond 60 days following the date of termination. Eligibility also requires having been continuously insured under the group policy for the ENTIRE THREE-MONTH period immediately preceding termination
- Max premium as % of group rate testedThe insurer’s current rate applicable to the group policy, plus any applicable administrative fee not to exceed two percent. Anyone discharged for gross misconduct is excluded from the right entirely
- Grace period, individual accident and sickness testedTiered by premium mode — 7 days on a weekly premium policy, 10 days on a monthly premium policy, 31 days on all others
- Reinstatement, individual accident and sickness testedThe 45-day rule, and it runs against the INSURER: where the insurer accepts premium and issues a conditional receipt, the policy "will be reinstated on the forty-fifth day after the date of the conditional receipt unless the Company has previously written the Insured of its disapproval." Silence reinstates
- Time limit on certain defenses, accident and sickness testedTwo years — "After two years from the date of this policy, only fraudulent misstatements in the application may be used to void the policy or deny any claim." Many national texts teach the three-year model option; Virginia’s statutory form is two
- Notice of claim and proof of loss, accident and sickness testedWritten notice of claim within 20 days after a covered loss starts, or as soon as reasonably possible; written proof of loss within 90 days after the end of each period of continuing loss, and in no event later than one year absent legal incapacity
Auto 11 facts
Auto insurance — minimum limits, fault system, required coverages.
- Fault-based (tort) or no-fault testedFault-based (tort)
- Minimum bodily injury liability per person tested$50,000 per person, for policies effective on or after January 1, 2025 (it was $30,000 for policies effective January 1, 2022 through December 31, 2024)
- Minimum bodily injury liability per occurrence tested$100,000 per accident for two or more persons, subject to the per-person limit — up from $60,000 before January 1, 2025
- Minimum property damage liability tested$25,000 per accident for injury to or destruction of the property of others — up from $20,000 before January 1, 2025
- The memorizable shorthand (e.g. 30/60/25) tested50/100/25 for policies effective on or after January 1, 2025. The prior schedule was 30/60/20, and material still teaching it is out of date
- Uninsured motorist: mandatory / must be offered & rejectable / not required testedCOMPULSORY — no auto liability policy may be issued or delivered in Virginia without a UM/UIM endorsement, and the limits DEFAULT to the policy’s liability limits. But read the rejection right precisely: what a named insured may decline is the ADDITIONAL uninsured motorist coverage above the statutory minimum. § 38.2-2202(B)’s required notice says a named insured “has the right to reduce the limits of the uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage to less than the liability limits on the policy but no lower than the financial responsibility limits required by § 46.2-472.” So UM can be cut to 50/100/25, never eliminated, and one named insured’s election binds the policy
- Underinsured motorist status testedIncluded in the same compulsory endorsement, at limits equal to the liability limits unless reduced under § 38.2-2202(B). Since the 2024 amendment (2024 Acts ch. 781), effective July 1, 2024, Virginia treats UIM as an ADD-ON rather than an offset: it is paid without any credit for the bodily injury and property damage coverage available from the at-fault driver, unless a named insured signs an election to reduce. That inverts the classic “UIM fills the gap” teaching
- Personal injury protection status testedNot required
- Contributory / pure comparative / modified comparative negligence testedPURE CONTRIBUTORY NEGLIGENCE — a claimant even 1% at fault recovers nothing. Virginia is one of only a handful of jurisdictions that still applies it, and it is common-law doctrine rather than a Title 38.2 statute
- The bar percentage, if modified comparative testedAny fault at all bars recovery entirely. There is no 50% or 51% threshold to compare against, because Virginia does not apportion
- Any alternative to buying liability insurance testedNONE — and this is the most dangerous stale fact in Virginia study material. The uninsured motor vehicle fee that once let an owner register a vehicle without insurance was ELIMINATED effective July 1, 2024. Every vehicle registered in Virginia must now carry a policy meeting the state minimums, or a certificate of self-insurance. Operating an uninsured vehicle is now a CLASS 3 MISDEMEANOR under § 46.2-707, with licence, registration and plates suspended until a $600 NONCOMPLIANCE FEE is paid and proof of future financial responsibility is filed; the same $600 and filing requirement apply under § 46.2-706(B) where an owner fails to verify insurance. A penalty, not a purchasable alternative
CE & Renewal 11 facts
Continuing education and renewal rules — the numbers the exam loves.
- How long a license lasts before renewal testedTwo years — but note that Virginia was a PERPETUAL-license state until January 1, 2021, with an annual continuance fee instead of a renewal. Anything written before then says Virginia licenses do not expire, and that is now wrong
- What the renewal date keys off (flat term / birthday / birth year) testedBIRTH MONTH plus the ODD/EVEN PARITY OF THE BIRTH YEAR — born in an odd-numbered year, the license expires at the end of the birth month in odd-numbered years; born in an even-numbered year, in even-numbered years. The renewal window opens 90 days before expiration, the fee is $10 per line of authority, and a first renewal never falls sooner than 13 months after initial issuance. Agencies run on a wholly separate clock: due May 1 of every odd year, with NO reinstatement available
- CE hours per renewal period, standard case tested16 credit hours per biennium for one license type — and Life and Annuities plus Health together count as ONE type for this purpose, which is the part people miss
- CE hours if holding multiple license types (if different) tested24 credit hours only if you hold licenses from two or more categories, with a minimum of 8 credit hours in each category. Public adjusters carry 24 regardless
- Ethics hours required per period tested3 credit hours of insurance ethics per biennium. For AGENTS, a course in insurance laws and regulations applicable to Virginia may count toward it; for PUBLIC ADJUSTERS it may not — they need three hours of Virginia ethics specifically
- Limits on who may provide CE credits testedNo more than 75 percent of required credits may come from courses provided or sponsored by an insurance company or insurance agency. The cap does not apply to public adjusters. Virginia’s CE program is administered by Pearson, with transcripts at VirginiaInsuranceCE.com and course submission through Sircon
- Product-specific training requirements testedUNVERIFIED for Virginia. No long-term care producer training mandate was located in Title 38.2 chapter 18 article 7 or in the Virginia Insurance CE Handbook this session, and the commonly quoted "8 hours initial" figure is a pattern imported from other states. Confirm with the Bureau of Insurance before relying on it either way
- What happens if CE is not completed (fine / expiry / cancellation) testedFailure to complete CE administratively TERMINATES EACH LICENSE HELD — not merely the deficient line. A licensee who is short on hours for one category loses the others with it
- Carryover of excess CE hours testedExcess hours carry forward to the NEXT BIENNIUM ONLY, and are forfeited if the licensee fails to renew within the 90-day renewal window. Public adjusters get no carryover at all
- CE exemptions and waivers testedExempt: agents newly licensed within the last 13 months of the biennium; consultants meeting agent CE requirements; and nonresidents who satisfy their home state’s reciprocal requirement. THE AGE-65-WITH-20-YEARS EXEMPTION WAS REPEALED effective January 1, 2019 — it survives only for agents who already held it on December 31, 2018, and is lost if the license lapses past the 12-month reinstatement window. Waivers, which are different from exemptions, are available only for long-term illness or incapacity, active military duty, and similar circumstances; they are expressly denied for insufficient time, administrative problems, or not knowing the requirements, and must be re-requested each cycle
- Reinstatement after a missed renewal testedWithin 12 months of the renewal date, at the original $10 per line renewal fee plus a $20 per line reinstatement fee — $30 per line in total, which the statute frames as double the renewal fee. All CE must be complete first. Miss the 12 months and you apply for a brand-new license, with new fingerprints and a new exam if the score has gone stale. Agencies have no reinstatement option at all
Property 6 facts
Property insurance — rate regulation, residual markets, catastrophe exposure.
- Rate regulation system (file-and-use / prior approval / use-and-file) testedFILE AND USE — a competitive-rating law, not prior approval, and not “open competition” either, because filing is mandatory. § 38.2-1906(A) requires each authorized insurer to file all rates and supplementary rate information “on or before the date they become effective,” so a rate may be used the day it is filed. Rates may not be excessive, inadequate or unfairly discriminatory (§ 38.2-1904), and tighter filing requirements attach in a market the Commission has found under § 38.2-1912 is not effectively competitive
- Is insurance credit scoring permitted in personal lines? testedPermitted, subject to adverse action notice requirements
- Does the state have a FAIR Plan? testedYES — and the widespread claim that Virginia has none is wrong. Title 38.2 chapter 27 is captioned “Basic Property Insurance Residual Market Facility and Joint Underwriting Association,” and § 38.2-2702 requires that “a residual market facility shall be established and maintained by all insurers licensed to write basic property insurance.” § 38.2-2700 states the purpose as assuring the availability of basic property insurance for qualified property, and § 38.2-2708 lets the Commission create a joint underwriting association if the facility proves inadequate
- Dominant catastrophe perils in the state testedCoastal hurricane and storm surge, inland tornado, winter storm and ice, river and tidal flooding
- What license you must already hold to write surplus lines testedA Virginia Property and Casualty license
- Is a diligent-effort search of the admitted market required first? testedYes — a diligent effort to place in the admitted market must come first
Guaranty 10 facts
The safety nets when an insurer fails — and their limits.
- Name of the life & health guaranty association testedThe Virginia Life, Accident and Sickness Insurance Guaranty Association — note the statutory phrase is "Accident and Sickness," not "Health"
- Life death benefit limit tested$300,000 in life insurance death benefits for any one life, regardless of the number of policies or contracts
- Life cash surrender / withdrawal value limit tested$100,000 in net cash surrender and net cash withdrawal values for life insurance
- Annuity benefit limit tested$250,000 in the present value of annuity benefits, including net cash surrender and net cash withdrawal values
- Health benefit limit testedAccident and sickness runs in tiers: $100,000 for coverage that is not disability income, a health benefit plan or long-term care; $300,000 for DISABILITY INCOME; $300,000 for LONG-TERM CARE; and $500,000 for HEALTH BENEFIT PLANS
- Does the state follow the standard NAIC model limits? testedAlmost — and the one place it does not is the trap. Every individual cap matches the NAIC model ($300,000 death benefit, $100,000 cash surrender, $250,000 annuity, the $100,000/$300,000/$300,000/$500,000 accident-and-sickness tiers). But the AGGREGATE per one life is $350,000, where national material teaches $300,000
- Name of the P&C guaranty association testedVirginia Property and Casualty Insurance Guaranty Association
- Is using the guaranty association as a sales inducement prohibited? testedYes — prohibited
- Aggregate cap, any one life tested$350,000 — not the $300,000 generic prep material teaches. The statute: the Association is not obligated to cover "more than an aggregate of $350,000 in benefits with respect to any one life," EXCEPT where health benefit plan benefits are involved, in which case the ceiling is $500,000 with respect to any one individual
- Property and casualty per-claim cap testedAn amount not exceeding $300,000 per claimant for all other covered claims — but WORKERS COMPENSATION is paid in FULL, uncapped: the Association pays "the full amount of a covered claim for benefits under a workers’ compensation insurance coverage." On return premium the Association pays only that amount of each unearned premium in excess of fifty dollars, which is a $50 deductible rather than a cap
Workers Comp 7 facts
Who must carry workers' compensation and what it pays.
- Is workers' compensation mandatory for private employers? testedYes
- Employee count at which coverage is required testedTHREE or more employees regularly in service — not two, which is what a great deal of national and even regional material says. § 65.2-101 excludes from "employee" a person working for an employer that "has regularly in service less than three employees in the same business within this Commonwealth." Employers under three may elect coverage voluntarily
- Agency administering workers' compensation testedThe Virginia Workers’ Compensation Commission — a separate agency under Title 65.2, wholly outside the Bureau of Insurance and Title 38.2
- Temporary total disability wage replacement rate tested66 2/3 percent of the average weekly wage, with a statutory minimum of not less than 25% and a maximum of not more than 100% of the AVERAGE WEEKLY WAGE OF THE COMMONWEALTH, reset annually by the Commission. Permanent total incapacity continues for the lifetime of the injured employee without limit as to total amount
- Maximum TTD duration testedUNVERIFIED. § 65.2-500 states no maximum number of weeks for temporary total incapacity; the commonly quoted 500-week cap sits elsewhere in Title 65.2 and was not confirmed this session. Do not rely on a week count without checking the current section
- Deadline to file a claim tested2 years from the accident
- Ways an employer may comply (insure / self-insure / group) testedBuy coverage from a licensed insurer, qualify as a licensed self-insurer, or join a licensed workers' compensation insurance group
Regulator 5 facts
Who regulates insurance here and what powers the office holds.
- Name of the state insurance regulator testedThe Bureau of Insurance, within the State Corporation Commission (SCC)
- Title of the person who heads it testedCommissioner of Insurance
- How the commissioner is chosen: elected / appointed by governor / appointed by other body testedPlaced at the head of the Bureau BY THE COMMISSION — § 12.1-16 designates "the employee or agent who is placed by the Commission at the head of the bureau" as the Commissioner of Insurance. Not elected, not appointed by the Governor, not Senate-confirmed. The three SCC members above the Commissioner are themselves ELECTED BY JOINT VOTE OF BOTH HOUSES of the General Assembly to staggered six-year terms; the Governor fills a vacancy only pro tempore between sessions
- Where the state's insurance law is codified testedTitle 38.2 of the Code of Virginia
- Does the regulator sit somewhere unusual (e.g. inside a constitutional commission)? testedYes, and distinctly so. The Bureau of Insurance sits inside the State Corporation Commission, a constitutional body that is also a court of record. All licensing and disciplinary authority in Title 38.2 runs to "the Commission" rather than to the Commissioner personally — § 38.2-200 charges the Commission with the execution of all laws relating to insurance and insurers
Cancellation 8 facts
When and how policies can be canceled or nonrenewed — heavily tested.
- Initial window during which an insurer may cancel more freely testedTWO DIFFERENT WINDOWS, which national material tends to collapse into one. Owner-occupied dwelling and fire policies get 90 DAYS (§ 38.2-2114(E)(1)); private passenger AUTO gets 60 DAYS (§ 38.2-2212(F)(3)). In each case the restrictions do not apply while the policy has been in effect for less than that period, unless it is a renewal policy
- Property cancellation and nonrenewal notice testedPast the 90-day window, an owner-occupied dwelling policy may be cancelled only on six enumerated grounds, with at least 10 DAYS’ notice for nonpayment and 30 DAYS’ notice on any other ground. Nonrenewal takes at least 30 DAYS’ notice before expiration
- Auto cancellation and nonrenewal notice testedPast the 60-day window, a private passenger auto policy may be cancelled only for suspension or revocation of a driver’s license or registration, nonpayment of premium, or the named insured moving out of Virginia — and cancellation takes at least 45 DAYS’ notice, or for nonpayment less than 45 but at least 15 days. Nonrenewal also takes 45 days
- Notice days for cancellation for nonpayment testedDifferent by line. PROPERTY: at least 10 days. AUTO: less than 45 but at least 15 days
- Notice days for cancellation for other permitted causes testedPROPERTY: 30 days for any ground other than nonpayment, and the grounds are exhaustive — nonpayment, conviction of a crime increasing the peril, fraud or material misrepresentation, willful or reckless acts increasing the peril, physical changes rendering the property uninsurable, and foreclosure sale under a recorded deed of trust. The two inspection-based grounds require an actual physical inspection
- Notice days required for nonrenewal testedPROPERTY 30 days; AUTO 45 days. On auto, the prohibited nonrenewal bases are extensive — age, sex, residence, race, colour, creed, national origin, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, occupation, driving experience, accidents or violations more than 48 MONTHS old, certain uninsured-motorist claims, not-at-fault medical expense claims, and comprehensive or towing claims
- Must the reason be stated proactively, on request, or not at all? testedYes — the specific reason must be stated in the nonrenewal notice
- The insured’s right to Commissioner review, auto testedA distinctive Virginia protection with no counterpart in most states: an auto insured who receives a cancellation or nonrenewal notice may request in writing WITHIN 15 DAYS that the Commissioner review the insurer’s action, and the policy REMAINS IN FULL FORCE AND EFFECT during that review — except where the ground is nonpayment of premium
Licensing 26 facts
How you get and keep the license — exams, fees, applications, background checks.
- Is there a standalone life license/exam? testedYes — Life and Annuities
- Is there a standalone health license/exam? testedYes — Health
- Is there a combined life+health license/exam? testedYes — Life, Annuities & Health (combined)
- Is there a personal lines license/exam? testedYes — Personal Lines
- Is P&C one combined license, or split into Property and Casualty? testedOne combined Property and Casualty license
- Does the life license cover annuities? testedYes — the life line is 'Life and Annuities'
- Does the P&C license already include personal lines authority? testedYes — the P&C license already includes Personal Lines authority; do not apply for both
- Full list of exam-based agent license types testedLife and Annuities · Health · Property and Casualty · Personal Lines · Title · Variable Contract · limited lines (credit; motor vehicle rental contract; limited lines property and casualty; limited lines life and health). Note there is NO standalone Property-only or Casualty-only license
- Exam administrator (Prometric / PSI / Pearson VUE) testedPROMETRIC administers Virginia licensing exams, in a test center or remotely through ProProctor. Pearson VUE runs Virginia’s CONTINUING EDUCATION program only — that split is exactly why stale material keeps naming the wrong vendor for the licensing exam
- Exam fee tested$35 per exam, per attempt, and nonrefundable. The statutory band is not less than $20 nor more than $100
- License application fee tested$15 per line of authority, nonrefundable and nontransferable. The statutory band is not less than $10 nor more than $20 per line
- Passing score testedNOT PUBLISHED. Virginia is unusual here: the Prometric bulletin, the ProProctor bulletin, the Prometric Virginia FAQ and § 38.2-1817 all decline to state a cut score. What the bulletin does say is that the score report shows "the numerical percentage of questions answered correctly" plus a pass/fail grade, and the correct percentage in each major section — so results are a raw percentage, not a scaled score. Prep sites assert 70% without citing anything
- Minimum age to be licensed tested18
- Is pre-licensing education required? testedNo — Virginia requires NO pre-licensing education for Life & Annuities, Health, P&C, or Personal Lines
- Pre-licensing hours and any exceptions (e.g. Title, adjusters) testedNone for Life and Annuities, Health, Property and Casualty, Personal Lines or Public Adjuster. TITLE is the exception: 16 classroom hours (or the equivalent in distance learning) completed BEFORE you may register for the 11-04 exam, with the instructor’s certification carried to the test center. § 38.2-1814.1 itself exempts only officers and employees of a title insurer who are not agents, and agents authorized as of January 1, 1987; the Florida and Pennsylvania carve-out is administrative, published on the SCC’s applying page rather than in the statute
- Fingerprints, state police report, or none testedFINGERPRINTS — and this reversed on January 1, 2021. Va. Code § 38.2-1819: "Each individual who is a resident of the Commonwealth shall, at the time of applying for a new license, be fingerprinted in a form and manner prescribed by the Commission." Prints and personal descriptive information are forwarded through the Central Criminal Records Exchange to the FBI. Any material saying Virginia does not fingerprint resident applicants is more than five years stale
- Who takes the prints / issues the report testedFIELDPRINT, using live scan technology, per Prometric’s Virginia bulletin. The applicant pays the cost — § 38.2-1819 says so expressly — and the Bureau does not publish the fee amount, so check it with Fieldprint when scheduling
- How long the background report stays valid testedPrints must be no more than 90 DAYS old when the application is submitted, and once on file with the Bureau they are good for ONE YEAR — an applicant printed within the previous 12 months is not reprinted
- Deadline to apply after passing the exam tested183 calendar days — and read the trigger carefully, because the statute runs the clock to OBTAINING the license, not to filing the application. Miss it and both the examination fee and the application processing fee are forfeited. With a 15-business-day processing floor (30 or more if any background question is answered affirmatively), the practical deadline to apply is materially shorter than 183 days
- How long a passed exam remains valid tested183 calendar days from the date you pass. Not 90 days, not one year
- Waiting period before retaking a failed exam tested24 hours
- Limit on number of attempts, if any testedNo lifetime or annual cap. But § 38.2-1817 imposes a 30-CALENDAR-DAY waiting period on a RESIDENT individual applicant who fails three times — read the qualifier, because the statute writes the rule for residents
- Notice required to reschedule/cancel without forfeiting the fee testedAt least 24 hours before the appointment
- Where you apply (Sircon / NIPR / state portal) testedSircon or NIPR
- Are temporary licenses available? testedYes — on death/incapacity of an agent, sale of a business, or for a home service insurer's debit agent
- Temporary license duration and training requirement testedValid 180 calendar days, no examination required, and — distinctively — the lifetime limit is TWO, one on each side of the house: § 38.2-1830 allows “only one temporary life and health license and one temporary property and casualty license” to any individual during his lifetime. Issued on an agent’s death, incapacity or disability, sale of the business, or for home service insurer appointees collecting premiums. The applicant must still demonstrate trustworthiness and competence