Summary
Property & Casualty License Cost
The cost to get a property and casualty insurance license (P&C license) varies by state.
Least expensive: Michigan ~$195
Most expensive: Delaware ~$574
Average all-in cost to get your P&C license: ~$369
P&C License Cost by State
Your total cost may vary. The fees below represent getting both the property insurance license and the casualty insurance license – using the lowest tier course from our recommended course provider.
*see notes below table
| State | Total Cost | Pre-License Course | Combined Exam | Single-Line Exam | License Fee | Other Fees |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | $388 | $179 | $75 | $50 | $80 | $54 |
| Alaska | $444 | $139 | – | $89 | $75 | $52 |
| Arizona | $411 | $179 | – | $38 | $120 | $36 |
| Arkansas | $233 | $139 | $50 | – | $15 | $29 |
| California | $504 | $139 | $98 | $98 | $188 | $79 |
| Colorado | $273 | $139 | – | $41 | $47 | $5 |
| Connecticut | $389 | $139 | $105 | $65 | $140 | $5 |
| Delaware | $574 | $179 | – | $90 | $125 | $90 |
| Florida | $360 | $199 | $44 | – | $60* | $57 |
| Georgia | $441 | $199 | $67 | $67 | $100 | $75 |
| Hawaii | $484 | $139 | – | $75 | $150 | $45 |
| Idaho | $456 | $179 | – | $65 | $80 | $67 |
| Illinois | $543 | $139 | $184* | $184* | $215 | $5 |
| Indiana | $313 | $199 | $69 | – | $40 | $5 |
| Iowa | $282 | $139 | – | $44 | $50 | $5 |
| Kansas | $283 | $139 | $64 | $57 | $15 | $65 |
| Kentucky | $452 | $199 | $100 | $50 | $120* | $33 |
| Louisiana | $373 | $179 | $53 | $30 | $75 | $66 |
| Maine | $264 | $139 | $80 | $55 | $25 | $20 |
| Maryland | $314 | $139 | $62 | $62 | $54 | $59 |
| Massachusetts | $562 | $179 | – | $39 | $225 | $80 |
| Michigan | $195 | $139 | $41 | $41 | $10 | $5 |
| Minnesota | $414 | $139 | $45 | $45 | $150* | $80 |
| Mississippi | $357 | $199 | $52 | $52 | $100 | $6 |
| Missouri | $319 | $179 | $35 | $29 | $100 | $5 |
| Montana | $332 | $179 | – | $59 | $0 | $35 |
| Nebraska | $241 | $139 | $47 | $43 | $50 | $5 |
| Nevada | $456 | $179 | $47 | $37 | $185 | $45 |
| New Hampshire | $459 | $179 | $65 | $50 | $210 | $5 |
| New Jersey | $517 | $179 | – | $38 | $170 | $92 |
| New Mexico | $348 | $179 | $75 | $75 | $30 | $64 |
| New York | $264 | $139 | $40 | – | $80 | $5 |
| North Carolina | $456 | $179 | – | $45 | $182* | $5 |
| North Dakota | $441 | $139 | – | $64 | $100 | $74 |
| Ohio | $345 | $199 | $49 | $49 | $20* | $77 |
| Oklahoma | $282 | $179 | $38 | $38 | $60 | $5 |
| Oregon | $336 | $139 | $55 | $45 | $75 | $67 |
| Pennsylvania | $307 | $139 | $53 | $43 | $55 | $60 |
| Rhode Island | $429 | $179 | $80* | $80 | $120 | $50 |
| South Carolina | $318 | $179 | $59 | $59 | $25 | $55 |
| South Dakota | $264 | $139 | $95 | $85 | $25 | $5 |
| Tennessee | $343 | $179 | $80* | $55 | $50 | $34 |
| Texas | $348 | $179 | $49 | – | $50 | $70 |
| Utah | $338 | $179 | $44 | $32 | $75 | $40 |
| Vermont | $269 | $139 | $65 | $50 | $60 | $5 |
| Virginia | $244 | $139 | $35 | – | $30* | $40 |
| Washington | $340 | $179 | $52 | $35 | $55 | $54 |
| Washington DC | $426 | $139 | – | $75 | $100 | $37 |
| West Virginia | $323 | $139 | $84 | $84 | $50 | $50 |
| Wisconsin | $340 | $139 | – | $75 | $10 | $41 |
| Wyoming | $436 | $179 | $113 | $96 | $100 | $44 |
Footnotes
Florida
License fee is $50 + $5 per LOA
Illinois
License exams are split into property and casualty lines, but also into state and general tests (4 tests in total). Each exam attempt is $92, but if you schedule the state and general exams on the same day, you can essentially buy one and get the other free with the “back-to-back” discount.
Kentucky
License fee is $40 + $40 per LOA. Your exam fee is paid with the license fee.
Minnesota
License fee is $50 + $50 per LOA.
North Carolina
License fee is $82 + $50 per LOA.
Ohio
License fee is $10 per LOA.
Rhode Island
If you plan to take both the property exam and casualty exam, you can schedule them “back-to-back” and get buy one get one free pricing.
Tennessee
If you plan to take both the property exam and casualty exam, you can schedule them “back-to-back” and get a $30 discount off your total.
Virginia
License fee is $15 per LOA.
How Much Does it Cost to Get a Property & Casualty Insurance License?
As well as varying by state, the total cost to get your P&C license is broken down into different categories:
- Pre-license course
- Exam fee
- License fee
- Other fees
How much is a P&C Pre-License Course?
The largest expense (in most states) of getting your P&C license is the pre-license course.
These courses start from around $140 and can range up to >$400. This price range reflects the “level” of course you buy.
Lower cost courses are generally self-paced, online courses that cover the basics of what’s needed to pass the test.
Higher cost courses come with additional features such as study plans, access to instructors, or even live video classes.
Each attempt of the exam comes at an additional cost, so be sure to find the course that best suits your needs – not just the course that costs the least.
Quick Tip
The average pass rate for the insurance exam hovers around 60%.
Taking a high-quality exam prep course and studying until you’re consistently scoring in the 90s on practice exams is the best way to ensure you pass your exam.
How much does the P&C Exam cost?
The lowest P&C exam fee is $35, the highest is $184, and the average is $63.
Your total cost of taking the property & casualty insurance exams requires some deeper explanation.
One Exam vs Multiple Exams
In most states, property insurance and casualty insurance are each one individual line of authority (LOA). This means that when you get a P&C license, you’re actually licensing for both lines (1 license, 2 LOAs). We’ll call these “2-line states”.
Within these 2-line states, most of them offer a “combined exam” – meaning you’ll take one exam that covers both LOAs. A handful of these states, however, don’t offer a combined exam, meaning you’ll need to take, and pay for, two exams.
A few states combine property and casualty into one line, for which you’ll only take one exam.
Note
If you’re in a specific circumstance that only requires having a license for the property insurance line – or – the casualty insurance line, you’ll only need to take and pay for one exam.
This isn’t common, as most insurance producers and agents need to carry both lines of authority.
Exam Attempts
Maybe the single largest cost differential between P&C license candidates is the number of attempts required to pass the exam.
Insurance exam fees are per attempt – meaning that if you take the test and don’t pass, you’ll need to pay the exam fee again to retake the test.
This is why we recommend taking a high-quality pre-license course and putting real time and effort into your study before attempting the exam.
As mentioned above, first-time pass rates for the P&C insurance exam hover around 60%. So if you go into the exam unprepared, you could easily be paying double for your exam.
How much is the P&C License Fee?
The lowest license fee is $0 (thanks, Montana), the highest is $225, and the average is $85.
While much more straightforward than the exam fee, there are a couple of nuances with the license application fee.
- Most states charge a flat fee per application
- A few states charge a flat fee, plus an additional fee per line of authority
- A couple of states bundle the exam fee or fingerprinting fees into the application fee
Note
Most states charge a license amendment fee when adding additional LOAs. You can avoid this fee by applying for both the property line and casualty line on your original application.
Other Fees to get your P&C License
Alongside the major fees mentioned above, there are often additional fees that you’ll need to pay in order to get your P&C license. These fees can include:
- Fingerprinting and background check fees
- NIPR transaction fees
- Paper application fees
- Technology fees
- Lead paint surcharge (Massachusetts, is this really necessary?)
- etc…
These fees are state-specific, and accounted for in the table above.
How to Get your P&C License Cheap
While there’s no real way to escape the fees of getting your license, here a couple of ways you can avoid paying more than you need to:
- Apply for all lines of authority with a single license application
If you take single-line exams, pass them both before applying for your license. This will save you the license amendment fee. - Don’t cheap out on the pre-license course
Buy the one that will help you pass – not just the cheapest. - Study to consistent 90%+ scores on practice exams
If you have an actual level of comprehension going into the exam, your chances of paying for a retake are much lower. - Take combined exams instead of single-line exams
Taking a single exam that covers both lines means a longer test, but it usually costs about half of what it would to take single-line exams.
