Virginia Licensing Resources

How to become an insurance agent

To become a Life and/or Health Agent in Virginia, you will need to do the following:

Pass your pre-licensing course

When you satisfy the requirements for your course, you will receive a Certificate of Completion. Pre-licensing education is valid for one year from the date of completion; you will need to take and pass your state exam within this timeframe.

Get your fingerprints done

All individual resident applicants seeking to become licensed must have completed a fingerprint background check. We recommend you complete your fingerprints before taking the state exam. Fingerprint appointments can be scheduled through Fieldprint, and use FieldPrint Code “FPVABOICHRR” to ensure that the results are provided to the Bureau of Insurance.

Schedule your state exam

Before scheduling your exam, we recommend that you read the Candidate Handbook for important details. Licensing exams are provided by Prometric. Life exams, and Accident and Health or Sickness exams each cost $42. When scheduling your exam, be sure to use your legal name and personal information as it appears on your government issued ID.

You can schedule your exam online or over the phone:
Online : https://www.prometric.com/virginia/insurance
Phone: (866) 891-6396

Complete your license application

After passing the exam, apply for your license by completing an application through NIPR or Sircon.

Producer

Individuals must complete a prelicensing course of study for the lines of authority desired before taking any examination. Applicants are required to pass a final exam of the pre-licensing course with a 70% or higher to receive a certificate of completion and be eligible to take the state exam. The prelicensing course must consist of 20 classroom hours per line of authority, or equivalent individual instruction, on the general principles of insurance for that line of authority. The lines of authority requiring a prelicensing course are as follows:

  • Life – 20 hour course on Life Insurance or 40 hour course on Life & Health Insurance
  • Accident & Health or Sickness (Disability) – 20 hour course on Health Insurance or 40 hour course on Life & Health Insurance
  • Combined Life / Accident & Health or Sickness (Disability) – 40 hour course on Life & Health Insurance
  • Variable Life and Variable Annuity Products line of authority – exempt from both prelicensing course and examination; however, must already hold and maintain “Life” line of authority, must have already passed securities examinations “Series 6” or “Series 7” and “Series 63” or “Series 66” and must be licensed with a registered Broker Dealer in accordance with the rules of the Virvinia Securities Commission. During the application process, an applicant will be required to provide the CRD number to verify the exams passed.

Fingerprinting

All individual resident applicants seeking to become licensed must have completed a fingerprint background check. We recommend you complete your fingerprints before taking the state exam. Fingerprint appointments can be scheduled through Fieldprint, and use FieldPrint Code “FPVABOICHRR” to ensure that the results are provided to the Bureau of Insurance.​

Your fingerprints will need to be submitted shortly before you submit your license application.  Fingerprints must have been done within the previous 90 days in order to be submitted with the license application.

State Exam Information

Making Exam Reservations

Before scheduling your exam, we recommend that you read the Candidate Handbook for important details. Licensing exams are provided by Prometric. You will need to first register with Prometric and then schedule your state exam. Your Prometric registration is valid for 90 days, meaning that you will need to pass your state exam within that time to avoid another registration and fee.

When scheduling your exam, be sure to use your legal name and personal information as it appears on your government issued ID. The state exam must be taken no more than 183 days before submitting your insurance application. You can make an exam reservation through the following methods:

What to Bring

When scheduling your exam, be sure to use your legal name and personal information as it appears on your government issued ID.​ You will need two forms of ID on exam day: a current form of photo identification with signature (a valid Driver’s License, non-driver ID, passport, military ID, Alien Registration Card), as well as a secondary form of ID such as a debit card or employee ID. Please see the Candidate Handbook for a complete list of acceptable forms of identification.

Exam Procedures

  • Report to the test center 30 minutes before the exam to complete paperwork.
  • Examinees are not permitted to bring purses, study materials, books, calculators, or cell phones into the testing area.
  • Calculators will be provided for use.
  • Examinees may not leave the room during an exam without permission from the exam proctor.

Exam format

      • Each major line exam is given in a multiple-choice format.
      • The passing score required on each exam is 70%.
      • Your examination will be graded immediately upon submission.
      • At the end of the exam, the score will be shown on the screen and you will receive an emailed score report. The report indicates the overall score and grade, including the numerical percentage of questions answered correctly and whether you passed or failed.

License Application

License applications are completed with Sircon. Your license application should be completed within 183 days of passing your state exam to avoid having to retake the state exam. When completing the license application, it is important that you do not use a business address or PO Box for your residential address, as those are not acceptable residential addresses and will delay your application being processed.

American Online Insurance School provides information as a courtesy to individuals who getting licensed and/or are subject to continuing education (CE) as insurance producers, agents, adjusters and/or brokers. Although reasonable efforts have been made to ensure that the information provided here is accurate and current, neither American Online Insurance School nor its employees warrant or represent that this information is accurate and current. All information is subject to change without notice.

Virginia Bureau of Insurance Contact Info
Mailing Address:

Virginia State Corporation Commission

Bureau of Insurance
P.O. Box 1157
Richmond, Virginia 23218-1157

Questions we get
asked a lot...

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Each state makes all of those decisions and does not allow us to advise you in that department.  Generally speaking, once your state has your application and fingerprints, if they see anything in your background they usually want some kind of paperwork, just as proof of adjudication or other pertinent documentation.  Whether or not you will be allowed to get the insurance license is entirely up to them, and they will not consider it until they have your state application and fingerprints.  You can select your state from the dropdown menu to get the contact information to your state if you have questions about your background check.

You will need a valid photo ID to get fingerprinted and take the state exam, but it does not have to be a driver license. Select your state in the dropdown below to see your state’s testing requirements.

Yes, you have to be a resident of your state to be issued an insurance license.