North Carolina PreLicensing Requirements

Individual Resident Producer Requirements

To qualify for a resident North Carolina state insurance producer license, the applicant must satisfy the following requirements:

• Be 18 years of age or older
• Be a resident of the state of North Carolina
• Pass the license examination as required by the state statute (see Prelicense education requirements below)
• File a license application online and submit fingerprints

PreLicense Education Requirements (PLE)

Applicants must complete 20-hours of prelicense education (PLE) for each major line of authority (LOA).   An applicant who wishes to obtain a Life and Health license must complete 40 hours of PLE, and will receive a separate Examination Admission Ticket for each LOA.  In addition, applicants wishing to take the Medicare Supplement/Long-Term Care examination must complete 10-hours of PLE.  Applicants must hold an Accident and Health and Sickness license to be eligible for a Medicare Supplement/Long-Term Care license.

• 20 hours North Carolina Life Insurance
• 20 hours North Carolina Accident and Health and Sickness
• 10 hours North Carolina Medicare Supplement/Long-Term Care
• 20 hours North Carolina Property Insurance
• 20 hours North Carolina Casualty Insurance

State Candidate Handbook

Before making an exam reservation Applicants should thoroughly review the North Carolina Insurance Licensing Examination Candidate Guide which contains the Exam Content Outlines and important information regarding eligibility and the examination and licensing application process.

PLE Course Delivery

• Prelicense education providers are required to record the actual time the applicant spends in the course.  Applicants are not allowed access to the Exam Admission Ticket until the applicant's time equals the number of required hours for the LOA.
• Per North Carolina Division of Insurance regulations, online course providers are notpermitted to allow printing of course lesson material.

PLE Course Exam

• Passing Score: Applicants must pass the PLE final exam with a passing score of 70% or higher to receive an Exam Admission Ticket.
• Exam Proctor Requirements: PreLicense.com final exams are not required to be proctored.

Certificate of Completion

Upon successful completion of the course and Final Exam, PreLicense.com will e-mail you a partially completed Exam Admission Ticket. Note:  Certificates are typically emailed within 15 minutes of course completion.  You must enter the date of your scheduled license examination (determined after you contact PearsonVUE, the exam provider) and sign the Exam Admission Ticket.  You are required to bring the completed Exam Admission Ticket to the test site on the day of your license exam.

IMPORTANT: Please note, per North Carolina rules, Exam Admission Tickets cannot be faxed to applicants.

An Exam Admission ticket is valid for only ninety (90) days from the date of course completion, or a maximum of five (5) examination attempts, whichever occurs first.

State Reporting Requirements  

Currently, North Carolina Division of Insurance does not require PLE course completions to be reported to the state.

State Licensing Exam

Important:  Before scheduling the licensing exam, candidates must:

1)  Go to www.nipr.com and complete the license application, pay state license fee, $5 NIPR transaction fee, criminal background check fee, and any other additional documentation necessary.

2)  WAIT to receive an e-mail authorization from NIPR/Pearson Vue that will contain information on scheduling your exam.  The e-mail is usually sent within an hour of submission of the NIPR application.

3)  Only after receiving the e-mail authorization from NIPR/Pearson Vue, call to schedule the license exam by following instructions below.

Note:  Applicants must provide the prelicensing provider school code at the time of making their licensing exam reservation.  The provider number for Prelicense.com/WebCE is 4209.

Methods of Registration

• Register by Phone: 800-274-0668
• On-site registration not allowed

Materials Needed to Present at Exam Site 

• Candidates taking an examination must present the corresponding PLE Examination Admission Ticket prior to being admitted to the examination.
• Candidates must present two (2) forms of current signature identification. The primary identification must be government-issued and photo-bearing with a signature and the secondary identification must contain a valid signature. Identification must be in English.

Testing Sites, Exams, and Fees

• Testing Sites: Click here for a list of testing sites
• Insurance License Exams: A list of the North Carolina insurance license exams can be found on the last page of the North Carolina Insurance Licensing Examination Candidate Guide
• Exam Fees: Exam fees can be found on the back cover of the North Carolina Insurance Licensing Examination Candidate Guide.  The exam fee is currently $46.00 for each attempt.

State Exam Passing Score

Applicants must pass the state licensing exam with a 70% or higher to file a license application.

License Application Process

Note:  All license requirements must be completed within 6 months of the application date.

Apply Online: Click here to submit your license application online.

Candidates may upload any required documents for "yes" answers to application screening questions directly into the NIPR document warehourse, or fax, email or mail the documents to NC Licensing Office of Pearson Vue at:

Fax: 888-959-3010
Email:  NorthCarolinaLicensingOffice@Pearson.com
Mail:    North Carolina Licensing Office at Pearson Vue
           3200 Atlanta Avenue, Ste. 120, Raleigh, NC 27604

Fingerprinting Process

All new resident applicants are required to submit electronic fingerprints through a vendor selected by the Department for a criminal background check. Candidates will receive a link to the fingerprint submission forms in the NIPR/Pearson Vue exam confirmation email.  The electronic fingerprint submission process is outlined here on the North Carolina Agent Services Division website. You may download a copy of the Fingerprint/Criminal Background Packet here. In addition, pursuant to North Carolina law, fingerprints must be certified by a law enforcement officer.  Electronic fingerprint submission must be done at a law enforcement office in North Carolina that has Live Scan capability.  Click here to view a list of Live Scan locations.

Send the completed SBI forms pages 1 through 3 to the NC Licensing Office of Pearson VUE via:

Fax to 888-959-3010 or;

Scan documents and send via email to NorthCarolinaLicensingOffice@Pearson.com; or

Mail to: NCDOI/Pearson VUE
PO Box 14209
Raleigh, NC 27620

New Resident Producer Requirements

New residents who still hold an active license in their previous home state will not be required to complete prelicense education or take the license examination as long as:

• the application is received within 90 days of their former home state license being cancelled
• the license being applied for is the same line of authority as in the previous state.

Application Process

A nonresident licensee who wishes to become a resident licensee must submit a license application and appropriate fees to the North Carolina Division of Insurance.

IMPORTANT: Please note that If you held an Accident, Health and Sickness license in your previous home state and had authority under that license to sell Medicare supplement, long-term care insurance, and Medicare Advantage plans, North Carolina requires licensees to obtain an additional Medicare Supplement/Long-Term Care license to sale.  Applicants must hold an Accident and Health and Sickness license to be eligible for a Medicare Supplement/Long-Term Care license.

Applicants may apply for a Medicare Supplement/Long-Term Care license online at www.nipr.com

Ways to Apply

• Apply online: Click here to submit your license application and fees online.
• If you are unable to complete the application online, you may contact the North Carolina Agent Services Division at (919) 807-6800 for further assistance.

Materials Needed to Apply

Applicants who wish to receive a resident insurance license in North Carolina will need to forward the materials listed below to the North Carolina Division of Insurance.

• A copy of the NIPR confirmation page
• Completed fingerprint forms (located in the Fingerprint/Criminal Background Packet )

Fingerprinting Process

All new resident applicants are required to submit electronic fingerprints through a vendor selected by the Department for a criminal background check. The applicant shall bear the cost for electronic fingerprinting, which is currently $38.00.  Applicants will need to submit fingerprints within 30 days of applying for a license.  The electronic fingerprint submission process is outlined here on the North Carolina Agent Services Division website. You may download a copy of the Fingerprint/Criminal Background Packet here. In addition, pursuant to North Carolina law, fingerprints must be certified by a law enforcement officer.  Electronic fingerprint submission must be done at a law enforcement office in North Carolina that has Live Scan capability.  Click here to view a list of Live Scan locations

Nonresident Producer Requirements

Nonresident license candidates may obtain a North Carolina agent license, without having to complete the prelicense education requirement or take a license examination, as long as they are currently licensed as a resident and in good standing in their home state.

Application Process

Nonresident applicants who hold an active resident license in their home state for the same license type may apply for a North Carolina nonresident license online at www.nipr.com.

IMPORTANT: Please note that If you held an Accident, Health and Sickness license in your previous home state and had authority under that license to sell Medicare supplement, long-term care insurance, and Medicare Advantage plans, North Carolina requires licensees to obtain an additional Medicare Supplement/Long-Term Care license to sale.  Applicants must hold an Accident and Health and Sickness license to be eligible for a Medicare Supplement/Long-Term Care license.

Applicants who have authority for Medicare supplement and long term care under their home state Accident, Health and Sickness license may apply for a Medicare Supplement/Long-Term Care license online at www.nipr.com

Fingerprinting Process

Fingerprints are not required for non-resident insurance producer license applicants.

State-Required Product Training

Your state has special training requirements in order for licensed agents to sell the following products:

Long-Term Care:  All producers licensed prior to January 1, 2011 must complete an initial 8-hourtraining course prior to selling, soliciting, or negotiating such products. *Residents who satisfy the training requirements of another state that are similar to North Carolina's law will be deemed compliant with this requirement only if the insurance company chooses to accept the training completed in another state.

Purchasing state-required Product Training with your exam prep course from the PreLicense.com catalog will allow you to take one of the special training requirement courses from WebCE. Additional fees for state filing, books or shipping may apply at the time you register to begin taking the product training course.

Click here for more information regarding state-specific product training.

Contact Information

North Carolina Division of Insurance
Agent Services Division
1204 Mail Service Center
Raleigh, NC 27699-12047
Phone: 919-807-6800
Fax: 919-715-3794
Web Site: http://www.ncdoi.com

Pearson VUE
Phone:  800-274-0668
Pearson Vue Web Site