If you’re getting near your California insurance license renewal date, keep your license active by taking your California insurance continuing education (CE) courses in advance of your expiration date.
This guide will provide you all the information you need to ensure you fulfill your CA insurance license renewal and insurance CE requirements on time.
 | California Insurance License Renewal and CE Requirements |
|---|---|
| Expiration Time | Every 2 years |
| Required Continuing Education (CE) | 24 credit hours |
| Renewal Cost | $188 per license + CE course cost |
| Recommended CE Course | Kaplan Education Company |
California Insurance Continuing Education
In order to keep your California insurance license in good standing with the state, you will need to renew your license by completing your California Insurance CE requirements before your expiration date.
In California, insurance licenses expire every two years. The expiration will be on your date of birth, biennially, based on the anniversary of your original license year. This means that if you were licensed in an even-numbered year, your license will expire on your birthday in the next even-numbered year.
California Insurance Continuing Education Courses
Insurance CE comes in many forms. Most folks nowadays choose to take a self-paced course online, but you can also complete your credit hours by attending an in-person class or even a scheduled online webinar.
Self-paced Course
The most common method of continuing education today. These CE courses allow you to log in to an online platform any time of day to complete your credit hours. Most of these courses are a mixture of video and text combined with a knowledge exam at the end. Some platforms even allow you to take the course from your phone, which could be useful if you’re short on computer time.
In-person Class
This is how continuing education courses all began. Join your fellow insurance license holders for a live class taught by an industry professional. You may be able to find a “school” that provides all of your state’s required credits in a few full-day classes, or you might also take some shorter sessions to fill part of your requirements.
Scheduled Online Webinar
This is essentially the same as an in-person class, except you don’t have to travel away from your home or office. You will be taught by an instructor who will deliver the lesson at a specified time. Many webinars even allow you to interact with the instructor if you have specific questions.
Recommended Course
For California insurance CE courses and credits, StateRequirement recommends:
Tip: Most courses certify completion by taking either a knowledge exam at the end or by counting attendance to all of the scheduled classes. If you want to save time, it’s best to go with a self-paced course. If you want no exam, try an in-person class or an online webinar.
California Insurance Continuing Education Requirements
The California Department of Insurance (CDI) requires that all insurance producers and agents complete their continuing education requirements before their expiration date. In California, these requirements include:
- Twenty-four (24) total hours of California insurance continuing education every renewal period, which is two (2) years
- Three (3) of those hours must be in the subject of ethics
Note
If you have a producer license in more than one line of authority (ex. Property & Casualty and Life & Health), you do not need to take double hours. Your total amount of CE credit hours due is still twenty-four (24).
Once you completed the insurance CE course, your CE course provider will send a certificate of completion to the California Department of Insurance. Make sure to keep a printed copy of your certificate for your records.
Tip
It is recommended to complete all continuing education credits 60 days prior to the expiration date of the license. This will give the CE provider time to report the successful completion to the department of insurance. Your CE courses can be taken at any time within your license term.
California Insurance License Renewal
After you have completed your continuing education requirements, you may renew your California insurance license to keep it active.
Follow the steps below to complete your California insurance license renewal requirements ahead of your expiration date.
Step 1: Complete California Insurance License Continuing Education
Follow the steps above to complete your required 24 hours of CE.
Step 2: Apply for California Insurance License Renewal
According to the California Department of Insurance, you may renew your California insurance license by logging into Sircon or NIPR. Choose the account where you signed up for during your California insurance license application.
NIPR and Sircon charge $5.60 for processing. The California Department of Insurance provides no charge for processing, so it’s recommended to renew your license at least 60 days before your license expiration date.
Step 3: Pay the California Insurance License Renewal Fee
The renewal fee is $188 per line of authority. There are no late renewal fees because California doesn’t allow renewals after the expiration date. See below on what to do if your insurance license expires in California.
Pay the renewal fees via Sircon or NIPR by credit card, electronic check, or your chosen online payment system.
Once you complete the steps above before your expiration date, you can renew your license in California.
Congratulations!
You’ve taken the steps you need to take and now your insurance license is good for another two years!
What Happens if My Insurance License Expires in California?
In California, the California Department of Insurance will send you a renewal notice via email approximately 90 days before your license expires.
There is no continuing education “grace period”. Not meeting your CE requirements prevents you from renewing your insurance license.
Also, once your license expiration date has passed, your license will become inactive and you won’t be able to transact business in the state.
You have one year from the expiration date to renew your license. If you fail to renew during this time, you will need to reinstate your license by re-taking your pre-licensing education, licensing exam, and new license application. The reinstatement fee is $282 (50 percent of your renewal fee). Use Sircon or NIPR to reinstate your license.
California Insurance License Lookup
You can look up the status of your California insurance CE credits and California insurance license renewal by using these resources:
- View your current accrued CE credits using Sircon’s Continuing Education Transcript Inquiry tool (as recommended by CDI). Select California as your state, enter your License Number and Last Name, then hit Submit.
- Check your renewal status via Sircon, NIPR, or CDI’s Check License Application Status Service (CLASS).
- If you don’t know your insurance license number (National Producer Number or NPN), you can find your name via CDI’s Check A License page or Sircon’s License Number/National Producer Number Inquiry tool.
- If you need proof that you have renewed your license in California, you can ask for a letter of certification via Sircon. You will need to pay $6, plus any additional fees.
California Department of Insurance Contact Information
Mailing Address:
California Department of Insurance
Producer Licensing Bureau
320 Capitol Mall
Sacramento, CA 95814
Phone: (800) 967-9331
Email: Contact Form
Website: https://www.insurance.ca.gov/
California Insurance License Renewal FAQ
How often do I need to renew my California insurance license?
In California, the expiration date or renewal date is most often based on the requirement to complete continuing education (CE) hours every two years. You must renew by this date and meet your CE hours. You can find out when you need to renew your insurance license on the front of the license itself. The expiration date will be printed directly on the license. Make sure that you renew your insurance before this date.
How much does it cost to renew my California insurance license?
California charges a $188 renewal fee + CE provider cost. Check on California’s requirements to learn more about the costs you can expect to renew your insurance license. Renewing your insurance license through the NIPR (National Insurance Producer Registry) or Sircon comes with a $5.60 processing fee.
What are the continuing education requirements for California in renewing my insurance license?
You should check with the California Department of Insurance (CDI) to determine how many hours you need and if there are restrictions on what kind of CE will be accepted. Continuing education topics include insurance policies, ethics, insurance law, and more. Some topics apply to all insurance agents, such as claims and tax updates. Other classes will be geared toward specific lines, such as property and casualty or life and health. See above to find out more about California Insurance CE courses and requirements.
How do I document the completion of my continuing education courses?
Sending in course completion paperwork to the state is typically the responsibility of the course provider. As the individual taking the course, you will not need to send in documentation. If you want to check your continuing education progress and make sure that all completed courses are in your state file, you can use your state’s online system to look up license information, including continuing education completion.
What is NPN for an insurance agent?
You will need your National Producer Number, or NPN, to renew your insurance license. This number is assigned to each individual working in insurance when they are first licensed. If you are unsure of your NPN, you can look it up on the National Insurance Producer Registry using your license number or social security number.
California Insurance License Renewal FAQ
How often do I need to renew my California insurance license?
In California, the expiration date or renewal date is most often based on the requirement to complete continuing education (CE) hours every two years. You must renew by this date and meet your CE hours.
You can find out when you need to renew your insurance license on the front of the license itself. The expiration date will be printed directly on the license. Make sure that you renew your insurance before this date.
How much does it cost to renew my California insurance license?
California charges a $188 renewal fee + CE provider cost. Check on California’s requirements to learn more about the costs you can expect to renew your insurance license.
Renewing your insurance license through the NIPR (National Insurance Producer Registry) or Sircon comes with a $5.60 processing fee.
What are the continuing education requirements for California in renewing my insurance license?
You should check with the California Department of Insurance (CDI) to determine how many hours you need and if there are restrictions on what kind of CE will be accepted.
Continuing education topics include insurance policies, ethics, insurance law, and more. Some topics apply to all insurance agents, such as claims and tax updates. Other classes will be geared toward specific lines, such as property and casualty or life and health.
See above to find out more about California Insurance CE courses and requirements.
How do I document the completion of my continuing education courses?
Sending in course completion paperwork to the state is typically the responsibility of the course provider. As the individual taking the course, you will not need to send in documentation.
If you want to check your continuing education progress and make sure that all completed courses are in your state file, you can use your state’s online system to look up license information, including continuing education completion.
What is NPN for an insurance agent?
You will need your National Producer Number, or NPN, to renew your insurance license. This number is assigned to each individual working in insurance when they are first licensed. If you are unsure of your NPN, you can look it up on the National Insurance Producer Registry using your license number or social security number.