Getting your Colorado insurance license is the first step to becoming an insurance agent in Colorado. Whether you’re interested in selling property and casualty insurance, life insurance, health insurance, or any combination of those lines of authority, this article has the information you need to get started.

The Colorado Division of Insurance has a 5-step process on how to become an insurance agent in Colorado. We’ll walk you through step-by-step; from the license application to insurance test prep, to the Colorado insurance exam, and beyond.

This guide has everything you need to know to get your CO insurance license quickly and easily.

How to Get Your Colorado Insurance License

Getting your insurance license in Colorado is easy! Just follow our step-by-step guide. Be sure to bookmark this page so that you can visit it again throughout this process.

Step 1. Which Insurance Licenses Do You Need?

The first step to getting your insurance license is choosing which licenses you need. The most common licenses new insurance agents get are the property & casualty license (P&C), life and health insurance license (L&H).

The types of insurance products and policies you’ll be selling will determine which licenses you need. Here are some examples of the types of policies you can market with each license:

• Property and Casualty Insurance License – Auto Insurance, Home Insurance, Business Insurance, etc…
• Life and Health Insurance License – Life Insurance, Annuities, Medicare, Health Insurance, etc…

Most insurance agents and producers choose to get both P&C and L&H licenses, but if you plan on specializing in only one category then you don’t need every license.

Insurance adjusters require a separate license. You can find more information on becoming an insurance adjuster here: Colorado Insurance Adjuster License.

Step 2. Colorado Insurance Pre-License Education

After you’ve determined which licenses you need, you must now take your Colorado insurance pre-license education courses.

Most folks choose to take their insurance pre-license course online. These courses are created specifically to give you the skills you need to pass the test. The types of licenses you choose (also known as “lines of authority”) will determine which courses you take.

Each line of authority in Colorado requires fifty (50) hours of pre-license education.  This means if you are going to get all four lines, you will need two hundred ten 210 hours of education prior to testing.

You will receive a certificate upon completion of the course. Keep this certificate, as you will need it when taking your exam.

Colorado requires that you must complete ten (10) hours in the following subjects once (not per line)

• Principals of Insurance: 3 hours
• Legal Concepts and Regulations: 4 hours
• Ethics: 3 hours

Step 3. Colorado Insurance License Exam

The next step after completing all of your pre-license coursework is to take the insurance exam. You will take one exam for each line of insurance you wish to carry. Life, Accident, & Health (LA&H) and Property & Casualty (P&C) are a total of four lines. Pearson Vue in Colorado offers these four exams in two “back to back” exams, so you will essentially take four tests, but if you pass them on your first try, you will only have to sit for exams twice. This option does not shorten the exams, but it does allow you to save the fee for one exam sitting.

You must pass your exams within one year of completing your pre-license education course. Colorado offers what is called “partial pass” for these exams. This means that if you take one of the exams and pass one part, but not the other, you will receive a waiver for the parts that you have passed on the next attempt at the exam.

This is a proctored test, which means that you will be in a controlled environment with a person watching you. For people who haven’t tested in a situation like this should be aware of this fact, and work on taming their nerves prior to sitting for the exam.

The fee for each attempt of the exams is $41 for each “back-to-back producer exam” (P&C and LA&H). When you show up you must have a photo ID and the original pre-license education certificate. Each “back-to-back” exam will be four (4) parts. An outline of each exam is available on this Pearson VUE PDF.

To explain the scoring of this exam, we will quote Pearson VUE:

Check out our Insurance Exam Guide. It’s extremely in-depth, and will hopefully help you pass the first time.

Insurance license tests are intentionally difficult, but not impossible by any means. You should study to the point of comfortability with the information before you attempt the test. Failing the exam isn’t the end of the world, but keep in mind that you will need to pay the fee each time you attempt the test.

You may register to take your exams and find more information on the Pearson VUE Colorado website.

Step 4. Colorado Insurance License Application

Once you have completed your exams, you are now ready to apply for your license. If you have more than one line of authority that you have passed the exam for, be sure to apply for all of those lines.

The fee for an online application is $89 plus a $5 NIPR service fee for a total of $94 per line of authority. Even if you took your pre-license education and the “back to back” exams as combined lines, Property, Casualty, Life, and Accident & Health are counted as four (4) separate lines when applying.

Fill out your online application on the Sircon Colorado web page.

Step 5. Application Review

Once you have submitted your application and have filled all the other requirements, your license application will be reviewed by the state. Your background check will also be reviewed.

If everything is to acceptable standards your license should be issued within three (3) days. If there are any items from your background check that need to be reviewed, it may slow down the process of issuance. If this is the case, the state may contact you to provide context to the issues that they have run into.

You should receive an email informing you of your license acceptance. If three (3) days pass after submitting your application and you haven’t received an email, contact the Colorado Insurance License Office at (303) 894-7499.

You may look your license up yourself in the Sircon Colorado License Lookup Tool

Congratulations!

You’ve done the work, put in the time and effort, and now hold the key to your own success!  We’re proud of you. Take five (5) minutes and celebrate.

After Getting Your Colorado Insurance License

Once you’ve passed your exams and completed the licensing application, you are now a licensed insurance agent in Colorado. A common question we hear is, “I have my insurance license, now what?” Here are a few things you can do or need to know:

• Get a job in the insurance field. Check out StateRequirement’s Insurance Jobs board
• If you’re going to sell advanced life insurance products, you’ll need to have the proper securities licenses. The Series 6, Series 7, and Series 63 are the most common among insurance agents, but you’ll need to begin with the SIE (Securities Industry Essentials) exam. Find out which licenses you need with our Securities Licensing Guide
• Every two years, you’ll need to renew your insurance license. Check out our guides on Colorado Insurance License Renewal and Colorado Insurance Continuing Education for more details
• Learn how to market yourself as an insurance agent: Have a look at our Insurance Agent Marketing article
• Interested in learning how successful life insurance agents operate? Check out our How Do Life Insurance Companies Make Money article

Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies Contact Information

Mailing Address:
Division of Insurance
1560 Broadway, Suite 1350
Denver, Colorado 80202

Phone: (303) 894-7499

Fax: (303) 894-7693

Email: dora_dpo_website@state.co.us

Website: https://www.colorado.gov/pacific/dora/node/87936

License Search: Colorado Insurance License Search and Lookup