Getting your Illinois insurance license is the first step to becoming an insurance agent in Illinois. 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 Illinois Department of Insurance has a 5-step process on how to become an insurance agent in Illinois. We’ll walk you through step-by-step; from the license application to insurance test prep, to the Illinois insurance exam, and beyond.

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

How to Get Your Illinois Insurance License

Getting your insurance license in Illinois 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: Illinois Insurance Adjuster License.

Step 2. Illinois Insurance Pre-License Education

After you’ve determined which licenses you need, you must now take your Illinois 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 Illinois requires twenty (20) hours of pre-license education. This means that if you wish to get a Property and Casualty license, you must take forty (40) hours of pre-licensing, and for Life, Accident, and Health you must also take forty (40) hours.

Illinois requires the 20 pre-license education hours to be in a physical classroom setting or live webinar.

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

Step 3. Illinois 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 Illinois 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. Illinois 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. If you pass one part on an exam, you have ninety (90) days to pass the other part of 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 $103 for each “back to back producer exam” (P&C and LA&H). When you show up you must have two (2) forms of ID, including 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.

You must score a “70” on each exam to pass. More information about testing and scoring in the Pearson VUE Illinois Insurance Licensing Candidate Handbook.

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 Illinois website.

Step 4. Illinois 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.

You must wait five (5) days after passing your test to apply for your license.

The fee for an online application is $180 plus a $5 service fee for a total of $185. When adding lines of authority to your license, you will only pay the $5 service fee, not the full $185 each time.

Fill out your online application on the NIPR Illinois 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 from the application 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 Illinois Insurance License Office at 217-782-4515.

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 Illinois Insurance License

Once you’ve passed your exams and completed the licensing application, you are now a licensed insurance agent in Illinois. 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. 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 Illinois Insurance License Renewal and Illinois 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

Illinois Department of Insurance Contact Information

Mailing Address:
Illinois Department of Insurance
320 West Washington Street
Springfield, Illinois 62767-0001

Phone: (217) 782-4515

Fax: (217) 782-5020

Email: DOI.Licensing@illinois.gov

Website: http://insurance.illinois.gov

License Search: Illinois Insurance License Search and Lookup