How to Renew Your Insurance License in North Carolina

Written by: Ethan Peyton

Last updated:

If you’re getting near your North Carolina insurance license renewal date, keep your license active by taking your North Carolina 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 NC insurance license renewal and insurance CE requirements on time.

North Carolina Insurance License Renewal and CE Requirements
Expiration TimeEvery 2 years
Required Continuing Education (CE)24 credit hours
Renewal CostCE course cost
Recommended CE CourseKaplan Education Company

North Carolina Insurance Continuing Education

In order to keep your North Carolina insurance license in good standing with the state, you will need to renew your license by completing your North Carolina Insurance CE requirements before your expiration date.

In North Carolina, insurance licenses are perpetual, except for Surplus Lines and Brokers. Insurance producer licenses do not renew and are valid until surrendered or canceled. To keep a license active, licensees must comply and fulfill the CE requirements every two years.

North Carolina 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 North Carolina insurance CE courses and credits, StateRequirement recommends:

4.7 out of 5 starsKaplan Education Company

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.

North Carolina Insurance Continuing Education Requirements

The North Carolina Department of Insurance (NCDOI) requires that all insurance producers and agents complete their continuing education requirements before their expiration date. In North Carolina, these requirements include:

  • Twenty-four (24) total hours of North Carolina insurance continuing education every renewal period, which is two (2) years
  • Three (3) of those hours must be in the subject of ethics
  • Three (3) hours of flood insurance is required for property licensee and it should be done every four (4) years

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 North Carolina 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 30 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.

North Carolina Insurance License Renewal

After you have completed your continuing education requirements, you may renew your North Carolina insurance license to keep it active.

Follow the steps below to complete your North Carolina insurance license renewal requirements ahead of your CE renewal date.

Step 1: Complete North Carolina Insurance License Continuing Education

Follow the steps above to complete your required 24 hours of CE.

Step 2: Apply for North Carolina Insurance License Renewal

If you have a producer license, you do not have to submit an application for renewal in North Carolina. However, you must meet CE requirements to keep your license active.

Step 3: Pay the North Carolina Insurance License Renewal Fee

The CE course fee depends on your CE provider.  It’s required to take courses that are specifically approved for North Carolina insurance producers.

Brokers and other insurance licenses must be renewed annually by March 31. The renewal period begins sixty (60) days before March 31. Producer licenses expire at the end of your birth month. You may renew your North Carolina insurance license online through NIPR.

Pay the renewal fees 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 North Carolina.

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 North Carolina?

In North Carolina, the North Carolina Department of Insurance requires all insurance producers to complete CE requirements every two years. If you do not comply with the CE requirements, you won’t be able to reinstate, renew or obtain appointments. An appointment is a registration with a state insurance department that you are acting on behalf of an insurer or insurance company.

North Carolina imposes the following rules on completing CE requirements and license renewals:

  • You may request a 30-day extension more than 30 days before the end of your CE compliance period.
  • Your license will expire if you fail to meet the CE hours or fail to take the mandatory ethics and flood hours by the CE compliance date.
  • You’ll have four months from the CE compliance date to meet the required CE hours. The reinstatement fee is $75.
  • If you do not meet the required CE hours by the end of the four-month period, your license will become inactive. You must complete pre-licensing courses and retake the exam to be issued a new license.

North Carolina Insurance License Lookup

You can look up the status of your North Carolina insurance CE credits and North Carolina insurance license renewal by using these resources:

  • View your current accrued CE credits using Sircon’s Continuing Education Transcript Inquiry tool.
  • Check your renewal status via Sircon.
  • If you don’t know your insurance license number (National Producer Number or NPN), you can find it via State-Based Systems Lookup Search. Select North Carolina as your jurisdiction and Licensee Search Type. Enter your information and click Search.

North Carolina Department of Insurance Contact Information

Mailing Address:
North Carolina Department of Insurance
Agent Services
1204 Mail Service Center
Raleigh, NC 27699-1204

Phone: (919) 807-6800

Fax: (919) 715-3794

EmailASD@ncdoi.gov

Websitehttp://www.ncdoi.com/

North Carolina Insurance License Renewal FAQ

How often do I need to renew my North Carolina insurance license?

In North Carolina, 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.

How much does it cost to renew my North Carolina insurance license?

North Carolina doesn’t require license renewals for insurance producers. You will only need to pay for the CE provider cost. Check on North Carolina’s requirements to learn more about the costs you can expect to renew your insurance license.

What are the continuing education requirements for North Carolina in renewing my insurance license?

You should check with the North Carolina Department of Insurance (NCDOI) 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 North Carolina 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.

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