How to Get an Insurance License in Missouri

If you’re thinking about becoming an insurance agent in Missouri, the first step you’ll need to take in order to kickstart your career is to obtain a Missouri insurance license.

In this guide, we’ll walk you through the step-by-step process of how to become an insurance agent in Missouri, as well as what to do once you get licensed.

Missouri Insurance License

In order to get your Missouri insurance license, you’ll need to complete the following five steps:

1. Figure Out Which Insurance License You’ll Need
2. Complete a Pre-Licensing Education Course
3. Pass the Relevant Missouri Insurance License Exam(s)
4. Complete a 1033 Waiver (If Applicable)
5. Submit Your Insurance License Application

Below we have explored each step in more detail.

Step 1: Decide Which Insurance Licenses You Need

The first step will be deciding what type of insurance policies you’ll want to sell — at least at the start of your career.

This is because the type of insurance policies you’re hoping to sell will dictate the type of license you’ll need. For example, you’d need a Property & Casualty (P&C) license to be able to sell auto, home, or business insurance.

Here’s a list of all the different types of insurance agent licenses that are available in the state of Missouri:

• Life
• Accident & Health or Sickness
• Property
• Casualty
• Personal Lines
• Crop
• Title
• Variable Life and Variable Annuities
• Credit
• Travel
• Surplus Lines

While there are a large number of different licenses to choose from, the vast majority of insurance agents will either obtain a Property and Casualty (P&C) or a Life and Health license.

In fact, many agents actually opt to go for both of these licenses as it allows them to offer clients a much wider range of the most common insurance products.

However, if you already know you want to specialize in one particular type of insurance policy, you’ll of course only have to focus on the specific license that’s relevant to this insurance type.

It’s worth noting at this point that those looking to work as independent adjusters in Missouri will likely need to obtain a separate DHS license, which you can find more information about in our Missouri Adjuster License overview.

Step 2: Complete a Missouri Pre-Licensing Education Course

The next step you’ll want to take toward becoming a licensed insurance agent in Missouri is completing a pre-licensing education course.

Now, it’s important to note that — unlike many other states — Missouri does not actually require aspiring insurance agents to complete a certain number of pre-licensing education hours in order to sit their insurance licensing exam, meaning that this step is entirely optional.

Having said that, completing a course is highly recommended as it can go a long way in helping you pass on your first attempt — which can save you both time and money in the long run.

This is because many of the features that come with these courses — such as live tutoring, study calendars, and hundreds of practice exams — are designed to enhance your understanding of the material, making you more comfortable and confident on the day of the exam.

Due to the sheer number of pre-licensing education courses available, it’s normal to feel a little overwhelmed when deciding which one is right for you. To avoid this, we typically recommend making a decision based on the following factors:

• The course’s flexibility (e.g., does it allow flexible learning, does it require completing within a short time-window, etc.)
• The course’s price: This one is obvious; our only tip here is to not go too low, as from our experience you tend to get what you pay for when it comes to these
• The course’s reputation: How reliable is each provider? The last thing you want is insufficient and/or incomplete resources before your exam

If you want more information before getting started, you can also have a look at our in-depth overview of the five best pre-license education courses in 2024.

Step 3: Pass the Relevant Missouri Insurance License Exam(s)

After completing your pre-licensing education course, you will need to take (and pass) the relevant Missouri insurance license exam.

We say “relevant” because this will depend on the line you wish to specialize in; for example, if you’re planning to become a Life & Health insurance agent, you’ll need to pass the Life, Accident and Health Insurance Producer exam, which has 95 scored questions and is three hours long.

In Missouri, all insurance exams are multiple-choice, administered by Pearson VUE, and come with an exam fee of either $22, $29, or $35.

Keep in mind that a small number of examinations can be taken entirely remotely through Pearson VUE’s OnVUE program. These include the:

• Life Producer Exam: $29 cost (120 minutes)
• Accident & Health Producer Exam: $29 fee (120 minutes)
• Property Producer Exam: $29 fee, (120 minutes)
• Casualty Producer Exam: $29 fee, (120 minutes)
• Personal Lines Exam: $29 fee, (150 minutes)
• Life, Accident & Health Producer Exam: $35 fee, (180 minutes)
• Property & Casualty Producer Exam: $35 fee, (180 minutes)

It’s worth mentioning that you will be able to sit more than one exam at a time (e.g., if you want to apply for both a P&C and a life and health insurance license).

Even so, we recommend avoiding this route; this is because passing your exam is hard enough as is, and there is arguably little to gain and a lot to lose with the added risk of confusing separate line material.

We found that the best approach is to study for one at a time, averaging between two to six weeks of study time per exam — depending on whether you are studying full time or part-time, as well as on how comfortable you are at taking proctored exams.

Note: If you’re a veteran, you’ll likely be able to get the cost of taking your insurance examination(s) reimbursed by the Department of Commerce & Insurance. For more information, you can have a look at our Missouri Insurance License Exam guide.

Step 4: Complete a 1033 Waiver (If Applicable)

Missouri law (8 U.S.C. § 1033 AND 1034) prohibits certain individuals from engaging — or proposing to engage — in the business of insurance without prior consent.

As a result, all prospective insurance agent applicants with criminal felonies — especially when involving dishonesty or breach of trust — are required to complete an Application for Written Consent to Engage in the Business of Insurance.

This is reviewed by the Chief Insurance Regulatory Official in the state, and will need to include details such as:

• Your full legal name, address, and contact information
• Your Social Security Number (SSN) and place of birth
• Your criminal background, including any felonies for which you have been arrested, charged, indicted, or convicted

We recommend ensuring that you include all relevant information when making your request to the Missouri Department of Insurance.

This is because any prohibited individual who willfully engages in the business of insurance without consent can face fines or even imprisonment of up to five years.

Note: Your application will need to be signed in the presence of a Notary Public.

Step 5: Submit Your Insurance License Application

With your exams and fingerprinting out of the way, you’ll be ready to actually apply for your license. In Missouri, applications can be submitted online through the National Insurance Producer Registry (NIPR) for an application fee of $100 (plus a small transaction charge of $5.60).

Alternatively, you can download this Uniform Application for Individual Producer License/Registration form and submit it via mail — alongside a $100 check — to the Missouri Department of Insurance at the following address:

Missouri Department of Commerce and Insurance
PO Box 4001
Jefferson City
MO 65102

It’s worth noting that you’ll need to wait at least 24 to 48 hours after passing an examination before you submit your application. This is to allow enough time for your results to be processed and uploaded into the relevant databases.

Note: In accordance with statutory state laws, certain low income individuals and/or veterans are allowed to apply for a License Fee Waiver with the Department of Insurance. Qualifying individuals will be able to take advantage of this waiver one time only.

Step 6: Application Review

And that’s it! After satisfying all the other requirements and submitting a license application to the Missouri Department of Insurance all that’s left to do is wait.

If everything on your application has been filled out correctly, your license should be issued within a couple of weeks — which is the amount of time it typically takes for a license application and background check to be reviewed.

It’s important to be aware that the issuance of your insurance license can take a bit longer than this if there are any items from your background check that need to be looked over. However, the state will likely get in touch with you to give some context if they run into any issues.

Submissions carried out via mail will likely also experience longer processing times.

In any case, the state will send you an email regarding the status of your license once this review has been completed, so keep an eye out for that!

After Getting Your Missouri Insurance License

Once you’ve passed all your exams and your licensing application has been approved, you’ll be a qualified insurance agent in Missouri.

At this point, there are four main steps that we recommend new insurance agents to take:

1. Obtain Any Relevant Securities Licenses: If you’re planning on selling advanced life insurance products, you’ll need to pass the Securities Industry Essentials (SIE) exam and obtain the relevant securities licenses (e.g., Series 6, 7, and 63).
2. Choose a Means of Selling: You’ll have to decide whether you’d prefer working as a captive agent employed by one company, or running your own business as an independent agent.
3. Develop Your Marketing Approach: To succeed as an insurance agent, you’ll need to adopt a marketing approach that’s effective for you. Finding and sticking to a niche, as well organizing all client appointments for the start of your week, are two great ways to do this.
4. Keep Your License Valid: In Missouri, you’ll be required to complete either 8 or 16 hours of continuing education (CE) every two years depending on your line of authority. Keep in mind that at least three hours must relate to insurance ethics.

Missouri Department of Insurance Contact Information

Mailing Address:
P.O. Box 690
Jefferson City, Missouri 65102-0690

Phone: (573) 751-3518

Fax: (573) 526-3416

Email: licensing@insurance.mo.gov

Website: https://insurance.mo.gov/

License Search: Missouri Insurance License Search and Lookup