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

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

Kansas Insurance License

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

1. Figure Out Which Insurance License You’ll Need
2. Complete a Kansas Pre-Licensing Education Course
3. Apply For a Tax Clearance Certificate
4. Complete a Fingerprint and Background Check
5. Pass the Relevant Kansas Insurance License Exam(s)
6. 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 Kansas:

• Life
• Accident and Health or Sickness
• Property and Allied Lines
• Casualty and Allied Lines
• Personal Lines
• Crop

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 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 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 if you’re looking to work as a public insurance adjuster, you’ll need to obtain a separate license — which you can find more information about in our Kansas Adjuster License overview.

Step 2: Complete a Kansas Pre-Licensing Education Course

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

Even though Kansas law does not actually require you to take a course in order to register for an exam or file an insurance application, we recommend doing so regardless.

This is because enrolling in a pre-licensing course can allow you to gain valuable insights and a deeper understanding of your field, which will not only help you during the actual state licensing exam but will also ensure that you are better equipped to operate effectively post-licensing.

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: Apply For a Tax Clearance Certificate

All resident license applicants in the state of Kansas are required to apply for a tax clearance from the Department of Revenue as part of the licensing process.

To apply for your tax clearance, you will need to complete the following steps:

• Visit the Kansas Department of Revenue’s tax clearance application page
• Click on “Submit Request”
• Select the “Individual” tab
• Fill out the request form with your information, and under “Reason for Tax Clearance request” select “Insurance Licensing” from the drop-down box
• Click the “Submit” button

Note: You will need to submit your tax clearance alongside your insurance license application (step 6).

Step 4: Complete a Fingerprinting and Background Check

In order to become an insurance agent in Kansas, you will need to complete a fingerprinting and background check.

This process comes with a $50 fee, which is payable by credit card or electronic check.

You can choose to get fingerprinted at various locations across the state:

• Kansas Insurance Department: You can make an appointment for fingerprinting at the Kansas Insurance Department’s office in Topeka
• Department of Children and Families (DCF): You can choose between six different Department of Children and Families (DCF) locations across Kansas (Form FP-1020)
• Local Law Enforcement Agencies: Certain local law enforcement agencies across the state offer livescan fingerprinting; you will need to call the applicable agency directly to make an appointment

Keep in mind that along with your fingerprints, you will need to submit a Fingerprint Waiver Agreement electronically with the Kansas Insurance Department.

Note: Your fingerprints will remain valid for 365 days from the date they are taken, during which you will need to complete your application.

Step 5: Pass the Relevant Kansas Insurance License Exam(s)

The next step will be passing the relevant Kansas insurance exam(s), which you will be able to do either before or after submitting your application.

We say ‘relevant’ because this will depend on the line you wish to specialize in; for example, if you’re planning to become an Accident & Health insurance agent, you will need to pass the Accident & Health Producer exam, which has 84 scored questions and 11 unscored questions.

This exam, like all insurance agent licensing examinations in Kansas, is administered by Pearson VUE.

The cost for these exams ranges from $57 to $64, depending on whether they are major line or limited line examinations.

Keep in mind that you can sit for 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: You will need a score of at least 70% in order to pass your exam(s). For more information, you can have a look at our Kansas Insurance License Exam guide.

Step 6: Submit Your Insurance License Application

With your exams and fingerprinting out of the way, you’ll be ready to actually apply for your license.

To begin this process, you will need to submit your Application for Individual Insurance Producer License online via NIPR.

When you submit your application, you will be required to pay a processing fee of $15.

Please note that all individual applicants are required to show a continuous employment history for the past five years.

This history should include all types of employment, including full and/or part-time jobs, self-employed work, military service, periods of unemployment, and full-time education.

Additionally, applicants who are not U.S. citizens will be required to submit proof of their eligibility to work in the U.S. (e.g., Work Visa, Green Card, etc). These will need to be attached to the NIPR Attachments Warehouse.

Step 7: Application Review

And that’s it! After satisfying all the other requirements and submitting a license application to the Kansas 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 three to five 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.

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 Kansas Insurance License

Once you have successfully passed all required exams and your license application has been approved, you will be an officially licensed insurance agent in Kansas.

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 Kansas, insurance licenses must be renewed biennially, with renewals due on the last day of your birth month. To do this, you will need to complete your license type’s specific continuing education requirements.

Kansas Department of Insurance Contact Information

Mailing Address:
1300 SW Arrowhead Rd.
Topeka, Kansas 66604

Phone: (785) 296-3071

Fax: (785) 368-7019

Email: KDOI.Licensing@ks.gov

Website: https://insurance.kansas.gov/

License Search: Kansas Insurance License Search and Lookup