Getting your Minnesota insurance license is the first step to becoming an insurance agent in Minnesota. 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 Minnesota Insurance Licensing Unit has a 6-step process on how to become an insurance agent in Minnesota. We’ll walk you through step-by-step; from the license application to insurance test prep, to the Minnesota insurance exam, and beyond.

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

How to Get Your Minnesota Insurance License

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

Step 2. Minnesota Insurance Pre-License Education

After you’ve determined which licenses you need, you must now take your Minnesota 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 Minnesota 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.

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

Step 3. Minnesota Insurance License Exam

The next step after completing all of your pre-license coursework or self-study is to take the insurance exam. You will take one exam for each line of insurance you wish to carry. Life, Health, & Accident (LH&A) and Property & Casualty (P&C) lines are combined exams in Minnesota, so you only have to take two tests if you wish to attain all of these lines of authority: Property, Casualty, Life, and Accident & Health.

This is a proctored test, which means that you will be in a controlled environment with a person watching over 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 $39 (one exam per combined lines of authority). When you show up you must have a photo ID any other documents that the testing facility has asked you to bring.

The Life, Health & Accident exam consists of one hundred thirty-five (135) questions. You have one hundred eighty minutes to complete this exam.

The Property and Casualty exam consists of one hundred thirty-eight (138) questions. You have one hundred eighty minutes to complete this exam.

70% correct answers is the minimum passing score for each exam. Pearson VUE offers content outlines for each of the tests.

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 Exams Minnesota Insurance page. Pearson VUE Minnesota Exams provides more testing information in their Minnesota Insurance License Examination Candidate Information Bulletin.

Step 4. Fingerprinting And Background Check

The State of Minnesota requires that all insurance license applications provide fingerprints prior to licensing. Giving your fingerprints will initiate a background check. If you have any prior misdemeanors or felonies, this may affect the outcome of your licensing efforts. For more information on this topic, call the Minnesota Department of Insurance at (651) 539-1600 or email the department.

Your fingerprint impressions will be taken through IDEMIA via Pearson VUE, so when you are scheduled to take an exam, have your fingerprinting done on the same day.

You must also sign a Resident Insurance Producer Background Check Consent Form. Bring the form with you to your nearest Pearson VUE fingerprinting location in Minnesota. To determine your fingerprinting location, visit the IDEMIA via Pearson VUE website, click on the “Schedule a New Appointment” button, choose your state agency and your fingerprint reason, and then enter your ZIP code.

The fee for fingerprint services is $67.25. Your fingerprints will be submitted automatically to the Minnesota Insurance Department.

Step 5. Minnesota Insurance License Application

After you have completed your exams and fingerprinting, the next step is 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 $50 per line, plus a $30 “tech fee.”

Apply for your license online on the Sircon Minnesota Insurance page.

Step 6. Application Review

Once you have submitted your application and passed your exams, 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 quickly. 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.

The license review will take up to ten (10) business days to complete. During this time, you should check with Sircon to see if your license has been issued. If it has, you may print it out. Use the Sircon Minnesota Insurance page.

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 Minnesota Insurance License

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

Minnesota Commerce Department Contact Information

Mailing Address:
Insurance Licensing Unit
85 7th Place East, Suite 600
Saint Paul, Minnesota 55101

Phone: (651) 539-1600

Email: licensing.commerce@state.mn.us

Website: http://mn.gov/commerce/industries/insurance/

License Search: Minnesota Insurance License Search and Lookup