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

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

Nevada Insurance License

In order to get your Nevada 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 Nevada Insurance License Exam(s)
4. Complete a Fingerprint and Background Check
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 Nevada:

• Life, Accident & Health (L&H)
• Property & Casualty (P&C)
• Personal Lines
• Limited Lines
• Bail
• Funeral Insurance

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 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 an insurance adjuster, you’ll need to obtain a separate license — which you can find more information about in our Nevada Adjuster License overview.

Step 2: Complete a Nevada Pre-Licensing Education Course

As of January 1, 2020, candidates are no longer required to complete a pre-licensing course in order to be eligible for licensure.

Having said that, individuals are still encouraged to pursue educational courses for a number of reasons.

Most importantly, 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 Nevada Insurance License Exam(s)

After completing your pre-licensing education course, you will need to take (and pass) the relevant Nevada 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 property and casualty insurance agent, you will need to pass the Property and Casualty exam — which has 91 scored questions (plus 10 unscored pretest questions).

You will have 3 hours and 35 minutes to complete this exam, which like all insurance examinations in Nevada is administered by Pearson VUE.

It should also be noted that — in accordance with Nevada Administrative Code (683A.270) — almost all insurance examinations require a scaled score of 70 to pass (this is 67 for bail exams).

Keep in mind that there’s a $37 fee for single line examinations, or $47 for combo exams (e.g., Property and Casualty, etc.).

Note: In Nevada, you can take each exam as many times as needed, with no limit being imposed on the number of annual attempts permitted.

For more information, you can have a look at our Nevada Insurance License Exam guide.

Step 4: Complete a Fingerprinting And Background Check

As part of the licensing process, you will be required to have your fingerprints taken in order to facilitate a background check.

To do this, you will need to choose an approved fingerprinting vendor from the Nevada Division of Insurance website.

Your vendor will send your fingerprints directly to the Nevada Department of Public Safety (DPS), where they will be processed as part of your background report.

It’s important to keep the confirmation receipt from the fingerprint vendor as you will need to submit it alongside your application later on.

Note: Any misdemeanors or felonies may affect the outcome of your licensing efforts. If you’re worried about this, you can contact the Nevada Division of Insurance by phone or email for more guidance on this topic.

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.

You will have one year after passing your exam to submit your application via Sircon (a $185 processing fee will need to be paid).

Together with your application, you will need to attach the following documents:

• A signed Fingerprint Background Waiver form
• The receipt of your fingerprints
• Any additional supporting documentation requested (if applicable)

All communication regarding your license has to be conducted electronically. Once your application is approved, the Division will issue your license, certifying your eligibility to operate within the lines of authority for which you have applied.

Keep in mind that if your application is found to be incomplete or is denied, you will be notified in writing with detailed reasons as to why this decision was made.

Step 6: Application Review

And that’s it! After satisfying all the other requirements and submitting a license application to the Nevada Division 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 Nevada Insurance License

After successfully completing your exams and receiving your license, you’ll be a qualified insurance agent in Nevada.

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 Nevada, resident producers, insurance consultants, and exchange enrollment facilitators are required to complete 30 hours of continuing education (CE) every three years in order to maintain their active status. Three of these hours must be on ethics training; the remaining hours must be in the relevant lines of authority.

Nevada Department of Business and Industry Contact Information

Mailing Address:
Nevada Division of Insurance
1818 East College Parkway Suite 103
Carson City, Nevada 89706

Phone: (775) 687-0700

Fax: (775) 687-0797

Email: nevada.licensing@doi.nv.gov

Website: http://doi.nv.gov/

License Search: Nevada Insurance License Search and Lookup