If you’re getting near your Texas insurance license renewal date, keep your license active by taking your Texas 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 TX insurance license renewal and insurance CE requirements on time.
 | Texas Insurance License Renewal and CE Requirements |
|---|---|
| Expiration Time | Every 2 years |
| Required Continuing Education (CE) | 24 credit hours |
| Renewal Cost | $50 per license + CE course cost |
| Recommended CE Course | Kaplan Education Company |
Texas Insurance Continuing Education
In order to keep your Texas insurance license in good standing with the state, you will need to renew your license by completing your Texas Insurance CE requirements before your expiration date.
In Texas, insurance licenses expire every two years. The expiration will be on your date of birth, biennially, based on the anniversary of your original license year. This means that if you were licensed in an even-numbered year, your license will expire on your birthday in the next even-numbered year.
Texas 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 Texas insurance CE courses and credits, StateRequirement recommends:
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.
Texas Insurance Continuing Education Requirements
The Texas Department of Insurance requires that all insurance producers and agents complete their continuing education requirements before their expiration date. In Texas, these requirements include:
- Twenty-four (24) total hours of Texas insurance continuing education every renewal period, which is two (2) years
- Three (3) of those hours must be in the subject of ethics or consumer protection
- Twelve (12) of those hours must be classroom education or “classroom equivalent,” meaning that the instructor and students interact remotely via video-conferencing or similar technology in a classroom format
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 Texas 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.
Texas Insurance License Renewal
After you have completed your continuing education requirements, you may renew your Texas insurance license to keep it active.
Follow the steps below to complete your Texas insurance license renewal requirements ahead of your expiration date.
Step 1: Complete Texas Insurance License Continuing Education
Follow the steps above to complete your required 24 hours of CE.
Step 2: Apply for Texas Insurance License Renewal
According to the Texas Department of Insurance, you may renew your Texas insurance license by logging into the following accounts. Choose the account where you signed up for during your Texas insurance license application:
- Use Sircon, NIPR, or Texas Department of Insurance if you have more than 30 days to renew.
- Use Sircon or NIPR if you have less than 30 days to renew.
NIPR charges $5.60 for processing while Sircon charges $8.25 for processing. The Texas Department of Insurance provides no charge for processing, so it’s recommended to renew your license more than 30 days before your license expiration date.
Step 3: Pay the Texas Insurance License Renewal Fee
The renewal fee is $50 per line of authority. To avoid paying late renewal fees, you must complete CE hours and apply for renewal at least 30 days before your license expires. The late fee is $75 per line of authority.
Pay the renewal fees via NIPR or Sircon 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 Texas.
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 Texas?
In Texas, the Texas Department of Insurance will send you via email a renewal notice within 90 days before your license expires. If you don’t renew your license on time, there will be a $75 late renewal fee.
There is no continuing education “grace period”. Once your license expiration date has passed, you will be charged with penalties by the state. Texas requires a $50 fine for every CE hour not completed on time, up to a maximum of $500 per license. Not meeting your CE requirements prevents you from renewing your insurance license.
You can request an extension to complete CE hours in Texas if you:
- have a long term illness.
- are in military service under a threat of war.
To request an extension of time to complete CE hours, send the FIN517, Application for Licensee Exemption or Extension form to the Texas Department of Insurance.
Texas Insurance License Lookup
You can look up the status of your Texas insurance CE credits and Texas insurance license renewal by using these resources:
- View your current accrued CE credits using the Texas Insurance Licensing Search and Renewal tool.
- Check your renewal status via NIPR or Sircon.
- If you don’t know your insurance license number (National Producer Number or NPN), you can find your name within one of the PDF lists on the Texas Insurance License Holders page.
If you need proof that you have renewed your license in Texas, you can ask for a letter of certification via Sircon. You will need to pay $11, plus any additional fees.
Texas Department of Insurance Contact Information
Mailing Address:
Texas Department of Insurance
P.O. Box 12030
Austin, TX 78711-2030
Physical Address:
333 Guadalupe
Austin, TX 78701
Phone: (512) 676-6500
Email: License@tdi.texas.gov
Website: https://www.tdi.texas.gov/agent
Texas Insurance License Renewal FAQ
How often do I need to renew my Texas insurance license?
In Texas, 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. You can find out when you need to renew your insurance license on the front of the license itself. The expiration date will be printed directly on the license. Make sure that you renew your insurance before this date.
How much does it cost to renew my Texas insurance license?
Texas charges a $50 renewal fee + CE provider cost. Check on Texas’s requirements to learn more about the costs you can expect to renew your insurance license. Renewing your insurance license through the NIPR (National Insurance Producer Registry) comes with a $5.60 processing fee. If you renew your license through Sircon, it comes with a $8.25 processing fee.
What are the continuing education requirements for Texas in renewing my insurance license?
You should check with the Texas Department of Insurance 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 Texas 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.