North Carolina Surplus Lines Insurance Licensing Exam Prep Courses

Effective October 1, 2025, pre-licensing education will no longer be required to sit for the state licensing exam. However, North Carolina strongly recommends that individuals complete pre-license education to better prepare for the exam.

• Life – 20
• Accident & Health or Sickness – 20
• Property – 20
• Casualty – 20
• Medicare Supplement/Long-Term Care – 10 (must hold an Accident and Health and Sickness license)
• Personal Lines – 20

1. Meet the general eligibility criteria
   • Be at least 18 years of age.
   • Reside or maintain a principal place of residence in North Carolina.
2. Prepare for state licensing exam
   • Use the WebCE Exam Prep courses to better prepare you to pass the state licensing exam.
3. Apply for a License
   • Apply for your license and pay the appropriate fees at www.nipr.com. The license application is valid for 6 months. If you have not obtained your confirmation that your license has been issued within that period, you will need to reapply.
   • Once you have applied for your license, you will receive an Authorization Email from Pearson VUE that will contain your NPN (National Producer Number) and other information that you need to schedule your state exam.
   • You will also receive an email from NIPR. This email will contain information that you will need to schedule your fingerprinting, so make sure that you save the information.
4. Register and pass state licensing exam
   • Make an exam reservation at https://home.pearsonvue.com/nc/insurance
   • Bring two forms of current signature identification (a valid driver’s license, non-driver ID, passport, military ID, or employee ID card, credit card) and your WebCE Certificate of Completion.
   • Note: Pearson Vue is in the process of updating its system to remove the pre-licensing education Course Completion Date question. During this time, please enter today’s date in the required field.
   Before making an exam reservation, applicants should thoroughly review the State of North Carolina Licensing Candidate Handbook by clicking on the Student Handbook button above.
5. Submit fingerprints
   • All first-time individual resident producers must be fingerprinted in order to become licensed.
   • After completing the electronic NIPR application, you will be emailed a link that allows you to print the Fingerprint Submission Packet-Releases Form. Call your local law enforcement to obtain a schedule of the days/hours for fingerprinting services; confirm that the office will do Livescan fingerprints for non-criminal reasons.
   • Upon your fingerprinting appointment, you must take with you the Fingerprint Submission Packet-Releases Form. Call local law enforcement to obtain days/hours for fingerprinting service; be sure to find out if the local law enforcement office will do Livescan fingerprints for non-criminal reasons. (Fingerprint cards will not be accepted.) After prints are taken, the law enforcement office will sign the SBI Electronic Fingerprint Submission Release of Information form and give it to the applicant. (See page 18 in Candidate Guide for additional Fingerprint information.) https://www.ncdoi.gov/documents/candidate-guide

• WebCE insurance exam prep courses follow the state exam content outlines. Students should read each lesson before proceeding to the next lesson.
• WebCE suggests students pass the closed-book, non-monitored Exam Prep Practice exam with a score of 70% or higher and then utilize Exam Tutor and Flash Tutor for further practice before your exam day.

A certificate of completion will be available to download upon completion of the pre-license course.

• Cancel your former home state license within ninety (90) days of the application date for a North Carolina resident license.
• Apply for resident initial license and pay fees online at Apply online
• Submit your fingerprints for a criminal background check following the instructions provided in the NIPR email after you submit your application.
• The Department will confirm the license status in your former home state on the NAIC Producer Database (PDB). If PDB shows your license canceled in good standing within ninety (90) days of the application date, then you are exempt from taking the North Carolina licensing examination. If the NAIC Producer Database (PDB) shows that your license canceled more than ninety (90) days from the application date, then you must take the appropriate North Carolina examination. Contact the North Carolina Licensing Office of Pearson VUE at 866-265-6329.