How to get an Insurance Producer license in Maine

Maine insurance agent licenses

Maine issues 2 insurance agent credentials. Each has its own section below; the table shows what each one covers and its headline requirements.

Applies to every license level

These rules are the same for every Maine insurance agent license on this page, so they are shown once here. Each license's own section lists only what differs.

Requirements

Minimum age

18 years old¹²¹¹

Who needs an Insurance Producer license

Sells, solicits or negotiates insurance in the licensed lines: life, variable contracts, health, casualty, property, personal lines, surplus lines, plus limited lines (auto rental, credit, mechanical breakdown, title, travel/baggage).⁵

Other rules on who may do this work:

• A license stays active without any agency affiliation or insurer appointment, but you must be appointed by an insurer to act as its agent.⁵

Requirements for an Insurance Producer license

The rules this license shares with every other level are under Applies to every license level.

Experience

License you must hold first: Variable contracts line: must pass the life producer exam and meet securities-dealer (FINRA, formerly NASD) requirements for selling variable contracts.²

Exam

Maine insurance producer examination (separate exam for each line of authority)²
Given by: Pearson VUE¹³
When you can take it: Pass the exam before applying for the license.²
Lines of authority applied for, producer duties and responsibilities, and Maine insurance law and rules; may be given as a 2-part exam. In person only at Pearson VUE test centers (online-proctored exams ended May 2025).²
Retakes: Reapply and pay the exam fee again after failing or missing; if you fail one part of a 2-part exam you pay the full fee but retake only the failed part.²
Time limit: Apply for the license within 2 years of passing, or register and pay for the exam again.²
Exam waived: No exam for lines held in another state (currently licensed, or applying within 90 days of cancellation); for former Maine licensees within 2 years who kept up CE; for Maine attorneys seeking resident title; and for travel, mechanical breakdown, motor vehicle and equipment rental limited lines.⁹

Background check

Background check required³
Criminal convictions are reviewed case by case with a right to a hearing; residents with felonies covered by 18 U.S.C. 1033 must get written 1033 consent from the Bureau before the application is considered.⁵

Also required

Report administrative actions within 30 days of final disposition and criminal prosecutions within 30 days of the initial pretrial hearing.⁵

How much an Insurance Producer license costs

Each line is a separate charge as the board lists it. The board does not publish a combined total, so none is shown here.

The board's pages we cite do not list the exam fee; check it with the exam provider, Pearson VUE¹³, when you schedule.

How to apply

1. Schedule and pass the Pearson VUE exam for each line of authority (in person at a test center).⁵
2. If you have a felony conviction covered by 18 U.S.C. 1033, get written 1033 consent from the Bureau first.⁵
3. Submit the NAIC uniform application through NIPR (or on paper by email, fax or mail) and pay $25 (resident) or $55 (nonresident).⁵ nipr.com¹⁶
4. Get appointed by each insurer you will represent.¹⁷

Apply online

nipr.com¹⁶

Temporary or provisional license

Temporary license up to 180 days without exam (death/disability of a producer, military service of a producer, public interest); from January 1, 2026 also a 180-day Apprentice Insurance Producer license.¹⁷

Processing time

Initial license emailed generally within 24-72 hours after approval.⁵

Renewal and continuing education

How often

Every 2 years⁶

When it expires

No renewal application or fee: resident licenses continue automatically the first business day after the CE due date (end of birth month every odd or even year, matching birth year) if CE is complete; nonresident licenses are perpetual.⁵

Renewal fee

$0¹⁸

Continuing education

At least 24 hours each renewal period⁷

Required topics

At least 3 hours ethics¹⁹
Annuity suitability training (Rule Chapter 917) for producers selling annuities⁷

Approved courses

Courses must be approved by the Superintendent (reviewed by the Continuing Education Advisory Committee); providers report completions within 30 days.⁶

Exemptions

Residents holding only limited lines licenses have no CE.¹⁸
CE waived for the first period if licensed less than one year before the first compliance date.¹⁹
No carryover of excess credits.¹⁸
Nonresidents meeting home-state CE satisfy Maine CE if the home state reciprocates.¹⁹
Active-duty military may request a CE waiver or deferment.²⁰

Late renewal

Late renewal fee: $25¹⁸ (per outstanding CE credit, maximum $250; credits must be finished within 60 days of the due date)

If it expires

Missing CE: 60 days to finish credits and pay the late penalty (license stays active); then a suspension/termination order. A license canceled for CE non-compliance requires a new exam, new application and fees.¹⁸

Moving to Maine with a license from another state

These are the routes the Maine Bureau of Insurance publishes for the Insurance Producer license. The other insurance agent licenses have their own routes in their sections below.

Military service members, veterans and spouses: No military fee exemption; active-duty licensees may request a CE waiver or deferment; temporary license possible for the designee of a producer entering active service.⁵

Apprentice Insurance Producer

Temporary, non-renewable license (max 180 days) to work under a sponsoring Maine resident producer while preparing for the producer exam; Maine risks only; property, casualty, personal lines, credit, title and accident & health, but no life insurance, annuities, long-term care or Affordable Care Act work.¹⁰

Requirements

Experience

License you must hold first: Must never have held or been denied a Maine producer license, a comparable license elsewhere, or an apprentice license.¹⁰

Exam

Not required¹¹

Background check

Background check required¹¹
The application asks about misdemeanor, felony and military-offense convictions and administrative actions; supporting documents are required for any "yes" answer.²¹

Residency or citizenship

Must be a Maine resident when applying and throughout the 180-day apprenticeship.¹⁰

Also required

Must be employed by a Bureau-approved sponsor: a Maine resident producer licensed in good standing for at least one year (CE current), who assumes legal responsibility for the apprentice.¹⁰

Also required

Apprentice and sponsor must notify the Bureau within 5 business days if the apprenticeship ends early.¹⁰

Fees

Each line is a separate charge as the board lists it. The board does not publish a combined total, so none is shown here.

How to apply

1. Find a Maine resident producer (licensed at least one year, in good standing) to employ and sponsor you; the sponsor files the Sponsor Application.¹⁰
2. Complete the Apprentice Insurance Producer application and send it with the sponsor application and the $50 fee by e-mail or mail.¹⁰ Form (PDF, maine.gov)²¹
3. Get appointed by each insurer before acting as its agent.¹¹
4. Pass the Maine producer exam and obtain a full producer license before the 180 days end.¹⁰

Temporary or provisional license

The apprentice license itself is temporary: valid no more than 180 days.¹⁰

Renewal

When it expires

Not renewable; after 180 days a full producer license is required.¹¹

From another state

The rules this license shares with every other level are under Applies to every license level.

Check a license or report a problem

Before you hire an insurance agent in Maine, you can confirm the license is current on the board's own search. Every board we cover in Maine is on the Maine license lookup page.

Look up a license

maine.gov²²

Laws and rules

The requirements above come from these laws and board rules.

• 24-A M.R.S. ch. 16, subch. 2-A (Maine Insurance Producer Licensing Act, §§1420-1420-Q)
• 24-A M.R.S. §1410 (prelicensing examination)
• 24-A M.R.S. §1416-A (license continuation)
• 24-A M.R.S. §601(5), (9-A)
• 24-A M.R.S. §1482 (continuing education)
• 02-031 C.M.R. ch. 542 (Education Requirements for Insurance Professionals)
• Maine Bureau of Insurance, Appointment Renewals and Fees (Rev 11/2024)
• 24-A M.R.S. §1420-Q (Apprentice insurance producer license; PL 2025, c. 238)
• 24-A M.R.S. §601(5)(C)

Common questions

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