How to get a Resident insurance agent license: Life and Annuities, Health, Property and Casualty, Personal Lines, Title or Variable Contracts qualification in Virginia

Virginia insurance agent licenses

Virginia issues 3 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 several of the Virginia insurance agent licenses on this page, so they are shown once here, with the licenses they apply to. Each license's own section lists only what differs.

1. Every license level (all 3)

What it covers

Sells, solicits or negotiates insurance for the classes covered by the license (life and annuities, health, property and casualty, personal lines, title, variable contracts, limited lines); insurers must also appoint the agent.⁸

How to apply

Apply online

sircon.com¹¹

Renewal

How often

Every 2 years⁵

Renewal fee

$10¹² (Per line of authority)

Renew online

sircon.com¹²

2. Every license level except Business entity (agency) insurance producer license

Requirements

Minimum age

18 years old¹³

Fees

How to apply

Processing time

15 business days; 30-60 business days with misdemeanor or felony convictions (the same page also says misdemeanor applications can take up to 30 business days).¹¹

Renewal

When it expires

Expires at the end of the birth month every two years: even-numbered birth years renew in even years, odd in odd years; at least 13 months before the first renewal; renew from 90 days before expiry.⁵

Late renewal

Reinstatement fee: $20¹² (per line of authority; within 12 months after the renewal date; paid with the $10 renewal fee)

If it expires

A license not renewed on time terminates automatically.⁵
Reinstate within 12 months of the renewal date without re-examination (renewal application, double fee, CE complete).¹²
No extensions of time for CE.¹⁴

From another state

Military service members, veterans and spouses: Agents unable to renew or complete CE because of military service may request a waiver; the CE Board may grant partial or full CE waivers for military call-ups.⁵

Who needs a Resident insurance agent license: Life and Annuities, Health, Property and Casualty, Personal Lines, Title or Variable Contracts qualification

Work that does not need this license:

• Insurer employees in administrative/clerical/underwriting roles who receive no commission do not need a license (plus other § 38.2-1821.1 exceptions, e.g. one-time nominal referral fees).¹⁵

Requirements for a Resident insurance agent license: Life and Annuities, Health, Property and Casualty, Personal Lines, Title or Variable Contracts qualification

More rules for this license are shared with other levels: group 1 and group 2 under Applies to every license level.

Education or training

16 clock hours²
No pre-licensing course for life and annuities, health, property and casualty or personal lines (the former prelicensing section § 38.2-1816 is repealed); title applicants take a 16-hour course.¹¹

Exam

Virginia insurance licensing examination (one per line of authority: life and annuities, health, property and casualty, personal lines, title)³
Given by: Prometric¹¹
Life and Annuities²
Health²
Property and Casualty (includes Personal Lines classes)²
Personal Lines²
Title (after a 16-hour pre-licensing course)²
Variable Contracts: a passed FINRA Series 6 or Series 7 exam is required; residents must hold Life & Annuities²
Retakes: After three failed attempts a resident must wait 30 calendar days before retaking.¹⁰
Time limit: Apply for the license within 183 calendar days of passing, or the result lapses; take the exam within 90 days of registration.¹⁰
Exam waived: No exam for limited lines licenses or for agents moving to Virginia who apply within 90 days.³

Background check

Background check required⁴
Fingerprints required¹¹
Felony and misdemeanor convictions are reviewed case by case with supporting court documents; 18 U.S.C. 1033 written consent may be required; sealed Virginia convictions need not be disclosed.¹¹

Residency or citizenship

Virginia residents; an agent moving in must apply within 90 days of establishing residence.⁷

Also required

An insurer must appoint the agent within 30 days of the first application submitted; the insurer pays the appointment fee.¹⁶

How much a Resident insurance agent license: Life and Annuities, Health, Property and Casualty, Personal Lines, Title or Variable Contracts qualification costs

The board's pages we cite do not list the exam fee; check it with the exam provider, Prometric¹¹, when you schedule.

How to apply

1. Pass the Prometric exam for each line of authority (title applicants first finish the 16-hour course). You can test before fingerprinting.¹¹ prometric.com¹¹
2. Apply online through Sircon or NIPR within 183 days of passing and upload any supporting documents; pay $15 per qualification.¹¹ sircon.com¹¹
3. Get fingerprinted at Fieldprint using code FPVABOIProducer ($37.95).¹¹ fieldprintvirginia.com¹¹
4. Track the application in the SCC License Search; incomplete applications close after 30 days.¹¹ scc.virginia.gov¹¹

Temporary or provisional license

Temporary 180-day licenses (no exam) only after an agent's death or disability, sale of the agency, or for home service insurer debit agents; one per lifetime per type.¹⁷

Renewal and continuing education

Continuing education

At least 16 hours each renewal period⁶

Required topics

3 credit hours of insurance ethics each biennium (may include Virginia insurance law and regulations)⁶
24 hours, at least 8 in each category, when holding licenses in more than one category¹⁸

Approved courses

Courses must be approved by the Virginia Insurance Continuing Education Board (program administered by Pearson VUE); no more than 75% of credits from insurer or agency courses.⁶

Exemptions

Agents first licensed during the last 13 months of the biennium are exempt for that biennium¹⁹
Waiver for military service or extenuating circumstances (request by end of the biennium)²⁰

Moving to Virginia with a license from another state

These are the routes BOI publishes for the Resident insurance agent license: Life and Annuities, Health, Property and Casualty, Personal Lines, Title or Variable Contracts qualification. The other insurance agent licenses have their own routes in their sections below.

Nonresident insurance agent license

Requirements

Education or training

No Virginia pre-licensing course for nonresidents (including title).¹¹

Exam

Virginia insurance licensing examination⁹
Not required⁹
Given by: Prometric¹¹
Exam waived: Home-state resident license in good standing; title applicants from Florida and Pennsylvania must pass the Virginia title exam.¹¹

Background check

Background check required¹¹
No fingerprints required¹¹
Case-by-case review of convictions; felony applicants upload statements, court documents and (nonresidents) a home-state 1033 consent.¹¹

Residency or citizenship

Must hold the same license as a resident in good standing in the home state, and the home state must license Virginia residents on the same basis.¹¹

Also required

Licenses end when home-state authority ends.⁹

How to apply

1. Apply online through Sircon or NIPR with your home-state resident license for the same lines; pay $15 per qualification.¹¹ sircon.com¹¹
2. Upload criminal-history documents (and any home-state 1033 consent) if applicable, then track the application in License Search.¹¹ scc.virginia.gov¹¹

From another state

More rules for this license are shared with other levels: group 1 and group 2 under Applies to every license level.

Business entity insurance producer license

Requirements

Background check

No fingerprints required¹¹

Business requirements

Designate an employee, officer, director, manager, member or partner as the licensed producer responsible for compliance.¹³

Business requirements

Every individual acting for the entity must hold an individual license.¹

Business requirements

Register the business with the SCC Clerk's Office within 90 days of obtaining the agency license, or the license is terminated; sole proprietors apply for an individual license instead.²²

Fees

How to apply

1. Apply through Sircon or NIPR on the Uniform Business Entity Application and pay the processing fee.¹³ sircon.com¹¹
2. Name the designated licensed producer responsible for compliance.¹³
3. Register the agency with the SCC Clerk's Office within 90 days of getting the license (you may register before), or the license is terminated.²²

Processing time

No general processing time is published for agency applications; applications with felony convictions can take 30-60 business days, and those with misdemeanor convictions up to 30 business days.²²

Renewal

When it expires

Agencies renew by May 1 of every odd-numbered year; a lapsed agency license cannot be reinstated.¹²

If it expires

No reinstatement for agencies; a new application is required.¹²

From another state

More rules for this license are shared with other levels: group 1 under Applies to every license level.

Check a license or report a problem

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

Look up a license

scc.virginia.gov¹¹

Laws and rules

The requirements above come from these laws and board rules.

• Code of Virginia Title 38.2, Chapter 18 (Insurance Agents), §§ 38.2-1814 to 38.2-1836
• Code of Virginia § 38.2-1819
• Code of Virginia § 38.2-1825.1 (renewal; CE compliance; reinstatement)
• Code of Virginia §§ 38.2-1866 to 38.2-1873 (continuing education)

Common questions

Insurance agent licenses in other states

• Alabama
• Alaska
• Arizona
• Arkansas
• California
• Colorado
• Connecticut
• Delaware
• District of Columbia
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• Georgia
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• Kentucky
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• Maine
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