PSI Services administers the life insurance licensing exam in 17 states, and if yours is one of them the exam you sit, the website you book on, the retake rules and the test-day routine are all PSI's. This guide covers the PSI life insurance exam state by state - verified question counts, time limits, passing scores and fees from each state's current candidate bulletin as of October 2026 - plus how registration works, whether you can test from home, what happens on exam day, and how to prepare. (Not sure your state uses PSI? Check who runs the insurance exam in each state.)
Which states use PSI for the life insurance exam?
As of October 2026 these 17 states contract with PSI for life producer exams. Each row links to the state's practice page, which lists the official candidate bulletin it was verified against.
| State | Scored questions | Time | Passing | Fee |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arizona | 100 (plus 5-10 unscored) | 120 min | 70% | $50 |
| Arkansas | 100 (70 general + 30 state, plus 10 pretest) | 150 min | 70% | $50 |
| California | 75 (Life-Only Agent) | 90 min | 60% | $55 |
| Louisiana | 100 | 120 min | 70% | $36 |
| Michigan | 100 (plus 1-10 unscored) | 120 min | 72% | $41 |
| Minnesota | 75 (50 general + 25 state, plus 10 pretest) | 120 min | 70% | $45 |
| Nebraska | 100 (plus 5 unscored) | 120 min | 70% | $43 |
| New Hampshire | 100 (plus 5-10 unscored) | 120 min | Not published (pass/fail report) | $59 |
| New Jersey | 83 (plus 5-19 unscored) | 210 min | 70% | $38 |
| New York | 100 (plus 5-10 unscored) | 120 min | 70% | $40 |
| North Dakota | 110 (plus 5-10 pretest) | 150 min | 70% (77 of 110) | $64 |
| Ohio | 100 (plus about 10% unscored) | 120 min | 70% | $49 |
| Oklahoma | 100 (plus 5 unscored) | 120 min | 70% | $38 |
| Oregon | 100 (plus 5-10 unscored) | 120 min | 70% | $45 |
| Pennsylvania | 100 | 120 min | 70% | $45 |
| Washington | 100 (plus 1-10 unscored) | 150 min | 70% | $38 |
| Wisconsin | 100 (plus 1-10 unscored) | 120 min | 70% | $75 |
Three things stand out. Most PSI life exams are 100 scored questions in two hours, but the outliers matter: New Jersey gives 83 questions and three and a half hours, California 75 questions in 90 minutes, North Dakota 110. Michigan's 72% cut score is the highest of the group and California's 60% the lowest. And fees run from $36 in Louisiana to $75 in Wisconsin, paid per attempt, so a retake costs the full fee again.
PSI is not the only vendor. Pearson VUE runs the exam in 27 states, Prometric in five, and Alabama and Kentucky run their own - the full list is in our vendor-by-state guide.
How to register for the PSI life insurance exam
Registration follows the same pattern in every PSI state, with a state-specific portal. Arizona candidates book at test-takers.psiexams.com/anzins, Oklahoma at /okins, Pennsylvania at /pain and Michigan at /midifs; your state's candidate bulletin gives the exact address, and the official-source link on each state page above points to that bulletin. The steps, from the Oklahoma and Pennsylvania bulletins:
- Create a PSI account. The first and last name must match your current, valid, government-issued ID exactly - a mismatch at check-in means you are turned away and forfeit the fee.
- Select your exam (for example "Life Insurance", series 16-01 in Pennsylvania or 13-31 in Arizona).
- Choose the format where your state offers a choice: test center or remote proctored.
- For a test center, search by city or postal code and pick a date and time; for remote testing, pick a date and time.
- Pay the fee and keep the confirmation email, which states the center, date and time.
Some states add a step before the exam. Arizona will only administer the exam to someone who is actually applying for a license, and Pennsylvania requires every applicant for a new resident producer license to be fingerprinted at an IdentoGO enrollment center - both are in those states' bulletins, so read yours end to end rather than relying on a generic guide.
Can you take the PSI life insurance exam online?
It depends on the state, and the answer has changed recently. From the current bulletins:
- Arizona, Oklahoma and Pennsylvania offer a choice of a PSI test center or a remote proctored exam taken on your own computer.
- Michigan discontinued remote proctoring. The Department of Insurance and Financial Services bulletin effective June 10, 2025 says remote exams were withdrawn "after a review of ongoing security risks in uncontrolled environments", and licensing exams are now available only at PSI testing locations.
- For the other 13 states, check the "scheduling" section of your state's bulletin; the state page above links to it.
If you do test remotely, the rules are stricter than at a center. The Arizona and Oklahoma bulletins list them: no breaks at all during the exam (if you cannot complete it without one, book a test center instead), no scratch paper, no moving out of the camera's view, no changing computers or rooms, and a webcam positioned so the proctor can see you. Arizona lets you launch the exam within 30 minutes of your booked time, and a US military ID is not accepted for remote testing there. Internet and computer requirements are in the bulletin too; a dropped connection is your problem, not PSI's.
What happens on PSI exam day
The routine is consistent across the PSI bulletins we checked, with small differences in timing:
- Arrive early. Michigan asks for 30 minutes before your appointment, Oklahoma for 15, for sign-in and ID checks. Arriving after the start time means you may not be admitted and the fee is forfeited.
- A tutorial that doesn't count. Before the exam starts you get an on-screen tutorial with sample questions. In Michigan it is capped at 15 minutes and that time is not deducted from your exam time.
- Unscored experimental questions. PSI adds a small number of trial questions that do not count toward your score - 5 to 10 in Oklahoma, 1 to 10 (about 10% of the exam) in Michigan - but they do count against your time, and you cannot tell which ones they are. Treat every question as live.
- Instant result. Your score appears on screen at the end and a score report is emailed to you. If you fail, the emailed report includes a diagnostic breakdown of strengths and weaknesses by section, which is exactly the list to study from before a retake.
What is on the PSI life insurance exam?
PSI builds each state's exam from a published content outline, and the outline is the single most useful study document you have. The general life topics are broadly the same everywhere - policy types, provisions, riders, underwriting, annuities, taxation, retirement plans - but the state-law share varies a lot:
- Oklahoma: 25 of the 100 scored questions cover Oklahoma licensing and state insurance statutes, rules and regulations.
- Arkansas and Minnesota: the state portion is a separate scored section - 30 questions in Arkansas, 25 in Minnesota - with its own time allotment in Arkansas (60 of the 150 minutes).
- Pennsylvania: a 14% Insurance Regulation section covering licensing, unfair practices, rebating and fraud law, with further Pennsylvania-specific items woven through the life topics.
- Arizona: regulation is only 5% of the paper, with a further 3% on federal rules.
Our Arizona, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania and New York life pages summarize the state-law outline with statute citations, and our state-law questions are written from those statutes rather than from a study guide. Note that Oklahoma's bulletin flags updated content outlines effective August 1, 2026 - if you prepared from an older guide, check the current outline.
Retaking a failed PSI exam
Every PSI bulletin we read has the same core rule: you cannot book a new appointment on the same day you tested, because results are still being processed. A candidate who fails on a Wednesday can call on Thursday and retest as soon as Friday, subject to seat availability. You pay the full fee again.
State law can add limits. Arizona allows up to four attempts at a line of authority within one year; after a fourth failure you wait a full year before testing again (Arizona Revised Statutes 20-284(H)). Check your own bulletin for attempt limits before you treat the first sitting as a practice run.
Two scheduling rules protect your fee: cancel or reschedule at least two days before the appointment (for a Monday exam, the notice must arrive by the preceding Saturday in Michigan's example) and never miss an appointment, which forfeits the fee outright.
How to pass the PSI life insurance exam
The format tells you how to prepare. The exam is multiple-choice and timed, with unscored trial questions mixed in and a results screen at the end - so full-length timed practice is the closest rehearsal you can get.
- Practice at your state's exact length. Our free life insurance mock exams mirror your state's question count and timer: 100 questions in 120 minutes for most PSI states, 75 in 90 for California, 83 in 210 for New Jersey. Passing two or three in a row above your state's bar is the readiness signal we trust most.
- Study the outline, not a generic guide. Weight your time the way PSI weights the exam. In Oklahoma a quarter of the marks are state law; in Arizona it is a few questions.
- Work the hard topics first. Across 474,866 life answers on our platform as of October 28, 2026, advanced taxation (60.8% correct), qualified retirement plans (61.8%), advanced policy types (63.2%) and universal life (63.3%) are where candidates lose the most marks - see is the life insurance exam hard? for the full breakdown.
- Rehearse exam day. Know your arrival time, bring the ID your bulletin specifies, and if you are testing remotely, test your room and connection beforehand because there are no breaks and no second chances on a dropped session.
- Book when you are ready. Washington, a PSI state that publishes results, passed only 38.9% of life exam sittings between October 2025 and September 2026, counting every attempt. Most of those failures are candidates who booked before they were scoring consistently above 70% in practice.
Start with your state's page in the table above: it holds the verified exam figures, the official bulletin link, and a free practice exam built to the same length.
Frequently asked questions
Which states use PSI for the life insurance exam?
As of October 2026, 17 states: Arizona, Arkansas, California, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Washington and Wisconsin. Pearson VUE administers the exam in 27 states, Prometric in five, and Alabama and Kentucky run their own.
How many questions are on the PSI life insurance exam?
Most PSI states use 100 scored questions in 120 minutes, but it varies: California has 75 questions in 90 minutes, New Jersey 83 questions in 210 minutes, North Dakota 110 questions in 150 minutes, and Arkansas and Washington allow 150 minutes. PSI also adds a few unscored experimental questions - 5 to 10 in Oklahoma, 1 to 10 in Michigan - that count against your time but not your score.
What score do you need to pass the PSI life insurance exam?
70% in most PSI states. Michigan sets a 72% cut score, California requires 60%, North Dakota expresses it as 77 correct of 110, and New Hampshire does not publish a passing score - your report simply says pass or fail.
Can I take the PSI life insurance exam online?
In some states. Arizona, Oklahoma and Pennsylvania let you choose between a PSI test center and a remote proctored exam, while Michigan discontinued remote testing from June 10, 2025 and now tests only at PSI locations. Remote exams allow no breaks, no scratch paper and no leaving the camera's view, so check your state's bulletin and your setup before booking.
How much does the PSI life insurance exam cost?
Between $36 and $75 per attempt depending on the state: Louisiana $36, New Jersey, Oklahoma and Washington $38, New York $40, Michigan $41, Nebraska $43, Minnesota, Oregon and Pennsylvania $45, Ohio $49, Arizona and Arkansas $50, California $55, New Hampshire $59, North Dakota $64 and Wisconsin $75. A retake costs the full fee again, and a missed appointment or a cancellation less than two days ahead forfeits it.
How soon can I retake a failed PSI exam?
Not the same day, because PSI is still processing results. The bulletins give the same example: fail on a Wednesday, call on Thursday, retest as soon as Friday if a seat is available. Arizona limits candidates to four attempts per line of authority in a year, with a one-year wait after a fourth failure.
What ID do I need for a PSI insurance exam?
A current, valid, government-issued ID whose first and last name match your PSI account exactly; a mismatch means you are turned away and lose the fee. Arizona's bulletin does not accept a US military ID for remote testing. Your state's bulletin lists the acceptable documents.