Before you can book your insurance licensing exam you need to know who actually runs it - and it is probably not your state insurance department. Most states contract a testing vendor, and which one matters: registration websites, fees, rescheduling rules, ID requirements, and even how scores are reported all differ by vendor. We verified the current vendor for every state from official candidate materials. This is the 2026 map.
Vendors at a glance
Pearson VUE administers exams in 27 jurisdictions: Alaska, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, North Carolina, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, West Virginia, Wyoming.
PSI administers exams in 17 jurisdictions: Arizona, Arkansas, California, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Washington, Wisconsin.
Prometric administers exams in 5 jurisdictions: Maryland, New Mexico, Utah, Vermont, Virginia.
University of Alabama (state-adm… administers exams in 1 jurisdiction: Alabama.
A small group of states run testing themselves rather than through a national vendor - Kentucky self-administers its exams statewide with a uniform 150-question, 190-minute format, and Alabama runs testing through the University of Alabama. In those states the registration process looks nothing like the PSI/Pearson flow described in generic guides.
The vendor in every state
The table shows the vendor for the life exam; where a state uses a different arrangement for property & casualty, it is noted.
| State | Exam vendor |
|---|---|
| Alabama | University of Alabama (state-adm… |
| Alaska | Pearson VUE |
| Arizona | PSI |
| Arkansas | PSI |
| California | PSI |
| Colorado | Pearson VUE |
| Connecticut | Pearson VUE |
| Delaware | Pearson VUE |
| District of Columbia | Pearson VUE |
| Florida | Pearson VUE |
| Georgia | Pearson VUE |
| Hawaii | Pearson VUE |
| Idaho | Pearson VUE |
| Illinois | Pearson VUE |
| Indiana | Pearson VUE |
| Iowa | Pearson VUE |
| Kansas | Pearson VUE |
| Kentucky | Kentucky Department of Insurance… |
| Louisiana | PSI |
| Maine | Pearson VUE |
| Maryland | Prometric |
| Massachusetts | Pearson VUE |
| Michigan | PSI |
| Minnesota | PSI |
| Mississippi | Pearson VUE |
| Missouri | Pearson VUE |
| Montana | Pearson VUE |
| Nebraska | PSI |
| Nevada | Pearson VUE |
| New Hampshire | PSI |
| New Jersey | PSI |
| New Mexico | Prometric |
| New York | PSI |
| North Carolina | Pearson VUE |
| North Dakota | PSI |
| Ohio | PSI |
| Oklahoma | PSI |
| Oregon | PSI |
| Pennsylvania | PSI |
| Rhode Island | Pearson VUE |
| South Carolina | Pearson VUE |
| South Dakota | Pearson VUE |
| Tennessee | Pearson VUE |
| Texas | Pearson VUE |
| Utah | Prometric |
| Vermont | Prometric |
| Virginia | Prometric |
| Washington | PSI |
| West Virginia | Pearson VUE |
| Wisconsin | PSI |
| Wyoming | Pearson VUE |
Why the vendor matters for your preparation
- **Registration and fees.** Each vendor has its own portal and fee schedule - the same license can cost a different amount across a state line simply because the vendor differs.
- **Exam construction.** Vendors add unscored experimental questions (typically up to about 10% of your exam) that count against your time but not your score - the exact policy is in your state's bulletin.
- **Recent switches catch candidates out.** States do change vendors, and when they do, old study guides point at the wrong website and the wrong rules. Massachusetts moved from Prometric to Pearson VUE in July 2026, and New Hampshire moved to PSI in 2025 - both verified from the states' current candidate materials. If a guide tells you to "register with Prometric" for those states, it is out of date.
How to find and use your registration portal
- Identify your vendor in the table above.
- Go to your state's page on this site and use the official-source link there - it points at your state's current candidate handbook, which contains the correct registration URL. Typing "PSI" or "Pearson" into a search engine often surfaces the wrong country or an outdated portal.
- Create the account under your legal name exactly as it appears on your photo ID - name mismatches are one of the most common reasons candidates are turned away on exam day and forfeit the fee.
- If your state requires prelicensing, have the completion certificate ready at booking or on exam day, as your handbook specifies.
The state-run exceptions in detail
Kentucky's handbook describes a self-administered system: every Kentucky exam runs 150 questions in 190 minutes regardless of line, a uniformity no vendor state offers. Alabama routes testing through the University of Alabama, and its 2024 rule change means Alabama candidates no longer need a prelicensing certificate at all. If you searched this article for those two states and found the big-vendor instructions confusing - that is why.
Frequently asked questions
Does the vendor affect what is on the exam?
The content outline comes from your state insurance department, not the vendor - but the vendor builds the question pool to that outline, sets the experimental-question policy, and controls score reporting. Two states with the same vendor can still have very different exams.
My study guide says a different vendor than your table - who is right?
Check the date on your guide. Vendor contracts change every few years, and each switch orphans thousands of pages of old advice. Our table was verified against current official candidate materials in July 2026, and each state page links the exact source document so you can confirm yourself.
Find your state above, then head to its practice page - for example Texas, Ohio, or Michigan - where we list the verified question count, time limit, fee, and a link to the official handbook for that exact exam. Verification details are on the Sources & Updates page.