How to pass the Texas life insurance exam

About this guide

This guide explains what the Texas Life exam is, how it is built, and what it covers. It also gives a simple study plan for two to three weeks and test-day tips from the candidate handbook. Exam details come from Pearson VUE's candidate handbook and content outlines. Page references are listed at the end of this page.

Life exam or L&AH exam: which one you take

Life Agent exam. This is for people applying for a Life Agent license. It covers life insurance and annuities, plus a state-specific portion.

General Lines - Life, Accident and Health exam (L&AH). This is for people who want to sell both life and accident and health insurance. It covers the same life topics plus health topics, such as health policy types, health policy provisions and social insurance, and it has its own state-specific portion.

Take the exam that matches the license you are applying for. If you are not sure which one that is, check the candidate handbook or ask the Texas Department of Insurance. This guide focuses on the Life Agent exam. Most of the study plan also works for the life half of the L&AH exam.

How the exam is built

According to the candidate handbook (pages 13 and 14):

The exam is multiple choice and is taken on a computer at a Pearson VUE test center.

It has two parts. The general section covers basic insurance product knowledge. The state section covers the laws, rules, regulations and practices that are unique to Texas.

You get one score for the whole exam, not a separate score for each part.

Some questions are pretest questions. They do not count toward your score, and they are mixed in without labels. Treat every question as if it counts.

Your result is a scaled score. It is not the number or the percentage of questions you answered correctly.

The question counts, time limit and passing score are listed under "Texas Life exam facts" near the end of this page, with sources.

What the exam covers

The general section of the Life Agent content outline (effective September 1, 2026) has four topic areas:

Types of policies: whole life, universal and variable life, term life, annuities, and joint and survivorship plans.

Policy riders, provisions, options and exclusions: riders such as waiver of premium, the main policy provisions, beneficiary designations, nonforfeiture and settlement options, and exclusions.

Completing the application, underwriting and delivering the policy: signatures, warranties and representations, insurable interest, risk classification, and policy delivery.

Retirement and other insurance concepts: retirement plans.

The exam also has a state-specific portion on the laws and rules that apply in Texas. This site does not cover that material. Use the Texas Insurance Content Outlines (Pearson VUE PDF) as your checklist for it, and study it from a current source that covers it.

A two-to-three-week study plan

Adjust the pace to your schedule. If you only have two weeks, combine weeks 1 and 2, and keep week 3 for mixed practice.

Week 1: Policies, riders and provisions

Learn the main policy types: term, whole life, universal and variable life, and annuities. Start with Types of life insurance policies and Annuities.

Work through Policy riders and the main policy provisions. For each one, learn what it does and when it applies.

End each session with a few practice questions on that day's topic, such as the free Texas life insurance practice test. Read every explanation, including the ones for questions you got right.

Week 2: Application, underwriting and retirement concepts

Study Application and underwriting: insurable interest, premium receipts and policy delivery.

Go over retirement and other insurance concepts: qualified and nonqualified plans.

Start the state-specific portion. Go through the state section of the content outline line by line, and study each item from a source that covers it.

Week 3: Mixed practice and follow-up

Switch from single-topic practice to mixed sets that jump between topics.

Keep a list of every question you miss and why you missed it. Re-study those topics, then try new questions on them.

Take at least one full-length timed practice set that uses the exam's question count and time limit (see "Texas Life exam facts").

Read the exam-day sections of the candidate handbook and plan your trip to the test center.

Test-day tips from the candidate handbook

Book ahead. Walk-in exams are not available, and there is a minimum booking notice (see "Texas Life exam facts"). You pay when you book. Payment is not accepted at the test center. (Handbook pages 9 and 10.)

Bring the right ID. You need two forms of current ID with a signature. The primary ID must be government-issued, with your photo and signature. The name must exactly match your registration. Expired ID is not accepted, and there is no grace period. Without the required ID you are turned away and lose the exam fee. (Handbook page 12.)

Arrive early to check in. The handbook sets an arrival time before your exam (see "Texas Life exam facts"). You are photographed for the score report at check-in. (Handbook page 12.)

Leave personal items outside. Phones, watches, wallets, bags, books, notes, pens and pencils are not allowed in the testing room. The test center gives you materials for notes. (Handbook page 15.)

Check your calculator. Only silent, hand-held, nonprinting calculators without an alphabetic keypad are allowed. Financial calculators are not allowed, and the test center does not provide one. (Handbook page 15.)

Use the tutorial. A computer tutorial is offered before the exam, and it does not reduce your exam time. (Handbook page 12.)

The exam clock keeps running during a break. (Handbook page 15.)

Answer every question. There is no penalty for a wrong answer. Rule out the choices you know are wrong, then pick the best one left. (Handbook page 16.)

Expect your result right away. You leave the test center with your score report. (Handbook page 13.)

Keep exam content private. Exam questions are copyrighted, and sharing them is prohibited. (Handbook page 13.)

Free practice and study notes

• Texas life insurance practice test: free sample questions with answers and explanations
• Texas life and health practice test: free sample questions for the L&AH exam
• Types of life insurance policies: term, whole life, universal life and variable life
• Policy riders: waiver of premium, accidental death and other riders
• Application and underwriting: insurable interest, receipts and policy delivery
• Annuities: accumulation, payout options and how annuity income works
• Texas L&AH pack: L&AH practice questions, with explanations for each practice question
• Texas Insurance Content Outlines (Pearson VUE PDF): the topic list for each exam, including the state-specific portion