Tennessee’s ordinary first-time resident Insurance Producer—Life pathway requires the standalone Pearson Life Agent examination, fingerprinting, and an Insurance Producer application. Variable Life and Variable Annuity is a separate adjacent authority that requires an active Life authority.
Eligibility
- Minimum age
- 18
- Residency requirement / status
- Tennessee resident individual applicant
- General eligibility explanation
- Ordinary first-time Tennessee resident individual seeking the separate Insurance Producer—Life line of authority. The commissioner also evaluates competence, trustworthiness, financial responsibility, and business reputation.
Prelicensing education
- Prelicensing education required
- No
- Required education hours
- 0
- Education requirement explanation
- Tennessee’s current instructions impose a 30-hour prelicensing requirement only on Title applicants, not ordinary Life applicants. Optional Life exam preparation may still be useful.
- Exemptions available
- Yes
- Exemption explanation
- A person currently licensed for the same authority in another state, or applying within 90 days after cancellation while in good standing, may qualify for a prelicensing and examination exemption. A producer moving to Tennessee must generally apply within 90 days of establishing residence. Confirm individual eligibility with TDCI.
Background
- Fingerprints required
- Yes
- Background check required
- Yes
- Fingerprint / background instructions
- Complete IdentoGO fingerprinting under Tennessee insurance-producer ORI TN920680Z, transaction type IP, at least two business days before applying. The fingerprints support Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and FBI checks. Fingerprinting is estimated at approximately $37–$42 from current Tennessee-specific commercial sources; the final IdentoGO charge can vary or change, so confirm the current total when scheduling.
Application
- Application required
- Yes
- Application fee
- $50 Tennessee state application fee. NIPR transaction charges are separate and must be confirmed in the live application before payment. Estimated fingerprinting and the Pearson exam fee are separate.
- Application channel / system
- NIPR
- Application instructions
- Pass the Life Agent exam, complete fingerprinting at least two business days before applying, wait 48 hours after the examination before filing electronically, then apply through NIPR and provide the required fingerprint-policy acknowledgement and any requested supporting documents.
- Official application reference
- https://nipr.com/licensing-center/state-requirements/tennessee-resident-licensing-individual
Renewal & maintenance
- Renewal cycle
- Every two years
- Renewal fee
- $60 state renewal fee. Reinstatement within 12 months requires the license fee plus a penalty equal to double the renewal fee; NIPR transaction charges are separate.
- CE required
- Yes
- CE hours
- 24
- CE cycle
- Every two years
- Ethics hours
- 3
- CE explanation
- Resident producers generally complete 24 approved continuing-education hours every two years, including 3 ethics hours. Confirm current exemptions, reporting, and late-compliance rules before renewal.
Portability
- Nonresident licensing available
- Yes
- Reciprocity / nonresident overview
- Same-authority move-to-state treatment is conditional on current or recently cancelled authority, good standing, and timely application. It is not a blanket waiver for an ordinary first-time applicant.
Military / veteran / spouse
- Veteran-specific provisions
- Tennessee identifies conditional occupational-license recognition under the Military Families Licensing Recognition Act for qualifying active servicemembers and spouses who hold another-state authority. Pearson also offers certain Tennessee insurance exams at participating military test centers. No ordinary first-time veteran fee or examination waiver is represented.
Source governance
- Primary authoritative source
- https://www.tn.gov/content/tn/commerce/insurance/agent-producer-resources/fingerprint.html
- Secondary official sources
- Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance producer instructions; Pearson VUE Tennessee Insurance Candidate Handbook #124300 and Content Outlines #124301; NIPR Tennessee resident-individual requirements; Tennessee Rule 0780-01-56; JustInsurance and Aceable Tennessee fingerprint-cost pages used only for the qualified planning estimate
- Statute / regulation reference
- Tennessee Code Annotated Title 56, Chapter 6; Tennessee Rule 0780-01-56
- Source reference URL
- https://www.pearsonvue.com/content/dam/VUE/vue/en/documents/publications/124300.pdf
- Last verified date
- 2026-08-25
- Verification status
- Verified
- Review / recheck date
- 2026-09-24
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