Which Texas life and health insurance license do you need?
The Texas life and health agent licenses compared: what each one lets you sell, and its exam, question count, time and fee, from TDI, the Texas Insurance Code and Pearson VUE.
Or practice just the state law section: Texas law practice test →
The short answer
If you will sell health insurance or HMO plans in any form, you need the General Lines – Life, Accident, Health and HMO license. Texas has no health-only license: the Insurance Code requires the General Lines license even of an agent who writes only accident and health insurance.1,7
If you will sell only life insurance and annuities, the narrower Life Agent license also works, and its exam is shorter. A General Lines holder can write everything a Life Agent can, and everything the $25,000 and funeral licenses allow, without another license.7,8
The licenses side by side
| License | Exam | Questions and time | Exam fee | What it lets you sell |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| General Lines – Life, Accident, Health and HMO | General Lines – Life, Accident & Health (InsTX-LAH05; Spanish: InsTX-LAH25), at a Pearson VUE test center | 130 scored (100 general knowledge + 30 Texas law), plus 15 unscored pretest questions; 150 minutes | $49 | Life, accident and health insurance; HMO membership; fixed or variable annuities and variable life. Also everything the three licenses below allow.1,7,8,9 |
| Life Agent | Life Agent (InsTX-Life01; Spanish: InsTX-Life21), at a Pearson VUE test center | 80 scored (50 general life knowledge + 30 Texas law), plus 10 unscored pretest questions; 120 minutes | $39 | Life insurance, including endowments and annuities, fixed or variable annuities and variable life, with accidental death, dismemberment and disability-income benefits. Not stand-alone accident and health policies, and not HMOs.3,7,8 |
| Life Insurance Not Exceeding $25,000 | A written exam given by the insurer that appoints you, after its 5-hour training class | Set by the insurer | Set by the insurer | Only life policies of up to $25,000 on any one life, for a stipulated premium company, a statewide mutual assessment company, or a local mutual aid or burial association.4,7 |
| Funeral Pre-Arrangement Life | A written exam given by the insurer that appoints you, after a 5-hour course | Set by the insurer | Set by the insurer | Only life policies and fixed annuities that pay for prepaid funeral services and merchandise.5,7 |
Whichever license you choose, the TDI application fee is $50 per license type, and you are fingerprinted for a background check. Most licenses need 24 hours of continuing education every two years; the $25,000 life license needs 10.3,4,5,8
TDI also lists a Limited Lines license with its own Pearson VUE exam (InsTX-LL93). Its content outline tests property and casualty products, not life or health insurance. TDI's separate Medicare-Related Product certification is a certification, not a license, and this guide doesn't cover it.1,8
What the choice depends on
- Will you sell any health coverage, such as medical, accident and health, or HMO plans? Then only the General Lines – Life, Accident, Health and HMO license allows it.7
- Life and annuities only? The Life Agent exam has 80 scored questions in 120 minutes and costs $39. The General Lines exam has 130 scored (100 general knowledge + 30 Texas law), plus 15 unscored pretest questions in 150 minutes and costs $49. Both licenses cost $50 to apply for.2,3,8,9
- Working for a stipulated premium company, a mutual assessment company, or a local mutual aid or burial association, selling small policies only? The $25,000 license is issued after that insurer's own course and exam, and you don't take a Pearson VUE exam.4,7
- Selling only insurance that funds prepaid funeral contracts? The Funeral Pre-Arrangement Life license also comes through the insurer's course and exam.5,7
The rules above are TDI's and the Insurance Code's. They say what each license allows, not which one is better for a career. If an insurer or agency is recruiting you, ask which license its appointment needs before you book an exam.6,7
What MilesToPass covers
MilesToPass prepares you for one of these exams: General Lines – Life, Accident & Health (InsTX-LAH05; Spanish: InsTX-LAH25). Our lessons and questions follow its published content outline, section by section. We don't cover the Life Agent exam, or the insurer-given exams for the $25,000 and funeral licenses, yet.8,9
The Texas license types, as the exam tests them
Frequently asked questions
Is there a health-only insurance license in Texas?
No. An agent who writes only accident and health insurance still needs the General Lines – Life, Accident, Health and HMO license, which also covers life insurance and annuities.7
Can I sell annuities with a Texas Life Agent license?
Yes. The Life Agent license covers annuities, including fixed and variable annuity contracts, and variable life contracts.7
How is the Life Agent exam different from the life and health exam?
It is shorter and cheaper: 80 scored questions in 120 minutes for $39, against 130 scored (100 general knowledge + 30 Texas law), plus 15 unscored pretest questions in 150 minutes for $49. Both have a general-knowledge part and a 30-question Texas-law part, and both are given by Pearson VUE.8,9
What is the Texas $25,000 life insurance license?
A license to sell only life policies of up to $25,000 on any one life, for a stipulated premium company, a statewide mutual assessment company, or a local mutual aid or burial association. That insurer gives you a 5-hour training class and a written exam; there is no Pearson VUE exam. It needs 10 hours of continuing education every two years.4,7,8
Does MilesToPass prepare me for the Life Agent exam?
Not yet. Our lessons and practice questions follow the content outline of the General Lines – Life, Accident & Health exam only.9
Official sources
- Texas Department of Insurance: Agent and adjuster license types
- Texas Department of Insurance: General lines – life, accident, health and HMO (how to apply)
- Texas Department of Insurance: Life agent (how to apply)
- Texas Department of Insurance: Life insurance not exceeding $25,000 (how to apply)
- Texas Department of Insurance: Funeral pre-arrangement life (how to apply)
- Texas Department of Insurance: Appointment transactions
- Texas Legislature: Texas Insurance Code, Chapter 4054: Life, Accident, and Health Agents (§§4054.051, .053, .101, .151–.153, .201, .301–.302)
- Pearson VUE: Texas Insurance Licensing Candidate Handbook (#124400)
- Pearson VUE: Texas Insurance Examination Content Outlines, effective September 1, 2026 (#124401)
Checked against these sources as of .