Texas Life and Health Exam Master Guide 2026

The Texas General Lines - Life, Accident, Health and HMO license is issued by the Texas Department of Insurance (TDI). Its qualifying exam is Pearson VUE's InsTX-LAH05. The exam tests general insurance knowledge and Texas law, but passing is only one step toward a license.

This guide is a reading path for the current exam. For individual tasks, see exam format, the 100/30 split, registration and exam cost.

What the license covers

TDI's General Lines license covers life, accident, health and HMO insurance authority under Texas law. It is a broad producer credential for people who intend to solicit or negotiate the covered insurance lines; it is not a securities registration or a license in another state. The licensing process is separate from the exam: take the exam, begin the fingerprint process if applicable, and submit the license application. The law and the exact authority depend on the license type, so consult TDI's official license page before applying.

Texas does not require a pre-licensing course for this license. That does not remove the need to prepare for the exam or satisfy the later application requirements. See the complete exam explainer and the one-year application window.

Exam eligibility

TDI's resident agent instructions generally require passing the state exam before applying. Most applicants complete the fingerprint background check process, with exceptions for certain prior licenses and nonresident applicants. The individual application fee is separate from the exam fee. TDI decides whether you meet eligibility requirements and may request additional information.

A license is authority to transact the lines that TDI grants; it is not an insurer appointment, an employment guarantee, or authorization to sell every financial product. Appointment with an insurer is a separate relationship. Check the exact license authority and any required appointment with TDI and the insurer before acting as an agent.

Registration and cost

Book exam code InsTX-LAH05 through Pearson VUE. A Spanish-language version uses a separate exam code, so verify its current availability and select the right code when booking. The current exam fee is USD 49. The resident individual license application fee is USD 50 and is separate from the exam fee; other transaction or vendor charges may apply. Confirm the live totals and your code at checkout.

TDI instructs applicants to pass before filing the resident individual application. If you apply before passing, you may need to file and pay again after passing. Submit the application within one year of passing or you will need to retake the exam. Read registration steps, booking a Pearson VUE slot and cost details.

Format and duration

The test is one multiple-choice sitting, not two separately passed sections. Of 145 administered questions, 130 count toward the score: 100 general insurance questions and 30 Texas questions. The remaining 15 are unscored pretest items mixed into the exam and not identified. Candidates have 150 minutes.

The current outline took effect September 1, 2026. Pearson VUE lists nine general sections and four Texas sections. Use the format guide, split explainer and outline-change page to review how the paper is organized.

Content outline

The general portion tests insurance principles and products; the Texas portion tests the statutes and rules in the current state supplement. Follow the numbered areas and their published counts rather than relying on an older outline or an unofficial list of supposed high-frequency questions. General knowledge and state law are both scored in the single result.

Use Pearson VUE's Texas Insurance Supplement and TDI's rules as primary references. The focused exam outline page links to the subject explanations, while how much of the test is state law clarifies the official split.

Scoring and pass rate

TDI sets the passing score and Pearson reports a scaled score. TDI does not publish a percentage of questions correct or a fixed raw-question count that guarantees a pass. Do not read a scaled score as a percentage. The latest TDI report in the course facts gives a 57.7% first-time pass rate for fiscal year 2025; that measures candidate outcomes and is not the exam's passing score.

The pages on scaled scores, the missing percentage pass mark and TDI exam outcomes discuss these figures and their limits. If an unexplained 70% pass mark appears elsewhere, check whether it confuses a scaled score with a percentage.

TDI's published report provides useful context about exam outcomes but not an individual prediction. A candidate's background, practice, and form differ. Use the score report after a sitting to guide next steps; do not convert the reported scaled score into a raw percentage or question count.

Study and practice

The exam has general insurance and Texas-specific content in one sitting. Make both visible in your weekly plan. Start with a diagnostic set in each, then organize the review around the outline: insurance principles and policy features on the general side, followed by the relevant Texas statutes and rules. Return to the other portion between study sessions so the law details do not displace core product concepts.

There is no official number of study hours that predicts a pass. Set the pace from your baseline and errors. In each study block, learn one concept, retrieve it without notes, apply it to a scenario, and review why an alternate answer is wrong. Use mixed timed practice after you have studied both portions. Review errors by whether you missed a rule, confused a term, or overlooked a fact in the question.

A policy question may ask which provision controls a claim; an application question may test the producer's duty; a Texas question may ask which statute or rule applies. First name the subject, then read the facts for the detail that changes the answer. In the Texas section, recognize the line-specific versus common rule before deciding. If a question says 'except' or 'not,' mark that word mentally and check the options against it.

Use the focused worked health insurance question, worked life insurance question, and worked Texas statute question to practice those different reasoning tasks. For example, a life-policy question may turn on whether a provision describes a policyowner's option or a beneficiary's right; a Texas-law item may ask when the producer must act or what notice applies. Identify the line, legal source, and person with the relevant duty before comparing answers. Sitonce also provides a free full-length mock for pacing and review.

Allow time for both portions: the general section is larger, but the state questions can test precise Texas rules. Do not use a mock result as a prediction of the official scaled score. See pretest questions, retake rules and results timing.

Retakes

If you do not pass, use the score report to identify weak areas and confirm current Pearson VUE rules before registering again. A retake is the full exam and a new fee. Do not assume the old appointment can be moved without a charge or that the exam result has a different cut score for a retake.

After the exam

After passing, complete TDI's initial application steps. Most applicants need fingerprinting through the process TDI directs, though exceptions exist. Submit the application through Sircon or the National Insurance Producer Registry and respond to any regulator requests. Passing the exam does not itself issue the license or appoint you to an insurer.

Before accepting a role, confirm which products your employer expects you to discuss and whether your license authority covers them. A health-plan sales role and a life-insurance role may involve different product rules even when they fall under the same general license. If an activity is outside the lines TDI granted, passing InsTX-LAH05 is not a substitute for the correct additional authority.

Check TDI for the current application instructions and eligibility decision. For preparation and practice, visit Sitonce Texas Life and Health. Sitonce is independent and is not affiliated with or endorsed by TDI or Pearson VUE.