Florida 2-15 License Requirements

1. The education prerequisite

Florida will not authorize you to sit the exam until a prerequisite is on file. For the 2-15 there are two ordinary routes, and each has a hard deadline attached.

• The 60-hour course. An approved prelicensing course in life and health including variable annuity insurance, taught or completed within four years of your application date.
• The two-part route. A 30-hour life, annuity and variable contracts course, plus a 40-hour health course. Certain designations substitute for one half: ChFC or FLMI on the life side; CEBS, ChHC, HIA, REBC or RHU on the health side.

Both routes carry the same line in the Department's own document: Requires State Examination. Also note that Florida rule requires study manuals for all attendees of a prelicensing course, so the material comes with the course rather than being an upsell.

2. The state examination

The published specification, from the state's examination content outline and the candidate handbook:

• 150 scored questions plus 15 pretest questions. Pretest items are mixed in, unidentified, and do not affect the score.
• 2 hours 45 minutes.
• 70% to pass — questions answered correctly divided by total questions.
• $44, paid to Pearson VUE at reservation and forfeited if you do not sit.
• A physical test center. Florida candidates reserve a seat at a center; this exam is not taken from home.

Twelve content areas are weighted, and three of them are Florida statutes and rules — together 33% of the scored questions. That is the requirement candidates underestimate, because no national study text covers it.

3. The application and background check

You apply to the Department of Financial Services online, answer every question, and pay the fees. The application brings fingerprinting and a criminal history review with it.

The sequencing requirement people miss: a license is issued only to an applicant who has both earned a passing score and completed the application. Passing is not the license. And because a passing score is valid for one year, a slow application can waste a passed exam.

We do not print the application or fingerprinting fees. They are set administratively and change; take them from the Department at the moment you apply. See what the license costs for the figures that are published.

4. The appointment

A license says you are qualified. An appointment, filed by an insurer, is what authorizes you to transact business for that insurer. Without one, the license does nothing.

Requirements that do not apply to everyone

Three routes are marked Exempt from State Examination in the qualification document, and one is a partial exemption:

• A degree with at least nine credit hours of insurance instruction covering health, life, annuities and variable contracts, with an official transcript. Exempt.
• A license transfer. Held a valid resident license with the equivalent line of authority for at least one continuous year, became a Florida resident, and applied within 90 days. Exempt.
• The CLU designation, with an original letter from the American College of Financial Services. Exempt.
• Reciprocity, after 90 days. Held the equivalent authority in a reciprocal state within the last four years but applied later than 90 days after becoming a resident: exempt from the course, still required to take the exam.

None of these is a way for a first-time Florida candidate to avoid the examination. If you are starting from nothing, the requirement is the course and the exam.

What happens if you fail

Florida allows five attempts at the same examination type in a twelve-month period. The score report you receive on the day is broken down by content area, which is the most useful diagnostic you will get. See retaking the exam.

Frequently asked questions