Colorado Insurance Continuing Education

Resident Requirements

Resident producers and public adjusters must complete a minimum of 24 credit hours of approved subjects during each two-year reporting period. 

These courses must include:

• 3 hours in ethics subjects
• 18 hours in major lines subjects
• 3 hours in miscellaneous subjects

For producers licensed in multiple lines of authority, at least six hours of CE should be completed for each line of authority held. Excess credits earned in ethics or homeowners' subjects can not be applied to the 18 hours of major lines subjects required for licensees. 

Courses may be completed in an in-person classroom setting, online, or through self-study. 

Additional guidelines for Colorado CE requirements exist for several lines of work, including: 

• Claims-made training: Producers that sell claims-made insurance policies are required to complete a one-time, two-hour training course. 
• Homeowners? insurance coverage training: Producers licensed to sell property or personal lines insurance are required to complete a three-hour ongoing training course each biennial period.
• NFIP flood training: Licensees that sell flood insurance products must complete a one-time, three-hour course.
• Annuity training: Producers that sell annuity products are required to complete a one-time, four-hour training course.
• Long-term care training: Producers that sell long-term care (LTC) products are required to complete an initial, one-time training program totaling 16 hours. This includes an eight-hour course in general LTC training and an eight-hour course in LTC Partnership training. LTC training may be completed online or in-classroom, but LTC Partnership Training must be completed in a classroom setting. LTC producers must then complete a five-hour ongoing training course every biennial period to maintain their license. 

Rules for Non-Residents

Non-residents in compliance with their state?s CE requirements are exempt from completing Colorado CE. 

This includes:

• LTC training requirements provided that the non-resident?s home state training meets the standard of the NAIC LTC Model training 
• Annuity training requirements provided that the non-resident?s training in their home state meets the standards set by Colorado requirements

Non-resident licensees are responsible for submitting a continuation fee to the Colorado Department of Insurance before their license expiry date. 

Carryover of Excess CE

Up to 12 hours of supplemental CE credit earned may carry over into the next biennial period as long as the coursework is completed within 120 days of the renewal term deadline. 

Additional ethics hours completed will count toward general credit requirements for the next term.

Insurance License Term Renewal Requirements

The license expiration date is on the last day of the licensee?s birth month biennially, based on the year of original licensing. A producer whose license was awarded in an even-numbered year, for example, will need to complete their renewal requirements before the last day of their birth month in the next even-numbered year. 

Renewals must be processed online at the Colorado State Information Center Insurance Licensing Search and Renewal website. Licensees are eligible to renew from 90 days prior to the expiration date. 

The license renewal fee is:

• $29 per line of authority for resident producers and public adjusters. This fee is not applicable to lines of authority added to a license within 90 days of the license expiration date 
• $134 for producers with Surplus Lines LOA
• $183 per LOA for Resident Bail Registration
• $200 per LOA for Resident Reinsurance Intermediary

Licensees unable to meet CE requirements before their license expires may submit a request for an extension of up to one year to the insurance commissioner of the state of Colorado. This request must be received by the state at least 30 days prior to the license expiry date. 

Those residents who fail to renew before their expiration date and did not request an extension must resubmit an application for license reinstatement.   

Rules for Taking the Exam

Certification exams are closed book, and students are not permitted to access course materials during the exam. Self-study exams must be monitored by a non-biased third party. Family members, friends, coworkers, or individuals with a financial interest in the exam-taker?s success may not act in this role.

A score of 70% or higher is required to receive the CE credit. Unlimited retakes are permitted until a passing score is achieved. 

Rules for Repeating a Course

Courses cannot be retaken for credit within two years of the original completion date. 

Credit for Instructors

CE course instructors are eligible to receive the same credit as the students enrolled in the course taught. Instructors cannot receive credit for an individual course or program more than once during a 24-month period.

Reporting Rules

Credits must be reported within seven days of course completion, submitted to the state directly by the course provider. 

It is recommended to complete all CE at least 30 days prior to the expiration date of your license to give the CE provider sufficient time to report successful completions to the Colorado Department of Insurance. However, CE courses can be completed at any time within the current license term. 

Insurance CE Requirement Exemptions 

Some resident licensees may qualify for full or partial CE exemptions.

Newly licensed producers are exempt from CE requirements during their first renewal period.

Producers whose only line of authority is in the following areas are exempt from CE requirements: traffic ticket selling, title, bail bonding, limited lines credit, and crop hail.

Colorado Annuity Insurance Requirements

Before selling, soliciting, or negotiating annuity products in Colorado, producers licensed on or after November 1, 2022, must complete a one-time, 4-hour annuity best interest course.

This requirement may be waived for licensees who have satisfied similar annuity best interest requirements for another state.

Colorado Long-Term Care Training Requirements

Producers selling long-term care policies in Colorado must complete a state-approved training course in two parts.

This initial one-time, 16-hour training requirement includes eight hours of general LTC coursework that can be completed either in a classroom setting or online. An additional eight hours of LTC partnership-specific coursework must also be completed in a classroom setting. 

Following this initial training, producers are required to complete 5-hours of in-classroom LTC training every biennial period. 

Colorado Flood Insurance Training Requirements

Licensees who sell flood insurance policies must complete a one-time, 3-hour course that meets the training requirements set by FEMA and the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP.)