Texas Insurance Continuing Education

Continuing Education requirements issued by the Texas Department of Insurance are updated regularly. Read on to find out more about TDI's rules for renewing your Texas Insurance License.

Resident Requirements

There are a few rules around continuing education that are required to renew your license. The hours completed need to:

• Be approved by the Texas Department of Insurance (All of our courses are approved by the TDI)   
• Align with classroom-equivalent requirements. 50% of your CE hours in a classroom setting or via a classroom-equivalent setup. Fortunately, you can find classroom-equivalent Texas continuing education online (like our courses). 
• Pertain to your license type. Take continuing education courses that are relevant to the type of license you carry.

Types of Resident Licenses

• Producers: During every 2-year renewal period, the TDI requires you to complete 24 hours of continuing education. 3 of those 24 hours need to focus on the topic of ethics. 
• Adjusters: Like producers, Texas insurance adjusters need 24 hours of TDI-approved continuing education during every 2-year renewal cycle. Also like producers, you need 3 hours of ethics training as part of your 24 hours. 
• Limited Lines: If you work with limited lines, you only need 10 hours of continuing education every 2 years to renew your license. That must include 3 hours of ethics training. 

If you do not meet the continuing education requirements before the expiration date of your license, you will have 90 days to complete the deficient number of hours and must pay a fine of $50 per every insufficient hour.  If you do not meet the requirements within 90 days of your expiration date, your license will be inactivated and you will need to apply for a new license.

Rules for Non-Residents

If you are a non-resident producer, you are not required to complete additional CE for your non-resident license in Texas if you have complied with the continuing education requirements of your home state.

Carrying Over CE Hours from a Previous Renewal Cycle or Repeating Hours

If you earn extra continuing education hours during your licensing term, they will not carry over to the next license term. You must complete the full 24 hours of CE within each 2-year compliance period. No excess CE credit hours will carry over into the following compliance term for any reason.

Texas Insurance Product Training Requirements

There are a few specific insurance products that require specific training. Here is a detailed description of each one.

Annuity Requirements

If you are an agent who plans to sell, solicit, or negotiate an annuity contract or represent an insurer related to any annuity product, you are required to meet the state-specific requirements established by the Texas Department of Insurance.

Starting on January 1, 2022, licensees must take an approved 4-hour Annuity Best Interest certification course to start selling annuities.  

If you previously completed an approved 4-hour Annuity Suitability certification course, you can take an approved 1-hour Annuity Best Interest certification course to fulfill this requirement.

You must also complete 8 hours of annuity CE during every 2-year renewal period. The 4-hour Annuity Best Interest course does not count toward this CE requirement or the overall CE requirement needed to renew your insurance license. 

Long-Term Care Training Requirements

If you are planning on selling long-term care (LTC) partnership policies, you must hold a current life, accident, and health license. You must also complete a one-time, eight-hour LTC partnership certification course. If you are a licensed agent, you may count the eight hours towards your continuing education requirement for that renewal period. 

During each subsequent renewal period, you must complete at least 4 hours of TDI-certified LTC training which can be counted toward the 24-hour overall CE requirement.

NFIP Flood Requirements 

If you are planning on selling flood insurance in Texas, you are required to complete a minimum of 3 hours of training established by FEMA and the National Flood Insurance Program. 

Medicare Training Requirements 

To be certified to sell Medicare supplemental insurance, you need to complete an initial eight-hour Medicare-related course, then take four hours of Medicare-focused continuing education before each renewal.

When and How to Renew Your Texas Insurance License

In Texas, individual licenses are valid for 2 two years. It expires on the last day of your birth month on a biennial basis. 

You can use the TDI's Insurance License Renewal portal to process your renewal online without a processing fee. There's a catch, though. You need to use this tool more than 30 days before your renewal is due.

If you have less than a month until your license expiration, you can use Sircon's renewal tool (with an $8.25 processing fee) or the National Insurance Producer Registry renewal portal (with a $5 processing fee). Only use the NIPR tool if you have more than five days before license expiration.  

It is highly recommended that you complete all continuing education credits at least 30 days before your license expiration date. This will ensure timely reporting of your completion to the Texas Department of Insurance. While you may earn your required CE credits at any point during your two-year license term, completing the requirement well before the expiration date is preferred.

Texas Insurance CE Exam Requirements

You must pass all required final exams before submitting a license renewal application to the Texas Department of Insurance. When you take your final exam online, the certification exam will be closed-book, and you will not have access to any course materials while taking the exam. 

Texas producers must pass their final exam with a score of 70% or higher to be eligible for CE credit. CE students may retake an exam an unlimited number of times until a passing score is earned.

Credit for Instructors

Teaching a CE course does not earn the instructor credit toward their required 24 hours of continuing education.

Reporting Rules

CE course providers must report continuing education credits within 30 days of successful course completion. You must have a Texas license number to report CE to the Texas Department of Insurance. When reporting CE hours, you are required to pay a course reporting fee of 88 cents per credit hour. This applies to online, self-study, and classroom courses. 

Insurance CE Requirement Exemptions

You may apply for an exemption from continuing education requirements if you have been licensed for 20 years or more. Your license must be held under the Texas Insurance Code and the 20-year period of licensure must be continuous - with no gaps longer than 90 days - to be considered eligible for this exemption. 

Additionally, If you meet specific criteria of illness, medical disability, military deployment, or circumstances beyond your control, you may apply for an extension to complete your continuing education requirements.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long does a Texas insurance license last?

Texas insurance licenses last for two years. When you need to renew your license, that includes completing the required continuing education biennially to keep your license active.

How do I check the status of my Texas insurance license?

An organization called Sircon manages transcripts for the TDI. You can use their inquiries page to look up your transcript and see how many continuing education hours you've completed. Click continuing education transcript inquiry, then select Texas from the drop-down menu. You'll need your license number to pull up your transcript. 

How do I check the status of my Texas adjuster license?

The process works the same for insurance producers and adjusters. Use the Sircon lookup tool and follow the steps we laid out in the question above to check how many continuing education hours you've completed.