California Insurance Continuing Education

Resident Requirements

California has continuing education requirements that agents must complete in order to renew their licenses. Any agent not exempt must fulfill these CE requirements for each two-year license term. 

Effective January 1, 2025, California life insurance agents who sell variable life insurance policies must complete two (2) hours of topic-specific CE before each license renewal. Agents who were licensed on or after January 1, 2024, must complete four (4) hours of life insurance CE before soliciting customers to sell specified life insurance policies. These requirements apply to resident and non-resident licensees.

Limited lines automobile insurance agents must complete the following requirements

• 20 hours of CE training
• Three hours of ethics CE training

Producers, adjusters, agents, and broker-agents for any of these types of insurance - life-only, accident and health, property, casualty, or personal lines - must complete the following requirements: 

• 24 hours of CE in the respective class of insurance
• Three hours of ethics CE training
• Additional training if involved in the sale of long-term care (LTC) insurance or annuities

If you hold more than one of the above lines of insurance, you may take the 24 hours of CE in courses applicable to any of the lines. There is no breadth requirement.

The credit for one-time courses also counts towards the 24 hours of CE for the license term in which you take them.

All property broker-agents, casualty broker-agents, and personal lines broker-agents must complete a three-hour training course in homeowners' insurance valuation before estimating replacement values or explaining the levels of coverage of a homeowner's insurance policy.  

Agents also must complete a three-hour training course if selling flood insurance.

Rules for Non-Residents

If non-residents satisfy the CE requirements of their home states, existing licenses can be renewed. The licensee must also satisfy California's specific requirements for annuities and long-term care.

Carryover of Excess CE

If you complete more than the required hours of continuing education for a given license term, the excess credits can apply towards the next term. 

However, specific requirements for ethics, annuities, or long-term care will carry over as general credit only. You still will have to meet those requirements for the new term.

Insurance License Term Renewal Requirements

Licenses last two years. The expiration date is on the front of your license. The California Department of Insurance (CDI) will email you a renewal notice 90 days before the license expires.

If you have paid your renewal fee and completed your continuing education requirements on time but have yet to receive your license, you may continue to use the expired license for 60 days or until the renewal application is denied.

If your renewal is late, there is a late fee of 50%. If a full year passes after the license has lapsed without renewal, you will need to reapply as a new applicant.

Rules for Taking the Exam

In order to pass a CE course, you must pass a final exam with a score of at least 70%. If you do not pass on the first try, you may retake the exam as many times as you like.

You may not use outside resources or refer to course material while the exam is in progress. 

Rules for Repeating a Course

You may receive credit from each CE course only once. If the course is offered for a new licensing term, you may retake it for credit in the new term.

Credit for Instructors

If you are an instructor, you may receive the same number of continuing education credits as the hours you teach. However, you may not teach multiple sessions of a single course and receive credit for any session after the first.

In order to receive the appropriate credit, make sure that your name is on the class roster and that the course provider issues you a certificate of completion.

Reporting Rules

The course provider will issue you a certificate of completion after you successfully pass the course. The course provider will also submit this information to the California Department of Insurance on your behalf. 

Using the License Status Inquiry webpage, you can check on your current number of completed course hours. Course providers have up to 30 days to submit these hours. If it has been more than 30 days, you should confirm your license and Social Security number with your course provider and request that they send your hours to the California Department of Insurance.

Although your course provider will submit your credit hours, you must keep your certificate of completion for five years. If you are subject to an audit, the Insurance Division will use your personal records as well as its own and those of the course provider.

Insurance CE Requirements Exemptions

Any non-resident who has fulfilled the CE requirements of their home state is exempt from the general requirements of California insurance continuing education.

You are also exempt from the continuing education requirements if you 

• Are 70 years old or older
• Have been a licensee in good standing (maintaining eligibility without breaks or disciplinary action) for 30 continuous years 

Exempt agents are still required to fulfill specific CE requirements pertaining to annuities or long-term care.

California Annuity Requirements

Before soliciting individuals for the sale of annuities, a licensee must take a one-time 8-hour annuity training course. Thereafter, the licensee must complete 4 hours of CE training in annuities for each licensing term. 

Agents still must fulfill this requirement even if exempt from general CE requirements.

California Long-Term Care Training Requirements

Long-term care insurance also requires specialized training. Accident and health agents must complete an initial 8-hour course in long-term care before soliciting consumers. 

For the first four years after passing the initial course, agents must complete eight hours of additional long-term care training a year. Thereafter, beginning in the fifth year, agents must complete eight hours of additional LTC training for each two-year licensing period.

Agents still must fulfill this requirement even if exempt from general CE requirements.

Flood Insurance

Agents must complete a one-time training course of three hours in flood insurance before selling flood insurance products. 

These credits count towards your continuing education requirements for the license term in which you take the course.