North Dakota Insurance Continuing Education

Resident Requirements

Insurance licensees in North Dakota must complete a minimum of 24 credit hours of approved continuing education (CE) during each two-year compliance period. At least three hours must be in ethics. The requirement applies to all producers licensed in one or more of the following lines of authority:

• Accident and Health
• Casualty
• Crop-hail
• Life and Annuities
• Personal
• Property

The 24-hour requirement also applies to public adjusters. For all licensees, courses approved for any line of authority may count toward a licensee's CE requirement.

Rules for Non-Residents

Non-resident licensees are not required to comply with the CE requirements in North Dakota. To qualify for this exemption, you must meet your home state's CE requirements.

Additionally, if you wish to sell long-term care (LTC) insurance in North Dakota, you must comply with the state's LTC continuing education training requirements. Alternatively, you can comply with another state's requirements that meet the LTC Model training outline created by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners.

All non-resident licensees, regardless of whether they are exempt from North Dakota's CE requirements, must pay a filing fee every two years.

Carryover of Excess CE

If you complete more than the required 24 credit hours in a two-year period, you may carry forward 12 hours from the second year of your renewal period. Ethics hours can only be carried forward as regular hours, not as ethics hours.

Insurance License Term Renewal Requirements

Insurance licenses in North Dakota are due for renewal on the last day of the licensee's birth month biennially. Regardless of your lines of authority or whether you qualify for an exemption, you must file a renewal application and pay a $25 renewal fee by that date every two years. 

The state must receive your application and fee, along with any CE credits that you are required to complete, by the last day of your birth month in your renewal year.

Rules for Taking the Exam

To receive CE credit for a course, you must complete a final exam with a score of 70% or higher. Exams are open-book, meaning you can refer to course material as many times as needed while taking the test. You may retake the exam an unlimited number of times until you pass. 

The state of North Dakota does not require a monitor or proctor for self-study exams.

Rules for Repeating a Course

If you complete a course for CE credit, you may not use that same course for credit in the same licensing period.

Credit for Instructors

Instructors for CE courses receive the same number of CE credits as their students earn for completing the class.

Reporting Rules

You must report completed courses to the North Dakota Insurance Department within 15 days of completion. You will need your National Provider Number (NPN), or the agent's NPN for whom you are reporting. The North Dakota Insurance Department charges a course reporting fee of $1 per credit hour for online, classroom, and self-study courses.

You are responsible for tracking your CE credits and retaining completion certificates for courses that you have passed. If you wish to see your official transcript, you can request it through the National Association of Insurance Commissioners State Based Systems database.

Insurance CE Requirement Exemptions

Licensees are exempt from CE requirements in North Dakota if their license exclusively applies to one or more of the following product lines:

• Bail bonds
• Credit life/accident and health insurance
• Legal expense insurance
• Surety bonds
• Title insurance
• Travel baggage insurance

Newly licensed individuals are also exempt from CE requirements, but only during the calendar year in which they receive their first license. Beginning January 1 of the following year, all standard CE requirements apply.

There is no longer an exemption for resident producers who were at least 62 years of age by January 1, 2010, and whose years of age and continuous licensure totaled 85 or more. That exemption became invalid when North Dakota repealed the Rule of 85.

Annuity Requirements

All producers who sell annuity products in North Dakota must complete a training course in annuity suitability based on the revised 2020 “Suitability in Annuities Transactions” model regulation.

You must fulfill this one-time requirement before you engage in the sale of annuity products.

As of January 1st, 2022, producers selling annuity products need to complete an annuity course that covers the new NAIC Best Interest Standards.

If you have completed a four (4) hour annuity course prior to 01/01/2022, you must either:

Complete the one-time, one (1) hour annuity best interest course before 06/30/2022; or

Complete a new four (4) hour course approved for the new annuity best interest standards

Long-Term Care Training

North Dakota insurance companies collaborate with the state government through the Long-Term Care Partnership Program. Policies that qualify under the program allow insured parties to shelter assets equal to the benefits paid through the qualifying policy. Policyholders may continue to use their Medicaid benefits.

According to North Dakota law, a Partnership policy must do all of the following:

• Meet federal tax and consumer protection law requirements
• Have state recognition for Medicaid benefit purchases
• Provide appropriate inflation protection

Before selling a Partnership policy, a producer must fulfill both of the following mandates:

• Secure Accident and Health authority
• Complete a one-time training course of eight hours or more

Once you have completed these requirements, you must complete at least four hours of LTC training during every two-year renewal period going forward. 

Approved training programs must cover all of the following topics:

• Long-term care insurance
• Long-term care services
• Qualified Partnerships
• The connection between Qualified Partnerships and other public and private long-term care coverage

If your training course has received approval for CE in North Dakota, you may count it toward your CE requirements. Producers should check with their companies to learn if their LTC policies are included in the Partnership program.

Flood Requirements

To sell flood insurance in North Dakota, licensees must complete three or more hours of line-specific training. This one-time requirement is set by the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the National Flood Insurance Program.