Reviewed and approved by Samuel Corso, licensed Texas insurance agent.

Published August 19, 2026 · Updated October 1, 2026

How to become a licensed insurance agent in Texas

This guide walks through the steps the Texas Department of Insurance (TDI) publishes for a property and casualty agent license. You'll see the exam, the fingerprint check, the application, appointment, the temporary and emergency licenses, and renewal with continuing education. It covers licensing steps only.

The short version. To become a licensed property and casualty insurance agent in Texas, TDI lists three steps on its General lines – property and casualty page: take an exam unless an exemption applies, begin the application on TDI's online fingerprint portal, and apply for a license. That page sets a $50 application fee for a resident agent license and says to apply within one year of passing the exam or retake it.

Which license you need

Which Texas insurance agent license you need depends on the license type, because TDI's Agent and adjuster licensing page lists each type separately and asks you to select one for the steps to apply. Its agent list includes general lines property and casualty, personal lines property and casualty, and general lines life, accident, health and HMO, along with title insurance, surplus lines and managing general agent.

This guide follows TDI's general lines page. TDI's Personal lines property and casualty page lists the same three application steps and the same $50 application fee for an agent license.

Each license type has its own page, so the practical first move is to open the page for the type you want and read it through. If you are unsure which type fits the insurance you plan to sell, the general lines page gives 512-676-6500 and License@tdi.texas.gov for questions.

Who qualifies

For a Texas general lines property and casualty agent license, TDI's general lines page lists requirements for applying. For a resident agent license, it says you must pass the state licensing exam before applying, complete your fingerprints, and apply through Sircon or the National Insurance Producer Registry.

For a non-resident license, the same page says an active general lines, property and casualty license in good standing in your resident or home state is required to apply.

That page also has a section pointing to the laws about this license, which this guide does not cover. For a question about your own eligibility, the page's contacts are 512-676-6500 and License@tdi.texas.gov.

The three steps, in TDI's order

The three steps to a Texas general lines property and casualty agent license appear in this order on TDI's general lines page: "Take an exam. Begin the application process on TDI's online fingerprint portal. Apply for a license."

The sections below take the steps one at a time. The details all come from that same TDI page, which shows a last-updated date of 7/25/2025.

1. The exam

For the Texas general lines property and casualty exam, TDI's page says that to learn how and where to take an exam, you go to Pearson VUE and download the candidate handbook. It adds that the Pearson VUE website links to exam outlines and an ESL (English as a second language) request form.

The page lists three situations in which you do not need to take an exam for the general lines property and casualty license:

• Expired license. Your license has been expired for more than 90 days, but less than one year.
• Reciprocal state. You don't live in Texas, but you have a license in good standing in a reciprocal state.
• Designation. You have the Chartered Property and Casualty Underwriter designation.

The page also says veterans who have passed Texas insurance exams can apply to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to have the exam fee reimbursed, for exams taken on or after February 1, 2019.

2. Fingerprints and the background check

The fingerprint step for a Texas agent license starts on TDI's portal. To receive your fingerprint service code and instructions, TDI's page says, you must begin the application process on TDI's online initial application and fingerprint portal. So the portal comes first and the fingerprint visit second.

Most people who apply for a license, by TDI's account, must get a fingerprint background check from IdentoGO and send TDI a copy of the IdentoGO receipt showing the fingerprints were sent to the Texas Department of Public Safety.

TDI gives two cases in which you do not need a fingerprint background check. One is that you live in Texas, have an active license or registration with TDI, and have already submitted fingerprints. The other is that you don't live in Texas but hold an active resident license in your home state. A non-resident without one must send either a criminal history record from their state's law enforcement agency or a current Certificate of Good Standing from their state with the application.

3. The application

For a resident agent license in Texas, TDI's general lines page sets out these requirements:

• Exam before application. You must pass the state licensing exam before applying. The page says that if you apply before passing, you will be required to submit a new application after you pass and pay the application fee again.
• Fingerprints. Complete the fingerprint step.
• Where to apply. Use the Sircon or National Insurance Producer Registry website.
• Timing. "Submit your application within one year of passing the exam, or you'll need to retake the exam."
• Fee. The application fee for a resident agent license is $50.

A resident agency license is a separate application on the same page, also with a $50 application fee. The page asks an agency for more information, including a Texas designated responsible licensed producer who holds a Texas general lines property and casualty license, registration with the Texas Secretary of State, fingerprints for non-licensed officers and directors, and proof of financial responsibility in the form of a bond or an Errors & Omissions policy.

For a non-resident agent license, the page lists a $50 application fee and requires an active general lines, property and casualty license in good standing in your resident or home state.

Appointment with an insurer

TDI lists appointment transactions for Texas agents on a page separate from the license application steps. Its Appointment transactions page, last updated 5/17/2023, says: "All appointments must be filed with the department before any agent transactions are performed."

TDI's licensing page labels adding or removing a licensed agent from an insurer as "appointment transactions". The appointment page says appointments and terminations are filed online through Sircon, where it points to a Sircon for Carriers account, or the National Insurance Producer Registry, except for a termination for cause.

On TDI's pages, then, the license and the appointment are two different items. The appointment page does not spell out what counts as an agent transaction, so that is a question for TDI at 512-676-6500, the number on the page.

TDI's one-time 180-day temporary license

TDI's general lines page says a one-time 180-day temporary license is offered for a general lines license, and that it is issued only once and cannot be renewed. The page ties it to a sponsor, which it describes as the agent, insurance company, or agency that you will work for.

The page's details for the temporary license are:

• Fee. The application fee is $150, which the page says provides both a temporary and a permanent license application.
• Application. You apply through Sircon and attach the Appointment certification for a temporary license (Form FIN700), which the sponsor must complete.
• Sponsor's confirmation. By signing the form, the sponsor confirms that you are being considered for appointment as a full-time agent, that they would like you to have a temporary license, and that they will supervise your training.
• Training. You must take at least 40 hours of training given by the appointing company. The page says it must take place no later than the 30th day after the application, application fee, and certificate from the appointing company are delivered or mailed to TDI.
• Exam. If you want a permanent license, you must pass the state exam within the 180 days the temporary license is active and email TDI to say you passed. If you don't pass within that term, the page says you must submit a new application and application fee.

The page closes that section with a limit: "Only one temporary license will be issued to you. You can't renew or apply for another temporary license."

Because the sponsor completes Form FIN700, the page's route assumes you already have a sponsor.

The same page describes a separate 90-day emergency license for a general lines property and casualty license, with a $50 application fee and an application by phone at 512-676-6500. The page says an applicant can get it if they need to handle the business of another property and casualty agent who died, became disabled, or is found to be insolvent and unable to pay premiums due to an insurer, and if they send TDI proof that the emergency license is needed to preserve that agent's agency assets. It adds that the applicant does not need to take and pass the exam before the emergency license is given.

Renewal and continuing education

Renewing a Texas agent license involves a renewal term and a continuing education (CE) requirement, which TDI covers on two pages. On the term, TDI's Agent and adjuster licensing page says: "Most licenses renew every two years." It adds that first-time applications or extra licenses may have a shorter first term.

On CE, TDI's Continuing education information for agents and adjusters page lists the requirement for the general lines property and casualty license as 24 hours, including 3 hours of ethics, per two-year renewal period. It lists the same requirement for the personal lines property and casualty agent license. The page shows a last-updated date of 8/24/2026.

The CE page adds these points:

• Format. For all licensees, at least half the hours must be classroom or what the page calls classroom equivalent.
• Approved courses. Typically, credit is earned by taking TDI-approved courses from registered course providers.
• Timing. License holders are encouraged to complete CE hours at least 30 days before the license expires, to allow time for the CE provider to report completion to TDI.

For licenses issued or renewing on and after November 1, 2015, the CE page says a licensee who does not complete the 24 hours before the license's expiration date "will have 90 days to complete the deficient number of hours and pay a fine of $50 per deficient hour". If those two conditions are not met within 90 days of the license expiring, the page says the license will be inactivated and the licensee will have to apply for a new license. The page also says exemptions and extensions of time are possible under very limited circumstances.

Put simply, the hours have a deadline that matches the license term, so it makes sense to plan them well ahead of the expiration date.

Agent and adjuster licenses

TDI's Agent and adjuster licensing page lists Texas agent license types under one heading and adjuster license types under another, and public insurance is one of the adjuster types. The adjuster types it lists are all lines, designated home state, emergency (catastrophe), property and casualty, public insurance, trainee, and workers' compensation.

• Agent. TDI's consumer tip sheet How do I find an insurance agent or company? says captive agents work for an insurance company and sell only that company's policies, while independent agents sell insurance for multiple companies.
• Public insurance adjuster. TDI's tip sheet Public adjusters: What to know before you hire one says a policyholder can hire a public insurance adjuster to negotiate with the insurance company to settle a claim, and that public insurance adjusters are licensed by TDI. Our guide to what a public insurance adjuster does in Texas covers that role.

If claims work is what interests you, the adjuster pages on TDI's licensing page are the ones to read.

Key facts

• TDI's General lines – property and casualty page lists three application steps: take an exam unless one of the page's exemptions applies, begin the application on TDI's online fingerprint portal, and apply for a license.
• The same TDI page lists a $50 application fee for a resident agent license and says to submit the application within one year of passing the exam or retake the exam.
• For the general lines property and casualty license, that TDI page says no exam is needed if your license has been expired more than 90 days but less than one year, if you live outside Texas and hold a license in good standing in a reciprocal state, or if you hold the Chartered Property and Casualty Underwriter designation.
• Most people who apply, according to TDI's general lines page, must get a fingerprint background check from IdentoGO, and the page lists cases where the check is not needed.
• TDI's Appointment transactions page, last updated 5/17/2023, says all appointments must be filed with the department before any agent transactions are performed.
• A one-time 180-day temporary license is described on TDI's general lines page, with a $150 application fee, a sponsor's Form FIN700, and at least 40 hours of training given by the appointing company.
• TDI's Continuing education page lists 24 hours, including 3 hours of ethics, per two-year renewal period for the general lines property and casualty license, with a fine of $50 per deficient hour and 90 days to complete hours not finished before the expiration date, for licenses issued or renewing on and after November 1, 2015.
• TDI's Agent and adjuster licensing page says most licenses renew every two years and that first-time applications or extra licenses may have a shorter first term.

Sources: Texas Department of Insurance, General lines – property and casualty: apply for a license, Personal lines property and casualty, Agent and adjuster licensing, Appointment transactions, Continuing education information for agents and adjusters, How do I find an insurance agent or company?, Public adjusters: What to know before you hire one and How to find a licensed insurance agent or adjuster. This page is general information, not legal or career advice.

Take the next step

If you plan to apply, the steps above are a sequence you can follow on TDI's own pages, starting with the exam and the fingerprint portal. Fees and procedures can change, so check TDI's current page before you apply; its listed contacts for licensing questions are 512-676-6500 and License@tdi.texas.gov.

If you came here as a consumer, TDI's tip sheet How do I find an insurance agent or company? says to make sure the agent or company is licensed by TDI, and its How to find a licensed insurance agent or adjuster page says you can search by name or license number. Our guide to independent agency vs direct covers the ways to buy a policy.

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