Do You Need a Pre-Licensing Course for the Maryland Life & Health Exam? (2026)

No. Maryland does not require a pre-licensing course for the Life or Accident & Health producer exams, and has not since October 1, 2024. You can register for the Prometric exam without completing any course hours.

Chapter 874 (House Bill 265) of the Maryland General Assembly's 2024 Regular Session repealed the pre-licensing education and experience requirements for producer license types that require an exam, Life and Accident & Health included. It took effect on October 1, 2024. The statutory changes touch Insurance Article §§10-104, 10-105, 10-108, 10-109, 10-119, 10-120, 10-122 and 10-125.

The Maryland Insurance Administration's Bulletin 24-19, dated July 24, 2024, confirms the effective date and explains the wind-down: new pre-licensing provider and course applications stopped on August 1, 2024, existing rosters went inactive on September 30, 2024, and no approved-course list is maintained any longer.

Before that date Maryland did require a 20-hour course per line of authority. That requirement is gone, so any older guide that says you need a course is out of date.

The repeal removed the course. It did not remove the other conditions for a license.

• Be at least 18, of good character and trustworthy, with no disqualifying acts.
• Pass the exam. Register with Prometric and pay the $62 fee. The Life exam and the Accident & Health exam have 80 scored questions each and the Combo has 130. The passing score is 70% or higher.
• Apply through NIPR. The producer application fee is $54.
• Background questions. None of the Maryland Insurance Administration, Prometric or NIPR documents we reviewed list fingerprinting as a requirement. Applicants answer background questions on the application, with supporting documents needed only for a “yes” answer.

If you want both lines, the Combo exam is a single $62 attempt, so Combo plus application is $116. Two single-line exams plus the application is $178. Passing the exam does not guarantee licensure.

Continuing education is a separate requirement and it was not touched by the repeal: 24 hours per renewal period, including 3 hours of ethics. The renewal fee is $69, with a flat $100 late-renewal fee if you renew late. See the full cost breakdown.

LanePrep is exam preparation, not a mandated course. It does not give you hours that Maryland requires, because Maryland no longer requires any. It gives you audio lessons for your commute and practice questions mapped to the Prometric outline, with extra weight on the 30% Insurance Regulation block that general study material covers least.

A sensible route: read how hard the exam is, check the format, pick Combo or single-line, then preview the Maryland course.