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

No. Virginia does not require a pre-licensing course for the Life and Annuities license or the Health license. The law conditions licensure on passing an examination. You can book the Prometric exam without completing any approved course first.

Two statutes set the requirement, and both rest on the exam alone:

• Code of Virginia § 38.2-1815(A) (life and annuities agent): no resident individual shall obtain a license "unless the individual has passed an examination in a form and manner prescribed by the Commission."
• Code of Virginia § 38.2-1815.1(A) (health agent): no resident individual shall obtain a license "unless he has passed an examination in a form and manner prescribed by the Commission."

Neither contains a course-of-study clause. The State Corporation Commission's Bureau of Insurance page, "Lines of Authority and Application Fees," lists five examined agent license types: Life and Annuities, Health, Property and Casualty, Personal Lines and Title. It states a pre-licensing study course for exactly one of them: Title applicants must complete a 16-hour pre-licensing study course and pass the Title exam within one year of finishing it. Nothing equivalent appears under Life and Annuities or Health.

Prometric's Virginia bulletin even asks candidates, as optional statistical information, whether they took an exam preparatory course. It says the answer has no bearing on results or eligibility, which fits the picture: a prep course is common, not mandated.

• Pass the exam. $35 per attempt at Prometric, combined or single-line. See the exam format.
• Fingerprints. A fingerprint-based background check is required for resident applicants, done through a Fieldprint live-scan site, with results routed to the Virginia State Police and the FBI. It is valid for one year once on file.
• Apply to the Bureau of Insurance. The application processing fee is $15 per qualification, or $30 for Life and Annuities plus Health. Normal turnaround is 15 business days.
• Get appointed. You cannot transact business or receive commission until an insurer appoints you.

With the combined exam, the exam and application fees come to $65 ($35 plus $30), before the cost of fingerprinting. Taking two separate exams means paying the $35 exam fee twice. See the full cost breakdown.

Continuing education applies after licensing. A resident agent holding either license, or both Life and Annuities and Health together, completes 16 CE hours per biennium, at least 3 of them in ethics. That is separate from anything you do to pass the exam.

LanePrep is exam preparation, not a mandated course. You do not need it to qualify, and nothing we offer is a legal requirement. What it does is shorten the distance between a standing start and a pass: audio lessons you can play on a commute, chapters built around Prometric's real outline weights, and practice questions in the Virginia style. Try the LanePrep Virginia course preview or work through the free practice questions.

Then read how hard the exam is and how to pass on the first try, and learn what to expect in the exam-day guide.