Failed the Iowa Life & Health Exam? Retake Rules, Waiting Periods and Fees (2026)

If you fail an Iowa exam you can try again, but not the same day. You must wait 24 hours before making a reservation for a retake, and every attempt is a new $44 exam fee. The Candidate Handbook states no cap on the number of attempts.

Iowa has no combined Life & Health exam, so a failure belongs to one exam. If you failed Life, you retake Life. Accident & Health is a separate exam with its own reservation and fee, and the same holds in reverse.

The Handbook says candidates must wait twenty-four hours before making a reservation for reexamination, and that reservations for reexamination are not made at the test center. You cannot rebook at the desk on your way out; book through Pearson VUE, on its Iowa insurance page or by phone at (877) 540-5825.

Twenty-four hours is a minimum, not a study plan. Rebooking at the first opening without changing how you prepare is a way to pay $44 for the same result.

A retake is a new reservation, so you can choose the format again: a Pearson VUE test center or online through OnVUE, where you use your own computer in a private room under a live proctor. Online sittings allow no unscheduled breaks; a test center allows them, with the clock still running. Pick the setting where you will be least distracted, and book it only once you have decided what you will change about your preparation.

• The exam fee is $44 per attempt for either exam. There is no fee waiver for a retake, so two attempts at one exam cost $88 in exam fees.
• To avoid forfeiting a fee, change or cancel a reservation at least 48 hours before the exam. Exam fees are non-refundable and non-transferable except under that policy.
• If an employer or agency bought you an exam voucher, it expires 12 months after it was issued and cannot be refunded or returned.

The Handbook states no limit on retakes, and no separate attempt limit for online-proctored sittings either. That is what the Handbook says today, not a promise it will never change, so check Pearson VUE's Iowa insurance page when you book.

A passing result is valid for 90 days after the test date. Under IAC 191-10.4(4), failing to apply for licensure within 90 days of passing voids the result, and the Handbook repeats the same deadline.

This matters when you need both lines. Each exam has its own test date, so each result has its own 90 days. If you pass one exam and need a second attempt at the other, check the dates before you book the retake so that a pass you already hold does not expire while you wait.

The NAIC workbooks publish no repeat-taker pass rates, so we have no Iowa figure for how retakers do. The structure of the exam still points to a plan:

1. Write down what felt unfamiliar. Within an hour of leaving, list the topics that surprised you, while you still remember them.
2. Work out which half cost you. The Iowa section is 27 of 77 scored items on Life and 30 of 80 on Accident & Health; the rest is general knowledge. Decide whether state law or general knowledge let you down.
3. Drill that half by topic, using practice questions grouped by outline section rather than a random mix.
4. Book when practice holds steady. Pick the date once your practice results stay solid across several sessions. If it slips, change or cancel at least 48 hours ahead.

See how hard the exams are for the pass-rate picture and the plan to pass on the first try for study order. LanePrep's free practice questions are grouped by outline section, and the free preview shows how the audio lessons work.