Is the New Mexico Life & Health Exam Hard? Pass Rates and Difficulty (2026)

Yes, and the pass rates are low. In the compiled figures of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) for first-time test takers, the combined New Mexico Life, Accident and Health or Sickness exam was passed by 33.6% of candidates in 2024 and 37.0% in 2025. Fewer than four in ten first-time candidates passed in both years.

The subject matter is standard life and health insurance knowledge plus one section of New Mexico law. What makes the exam demanding is the combination: 150 scored items in 150 minutes, two fields of insurance in one sitting, a raw passing score of 70%, and a state-law section full of specific rules and numbers.

Low pass rates are no reason to panic, but they are a reason not to walk in after a weekend of skimming.

New Mexico offers three producer exams, and the NAIC reports each one separately. These figures cover first-time test takers only, with in-person and remote testing counted together.

Not one of the six pass rates reaches 38%, so this is a repeated pattern across all three exams and both years, not a single bad year. Life-only candidates had the lowest rate in both years.

The NAIC workbooks do not publish repeat-taker pass rates, and the figures say nothing about why candidates fail, so we will not guess at reasons.

Four features of the exam do most of the work.

1. Length and pace. The combined exam gives you 150 minutes for 150 scored items, and PSI, the company that administers the exam, says 5 to 10 unscored "experimental" items may be added, so you average a little under a minute per item.

2. A raw 70%. There is no scaling. Seventy percent of 150 scored items is 105 correct answers, so you can miss 45.

3. Two fields in one sitting. The outline has thirteen sections spanning life insurance, annuities, accident and health, medical plans, group coverage and taxation. The largest, Life, Accident and Health Insurance Basics, is only 16% (24 items).

4. A section of pure New Mexico law. Insurance Regulation is 15 items (10%): licensing, producer duties, trade practices, fraud and privacy, all in one undivided section. The outline prints a statute or rule citation beside every topic, so study the rules themselves, including their numbers.

The published figures say nothing about who fails or why, so we will not invent a profile. The structure of the exam does show where marks are easy to lose.

• Skipping the state-law section. It is 15 scored items. Give them all away and you have spent a third of your 45-item margin before the first life question.
• Answering from a national rule of thumb. New Mexico sets no general statutory free look for an ordinary individual life policy, and its privacy regulation requires the consumer's written or electronic authorization (opt-in) before health information is shared, not merely an opt-out notice. A candidate who answers "10 days" or "opt-out" out of habit gets both wrong.
• Coasting on one line. The combined exam tests life and accident and health together. A strong life background does not cover Medical Plans (15 items) or Group Health Insurance (9 items), and a health background does not cover Life Insurance Policy Provisions, Options, and Riders (19 items).

• The blueprint is public. PSI publishes the content outline with a weight for every section, so you know where the points are.
• No pre-licensing course is required. PSI's bulletin says you are free to use materials of your own choosing. See whether you need a pre-licensing course.
• There is room to try again. Each attempt costs $75, and you can take the same exam four times before a six-month wait begins. See the retake rules.

1. Study by weight. Start with Life, Accident and Health Insurance Basics (16%), Life Insurance Policy Provisions, Options, and Riders (13%), Medical Plans (10%), Insurance Regulation (10%) and Types of Life Insurance Policies (9%). Those five sections are 58% of the exam.
2. Start practice questions in the first week. LanePrep's free practice sets are organized by topic, and every wrong answer shows you what to re-study.
3. Give New Mexico law its own study block. Write down the numbers: days, dollar amounts, who files what.
4. Use audio for repetition. LanePrep's New Mexico Life & Health course has nine chapters, and chapter 1 covers New Mexico regulation, licensing and market conduct.
5. Run the full length once. Do 150 questions in 150 minutes before exam day so the pace is familiar.

The exam is beatable, but the pass rates mean it rewards preparation. Chapter 1 of LanePrep's New Mexico Life & Health course is free, so you can hear the format before you commit. For a plan, read how to pass the New Mexico Life & Health exam on your first try.