Failed the North Carolina Property & Casualty Exam? Retake Rules, Waiting Periods and Fees (2026)

If you fail a North Carolina Property or Casualty exam, you can retake it after a 24-hour wait. Each attempt costs $45. The two exams are separate: the Property Agent (code 04) and the Casualty Agent (code 05).

The wait between attempts is 24 hours. The fee for every attempt, first or repeat, is $45 for each exam. The exam fee is separate from the licensing costs: $50 registration per line of authority (G.S. 58-33-125), a $44 application processing fee, $38 for SBI/FBI fingerprints on a first license and a $5 NIPR fee. Property and Casualty on one application come to $187 in those costs, and with two exam attempts at $45 the total is $277.

That $277 figure assumes two attempts in all. A candidate who needs a further attempt pays the $45 fee again for that attempt.

The sources LanePrep relies on give the 24-hour wait and the $45 fee, but they do not give a verified cap on the number of attempts, or a period for which a passing result stays usable. Do not rely on a figure you read on an unofficial site. Check the candidate guide (number 123400, October 2025) and the North Carolina Department of Insurance (NCDOI) before you plan around either point.

A 24-hour wait is a rule about scheduling, not a recommendation. First-time pass rates are 49% for Property and 53% for Casualty (2025, NAIC compiled), and the same figures show that Property is the weakest North Carolina line. A candidate who sits the exam again the next day with the same notes usually repeats the same mistakes.

A better rule: do not book the next attempt until you can name the section that cost you points, and have fixed it with questions, not just with rereading.

Start from the outline. Work out which of the four sections let you down, using the outline weights. Property is 7, 25, 10 and 13 scored items across its four sections. Casualty is 7, 18, 15 and 15.

Repair the state law first. Section IV is the section candidates under-prepare. For Property, revisit the Rate Bureau, Article 44 fire policies, the Beach Plan and the FAIR Plan. For Casualty, revisit the Motor Vehicle Reinsurance Facility, G.S. 20-310 and Chapter 97.

Practise worked problems. Coinsurance, deductibles against limits and umbrella retentions are lost by guessing. Work them out on paper.

Check you booked the right exam. The two exams share Section I and then diverge. Passing is a scaled score of 70 on the 0-100 scale for whichever exam you sit.

Use the gap between attempts for work, not for waiting. Write down every topic you remember being unsure about, sort them by outline section, and rank the sections by their scored items. Spend the first block of time on the section with the most items where you felt weakest, then on North Carolina law, then on the rest.

Take each practice set cold, without notes, and mark the questions you guessed even when you guessed right. A lucky guess is a gap that has not shown up yet. When you can explain why each wrong option is wrong, you are ready to pay the $45 and book again.

Use the free practice question hub to find your weak chapter, then read the exam format and weights and how to pass on the first try. The course preview shows the audio lessons and quizzes.