New Mexico Life & Health Exam Day: What to Expect at PSI (2026)

New Mexico's insurance licensing exams are run by PSI Services LLC under contract with the Office of Superintendent of Insurance (OSI). When you register you choose between a PSI test center and online proctored testing. The combined Life, Accident and Health or Sickness exam has 150 scored items, a 150-minute limit and a 70% passing score, and it costs $75.

This guide follows the day in order, from booking to what happens after you pass or fail, so the logistics hold no surprises and your attention stays on the questions.

Register with PSI at test-takers.psiexams.com/nmins, or call PSI at (855) 560-3714. You select your test, then the modality: Online Proctored or Test Center. PSI's bulletin gives separate step-by-step instructions for each route.

• Which test: the combined Life, Accident and Health or Sickness exam, or one of the two single-line exams. All cost $75.
• The fee: it is not refundable or transferable and is valid for one year from the date of payment.
• Cancelling: PSI must receive your notice at least 2 days before the exam; for a Monday exam, by the previous Saturday. Use PSI's website or a live call, because voicemail and email do not count.
• Language and time: all three exams are available in Spanish on request. If English is not your primary language, you can ask PSI for an ESL authorization that gives time and a half; it requires a personal letter and a letter from an instructor or sponsor.

PSI test centers in New Mexico are in Albuquerque, Farmington, Las Cruces, Roswell and Santa Fe, and you may also use any PSI test center nationwide. Online testing happens in your own space with a webcam.

Remote candidates follow a full page of security rules in PSI's bulletin. The ones to plan for: webcam placement, no scratch paper, no breaks, and no U.S. military ID. PSI runs a technical-support line for remote candidates at (844) 267-1017. If you choose online, plan a quiet space, a working webcam and a restroom visit before you start.

• Confirm your appointment with PSI: date, time, and test center or remote.
• Check your ID for its expiry date and for your name, signature and photograph.
• Leave your notes at home. Using notes or other reference material during an exam is a ground for discipline under New Mexico law (NMSA 59A-11-14(A)(11)).
• Remote only: set up your space and test the webcam.

You need one form of current, government-issued identification that shows your name, signature and photograph. Accepted types are a driver's license, a state ID card, a U.S. passport, a U.S. military ID (not accepted for remote testing), an Alien Registration Card, or a foreign government passport or ID. A temporary ID is not accepted.

With 150 minutes for 150 scored items, and up to 10 unscored experimental items possibly added, you have a little under a minute per item. A few habits help.

• Read the whole stem before the options. A single qualifier or number often decides an insurance question.
• Do not stall. A question that eats three minutes costs two others their time. Make your best choice and move on.
• Answer every item. The passing score is a raw 70% of correct answers (105 of 150), so a blank earns nothing.
• Check your pace at the halfway mark. About 75 items should be behind you at 75 minutes.

Your result is measured against the raw 70% line, which on the combined exam is 105 correct answers out of 150 scored items.

If you pass

The next steps run in OSI's order:

1. Complete the national background check through IdentoGo (nm.state.identogo.com, OSI service code 2BH27J, $67). The report is valid for 90 days from completion and can take 3 to 5 days to reach OSI.
2. Submit the online NIPR license application once you have the report. The original resident producer filing fee is $30, and OSI processes applications in the order received, which can take up to 30 days.
3. Make sure OSI receives all required application materials within one year after you pass.

If you do not pass

You cannot book a new appointment on the day you test. A candidate who fails on a Wednesday can call on Thursday and retest as soon as Friday, depending on space. Each attempt costs $75, and after four failures at the same exam a six-month wait applies. The retake rules have the details.

• The background check comes after the exam, not before.
• A U.S. military ID works at a test center but not for online testing.
• Remote candidates get no scratch paper and no breaks.
• An email or a voicemail does not cancel an appointment.
• There is no same-day retest.

Know the structure first: how many questions are on the exam and how hard it is. For audio-first preparation that fits a commute, try chapter 1 of LanePrep's New Mexico Life & Health course free. Chapter 9 of the course is dedicated to exam day.