How to Pass the New Mexico Life and Health Insurance Exam on the First Try (2026)

New Mexico gives you a choice to make before you register: sit a single combined Life, Accident and Health or Sickness exam (Series 18-27), or take one line only, either the Life exam (Series 18-25) or the Accident and Health or Sickness exam (Series 18-26). All three are administered by PSI Services LLC (PSI) under contract to the Office of Superintendent of Insurance (OSI), and they are three separate options, each bookable on its own.

Item	Combined (18-27)	Life only (18-25)	Accident and Health or Sickness only (18-26)
Scored questions	150	100	100
Unscored experimental questions	5 to 10 may be added	5 to 10 may be added	5 to 10 may be added
Time limit	2.5 hours (150 minutes)	2 hours (120 minutes)	2 hours (120 minutes)
Passing score	70 percent, one score for the whole exam	70 percent	70 percent
Fee per attempt	$75	$75	$75

The passing score is 70 percent. NMSA 59A-11-6(D) says "a grade of not less than seventy is a passing grade," and PSI's Candidate Information Bulletin puts it the same way: "You must get 70% correct to pass." The combined exam has one score, so you cannot pass the Life half and fail the Accident and Health half separately; it has its own 150-question outline with its own section weights. PSI also notes that a small number (5 to 10) of "experimental" questions may be added to the stated count. They are unscored and do not count toward your result, so answer every question as if it counts.

The fee is $75 for each of the three exams, confirmed by both NMSA 59A-6-1(H) and PSI's bulletin, so a single-line exam costs no less than the combined one. A candidate who wants both lines registers once and sits once with the combined exam; two single-line exams are two separate $75 fees and two sittings of 2 hours each. Choose a single-line exam only if you truly need one line.

You choose how you test when you register. PSI's scheduling path has you select your test and then the modality, Test Center or Online Proctored. The test centers are in Albuquerque, Farmington, Las Cruces, Roswell and Santa Fe, and you may also test at any PSI test center nationwide. Online proctored testing comes with its own security rules, including no scratch paper and no breaks, so read PSI's remote-testing instructions before you choose it. All three exams are available in Spanish on request (NMSA 59A-11-6(B)), and PSI lists Spanish-language titles for the Life, the Accident and Health or Sickness and the combined exam alike.

PSI's New Mexico content outline for the combined exam (Series 18-27, effective July 1, 2026) prints the number of scored questions in each of its thirteen sections, 150 in all, along with each section's weight. Only one section is New Mexico law; the others cover federal law, general insurance concepts, life insurance, annuities, accident and health coverage, group and specialized health plans, and federal tax considerations.

Section	Weight	Questions
Insurance Regulation (New Mexico law)	10%	15
Federal Laws and Regulations	2%	3
General Insurance Concepts	5%	8
Life, Accident and Health Insurance Basics	16%	24
Types of Life Insurance Policies	9%	13
Life Insurance Policy Provisions, Options, and Riders	13%	19
Annuities	8%	12
Accident and Health Insurance Policy Provisions	7%	10
Disability Income and Related Insurance	4%	6
Medical Plans	10%	15
Group Health Insurance	6%	9
Specialized Health Insurance for Qualified Individuals	5%	8
Federal Tax Considerations for Life and Health Insurance	5%	8
Total	100%	150

New Mexico law is 15 of the 150 scored questions, and all 15 sit in one undivided section. There is no separate life-only or health-only state-law section to study on its own: the same block applies whichever line you are pursuing, and every sub-topic in it carries its own citation in the outline, such as NMSA 59A-12-12 for the licensing process, 59A-11-10 for expiration and renewal, 59A-12-26 for continuing education, 59A-16-27 for cease and desist orders and 59A-1-18 for penalties and fines.

The section covers the whole producer rulebook. Licensing includes the types of licensee (producers, brokers, consultants, nonresidents and temporary licenses), maintenance and duration, and discipline (suspension, revocation and refusal to renew, cease and desist orders, penalties and fines). State regulation includes the superintendent's duties and powers, the certificate of authority, unfair claims settlement practices, the complaint record, the appointment and termination of producers, shared commissions, fiduciary duties, prohibited premiums or charges, the unfair trade practices (misrepresentation, false advertising, twisting, defamation, unfair discrimination, rebating, and boycott, coercion and intimidation), examination of books and records, the Insurance Fraud Act, and consumer information privacy. Do not treat New Mexico law as a short add-on at the end of your study plan.

LanePrep groups the 150 scored questions into eight content chapters plus an exam-day chapter. Chapter 1 covers the 15 New Mexico law questions, and Chapters 2 to 8 cover the rest of the outline. Chapters 3, 4 and 5 follow PSI's sections one for one, Chapter 2 is the federal law and general concepts sections together, Chapter 6 is Annuities and Accident and Health Insurance Policy Provisions, Chapter 7 is Disability Income and Medical Plans, and Chapter 8 is Group Health, Specialized Health and Federal Tax Considerations. That grouping is our own arrangement of PSI's sections, not the outline's.

The two single-line exams have 100 scored questions each, and each has its own Insurance Regulation section of 10 of its 100 questions, citing the same statutes and rules. This page and LanePrep's course follow the combined exam's outline; PSI publishes a separate outline for each of the other two exams (Series 18-25 and 18-26).

New Mexico does not require a pre-licensing course to sit for the Life exam, the Accident and Health or Sickness exam or the combined exam. PSI's Candidate Information Bulletin says so directly: "OSI does not specify an official study manual, nor are you required to take a pre-licensing study course. You are free to use materials of your own choosing to prepare for the license exam."

The statutes agree. NMSA 59A-12-12 lists the requirements for a resident producer license: you are at least 18 years old, you have not committed an act that is a ground for denial, you have paid the fees, and you have passed the exam for each line of authority you seek. No course appears in that list, and the licensing rule NMAC 13.4.2.9 adds none. The only education language in the licensing articles of the Insurance Code concerns two things: an optional application question about your experience, training or education in the kind of business to be transacted, which is background information and not a prerequisite, and the continuing education you complete after you are licensed.

The background check is a separate question, and it comes after the exam. It is mandatory by statute: NMSA 59A-12-12(B) says that before approving a resident producer application the superintendent "shall" obtain the applicant's fingerprints and conduct state and federal criminal background checks. OSI's Individual Licensing Instruction lists the steps in this order: pass the PSI exam first, then complete a national background check through IdentoGo, fee $67, then submit the NIPR license application once the background report is received. OSI's checklist notes that the report is valid for 90 days from completion and can take 3 to 5 days to reach OSI.

No requirement also means no classroom pacing you through the outline above. A course built directly from PSI's own outline, in the same proportions the exam uses, is the fastest way to replace the structure a pre-licensing class would have given you.

NAIC's compiled pass-rate workbooks for 2024 and 2025 report the combined Life, Accident and Health or Sickness exam separately for New Mexico. Both workbooks label their columns first-time test takers and first-time pass rate, so repeat takers are not in these figures, and the numbers below add together both testing modes, test center and online proctored.

Combined exam (first-time takers)	2024	2025
Tested	149	527
Passed	50	195
Pass rate	33.6%	37.0%

These pass rates are low. The combined exam's rate improved from 33.6 percent in 2024 to 37.0 percent in 2025, but it stayed well under 40 percent in both years, and the figures are for first-time candidates only; neither workbook publishes repeat-taker rates. That is the baseline a real study plan has to beat, and it is why preparation matters: a first attempt here is not a formality, and every attempt that does not pass is another $75 fee.

There is no same-day retake: PSI's bulletin says it is not possible to make a new exam appointment on the same day you take an exam. A candidate who fails on a Wednesday can call the next day, Thursday, and retest as soon as Friday, depending on space availability.

The number of attempts is limited. NMSA 59A-11-6(E) says an individual who has taken and failed four of the same examinations is not entitled to take another examination until after six months after the date of the last examination failed. PSI's bulletin states the same rule and cites the same statute: up to four attempts for a line of authority, then a six-month waiting period after the fourth unsuccessful attempt.

Every attempt is a new fee, $75, and because the combined exam has one score, a retake is the whole exam again, not just the part you missed. Four attempts on the combined exam would be $300 in exam fees alone. To change or cancel an appointment without forfeiting the fee, PSI must receive your cancellation at least 2 days before the exam.

The LanePrep New Mexico Life and Health course is nine audio chapters built from the combined exam's outline, each with its own quiz. The scored-question counts below are out of 150.

Week 1, New Mexico Law and the Basics (Chapters 1-3)

• Days 1-3: Chapter 1, New Mexico Regulation (15 questions, free)
• Day 4: Chapter 2, Federal Law and General Concepts (11 questions)
• Days 5-7: Chapter 3, Life, Accident and Health Basics (24 questions)

Week 2, Life Insurance, Annuities and Health Provisions (Chapters 4-6)

• Days 8-9: Chapter 4, Types of Life Policies (13 questions)
• Days 10-11: Chapter 5, Life Provisions, Options and Riders (19 questions)
• Days 12-14: Chapter 6, Annuities and Accident and Health Provisions (22 questions)

Week 3, Health Coverage and Exam Day (Chapters 7-9)

• Days 15-16: Chapter 7, Disability Income and Medical Plans (21 questions)
• Days 17-19: Chapter 8, Group Health, Specialized Health and Taxation (25 questions)
• Day 20: Chapter 9, Exam Day (no scored questions, free), then a timed run through every chapter quiz in one sitting
• Day 21: Re-drill the questions you missed and re-listen to your weakest chapter
• Day 22: Rest the day before your exam

Take the chapter quiz right after each listen and write down which questions you missed. Two days later, before starting the next chapter, answer those same questions again cold. If you are testing on a single line instead of the combined exam, keep Chapter 1, because each single-line outline has its own Insurance Regulation section citing the same statutes and rules, and let PSI's outline for the exam you book decide how to order the other chapters; it is the final word on its sections. Chapters 1 and 9 are free at /nm/l-and-h/preview, full audio and the chapter quiz, no signup. The full course is at /nm/l-and-h.

Assuming every life policy has a statutory free look. It does not. New Mexico has no statute that gives the owner of an ordinary individual life insurance policy a right-to-return period. The right-to-return periods the law does provide are narrow and tied to the type of policy, and 30 days applies to long-term care insurance (NMSA 59A-23A-6(E), except for employer group coverage), to Medicare supplement insurance (NMSA 59A-24A-10, the notice of free examination) and to a replacement life policy or annuity (NMAC 13.9.6.10), where the replacing insurer notifies the existing insurer within five business days and gives the owner a 30-day right to return the new policy or contract for a full refund. Learn which policy type each period belongs to, and do not turn any of them into a general rule for life insurance.

Treating privacy as an opt-out rule. New Mexico requires the consumer's authorization (opt-in), not just a chance to opt out (NMSA 59A-2-9.3; NMAC 13.1.3). A licensee may not disclose nonpublic personal health information to anyone, affiliates included, or nonpublic personal financial information to a nonaffiliated third party, unless it has given the initial privacy notice and the authorization-request notice and has obtained a written or electronic authorization (NMAC 13.1.3.14 and 13.1.3.20). The authorization must name the information, the recipients and the purpose, state how long it is valid and say that it can be revoked at any time. The exceptions are in NMAC 13.1.3.17-19, and customers also receive an annual privacy notice.

Getting the continuing-education numbers wrong. A New Mexico producer completes 24 credit hours of approved courses in each two-year compliance period, and at least 3 of them must be ethics (NMSA 59A-12-26; NMAC 13.4.7.9). The ethics hours count within the 24, not on top of it. One 24-hour requirement covers all the lines you hold, there is no carryover to the next period, repeating the same approved course in a period earns no second credit, and a course counts on the date you take it. CE not completed by renewal means the license cannot be renewed and terminates. Individual licenses renew every two years on the last day of the birth month.

Believing a lapsed license always means retaking the exam. A license that is not renewed terminates at midnight on the last day of the birth month, but a continuation request received within 30 days afterward may be granted at 150 percent of the continuation fee (NMSA 59A-11-10). Within 12 months of the renewal due date, the same license can be reinstated without passing the exam again: NMSA 59A-12-17(D) requires a penalty of double the unpaid renewal fee, and reinstatement also requires every CE hour missed during the lapse. After 12 months the old license cannot be reinstated, though a recent former licensee may still be relicensed without an exam, so do not assume the exam always comes back.

Carrying property and casualty numbers into life and health. Two figures in New Mexico's Insurance Code belong to property and casualty only. The $100-a-year gift allowance in NMSA 59A-16-17(F) applies only to property and casualty insurers and producers. The 180-day advance notice an insurer owes before terminating an independent producer, together with the producer's one-year right to renew the business (NMSA 59A-11-13(A) and (D)), applies only to property and casualty insurers and policies (59A-11-13(E)). Neither belongs in a life or health answer.

Getting the order of the background check wrong. In New Mexico the background check comes after the exam, not before it. OSI's checklist has you pass the PSI exam, then complete the IdentoGo background check ($67), then submit the NIPR application. It is a separate payment to IdentoGo, not part of the exam fee.

Passing is the halfway point, not the finish line.

Bring one form of current, government-issued ID that shows your name, your signature and your photograph: a driver's license, a state ID card, a U.S. passport, a U.S. military ID, an Alien Registration Card, or a foreign government passport or ID. A military ID is not accepted for remote testing, and PSI accepts no temporary ID. To change or cancel an appointment without forfeiting the fee, PSI must receive your notice at least 2 days before the exam date; for a Monday appointment, that means by the previous Saturday. Use PSI's website or speak to someone by phone, because a voicemail or an email is not an acceptable cancellation. Exam fees are not refundable or transferable, and your $75 fee is valid for one year from the date of payment.

After you pass, PSI's bulletin says all required application materials must be received within one year of your pass date. You apply through NIPR, paying the $30 resident producer license fee online (NMSA 59A-6-1(E)(1)), after you have completed the $67 IdentoGo background check. With the $75 exam fee, that is $172 for a first-attempt pass. OSI says online NIPR applications are processed in the order received and can take up to 30 days.

Your first license term runs between 13 and 24 months and expires in your birth month. After that, renewal comes every two years on the last day of your birth month, with 24 hours of continuing education, 3 of them in ethics, and a $60 continuation fee (NMSA 59A-6-1(E)(2)). For the full cost breakdown, including what a retake adds and where LanePrep fits into the budget, see how much a New Mexico Life and Health license costs.

Exam structure, fees and the content outline come from PSI's New Mexico Candidate Information Bulletin and its Series 18-25, 18-26 and 18-27 content outlines (effective July 1, 2026), OSI's Individual Licensing Instruction, NMSA 59A-1-18, 59A-2-9.3, 59A-6-1, 59A-11-6, 59A-11-10, 59A-11-13, 59A-12-12, 59A-12-17, 59A-12-26, 59A-16-17, 59A-16-27, 59A-23A-6 and 59A-24A-10, NMAC 13.1.3, 13.4.2.9, 13.4.7.9 and 13.9.6.10, and NAIC compiled pass-rate data for 2024 and 2025. Read October 2026.