Texas Life Agent Exam Day: What to Expect at Pearson VUE (2026)

The Texas Life Agent exam is administered by Pearson VUE for the Texas Department of Insurance (TDI). The English exam is InsTX-Life01 and the Spanish version InsTX-Life21. The fee is $39 per attempt, and Pearson VUE's Texas candidate handbook is the document that governs the details. Read it before you book, because procedures can change and this page quotes only what we have checked.

Choose a date when you will have finished your last full pass through the material. Booking the exam first and studying toward it is a good way to create a deadline, but book far enough ahead that a slip of a few days does not cost you a second fee.

Your appointment confirmation states the identification you must present and what you may bring into the testing room. Follow it exactly. We do not list specific documents here, because the requirement that applies to you is the one in your confirmation and the handbook, not a summary on a third-party page.

Make sure the name on your registration matches your identification exactly, and plan to arrive early enough that a delay in parking or traffic does not eat into your check-in. Leave study notes and devices where the confirmation tells you to leave them.

You will have 120 minutes for 90 questions. Eighty are scored and ten are unscored pretest questions, mixed in without any label. The general knowledge part has 50 scored questions and the state-specific part 30.

Pace yourself by sections of the clock, not question by question. Look at the time at the half-way point and again with a modest margin left. If a question stops you, make your best choice, flag it if the screen allows it, and move on. Two hours is enough for a candidate who knows the material, and it is not enough for one who rereads every stem three times.

Read each question for what it actually asks. The most common slips in practice material are choosing the right concept for the wrong policy type, such as an option on universal life that belongs to a different option, or confusing which party holds a right, such as owner versus beneficiary. Eliminate two options first, then choose.

The result is reported against a scaled score of 70. It is not a percentage or a raw count, and several equated forms are in use, so do not try to calculate your result from how many questions felt easy. What the result screen and report show is described in the handbook, and we do not quote their layout here.

If you pass, the clock starts on your license application, which must be filed within 12 months of passing. If you do not pass, you can retake after a 24-hour wait with another $39 fee. See the retake rules.

The day before, do a light review of the topics that cause the most trouble, such as the options on universal life, the difference between joint and survivorship life, and the Texas rules with a number attached, like the 30-day right of return on a replacement policy. Do not try to learn new chapters the night before.

On the morning, eat, check your confirmation again, and leave with time to spare. Once the exam starts, remember the structure: 90 questions, 120 minutes, 80 scored. A few unfamiliar questions are normal, because ten of the items are unscored pretest questions that nobody can identify. An unfamiliar question is not a sign that you are failing.

Two days before the exam, answer a full set of questions in one sitting without looking anything up. Our free practice questions and the course preview work for this. Afterwards, review only what you missed, then rest.

For the numbers behind the preparation, read how many questions are on the exam and how hard it is.