- The North Dakota Life and Annuity examination fee is $64, paid to PSI at scheduling.
- No prelicensing course is required in North Dakota, which removes a major cost most candidates budget for elsewhere.
- You need 70% (77 of 110 scored questions) to pass, so a failed attempt means paying the $64 fee again.
- Producer licenses renew every two years with 24 CE hours, including 3 hours of ethics.
What You Actually Pay For
When people ask about "NDLH certification cost," they're usually picturing something complicated: course fees, application fees, renewal fees, maybe a background check thrown in. The reality for the North Dakota Life & Health Insurance Producer Exam is simpler than most state licensing paths, and that's actually the headline finding here. There is no mandatory prelicensing course in North Dakota, so the cost structure boils down to the exam fee itself, the fingerprint-based background process required for licensure, and - once you're actually working as a producer - ongoing continuing education every renewal cycle.
This article breaks down each of those pieces using only the figures published by the North Dakota Insurance Department and PSI, the exam administrator. If you're still deciding whether the exam is worth the investment at all, read our companion piece on whether NDLH certification is worth it before you commit to a study plan.
The $64 Exam Fee Explained
The North Dakota Life and Annuity examination costs $64, payable to PSI when you schedule your test. That fee covers a single attempt at a computer-based exam consisting of 110 scored questions delivered in a 150-minute window. PSI may also insert 5 to 10 unscored experimental questions into your session, so the total item count you see on screen could run slightly higher than 110 - but only the 110 designated questions count toward your score.
To pass, you need 70% correct, which works out to 77 correct answers out of 110. There's no partial credit for showing your work and no calculator or reference material allowed; the test is strictly closed-book. You can sit for the exam at a physical PSI test center or via remote proctoring from home, though remote sessions come with stricter rules: no scratch paper and no breaks during the session. For a full walkthrough of exactly what that scoring threshold means in practice, see our detailed breakdown of the NDLH passing score requirements.
What the $64 Fee Buys You
A single scheduled attempt at the official North Dakota Life and Annuity exam, administered by PSI.
- 110 scored questions across 9 content domains
- 150 minutes of testing time
- Choice of test center or remote proctoring
- Score results tied directly to your license application eligibility
Costs Beyond the Exam Fee
Because North Dakota does not mandate a prelicensing education course, candidates skip a cost that trips up applicants in many other states. That said, a few other cost components sit outside the exam fee itself and belong in any realistic budget:
- Fingerprint-based background check: Resident applicants must complete a fingerprint-based background process as part of licensure. Fingerprinting vendors typically charge a processing fee separate from the exam fee, and this is paid through the state's designated fingerprinting service rather than PSI.
- License application: After passing, you must apply for your resident producer license within one year of your passing date. The application itself carries a separate filing cost through the North Dakota Insurance Department, distinct from the $64 exam fee.
- Study materials: Since there's no required course, this is the one truly optional cost. Some candidates study using only free regulatory materials; most benefit from a structured resource that mirrors the real exam's format and domain weighting, which is why practice testing matters more here than in exams that include a bundled course.
Key Takeaway
Because there's no required prelicensing course, your biggest controllable cost lever is avoiding a retake. Spending time with quality practice questions on our full-length NDLH practice tests is almost always cheaper than paying the $64 fee twice.
Retake Costs and How to Avoid Them
If you don't reach 77 correct answers out of 110, you'll need to reschedule and pay the $64 fee again. There's no bundled "second attempt free" policy described in the exam rules, so every failed sitting is a direct, avoidable cost. This is where understanding exam difficulty matters - not to scare you, but to calibrate your prep. Our guide on how hard the NDLH exam actually is walks through what makes certain domains harder to internalize than others, and our NDLH pass rate breakdown looks at what the available data actually shows about first-attempt outcomes.
The most cost-effective way to avoid a retake is to treat the exam blueprint as your budget allocation tool. Domains aren't weighted equally, and spending equal study time on all nine domains is a common - and expensive - mistake.
Renewal and Continuing Education Costs
Passing the exam and getting licensed isn't the end of the cost conversation. North Dakota producer licenses renew biennially, and renewal requires completing 24 continuing education hours, including 3 hours specifically in ethics. If your book of business includes annuities or long-term care products, additional specialized training requirements apply on top of the standard 24-hour CE load.
CE course costs vary by provider and aren't part of the exam fee structure at all, but they're worth factoring into your long-term cost-of-licensure picture, especially if you're comparing this credential against other paths in our NDLH salary guide.
Where Your Study Time (and Money) Should Go
If you're going to spend money on study materials at all, spend it where the exam actually tests you. The North Dakota Life and Annuity exam blueprint weights its nine domains unevenly, and two domains alone account for nearly 44% of your score:
| Domain | Weight |
|---|---|
| North Dakota Laws and Regulations Pertaining to Life Insurance and Annuities | 25.5% |
| Life Insurance Policy Provisions, Options, and Riders | 18.2% |
| Types of Life Insurance Policies | 12.7% |
| Life Insurance Basics | 11.8% |
| Insurance Regulation | 10.9% |
| General Insurance Concepts | 7.3% |
| Annuities | 7.3% |
| Federal Tax Considerations for Life Insurance | 3.6% |
| Federal Laws and Regulations | 2.7% |
North Dakota Laws and Regulations Pertaining to Life Insurance and Annuities is, by a wide margin, the largest single domain on the exam. Under-preparing here is the single most expensive mistake a candidate can make, since it directly threatens your ability to clear the 77-correct-answer threshold. Our complete guide to all nine NDLH exam domains breaks down exactly what falls under each category, which is worth reading before you allocate a single study session.
North Dakota Laws and Regulations Pertaining to Life Insurance and Annuities (25.5%)
Candidates must know state-specific requirements governing how life insurance and annuity products are sold, disclosed, and regulated in North Dakota.
- State licensing rules for producers
- Unfair trade practices specific to life and annuity sales
- Replacement and suitability requirements for annuity transactions
- State-level disclosure obligations
Life Insurance Policy Provisions, Options, and Riders (18.2%)
This domain tests your grasp of what actually happens inside a policy after issue.
- Nonforfeiture options and policy loan provisions
- Common riders (waiver of premium, accidental death, guaranteed insurability)
- Settlement options and beneficiary designations
- Grace periods, reinstatement, and incontestability clauses
A Cost-Efficient Prep Timeline
Because there's no bundled course cost to justify, your prep plan should be built around minimizing retake risk rather than filling a course syllabus. A domain-weighted schedule spread across a few weeks keeps you from over-investing time in low-weight areas like Federal Laws and Regulations (2.7%) while under-preparing for the two heavyweight domains.
North Dakota Laws and Regulations Pertaining to Life Insurance and Annuities
- Work through state-specific producer conduct rules and disclosure requirements
- Drill practice questions on annuity replacement and suitability scenarios
Policy Provisions, Riders, and Life Insurance Basics
- Map out riders, nonforfeiture options, and settlement choices
- Review underwriting and policy classification fundamentals
Types of Life Insurance Policies, Insurance Regulation, and Annuities
- Compare term, whole, universal, and variable products side by side
- Study state regulatory oversight structures and annuity contract mechanics
Lower-Weight Domains and Full Timed Practice
- Cover Federal Laws and Regulations, Federal Tax Considerations, and General Insurance Concepts
- Take full 110-question timed practice exams on our practice test platform to simulate the 150-minute session
For a more granular, day-by-day breakdown of this approach, our step-by-step NDLH study guide expands each week into specific tasks, and our one-page NDLH cheat sheet is useful for quick review sessions in the final days before your test date.
Total Cost Scenarios
Since the exam fee is the one fixed, published cost, the real variable in your total spend is how many times you sit for the exam and how much you invest in preparation. Here's how the math plays out in broad terms:
| Scenario | Exam Fees Paid | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Pass on first attempt | $64 | No prelicensing course required; fingerprinting and license application are separate, one-time costs |
| Pass on second attempt | $128 | Full retake fee applies; no discount for repeat scheduling |
| Pass on third attempt | $192 | Each additional sitting compounds the cost of under-preparing for high-weight domains |
Key Takeaway
Every retake costs the full $64 fee again. Thorough preparation on the two heaviest domains - state law and policy provisions - is the cheapest insurance you can buy against a second exam fee.
Before scheduling your test date, it's worth confirming your eligibility timeline against the state's rules, since you must apply for licensure within one year of passing. Our NDLH requirements guide covers residency, age, and character prerequisites in detail, and our NDLH exam dates and scheduling guide explains how testing windows and appointment availability actually work with PSI.
Frequently Asked Questions
The exam fee is $64, paid to PSI, the third-party administrator, when you schedule your appointment. This fee covers one attempt at the 110-question, 150-minute exam.
No. North Dakota does not require a prelicensing education course to sit for the Life and Annuity exam, which sets it apart from states that mandate paid coursework hours before scheduling.
You'll need to reschedule and pay the $64 exam fee again in full. There's no reduced-price retake, so failing and retesting effectively doubles your exam-related cost.
Yes. You'll need to complete a fingerprint-based background check and submit your license application within one year of passing, both of which involve separate processing costs outside the $64 exam fee. Ongoing licensure also requires 24 continuing education hours every two years, including 3 ethics hours.
North Dakota Laws and Regulations Pertaining to Life Insurance and Annuities carries the heaviest weight at 25.5%, making it the domain where under-preparation is most likely to cost you a retake fee.