- The NDLH Life and Annuity exam has 110 scored questions in 150 minutes; you need 70% (77 correct) to pass.
- North Dakota Laws and Regulations Pertaining to Life Insurance and Annuities is 25.5% of the exam - the single largest domain.
- The exam fee is $64, administered by PSI on behalf of the North Dakota Insurance Department.
- No prelicensing course is required, but the exam is closed book with no calculator or scratch paper allowed.
What the NDLH Exam Actually Tests
The North Dakota Life & Health Insurance Producer Exam (NDLH) is the state licensing test administered through PSI on behalf of the North Dakota Insurance Department. North Dakota actually splits this into two separate examinations - Life and Annuity, and Accident and Health - and this guide focuses on the Life and Annuity (Product and Laws) exam, since it's the version most producers pursuing life and annuity business need to pass first.
If you're still fuzzy on what the credential covers or how it fits into a producer's career, our companion pieces on what NDLH is and what the NDLH designation means are good starting points before you dive into study mode.
Registration, Fee, and Test-Day Mechanics
Unlike many professional certifications, North Dakota does not require a prelicensing education course before you sit for the exam. That makes self-study - and choosing the right study materials - the deciding factor in whether you pass on attempt one. The exam fee is $64, and you can test either at a physical PSI test center or via remote proctoring.
Remote testing has strict limitations you should plan around: no scratch paper, no breaks, and no reference materials of any kind. If you're someone who thinks better with pen and paper, a test center may serve you better than a remote session. Full details on cost components, including any ancillary fees tied to licensing, are broken down in our NDLH Certification Cost breakdown.
Key Takeaway
Because there's no calculator and no scratch paper in remote sessions, practice doing simple math (like calculating surrender charges or free-look periods) mentally or on a whiteboard well before test day.
Domain-by-Domain Breakdown
The NDLH exam blueprint is organized into nine domains, and they are not weighted evenly. Two domains - North Dakota Laws and Regulations, and Life Insurance Policy Provisions, Options, and Riders - together make up nearly 44% of your scored questions. Ignoring this weighting is the single most common planning error candidates make.
Domain 2: North Dakota Laws and Regulations Pertaining to Life Insurance and Annuities (25.5%)
This is the largest domain by a wide margin, and it's state-specific - meaning generic national study material won't cover it adequately.
- Producer licensing rules, appointment, and renewal requirements specific to North Dakota
- Unfair trade practices and replacement regulations under state law
- Suitability standards for annuity recommendations in North Dakota
Domain 7: Life Insurance Policy Provisions, Options, and Riders (18.2%)
This domain tests your ability to read a policy and explain what it actually does for a policyholder.
- Nonforfeiture options, settlement options, and dividend options
- Common riders: waiver of premium, accidental death, guaranteed insurability
- Grace periods, reinstatement, and incontestability clauses
Domain 6: Types of Life Insurance Policies (12.7%)
Expect scenario questions distinguishing term, whole, universal, and variable products, plus how each behaves under different funding levels.
- Term conversion privileges and renewability
- Cash value mechanics in whole and universal life
- Variable life and its securities registration implications
Domain 5: Life Insurance Basics (11.8%)
Foundational concepts underpin nearly every other domain, so weak fundamentals here compound elsewhere on the exam.
- Insurable interest and the parties to a life insurance contract
- Premium calculation basics and mortality tables at a conceptual level
- Beneficiary designations, including per stirpes and per capita
The remaining domains - Insurance Regulation (10.9%), General Insurance Concepts (7.3%), Annuities (7.3%), Federal Tax Considerations for Life Insurance (3.6%), and Federal Laws and Regulations (2.7%) - carry smaller weights individually but still contribute roughly a third of your scored questions combined. For a full walkthrough of every domain with more granular subtopics, see our complete guide to all nine content areas.
A Realistic Study Timeline
Because there's no mandated prelicensing course, your study plan needs to substitute for that structure. A four-week plan works well for most candidates studying part-time, allocating time roughly in proportion to domain weight - with extra attention to the two heaviest domains.
Foundations and Regulation
- Work through Insurance Regulation and General Insurance Concepts
- Build a glossary of North Dakota-specific licensing terms
- Take a diagnostic practice test to identify weak domains
North Dakota Laws and Annuities
- Deep dive into North Dakota Laws and Regulations (the 25.5% domain)
- Study annuity suitability rules and product mechanics
- Drill practice questions specific to state replacement and disclosure rules
Life Products and Policy Provisions
- Cover Life Insurance Basics, Types of Life Insurance Policies, and Provisions/Riders together
- Build comparison charts of term vs. whole vs. universal vs. variable
- Practice scenario questions involving riders and nonforfeiture options
Federal Rules and Full Simulation
- Finish Federal Tax Considerations and Federal Laws and Regulations
- Take at least two full-length, timed 110-question practice exams
- Review every missed question and re-test weak domains only
If your schedule is tighter or looser than four weeks, the underlying logic still holds: allocate study time proportional to domain weight, and never let the small domains fall to zero. For more on calibrating difficulty expectations against your own timeline, see how hard the NDLH exam really is.
Mistakes That Sink First-Time Candidates
Most candidates who fail the NDLH exam on their first attempt don't fail because they didn't study - they fail because they studied the wrong things in the wrong proportion, or misunderstood the passing threshold.
- Treating all domains equally. Spending the same amount of time on Federal Laws (2.7%) as North Dakota Laws and Regulations (25.5%) is a proportional disaster.
- Assuming a national study guide covers state law. Domain 2 is North Dakota-specific; generic life insurance prep books often gloss over it.
- Underestimating the closed-book format. No calculator means you need to be comfortable with basic policy math without assistance.
- Not simulating the 150-minute time pressure. With 110 scored questions plus possible experimental items, pacing matters - untimed review alone won't prepare you.
- Misjudging the passing score. You need 77 correct out of 110 scored questions (70%) - not 70% of every question you see, since some are unscored. Our passing score breakdown explains this distinction in detail.
| Exam Fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Scored Questions | 110 |
| Time Limit | 150 minutes |
| Passing Score | 70% (77 correct) |
| Possible Unscored Questions | 5-10 (experimental, not identifiable) |
| Exam Fee | $64 |
| Format | Computer-based, test center or remote proctoring |
| Materials Allowed | None (closed book, no calculator) |
After You Pass: Licensing Steps
Passing the exam is a major milestone, but it's not the final step to becoming a licensed producer in North Dakota. Resident applicants must be at least 18 years old, meet residency and character requirements, complete a fingerprint-based background check, and submit their license application within one year of passing the exam. Miss that one-year window and you'll need to retest.
Once licensed, producers renew biennially and must complete 24 continuing education hours, including 3 hours of ethics - plus specialized annuity or long-term-care training when those product lines apply to your book of business. For the complete eligibility checklist, see our NDLH Requirements guide.
Before you commit to the study process, it's worth understanding the bigger career picture. Our ROI analysis of the NDLH certification and salary guide walk through what licensed producers can expect once they're actively writing business. If you want to see current testing windows and how far in advance to schedule, check our exam dates and scheduling guide.
Finally, once you've built your domain-by-domain knowledge, running full-length timed simulations on our practice test platform is the best way to confirm you're ready before you pay the $64 fee and sit for the real thing. A quick pass through our one-page cheat sheet in your final week can also help lock in the details that tend to slip under pressure.
Frequently Asked Questions
No. North Dakota does not mandate a prelicensing course for the Life and Annuity exam, which is why a structured self-study plan focused on the actual domain weights matters so much.
There are 110 scored questions, and PSI may add 5-10 additional unscored experimental questions that are indistinguishable from the scored items. You have 150 minutes total.
You need 70%, which equals 77 correct answers out of the 110 scored questions on the exam.
No. The exam is closed book with no reference materials or calculator permitted, and remote-proctored sessions do not allow scratch paper or breaks.
You must apply for your resident producer license within one year of passing the exam, along with completing the fingerprint-based background process. Waiting longer than a year typically means retesting.