How to Get Health and Life Insurance Continuing Education Credits as an Agent

Meeting the continuing education credits required to keep your insurance license doesn’t have to be a chore. It is something you must fit into your schedule, but there are interesting ways to gain insight into the industry and satisfy your state’s Department of Insurance.

Whether you choose to learn about new products, policies, or features, just know that you are taking the time to master your craft and understand the market. Being able to better help your clients is always worth it.

What Is a Continuing Education Credit?

Continuing education (CE) credits are units that measure one’s effort to stay up to date in their profession. They are earned through classes often led, or created by, industry leaders. At the end of an insurance CE class, you should have a better idea of how consumers are currently interacting with the market or how you can better help meet your clients’ needs. Most states’ Departments of Insurance require insurance CE credits to keep your insurance license, but even exempt agents can benefit from learning something new!

Even exempt agents can benefit from learning something new!

How Many CE Credits Are Required for Selling Health & Life Insurance?

In order to remain licensed, you must earn a certain amount of CE credits. Each state has different requirements, which you can view below.

Note: The information in the following table is a summary of states’ general continuing education requirements for health and life insurance agents as of 8/19/22. Depending on your situation or state, you may have to meet additional or fewer requirements (e.g., based on your years of service, license types held, and product lines sold). For the most up-to-date requirements specific to you, please check with your state’s Department of Insurance.

### Health/Life Insurance Continuing Education Requirements by State

State	CE Credits Generally Required for Residents	Insurance License Term	Carryover Allowed?	What About Non-Residents?
Alabama	24 credits total 3 hours in ethics	Two years	No	Exempt if complying with resident state
Alaska	24 credits total 3 hours in ethics No more than 8 hours in business organization, management, and environment, including motivation, psychology, and sales training	Two years	Yes, up to 8 hours per renewal period	Exempt if complying with resident state
Arizona	48 credits total 6 hours in ethics	Four years	No	Exempt if complying with resident state
Arkansas	24 credits total 3 hours in ethics	Two years	Yes, can carry over excess hours from a renewal period to the next renewal period only	Exempt if complying with resident state
California	24 credits total 3 hours in ethics	Two years	Yes, except for ethics	Exempt if complying with resident state
Colorado	24 credits total 3 hours in ethics 18 hours in major lines 3 hours miscellaneous	Two years	Yes, up to 12 hours to next period if earned within 120 days prior to the compliance deadline	Exempt if complying with resident state
Connecticut	24 credits total 3 hours in law/regs/ethics 21 hours of any type	Two years	No	Exempt if complying with resident state
Delaware	24 credits total 3 hours in ethics	Two years	Yes, up to 5 credits per renewal period, not ethics credits	Exempt if complying with resident state
District of Columbia	24 credits total 3 hours in ethics	Two years	No	Exempt if complying with resident state
Florida	24 credits total 4 hours in law and ethics	Two years	Yes, up to 24 hours	Exempt if complying with resident state
Georgia	24 credits total 3 hours in ethics	Two years	Yes, up to 12 hours to the next period	Exempt if complying with resident state
Hawaii	24 credits total 3 hours in ethics	Two years	No	Exempt if complying with resident state
Idaho	24 credits total 3 hours in ethics	Two years	No	Exempt if complying with resident state
Illinois	24 credits total 3 hours in ethics	Two years	Yes, up to 12 hours to the next period, not ethics credits	Exempt if complying with resident state
Indiana	24 credits total 3 hours in ethics 3-hour D-SNP course (if you sell D-SNPs)	Two years	Yes, up to 12 hours if earned within 120 days prior to the license expiration date	Exempt if complying with resident state
Iowa	36 credits total 3 hours in ethics	Three years	No	Exempt if complying with resident state who has continuing education requirements
Kansas	18 credits total 3 hours in ethics	Two years	No	Exempt if complying with resident state
Kentucky	24 credits total 3 hours in ethics 6 hours directly to line of authority licensed for	Two years	Yes, up to 12 hours, not ethics credits	Exempt if complying with resident state
Louisiana	24 credits total 3 hours in ethics	Two years	Yes, up to 10 hours of Life, Health, and Accident CE	Exempt if complying with resident state
Maine	24 credits total 3 hours in ethics	Two years	No	Exempt if complying with resident state
Maryland	24 credits total 3 hours in ethics	Two years	No	Exempt if complying with resident state that has reciprocal agreement with MD
Massachussetts	45 credits total (60 for initial renewal) 3 hours in ethics	Three years	Yes, excess can be carried over to next renewal period only	Exempt if complying with resident state
Michigan	24 credits total 3 hours in ethics	Two years	Yes, up to 12 hours can be carried over to next renewal period	Exempt if complying with resident state
Minnesota	24 credits total 3 hours in ethics No more than 12 hours sponsored by, offered by, or affiliated with an insurance company or its agents	Two years	No	Exempt if complying with resident state
Mississippi	24 credits total 3 hours in ethics	Two years	No	Exempt if complying with resident state
Missouri	16 credits total 3 hours in ethics	Two years	Yes, excess can be carried over to next renewal period only	Exempt if complying with resident state
Montana	24 credits total 3 hours in ethics	Two years	No	Exempt if complying with resident state
Nebraska	24 credits total 3 hours in ethics	Two years	No	Exempt if complying with resident state
Nevada	30 credits total 3 hours in ethics	Three years	No	Exempt if complying with resident state
New Hampshire	24 credits total 3 hours in ethics No more than 10 hours in ethics	Two years	No	Exempt
New Jersey	24 credits total 3 hours in ethics	Two years	No	Exempt if complying with resident state
New Mexico	24 credits total 3 hours in ethics 3 hours must be in live classroom or equivalent	Two years	No	Exempt
New York	15 credits total At least 1 hour of Insurance Law At least 1 hour of Ethics and Professionalism At least 1 hour of Diversity, Inclusion, and Elimination of Bias	Two years	No	Exempt
North Carolina	24 credits total 3 hours in ethics	Two years	Yes, excess can be carried over to next renewal period only	Exempt if complying with resident state
North Dakota	24 credits total 3 hours in ethics	Two years	Yes, up to 12 hours taken in the last 12 months of the reporting period may be credited to the next 12 months	Exempt if complying with resident state
Ohio	24 credits total 3 hours in ethics	Two years	Yes, up to 12 hours to next renewal period	Exempt if complying with resident state
Oklahoma	24 credits total 3 hours in ethics 2 hours in legislative update	Two years	Yes, up to 6 hours earned in the current renewal period can be carried over to the next	Exempt if complying with resident state who has continuing education requirements
Oregon	24 credits total 3 hours in ethics 3 hours of Oregon statutes and administrative rules No more than 4 hours in approved agency management courses	Two years	No	Compliant if completed training in another state with laws similar to Oregon’s law
Pennsylvania	24 credits total 3 hours in ethics (as of April 29, 2025)	Two years	Up to 24 hours may be carried over to next immediate renewal period	Exempt if complying with resident state
Rhode Island	24 credits total 3 hours in ethics	Two years	Up to 12 hours earned during a renewal period may be carried to the next renewal period	Exempt if complying with resident state
South Carolina	24 credits total 3 hours in ethics	Two years	Up to 18 hours may be carried to the next compliance period	Exempt if complying with resident state
South Dakota	10 credits total	Two years	No	No requirements
Tennessee	24 credits total 3 hours in ethics	Two years	Yes, up to 12 hours can be carried over to next renewal period; excess ethics will count as general credit	Exempt if complying with resident state
Texas	24 credits total 3 hours in ethics	Two years	No	Exempt if complying with resident state
Utah	24 credits total 3 hours in ethics 12 hours in classroom or classroom equivalent courses No more than 12 hours may come from courses provided by insurers	Two years	No	Exempt if complying with resident state
Vermont	24 credits total 3 hours in ethics No more than 6 hours in insurance agency management	Two years	No	Exempt if complying with resident state
Virginia	16 credits total if one license type held 3 hours in ethics No more than 12 credits may come from courses provided or given by insurance agencies or companies 24 hours if two or more licenses held 3 hours in ethics 8 hours specific to each license type No more than 18 credits may come from courses provided or given by insurance agencies or companies	Two years	Yes, can be carried over one renewal cycle but must be reported in the period during which the course was taken	Eligible for compliance if Virginia has a reciprocal agreement with non-resident’s state
Washington	24 credits total 3 hours in ethics	Two years	No	Exempt
West Virginia	24 credits total 3 hours in ethics	Two years	Yes, up to 6 hours to the next reporting period	Compliant if completed training in another state with laws similar to West Virginia’s law
Wisconsin	24 credits total 3 hours in ethics	Two years	No	Exempt if complying with resident state
Wyoming	24 credits total 3 hours in ethics	Two years	No	Required to comply with home state’s CE requirements

Different Ways to Obtain Insurance CE Credits

There’s always something to learn in the ever-growing insurance industry, which is why it’s so important to continually educate yourself. You might hate sitting down at a desk and listening to an instructor. Maybe you prefer to learn face to face. The great thing is you have options when it comes to your CE requirements. Just make sure you choose the option that best fits your lifestyle and needs.

Make sure you choose the option that best fits your lifestyle and needs.

Here are the different ways to earn credits:

Self-Paced Course: These courses allow you to log in and complete your training at any time. Some are even compatible with your phone! It’s important to note, however, that many have a short exam at the end.
In-Person Class: Some people just learn better face to face, and this is a great chance to learn from an industry professional.
Online Webinar: This is for the more tech-savvy learner and gives a bit more flexibility than an in-person class. Many even provide the opportunity to interact with the instructor.

Finding CE Opportunities Near You

You might know about the CE requirements, but how can you find CE events and courses?

Ritter Summits

Attending a Ritter Summit in late August or September is a great way to get an introduction to upcoming Medicare products and plans and earn CE credits at the same time.

Join us in-person for a one credit CE class event at Summit!*
Get a voucher equal to eight credit hours!

*Varies by location.

Professional Insurance Organizations

Many professional organizations also offer their own courses. The NABIP Benefit Specialist Institute offers self-paced courses for agents with varying levels of knowledge. You can also meet your CE requirements through AHIP. These online trainings make it simple to complete your credits at your own pace.

WebCE

Thankfully, sites like WebCE make it easy for agents to complete their trainings. Their catalog of insurance courses includes topics like long-term care, flood insurance, risk management, annuities, homeowner’s insurance, and more. You might even find courses you’re excited to take!

WebCE benefits:

Requirements by state
Variety of insurance topics
Complete courses anywhere, any time
Get a discount through Ritter — ask us how!

How to Submit Your CE Credits

As the agent taking the course, it is not your responsibility to send in documentation. This is typically done by the course provider. For example, if you take an online course through Kaplan, they report your completed credits to your state department of insurance. Since reporting usually takes around three business days, you should complete your requirements with plenty of time before the deadline. Some states, like Pennsylvania, require a report within 10 days of completion.

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No matter what topic you choose to brush up on, you are taking steps to become a better agent and staying compliant. Happy learning!