Texas Life and Health License Cost: Exam Fees, Fingerprints, and What You Actually Pay

People search Texas Life and Health license cost because blogs mash exam fees, fingerprints, the TDI application, and optional prep into one scary number. That mix makes the path look more expensive than the required stack really is.

The required fees are fixed and fairly small. Texas does not require a prelicensing course. You pay Pearson VUE for the exam, IdentoGO for fingerprints, and TDI $50 for the license application. Study tools are optional. Retakes and bad logistics are where the bill grows.

This page covers Life Agent and General Lines Life, Accident and Health, the two paths most GetLicensedTX readers take. Fees below match the Pearson VUE Candidate Handbook fee table and the current TDI apply pages. Recheck those sources before you pay, because vendors update tables.

Quick answer: what you actually pay

For one license type, plan on about $130 to $140 in required fees if you pass on the first try:

Exam: $39 for Life Agent, or $49 for General Lines Life, Accident and Health.

Fingerprints: about $41 at IdentoGO. Confirm the live amount when you book.

TDI application: $50 per license type.

That is the Texas Life and Health license fees floor most residents see. Prep, retakes, Sircon or NIPR checkout extras, and later appointments sit on top of that floor.

Fee stack at a glance

Think in three buckets so ads cannot blur them together.

Required once per license path if you pass first try: Pearson exam fee, IdentoGO print fee, TDI $50 application.

Repeatable if something goes wrong: another Pearson fee for each retake, another $50 if you apply before you pass and have to apply again, another IdentoGO visit if prints fail or you never kept the receipt TDI wants.

Optional: practice tools, courses, books. Texas does not force a prelicensing course for these agent exams.

After the license: carrier appointments (Pearson handbook notes a $10 fee for each additional company appointment), E and O if your agency or IMO requires it, and renewal when TDI bills that cycle. Those are career costs, not the first license stack.

Pearson VUE exam fees

Pay when you reserve. Pearson does not take the fee at the test center. Examination fees are non refundable and non transferable except under the Change or Cancel rules in the Candidate Handbook.

From the handbook Available Exams and Fees table:

Life Agent (InsTX-Life01 English / InsTX-Life21 Spanish): $39, 120 minutes.

General Lines Life, Accident and Health (InsTX-LAH05 English / InsTX-LAH25 Spanish): $49, 150 minutes.

Spanish versions cost the same as English for these majors. You can switch between Spanish and English during a Spanish exam if you booked that version.

People say Texas Life and Health exam cost when they mean the $49 General Lines Life, Accident and Health sitting. Life only is the $39 Life Agent path. Pick the exam that matches the license you will apply for. Paying for the wrong code wastes money and a calendar slot.

For question counts and pacing, see getlicensedtx.com/articles/how-many-questions-texas-life-health-exam. For arrival, ID, and center rules that protect the fee you already paid, see getlicensedtx.com/articles/pearson-vue-texas-insurance-exam-day-rules.

Retakes, cancels, and forfeited fees

Each new reservation needs a new exam fee. There is no attempt limit that saves you money. Fail once and you pay $39 or $49 again when you rebook.

Change or cancel at least 48 hours ahead by calling Pearson VUE at 888-754-7667 if you need to move the seat under the handbook policy. With proper notice you may transfer the fee to a new reservation or request a refund. Late changes and no-shows usually forfeit the fee.

ID mismatches, late arrival, and bringing the wrong documents can also burn the seat. Treat exam day as a paid logistics event, not only a content test. Calm check in habits live at getlicensedtx.com/articles/texas-life-exam-day-tips.

If you already failed once, do not buy another random PDF and hope. Start with getlicensedtx.com/articles/failed-texas-life-exam-what-to-do-next and the hub at getlicensedtx.com/articles/texas-life-health-exam-retake-guide so the next fee buys a better attempt.

IdentoGO fingerprinting cost

Most resident applicants need an IdentoGO fingerprint background check before TDI finishes licensing. The print fee is paid to IdentoGO and is often around $41. Confirm the amount at booking. TDI and IdentoGO set that price, not your prep site.

Order matters more than the dollar amount. Begin on TDI’s online initial application and fingerprint portal first. After TDI registers you, they email a service code. Use that code to schedule IdentoGO. Do not book prints before you have the code.

Bring photo ID and an accepted payment method. Keep the IdentoGO appointment receipt. TDI commonly wants that receipt with the application, not a bank alert or a checkout screenshot.

Full walkthrough: getlicensedtx.com/articles/texas-insurance-fingerprinting-identogo. Do not stack IdentoGO against your Pearson arrival window on the same morning. One delay should not burn an exam fee.

TDI application fee

After you pass, apply online through Sircon or the National Insurance Producer Registry. TDI lists the resident agent application fee at $50 per license type. The Pearson Candidate Handbook matches that figure and states application fees are non refundable and non transferable.

Apply within one year of passing. Miss that window and you retake the exam before you can apply again. That turns a paperwork delay into another $39 or $49 plus another study cycle.

If you apply before you pass, TDI expects a new application and another fee after you pass. Do not rush the application to save a spot. Pass first, then pay the $50.

Official apply pages: Life agent at tdi.texas.gov/agent/life-agent-apply.html and General Lines Life, Accident, Health and HMO at tdi.texas.gov/agent/general-life-apply.html. Sircon or NIPR may show a small platform transaction charge at checkout on top of the $50. Watch the total before you submit.

Temporary license path

Some candidates use a one time 180 day temporary license with a sponsor. TDI lists that application fee at $150. That amount covers temporary plus permanent application on that path.

You still need to pass the exam inside the temporary window. The temporary license is available only once and cannot be renewed. Your sponsor completes Form FIN700. Confirm the current TDI temporary section if an employer is pushing this route, because the training and appointment paperwork sit next to the fee.

A temporary path changes timing more than it changes the need to pass. Budget the exam fee plus the $150 when that is your employer’s plan.

Costs after you are licensed

The first license stack ends when TDI issues the license. Selling still needs appointments. The Candidate Handbook notes a $10 fee for each additional company appointment. Carriers file appointments through Sircon or NIPR. Confirm the live amount with the carrier or TDI when you contract.

Renewal is a later cycle. Individual licenses are typically valid for two years. TDI sends renewal notices with the amounts due. Continuing education is part of staying current after you are licensed. Those dollars are not part of the first pass cost, but they belong in a honest career budget.

If your longer goal is an independent book, the licensing fee page is only step one. The full path from license to appointments lives at getlicensedtx.com/articles/how-to-become-independent-insurance-agent-texas.

What you do not have to pay

Texas does not require a prelicensing course for Life Agent or General Lines Life, Accident and Health. You can sit when you are ready.

That does not mean free study is always cheaper. Cheap free PDFs often waste more money through retakes than a focused practice plan. The required state and vendor fees stay the same either way. Your only real variable before the first pass is what you choose to spend on prep, and whether you protect the exam fee with clean logistics.

Optional prep: what to budget

Prep is optional. Prices vary widely. National course suites can run into the hundreds. A tight practice loop can cost far less.

GetLicensedTX is built for the Texas Life and Life and Health exams: timed practice, weak area drills, modules, and the AI Study Tutor. Monthly is $12.99. Lifetime is $69. That sits on top of Pearson, IdentoGO, and TDI fees, not instead of them.

A free timed baseline is at getlicensedtx.com/diagnostic. Use it before you spend the Pearson fee so you know whether the clock and the outline feel normal. If life insurance topics keep slipping, drill them at getlicensedtx.com/articles/practice-weak-areas-texas-life before you rebook.

Life only vs Life and Health: the cost tradeoff

Life Agent exam fee: $39. Life, Accident and Health exam fee: $49. Both still need fingerprints and the $50 application for that license type.

The ten dollar exam gap is not the real decision. Authority is. Life only covers the Life Agent path. General Lines Life, Accident and Health covers the broader line people usually mean when they say Texas Life and Health license.

If you need accident and health authority for the work you want, paying $49 once for the combined exam is usually cleaner than stacking separate paths later. If you only need life products for now, the $39 Life Agent path keeps the first stack slightly lower.

Tradeoffs in plain English: getlicensedtx.com/articles/life-vs-life-and-health-texas.

Where people overspend

Retaking without fixing weak areas costs another $39 or $49 each time. That is the most common way a $140 path becomes a $250 story.

Showing up with ID or name mismatches can lose the seat fee you already paid.

Buying two big courses when one timed practice loop would have been enough is common.

Paying the $50 application twice because you applied before passing is avoidable.

Missing the one year apply window forces another exam fee. Put a calendar reminder the week you pass.

Booking IdentoGO before you have the TDI service code burns time and sometimes a second appointment fee.

If you already failed, skip the panic repurchase. Use getlicensedtx.com/articles/texas-life-health-exam-retake-guide and rebuild from the scorecard.

Realistic all in ranges

Floor, if you pass first try with no prep product: about $130 to $140 for one license type (exam + fingerprints + $50 application).

With focused prep, add whatever you choose. GetLicensedTX at $12.99 per month or $69 lifetime is one example of a low add on next to the required stack.

With one failed attempt on Life and Health, add another $49, plus any extra study you buy. Two fails without a plan is how people convince themselves Texas licensing is expensive when the state fees never moved.

Temporary path: plan on the $150 TDI temporary application plus the exam fee and fingerprints, then finish the permanent steps inside the window.

Two license types (for example Life and Health plus Property and Casualty later): each type needs its own exam fee and its own $50 application. Fingerprints may already be on file if TDI still has an active submission for you. Confirm with TDI rather than assuming a free second round of prints.

Simple order that saves money

1. Pick Life only or Life and Health at getlicensedtx.com/articles/life-vs-life-and-health-texas.

2. Practice timed sets until the clock feels normal. Start free at getlicensedtx.com/diagnostic if you want a clean baseline.

3. Book Pearson and pay the exam fee when the date is real and your IDs match the name you will use everywhere.

4. Pass, then finish fingerprints with your TDI service code. Keep the IdentoGO receipt.

5. Apply through Sircon or NIPR and pay the $50 fee within one year.

6. Handle appointments after the license is issued. Do not confuse appointment fees with the first license stack.

That order protects the non refundable dollars. Study quality protects the retake dollars.

Practice before you spend the exam fee

A free timed baseline is at getlicensedtx.com/diagnostic. If you already failed once, getlicensedtx.com/lp/retake keeps the rebuild path in one place. Ask the AI Study Tutor at getlicensedtx.com/tutor when a topic stays fuzzy between timed sets.

Monthly access is $12.99. Lifetime is $69. Soft nudge, not a gate: the Pearson fee does not care how you studied, only whether you are ready when the clock starts.

Always recheck the Pearson VUE Candidate Handbook and the TDI apply pages before you pay. Fees and rules can update.