Monitor Your CE Credits to Ensure a Smoother License Renewal

You already know that California, Nevada, and other states have a Continuing Education (CE) Credit requirement if you want to renew your state insurance license.

Accident and Health, Life-Only, and Personal Lines Broker-Agent licensees in California must complete 24 hours of CE for every two-year license term. Individual Nevada licensees must complete 30 hours of CE during the three-year license term and prior to license expiration. Both states require three hours of Ethics CE training as part of their requirements.

In California, additional training requirements apply in connection with Long Term Care Insurance or the sale of Annuities. Visit the California Department of Insurance Continuing Education Program Requirements page for details.

CE Exemptions

Any person meeting specified conditions can seek a California exemption as it relates to Continuing Education requirements if he/she/they:

Are 70 years of age or older, and
Have 30 continuous years as a licensee in good standing .

Any licensee who maintains eligibility for 30 continuous years without any disciplinary action is considered to be in good standing. Eligibility is maintained by renewing a license within one year. Licensees with a break in their license caused by late renewals or transferring between employers may still qualify for an exemption.

The exemption from the CE requirement for licensees 70 years of age and in good standing for 30 continuous years does not apply to those licensed for the first time on or after January 1, 2010.

If you believe you qualify for the CE exemption, please contact the California Department of Insurance Licensing Hotline at (800) 967-9331 or email the Producer Licensing Bureau using the online form. (Please note, a CE exemption does not negate the requirement for specific education requirements for LTC or annuity contracts.)

Nevada permits an exemption of CE requirements under certain circumstances, including if a licensee certifies that he/she/they:

Has earned and continues to maintain a designation as a chartered property casualty underwriter (CPCU), chartered life underwriter (CLU), certified insurance counselor (CIC), certified financial planner (CFP) or chartered financial consultant (ChFC); or
Has 20 years of continuous experience and has earned his/her/their primary source of income in the business of insurance by selling, marketing, underwriting, adjusting, practicing law, managing, regulating, or engaging in any combination of these fields of insurance.

For more information on Nevada Producer licensing, visit the Nevada Department of Business and Industry, Division of Insurance, web page. CE requirements appear about two-thirds down the page.

Training Options to Earn CE Credits

There are many options when it comes to earning your required CE Credits. Some courses are available for free, such as those offered by regional or state health underwriter associations. For California brokers, there’s also Word & Brown’s annual “Week of Webinars,” also known as WOW, hosted annually in June. (Sorry, Nevada brokers are ineligible for CE Credits from WOW due to a difference in state guidelines.)

Courses are also available through commercial education providers like A.D. Banker and Kaplan Financial, among others, as well online only providers, such as WebCE.

You can find California education providers through the state website, or you can search for specific courses using a California DOI link. Nevada education providers are listed on the Division of Insurance website. Additional online resources for Nevada brokers include Sircon and the National Insurance Producer Register (NIPR), which you can link to from the Division of Insurance site.

How to Track Your Hours

The sponsor for any CE Courses will report your participation and earned credits to the appropriate state authority. The CE provider has 30 days from your course completion date to submit the student roster to the insurance department. If it has been more than 30 days since you completed a course, contact the provider to verify both your social security and license numbers and request that the student roster be sent to California or Nevada.

To check your California CE hours online, visit the state’s License Status Inquiry Web page.

Nevada licensees can look up CE Credits using the DOI link to the Sircon website.

Submit Hours 60 Days Before Renewal

It’s strongly recommended that you complete your required CE Credit hours at least 60 days in advance of the expiration date of your license. That will ensure sufficient time for your education provider(s) to submit the necessary information and for state agencies to update your records.

If your CE Credit hours are completed near or at the end of your renewal term, your license renewal could be delayed while your CE Credits are processed. For example, if your license expires in July and you take part in Word & Brown’s WOW event, the California DOI may not record your CE Credits until July or August – after your license expiration. However, your WOW CE Credits will count toward your renewal, once processed.