# How to Get a Non-Resident Insurance License (Steps and Fees) > How to get a non-resident insurance license in another state: the steps, what the application asks, fees in every state and DC, and why states send it back. By [Sai Giridhar Komerapudi](/authors/giridhar) Last updated September 29, 2026 To get a non-resident insurance license, hold an active resident license in good standing for the same lines of authority, submit the uniform application to the state, and pay its fee. Almost every state issues the license on reciprocity. It waives its own exam, its prelicensing course, and in most cases its fingerprints. The steps are below, followed by what the application asks and the fee in each state. The non-resident license depends on your home-state license for as long as you hold it. This guide covers individual producers. Agency and business-entity licenses have their own requirements. ## How to apply for a non-resident license 1. Confirm your home-state license and lines. The resident license has to be active and in good standing, and it has to cover each line you want in the new state. The state checks it electronically against the NAIC's State Producer Licensing Database, so look at your own record before you file. [What your home-state license has to be](#what-your-home-state-license-has-to-be) has the rules. 2. Check the state's fee and any extra step. Find the state in the [fee table](#fees-by-state), then open its state page. Florida requires [fingerprints](/state/florida). Georgia asks every applicant for a [notarized citizenship affidavit](/state/georgia). New York needs a [carrier appointment](/state/new-york) before you transact business. [Pennsylvania](/state/pennsylvania) title agents take the state's title exam. Write down any deadline the state sets. 3. [Apply through InsureTrek](/product/licensing) for the state and lines you chose. You pay InsureTrek's fee and the state's fee, and you can manage the application alongside your existing licenses. Review the information before you pay, then save the transaction reference with the receipt. Whoever takes over the file will need both. 4. Watch for deficiency notices. If the state needs more, it sends a notice. Decide before you file who answers it and by when: the applicant, or the agency contact if an agency is involved. Virginia closes an application after 30 days if documentation is missing, so a notice cannot sit. [Why applications get sent back](#why-applications-get-sent-back) lists the causes the states and the NAIC describe. 5. Verify the license once it issues. Check the name, lines, and status on the state's official record. Add the license to your [license inventory](/guides/insurance-license-tracking-software#track-your-own-licenses-as-a-producer) with its renewal rule and the date the home-state license expires, since the second date governs the first. Keep one record for each target state so a request from one state is not mistaken for a request that affects all of them. | Check | What to retain | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------- | | The products you will sell map to a line of authority you hold at home | The target state's line and any narrower scope it applies | | The resident license is active and the state licensing record is clean | Date checked and any action still to report | | The state's fee, whether it is per line or retaliatory, and who pays it | The state page's fee row and verification date | | Any state-specific step: Florida fingerprints, Georgia's affidavit, a title or bail exam | The state's instruction and the deadline it sets | | Who answers a deficiency notice and by when | Applicant contact, agency contact if involved, next check date | ## What the application asks for The form is the NAIC's Uniform Application for Individual Producer License/Registration. A non-resident applicant checks the Non-Resident License box, names the home state, and gives the home-state license number. The sections below follow the NAIC's [paper form](https://content.naic.org/sites/default/files/paper%5Flicensing%5Funiform%5Fapp%5Findividuals.pdf), a 2014 edition that notes the application is revised periodically. A state's current version can word a question differently. The application has these parts: * Demographic information: Social Security number, National Producer Number ([NPN](/glossary/npn)) if assigned, FINRA CRD number if any, name, date of birth, home address, and citizenship. The form asks for proof of eligibility to work in the U.S. only from a non-citizen applying for a resident license. It also asks for business address and contacts, a mailing address, and any other names you have used. * Agency affiliations: the FEIN, NPN, and name of each agency, completed only if you are to be licensed as an active member of the business entity. * Employment history: every position for the past five years, including part-time work, self-employment, military service, unemployment, and full-time education. The form asks you to account for all of the time. * Jurisdiction and lines: for each state, the license type (agent, broker, producer, or surplus lines producer) and the lines of authority, major and limited. * Background questions, listed below. * Certification and attestation: your signature under penalty of perjury, the designation of the state's insurance commissioner as your agent for service of process, and permission for the state to verify what you submitted. Non-resident applicants also certify that they are licensed and in good standing in the home state for the lines requested. You agree to furnish certified copies of attached documents on request. * Attachments: for a non-resident application, a state relies on an electronic check of your resident license in the NAIC's State Producer Licensing Database instead of an original Letter of Certification, unless its business rules say otherwise. Any state-specific attachments come from the state's business rules. The form says an application without required attachments may be returned unprocessed or considered deficient. These are the background questions on the NAIC form and what each asks you to attach when the answer is yes: | Question | It asks about | If yes, attach | | -------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | | 1a | A misdemeanor conviction, a deferred or withheld judgment, or a pending misdemeanor charge. Traffic citations, DUI, DWI, driving without a license, reckless driving, driving on a suspended or revoked license, and juvenile adjudications can be excluded. | A written statement, the charging document, and the document that shows how it ended | | 1b | The same for a felony. It also asks whether you applied for written consent under 18 U.S.C. § 1033 in your home state if the felony involved dishonesty or breach of trust, and whether it was granted. | The same three items, plus the home state's consent if granted | | 1c | The same for a military offense | The same three items | | 2 | Being named or involved in an administrative proceeding, including a FINRA sanction or arbitration, over a professional or occupational license. Involved includes a censure, suspension, revocation, fine, probation, a denied application, or withdrawing an application to avoid denial. Terminations solely for missed CE or an unpaid renewal fee can be excluded. | A statement naming the license type and what happened, the notice of hearing or charging document, and the document that shows the result | | 3 | A demand or judgment for overdue money owed to an insurer, insured, or producer, or a bankruptcy proceeding. Personal bankruptcies are excluded unless they involve funds held for others. | A statement summarizing the debt and the repayment arrangements, or the type and location of the bankruptcy | | 4 | A delinquent tax obligation, reported by a state you are applying to, that is not under a repayment agreement | The names of the jurisdictions | | 5 | Being a party to, or found liable in, a lawsuit, arbitration, or mediation alleging fraud, misappropriation or conversion of funds, misrepresentation, or breach of fiduciary duty | A statement, the petition or complaint, and the document that shows the resolution | | 6 | An insurance company contract or business relationship ended for alleged misconduct | A statement of what happened and why it should not prevent a license, plus the relevant documents | | 7 | A child support obligation in arrears | The months in arrears, whether you are in a repayment agreement, whether you are the subject of a related subpoena or warrant, and proof of current payments or an approved repayment plan | | 8 | Whether you are filing documents in the NAIC/NIPR Attachments Warehouse for a yes answer, and whether you are linking documents filed earlier | Documents linked to the number of the question they answer | For questions 1a to 1c, the form counts a guilty verdict, a plea of guilty, no contest, or nolo contendere, probation, a suspended sentence, and a fine as a conviction. Each state also runs its own review after that. The Uniform Licensing Standards below describe what a state can still deny on. ## Fees by state Each state sets its own fee for a non-resident producer license. The table lists it for every state and DC, and each state name links to that state's non-resident section. | State | Non-resident fee | Renewal | | ---------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------ | ---------------- | | [Alabama](/state/alabama#non-resident) | $80 | $70 | | [Alaska](/state/alaska#non-resident) | $75 | $75 | | [Arizona](/state/arizona#non-resident) | $120 | — | | [Arkansas](/state/arkansas#non-resident) | $70 | $70 | | [California](/state/california#non-resident) | $188 | $188 | | [Colorado](/state/colorado#non-resident) | $68 per line | — | | [Connecticut](/state/connecticut#non-resident) | $140 | $140 | | [Delaware](/state/delaware#non-resident) | $125 | — | | [District of Columbia](/state/district-of-columbia#non-resident) | $100 | — | | [Florida](/state/florida#non-resident) | $50, plus a per-line fee | — | | [Georgia](/state/georgia#non-resident) | $120 | $100 | | [Hawaii](/state/hawaii#non-resident) | $225 | $150 | | [Idaho](/state/idaho#non-resident) | $80 | $60 | | [Illinois](/state/illinois#non-resident) | $380 | $380 | | [Indiana](/state/indiana#non-resident) | $90, retaliatory | $90, retaliatory | | [Iowa](/state/iowa#non-resident) | $50 | — | | [Kansas](/state/kansas#non-resident) | $40 | — | | [Kentucky](/state/kentucky#non-resident) | $50 per line | — | | [Louisiana](/state/louisiana#non-resident) | $75 | — | | [Maine](/state/maine#non-resident) | $55 | — | | [Maryland](/state/maryland#non-resident) | $54 | $69 | | [Massachusetts](/state/massachusetts#non-resident) | $225 | $225 | | [Michigan](/state/michigan#non-resident) | $10 | — | | [Minnesota](/state/minnesota#non-resident) | $50 per line | $50 per line | | [Mississippi](/state/mississippi#non-resident) | $100 | — | | [Missouri](/state/missouri#non-resident) | $100 | — | | [Montana](/state/montana#non-resident) | $100 | $100 | | [Nebraska](/state/nebraska#non-resident) | Retaliatory | — | | [Nevada](/state/nevada#non-resident) | $185 | — | | [New Hampshire](/state/new-hampshire#non-resident) | $210 | $150 | | [New Jersey](/state/new-jersey#non-resident) | $170 | $150 | | [New Mexico](/state/new-mexico#non-resident) | $30 | $60 | | [New York](/state/new-york#non-resident) | $80, retaliatory | — | | [North Carolina](/state/north-carolina#non-resident) | $94, plus a per-line fee | — | | [North Dakota](/state/north-dakota#non-resident) | $100 | $25 | | [Ohio](/state/ohio#non-resident) | $10 per line | $10 per line | | [Oklahoma](/state/oklahoma#non-resident) | $100 | $100 | | [Oregon](/state/oregon#non-resident) | $75 | $45 | | [Pennsylvania](/state/pennsylvania#non-resident) | $110 | $110 | | [Rhode Island](/state/rhode-island#non-resident) | $130 | $130 | | [South Carolina](/state/south-carolina#non-resident) | $25 | $25 | | [South Dakota](/state/south-dakota#non-resident) | $30 | — | | [Tennessee](/state/tennessee#non-resident) | $50 | — | | [Texas](/state/texas#non-resident) | $50 | $50 | | [Utah](/state/utah#non-resident) | $75 | $75 | | [Vermont](/state/vermont#non-resident) | $60, retaliatory | — | | [Virginia](/state/virginia#non-resident) | $15 per line | — | | [Washington](/state/washington#non-resident) | $55 | $55 | | [West Virginia](/state/west-virginia#non-resident) | $50 | $50 | | [Wisconsin](/state/wisconsin#non-resident) | $75 per line | $70 per line | | [Wyoming](/state/wyoming#non-resident) | $150 | $150 | Fees as of August 21, 2026 or later. Each state page shows its own date and sources. A dash means the state guide lists no fee. Retaliatory means the state sets the fee by what your home state charges its residents. The fee structure varies. Many states charge non-residents the same fee as residents. Colorado, Kentucky, Minnesota, Ohio, Virginia, and Wisconsin charge per line of authority. Alabama, Texas, and Pennsylvania charge a flat fee for all lines. Florida and North Carolina add a per-line fee to a base fee. The lowest listed fee is $10, in Michigan and, per line, in Ohio. Illinois is highest at $380, against a resident fee of $215. Fees can be retaliatory. Indiana, Vermont, and New York set the non-resident fee by what your home state charges their residents, and Nebraska lists no flat fee for the same reason. South Dakota does this for renewals. The same license can cost applicants from different states different amounts. ## Processing times Processing time is set by the state, and the published figures vary by an order of magnitude. Idaho says it typically processes a complete non-resident application within 1 to 2 business days of receiving all documentation, with paper filings adding 4 to 7 days ([Idaho DOI](https://doi.idaho.gov/industry/licensing-services/apply-faq/)). Georgia's average turnaround for resident applications is 14 business days ([Georgia OCI](https://oci.georgia.gov/get-resident-insurance-agent-license)). Virginia says to allow 15 business days, or 30 to 60 business days for applications with a misdemeanor or felony conviction, and closes applications after 30 days if documentation is missing ([Virginia SCC](https://www.scc.virginia.gov/regulated-industries/bureau-of-insurance/licensed-agent/applying-for-a-individual-va-insurance-license/)). Texas publishes the received date of the filings it is currently working on and no target. On September 15, 2026, that page showed filings received the previous business day ([TDI processing dates](https://www.tdi.texas.gov/agent/agpdates.html)). The [timeline guide](/guides/insurance-license-timeline) has more state examples. These times start when the application is complete. A missing document or an unanswered state request adds to the total. ## Why applications get sent back Each cause below is one a state or the NAIC describes. * A yes on a background question without the documents. The NAIC form lists what each yes answer needs, and says an application without its required attachments may be returned unprocessed or considered deficient ([NAIC form](https://content.naic.org/sites/default/files/paper%5Flicensing%5Funiform%5Fapp%5Findividuals.pdf)). * A missing state-specific item. Georgia asks every applicant, resident or not, for a notarized Citizenship Affidavit and a secure ID document ([Georgia](/state/georgia)). Mississippi asks a producer moving in for a letter of clearance from the prior state ([Mississippi](/state/mississippi)). * A home-state record that does not match. Virginia, West Virginia, and Wisconsin describe matching your name, date of birth, license number, and NPN against your home-state record before issuing ([Virginia](/state/virginia), [West Virginia](/state/west-virginia), [Wisconsin](/state/wisconsin)). A suspension, a revocation, or an action you did not report can stall the application. * An address the state will not take. Idaho declines an individual non-resident application when the residence and business addresses are both in Idaho, and neither address can be a P.O. box or private mailbox ([NIPR's Idaho requirements](https://nipr.com/licensing-center/state-requirements/idaho-non-resident-licensing-individual)). * A line you do not hold at home. Florida says the license is only valid for the lines held in the resident state. Virginia says you must currently hold the same license you applied for ([Florida](/state/florida), [Virginia](/state/virginia)). * No answer in time. Virginia closes an application after 30 days if documentation is missing ([Virginia SCC](https://www.scc.virginia.gov/regulated-industries/bureau-of-insurance/licensed-agent/applying-for-a-individual-va-insurance-license/)). Wisconsin gives you 90 days after you submit to supply what its Office of the Commissioner of Insurance asks for ([Wisconsin OCI](https://oci.wi.gov/Pages/Agents/NonresidentLicenseApplication.aspx)). ## What it costs to keep the license ### Renewal fees and cycles Where a state guide lists a non-resident renewal fee, it runs from $25 in North Dakota and South Carolina to $380 in Illinois. Some states list none. Colorado continues a license on its CE cycle, and a Maine license is perpetual once issued. Florida licenses don't renew at all, and the [Florida](/state/florida) page has the detail. Most states renew licenses every two years. Arizona renews every four years, and Iowa, Massachusetts, and Nevada every three. Late renewal costs more in some states. Oregon charges $90 after the deadline against $45 on time ([Oregon](/state/oregon)), and Pennsylvania charges $165 to renew a lapsed license against $110 ([Pennsylvania](/state/pennsylvania)). Each state page lists its own cycle, window, and sources. ### Continuing education CE needs its own check. Section 16(B) of the Model Act says meeting your home state's CE satisfies the non-resident state's CE if the home state recognizes the reverse. Many states adopt it as written. Alabama, Colorado, and Rhode Island condition it on reciprocity, Delaware exempts non-resident producers from CE entirely, and Wisconsin applies its line-specific courses to non-residents regardless. The [CE requirements guide](/guides/insurance-ce-requirements) organizes those questions. ### If the home-state license lapses The non-resident license goes with it. The Model Act makes the home-state license a condition of the non-resident one, and states spell out the consequence in their own law. Kentucky's [KRS 304.9-140(8)](https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=57330) says the licensee must maintain the home-state license as a condition of continuing the Kentucky license, and the Kentucky license terminates if and when the home-state license terminates for any reason. [D.C. Code § 31-1131.08(h)](https://code.dccouncil.gov/us/dc/council/code/sections/31-1131.08) terminates a non-resident license and its appointments the moment the home-state authority is terminated, suspended, or revoked. The practical order is to keep the resident license current first, then the non-resident ones. ### If you move Section 8(C) of the Model Act says a non-resident producer who moves to a new state files a change of address and provides certification from the new resident state within 30 days of the change of legal residence, with no fee and no new application. Section 9(B) says you apply for a resident license in the new state within 90 days of establishing residence, with no exam and no prelicensing for lines you already held. The NAIC handbook walks through the sequence: the old home state converts your license from resident to non-resident, the other states record the address change, and the new state verifies good standing through the Producer Database and issues. States enforce the clock differently. [Idaho](/state/idaho) requires you to license as a resident within 90 days of moving or 90 days of your former home state cancelling your license, whichever comes first, and warns that missing the window can mean retesting. Idaho also cannot process the application until the prior state posts the deactivation to the Producer Database ([Idaho DOI](https://doi.idaho.gov/industry/licensing-services/other/moving-to-idaho/)). [Maryland](/state/maryland), [Massachusetts](/state/massachusetts), [Mississippi](/state/mississippi), and [Tennessee](/state/tennessee) each run a 90-day conversion window. Mississippi also asks for a letter of clearance from the prior state. ## What reciprocity means [Reciprocity](/glossary/reciprocity) is the deal states struck under the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act of 1999 and wrote into the NAIC's [Producer Licensing Model Act](https://content.naic.org/sites/default/files/model-law-218.pdf) (Model #218). Section 8 says a non-resident person shall receive a non-resident producer license if four things are true: the person is currently licensed as a resident and in good standing in their home state, has requested the license and paid the fee, has submitted the application filed in the home state or a completed Uniform Application, and comes from a home state that awards non-resident licenses to this state's residents on the same basis. Section 16 then requires the commissioner to waive any other requirement for that applicant. The NAIC's [Uniform Licensing Standards](https://content.naic.org/sites/default/files/call%5Fmaterials/Uniform%20Licensing%20Standards%20Final%20-%201.6.17.pdf) (revised January 2017) turn that into operating rules. Standard 14: if an applicant is in good standing in the home state for the lines requested, the non-resident state grants those lines without further verification of eligibility. Standard 12: states shall not fingerprint non-resident applicants. Standard 18: non-resident fees must not be so high that they become a barrier to entry. No state may require additional prelicensing or testing of a non-resident applicant. Reciprocity runs on the same basis. A state owes it to residents of states that reciprocate. Illinois, Ohio, Rhode Island, and Washington write this condition into their rules, and a few states, such as Alabama and Colorado, apply the same test to continuing education credit. The [Illinois](/state/illinois) and [Ohio](/state/ohio) pages carry the wording. It does not override a background review. Standard 14 leaves states free to deny a license on integrity, personal qualification, and background grounds. Section 17 of the Model Act requires a producer to report an administrative action taken in another jurisdiction within 30 days of its final disposition, and a criminal prosecution within 30 days of the initial pretrial hearing. Kansas and Wisconsin state that duty for non-residents on their pages. Florida adds conditions of its own. Its [non-resident general lines requirements](https://myfloridacfo.com/docs-sf/insurance-agents-and-agency-services-libraries/agents-docs/licensure/agents-adjusters/9-20-non-resident-general-lines.pdf) say you must hold a resident general lines license in your home state at the time of application and throughout the existence of the Florida license, may only solicit the lines you hold at home, and must be fingerprinted. A Florida license needs a carrier appointment to be valid and expires if unappointed for 48 months (F.S. 626.431(3)). Some license types sit outside reciprocity. Pennsylvania does not extend it to title agents, who take its title exam. Indiana excludes bail and recovery agents. Oregon lets a non-resident act only as an appointed representative of an insurer, not as a broker. Each rule is on the [Pennsylvania](/state/pennsylvania), [Indiana](/state/indiana), and [Oregon](/state/oregon) pages with its source. ## What your home-state license has to be Three things have to be true of the resident license, and they have to stay true: it is active, it is in good standing, and it covers the lines of authority you are asking for. Active means currently licensed, which is how Section 8 of the Model Act puts it. A license that has expired, lapsed for unpaid fees, or been surrendered does not qualify. If you are moving states and your prior license was cancelled, the exam exemption in Section 9 survives for 90 days after cancellation, as long as the prior state can certify you were in good standing at the time. The state checks good standing electronically, against the NAIC's State Producer Licensing Database. A record with a suspension, revocation, or an unreported action on it is what the state is looking for when it matches your name, date of birth, license number, and NPN. Lines of authority carry over from home. Florida says the license is only valid for the same lines held in the resident state. Virginia says you must currently hold the same license you applied for. If the target state has no matching line, the NAIC's [State Licensing Handbook](https://content.naic.org/sites/default/files/inline-files/Chapter%204.pdf) says the state issues a license with the same scope of authority as the one your home state granted, and no more. ## What NIPR does and does not do NIPR, the [National Insurance Producer Registry](/guides/what-is-nipr), runs the Producer Database (PDB), a national database built from what the states report. Section 8(B) of the Model Act lets a commissioner verify a non-resident applicant's status through the producer database the NAIC maintains, and the Uniform Licensing Standards make that electronic check the required verification method for the exam exemption. The PDB is also where a prior state's cancellation shows up a cancellation, which is why Idaho cannot act on a conversion until the deactivation appears there. NIPR does not issue, deny, or renew a license. Each state's insurance department decides, and each license remains a separate state license with its own fee, term, and renewal rule. NIPR does not merge them or make one state's approval binding on another. The [NPN](/glossary/npn) is the identifier that ties your records together across states. It is not a license. Florida is the notable exception on renewals: its licenses, non-resident ones included, don't renew at all. A Florida license stays in force while it's appointed and expires after 48 months without an appointment, so there's no Florida renewal for NIPR to process. The [Florida](/state/florida) page has the detail. ## Before you write business in the new state An issued license completes the state's part. Ask the carrier or your contracting contact what remains before you write in the new state. Aetna's [Medicare producer guidance](https://www.aetna.com/medicare/for-producers.html), for example, sets certification, contracting, and licensing conditions and files appointments according to state law. InsureTrek [reports on appointments](/product/appointments); the carrier files them. ## See InsureTrek on your own producer data 30 minutes with our team. We'll quote pricing for your organization. [Book a demo](/demo)