MinnesotaOverview
Minnesota licenses insurance producers through the Department of Commerce, with applications and renewals processed through an outside vendor rather than a state-run portal. Producers can submit their license application before passing the exam, but Commerce won't approve the license until the exam is passed. Fingerprinting is required for every applicant, either electronically at a PSI test center or manually through a local police station. Minnesota Statutes chapter 60K governs individual producers; chapter 72B covers adjusters, a separate license the state issues to residents and non-residents alike.
How to get licensed
Complete 20 hours of prelicensing education per line
Minnesota requires 20 hours of Commerce-approved prelicensing education for each line of authority before you sit for the exam. Confirm your course provider is active and approved with Commerce before you enroll.
Register for and pass your exam with PSI
Minnesota uses PSI as its exam vendor, with test centers in the Twin Cities, Duluth, Mankato, Rochester, and several other cities. Call PSI at (866) 395-1006 for scheduling help.
Get fingerprinted
If you test at a Minnesota PSI center, your fingerprints are taken electronically right after you pass, along with a background check consent form. If you're exempt from the exam, you can still get fingerprinted electronically during PSI's walk-in hours, or go to a local police station for manual fingerprinting and mail the card with a $32 check to the Department of Commerce.
Apply for your license
The fastest path is to apply through InsureTrek — we file your Minnesota application for the state's $50 per-line fee, pulled from NIPR at the moment of application. You can submit before passing your exam, but Commerce won't approve the license until it's on file that you passed.
Get appointed to transact business
A license alone doesn't let you sell — an insurer must appoint you before you transact business, per Minn. Stat. § 60K.49. You can start selling once the insurer grants permission, as long as the appointment itself is filed within 15 days of your first application.
Prelicensing education
Life: 20 hours Accident and Health: 20 hours Property: 20 hours Casualty: 20 hours Personal Lines: 20 hours 20 hours are required per line of authority; Commerce's education page does not list a designation-based (CLU, CPCU, etc.) waiver, so check with your prelicensing provider if you hold one.
Exam
Vendor: PSI.
Fingerprinting
Required. Vendor: PSI (electronic) or local law enforcement (manual). Manual fingerprinting by mail costs a $32 check payable to the Department of Commerce; PSI's electronic fee at the test center isn't published by the Department.
Fees
| Fee | Initial | Renewal |
|---|---|---|
| Resident producer license (per line of authority) Plus a technology surcharge of up to $10, both at initial application and renewal. | $50 | $50 |
| Non-resident producer license (per line of authority) Same $50-per-line fee and technology surcharge as residents. | $50 | $50 |
| Resident agency (business entity) license | $200 | $200 |
| Resident individual proprietor agency | $0 | $0 |
| Resident crop hail, independent, or public adjuster agency | $50 | $50 |
Fees as of 2026-08-21. Fees change without much notice. When you apply through InsureTrek, we always use the current fee at the moment of application. Sources: NIPR – Minnesota resident individual licensing, NIPR – Minnesota non-resident individual licensing, NIPR – Minnesota resident business licensing, Commerce Dept. – License Renewal
Renewing an insurance license in Minnesota
Renewal window — Minnesota licenses remain active indefinitely as long as you renew by each license's own expiration date. You can renew up to 90 days before that date; renewing earlier returns an NPDB error saying no license is due for renewal yet.
Grace period: 12 months from the renewal due date to reinstate without retaking the exam, with a penalty of twice the unpaid renewal fee. Miss that window and you must reapply from scratch, including retesting and refingerprinting if required.
The renewal fee matches the initial fee: $50 per line of authority plus the current technology surcharge. Check your CE transcript before renewing — Commerce won't approve a renewal until the transcript shows you were compliant as of your expiration date, and course providers (not Commerce) are responsible for uploading completed courses.
24 total CE hours per renewal term, including 3 ethics hours.
At least 12 of the 24 hours must come from courses not sponsored by, offered by, or affiliated with an insurance company or its agents. No credit for repeating the same course in the same licensing period, and no more than 8 CE hours count in a single day.
Non-resident insurance license in Minnesota
Minnesota licenses non-resident producers who hold an active home-state license in good standing, waiving its own prelicensing, exam, and CE requirements only if that state extends the same courtesy to Minnesota residents (Minn. Stat. § 60K.39, § 60K.53). Apply through InsureTrek for the same $50-per-line fee plus technology surcharge that residents pay.
Apply for a non-resident Minnesota license through InsureTrek, plus the state fee.
For the rules shared across states, see how non-resident insurance licenses work.
For agencies
Agencies, appointments & DRLP
Minnesota licenses agencies as a separate business entity, filed through InsureTrek for a $200 fee. Corporate/partnership agencies and individual proprietorship agencies are the two main structures Commerce lists. At least one owner, partner, officer, or director must be an individual, and the entity must designate a licensed producer responsible for the agency's compliance with Minnesota law.
An insurer must appoint a producer before that producer can transact business in Minnesota, though the producer can hold a license first. Under Minn. Stat. § 60K.49, the insurer has 15 days from the first application (or the date the agency contract is signed) to file the appointment, and the commissioner then has 30 days to verify eligibility.
Appointments — Just-in-time appointments: A producer may start transacting business with an insurer's permission as soon as the insurer commits to appoint them, provided the appointment itself is filed within 15 days of the first application — Minnesota's just-in-time window. Deadlines: Terminations, for cause or not, must be reported to the commissioner within 30 days of the effective date (Minn. Stat. § 60K.51). The insurer then has 15 more days to mail the producer a copy, and the producer gets 30 days after receiving it to file written comments that become part of their file.
Managing DRLPs across states? See how InsureTrek handles it →
Official resources
- Minnesota Department of Commerce — licensing
- DOI phone: 651-539-1599
Terms used on this page
Sources & disclaimer
This guide is informational and summarizes publicly available state and NIPR licensing rules as of 2026-09-06. Requirements change — verify current rules with the Minnesota Department of Commerce or NIPR before you rely on anything here.
Official NIPR reseller · Applications filed through InsureTrek are submitted via NIPR.
- Commerce Dept. – Business Entities — accessed 2026-08-19
- Commerce Dept. – Education for Licensees (prelicensing/CE) — accessed 2026-08-19
- Commerce Dept. – Insurance licensing — accessed 2026-08-19
- Commerce Dept. – License Renewal — accessed 2026-08-21
- Commerce Dept. – Resident Producers — accessed 2026-08-19
- Commerce Dept. – Scheduling exams — accessed 2026-08-19
- Minn. Stat. § 60K.38 (renewal and reinstatement) — accessed 2026-08-19
- Minn. Stat. § 60K.49 (appointments) — accessed 2026-08-19
- Minn. Stat. § 60K.51 (termination notice) — accessed 2026-08-19
- NIPR – Minnesota non-resident individual licensing — accessed 2026-08-19
- NIPR – Minnesota resident business licensing — accessed 2026-08-19
- NIPR – Minnesota resident individual licensing — accessed 2026-08-19