PassProfessor’s North Dakota program is part of the expanding PassProfessor catalog. The 9,994-question North Dakota practice bank is built and audited, and enrollment opens as the catalog expands. Join the notify list and we will email you when enrollment opens — then use this guide to plan your path to the exam.
This program is part of the expanding PassProfessor catalog — join the notify list and we’ll email you when enrollment opens.
1. The North Dakota P&C exams, in one paragraph
North Dakota licenses property and casualty producers through two separate examinations administered by PSI Services LLC for the North Dakota Insurance & Securities Department: the Property (Product and Laws) exam and the Casualty (Product and Laws) exam. Each exam is 110 multiple-choice questions in 150 minutes — 40 questions on North Dakota state content and 70 on general insurance knowledge — and each is passed with 70%, at least 77 of 110 correct. You must pass each exam independently for the lines you want; there is no combined property-and-casualty sitting. North Dakota requires no pre-licensing education, so the path is direct: pass the exam or exams, complete a fingerprint-based criminal history check, and apply for the resident producer license through NIPR within one year of passing.
2. Who can take the North Dakota exams?
To qualify as a North Dakota resident insurance producer, the Department’s requirements — as PSI’s candidate bulletin states them — are that you:
- Be a resident of North Dakota or maintain your principal place of business in the state.
- Be at least 18 years old.
- Be trustworthy, competent, financially responsible, and of good personal and business reputation.
- Pass the examination for each line of insurance you are applying for — the Property exam for the property line, the Casualty exam for the casualty line, both for full P&C authority.
- Pay all applicable fees.
- Have had no insurance license revoked or suspended in any state, province, district, or territory as of the date of application.
- Complete a criminal history record check, including fingerprints (see §5).
Two points deserve emphasis because candidates get them wrong:
No pre-licensing education is required — at all. The Department states it plainly on its resident-producer application page: “North Dakota law does not require classroom instruction for an applicant preparing for examinations. Preparation can be done by classroom instruction or self-study and applicants will not have to provide verification of study to the North Dakota Insurance & Securities Department or the testing center.” Because no instruction is required, the Department does not approve or regulate prelicensing providers and cannot recommend one. How well you prepare is entirely up to you; that the exams must be passed is not optional.
Background disclosure is broad. On the license application you must disclose all criminal convictions and pending charges, with narrow exclusions the Department lists (certain misdemeanor traffic matters and juvenile offenses). A felony involving dishonesty or breach of trust bars participation in the business of insurance under North Dakota law, and a license cannot be issued to a person with that conviction. If you are unsure whether something must be disclosed, the Department directs you to ask its Producer Licensing Division before you submit — incomplete disclosure can itself sink an application.
New residents. If you held a resident license in your previous state within the last 90 days, you are exempt from North Dakota’s examination requirements for the lines you held, and you apply for the resident license without testing. You cannot hold an active resident license in another state at the same time.
3. The exams, piece by piece
Each exam follows the same architecture — 40 state questions and 70 general questions — but the content is line-specific, built from PSI’s separate 2026 North Dakota outlines. The state block is not identical between the two exams: Insurance Regulation appears on both with different weights, and each exam carries its own North Dakota laws section.
Property (Product and Laws) — 110 questions, 150 minutes
| Section | Questions | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| State content (40) | ||
| Insurance Regulation | 14 | Licensing process and licensee types, maintenance and renewal, disciplinary actions, the Commissioner’s duties and powers, unfair claims and trade practices, appointments, fraud regulation |
| North Dakota Laws and Regulations Pertaining to Property Insurance | 26 | Producer and company responsibilities (countersignature, binders, cancellation and nonrenewal, agency-contract termination), property provisions (valued policy law, standard fire policy law, form requirements), the North Dakota Insurance Guaranty Association |
| General content (70) | ||
| Federal Laws and Regulations | 3 | Fair Credit Reporting Act, flood insurance education (NFIP), privacy |
| General Insurance Concepts | 14 | Risk and its handling, insurer classifications, elements of a contract, producer authority and agency law, legal interpretations affecting contracts |
| Property Insurance Basics | 22 | Insurable interest, underwriting, rate development, hazards, perils, loss types and valuation, policy structure and clauses, coinsurance |
| Dwelling Policy Concepts | 3 | Dwelling forms, perils, coverages A–E, conditions, exclusions, endorsements |
| Homeowners Policy Concepts | 11 | HO forms, Section I and Section II coverages, exclusions, conditions, endorsements |
| Commercial Property Policies | 9 | Commercial package and property forms, causes of loss, crime, equipment breakdown, inland marine, farm coverage |
| Businessowners Policy | 5 | BOP property and liability sections, limits, deductibles, conditions |
| Other Types of Property Insurance | 3 | Mobile home, earthquake, flood — purpose and general characteristics |
| Total scored-format questions | 110 | Plus 5–10 unscored experimental items may be added (see below) |
Casualty (Product and Laws) — 110 questions, 150 minutes
| Section | Questions | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| State content (40) | ||
| Insurance Regulation | 10 | Licensing, maintenance, discipline, the Commissioner’s powers, unfair practices, appointments, fraud regulation — the casualty-side weighting of the shared regulation material |
| North Dakota Laws and Regulations Pertaining to Casualty Insurance | 30 | Producer and company responsibilities, casualty provisions, required auto coverages and financial responsibility, the Auto Accident Reparations Act (personal injury protection), uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage, the North Dakota Automobile Insurance Plan, the North Dakota Insurance Guaranty Association |
| General content (70 per the outline header) | ||
| Federal Laws and Regulations | 2 | Fair Credit Reporting Act, privacy |
| General Insurance Concepts | 14 | Risk, insurer classifications, contract elements, agency authority, legal interpretations — shared with the Property outline |
| Casualty Insurance Basics | 22 | Damages, liability types, negligence and torts, underwriting, policy structure and clauses, limits of liability |
| Personal Automobile Policy | 11 | Liability, medical payments, UM/UIM, physical damage, duties after loss, endorsements |
| Commercial Automobile Policy | 5 | Covered autos (hired, non-owned), liability, physical damage, selected endorsements |
| Commercial General Liability | 8 | CGL coverages, occurrence vs claims-made, premises/operations, products/completed operations, contractual liability |
| Other Types of Casualty Insurance | 5 | Specialty liability (D&O, E&O, employment practices, cyber), umbrella and excess, surety contracts |
| Total | 110 per the outline header and bulletin | See the discrepancy note below |
A published discrepancy, disclosed rather than smoothed over. The Property outline’s printed section counts sum exactly to 110. The Casualty outline’s printed section counts sum to 107 — its general sections add to 67 against the header’s stated 70 — even though the outline header and the PSI bulletin both state 110 items (40 state + 70 general) and the bulletin requires 77 correct answers, which is 70% of 110. The discrepancy is in PSI’s published Casualty document itself. Prepare against the 110-question, 40/70 structure the bulletin enforces; treat the individual general-section counts as the outline’s printed weights, not as a promise that they sum perfectly.
Experimental questions. PSI’s bulletin states that, in addition to the items in the outlines, a small number (5 to 10) of experimental questions may be administered during an examination. They are not scored — they are how future exam questions are evaluated — and they are indistinguishable from the rest. There is no strategy for them other than treating every question as one that counts.
One score per exam, independently. Each exam produces its own pass/fail result at the 70% line. Passing Property does not bank progress on Casualty beyond satisfying that line’s requirement, and a fail on one exam leaves the other untouched — you retake only what you failed (§6).
4. The passing standard, explained
You pass each exam with 70% — at least 77 of the 110 questions correct. PSI’s exam table states the standard directly as a percentage and a number of correct answers needed (77), which makes North Dakota’s bar unusually transparent:
- There is no separate pass mark for the state and general blocks. The 40 state questions and 70 general questions combine into the exam’s single result. A weak state block can be offset by a strong general block within the same exam — and the reverse is equally true, which is why the state sections deserve real study time despite being the minority of questions.
- Your result is immediate. Your score is displayed on screen when you finish, and a score report is emailed to you. If you did not pass, the emailed report includes diagnostic information showing your strengths and weaknesses by examination type — the most useful document you own if you are planning a retake.
- Results reach the state quickly. PSI electronically notifies the Department of your result within 48 hours of a passing exam. Scores are confidential — released only to you and the Department.
Neither PSI nor the Department publishes a North Dakota pass rate for these exams in the sources for this guide, so this page states none. What can be said from the structure alone: 70% of 110 is a real bar, 40 of those questions test one state’s statutes and rules, and candidates who prepare only from national material are voluntarily under-preparing more than a third of each exam.
5. Fees and registration, step by step
Keep the payments separate — they go to different places at different times, and two of them changed recently enough that older websites still show superseded figures.
| Payment | Amount | Paid to | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| Exam fee — Property | $67 | PSI | When you schedule each exam |
| Exam fee — Casualty | $67 | PSI | When you schedule each exam |
| Fingerprint — state/federal check | $43 | North Dakota Attorney General (check or money order only — no credit cards) | With your fingerprint submission (fee effective October 1, 2026) |
| Fingerprint — PSI processing (only if fingerprinted at a PSI center) | $29 | PSI | At the fingerprint appointment |
| License application | $100 | North Dakota Insurance & Securities Department, via NIPR | After you pass, when you apply |
Exam fees are not refundable or transferable, and an exam fee remains valid for one year from the date of payment. A candidate pursuing both lines should budget $134 in exam fees, $100 for the license, and the fingerprint charges — $237 to $266 before any optional study materials.
The sequence, in order:
- Create a PSI account and schedule. Go to PSI’s North Dakota insurance site (test-takers.psiexams.com/ndins), sign in or create an account — your first and last name must match your government-issued ID exactly — choose your exam, test center, date, and time, and pay the $67 fee. You can also register by phone at (855) 340-3905. Testing is in person only: PSI’s current bulletin announces that remote proctored examinations are no longer available effective April 24, 2026. In-state centers are in Bismarck (two locations), Fargo, and Minot (two locations), and PSI notes the exams may also be taken at PSI centers in other states.
- Handle fingerprinting. Every initial resident applicant must provide fingerprints for a state and national criminal history records check — with one hard-copy wrinkle: the Department does not accept digital fingerprints submitted electronically (it names Fieldprint as not accepted) and requires hard-copy fingerprint cards. Two PSI centers — Bismarck (120 N. 3rd St.) and Fargo (4575 23rd Ave. S.) — offer LiveScan fingerprinting during regular testing hours, including on your exam day; PSI mails your signed consent form, fingerprint card, and the $43 Attorney General payment directly to the Department. You may also be fingerprinted at other locations, including law enforcement centers; if you are, you are responsible for mailing the sealed, initialed card(s), the completed Criminal History Record Check Request consent form, and the $43 payment to the Department yourself. Applicants who already hold a valid North Dakota license and are adding a line do not need to be fingerprinted again.
- Take the exam (or exams). Arrive 30 minutes early with your identification (§7). Your score appears on screen at the end.
- Apply for the license — after passing. Submit the NAIC Uniform Application electronically through NIPR (www.nipr.com) with the $100 fee. If you answer “yes” to a background question, your written statement and court documents go through NIPR’s Attachments Warehouse, by email to the Department, or by mail to Producer Licensing in Bismarck — website printouts of court records are not acceptable. Adding a line of authority to an active license carries no additional license fee; you may first transact business in a new line on the date the Department issues it.
6. Retakes and score validity
- Unlimited retakes. The bulletin states it directly: “You may retest an unlimited number of times.” There is no cap on attempts and no long waiting period — but you cannot book a new appointment on the same day you tested. PSI’s example: a candidate who tests unsuccessfully on a Wednesday can call Thursday and retest as soon as Friday, depending on space availability. The $67 fee applies to each attempt.
- Retake only what you failed. The exams are independent. Fail Casualty and your Property pass stands; you rebook Casualty alone.
- Score validity — one year to get licensed. PSI’s bulletin states that a passing score is valid for one year: complete your application and fingerprinting and be licensed inside that window, or the examination must be retaken. The bulletin adds a longer tail for people who do get licensed: a successfully completed examination remains valid while a North Dakota producer license is continuously held, and for 12 months following cancellation of that license, unless it was suspended or revoked.
- Rescheduling. You may cancel and reschedule without forfeiting your fee if PSI receives your notice 2 days before the scheduled date (for a Monday appointment, by the previous Saturday). Voicemail and email are not accepted as cancellation — use the PSI website or speak to a representative. Miss the appointment, arrive late, cancel late, or arrive without proper ID, and the fee is forfeited.
7. Test day
- Arrive 30 minutes early for sign-in and identification checks. Arriving late can mean you are not admitted and your fee is forfeited.
- Bring one form of identification: government-issued, current, with your name, signature, and photograph — a driver’s license, state ID, passport or passport card, military ID, or alien registration card. No temporary identification is accepted, and your registration name must match the ID.
- You are given scratch paper and a pencil, which you return at check-out. Essentially everything else is prohibited in the testing room: phones and all electronic devices (including smart watches and calculators), reference materials, hats and headgear not worn for religious reasons, bulky outerwear, bags, wallets, food, and drinks. Expect to empty and turn out your pockets; proctors may inspect eyeglass frames and ask you to lift sleeve and pant cuffs. Companions may not wait inside the testing center.
- During the exam, you may leave the room only for the restroom, with the proctor’s permission, and the clock does not stop. You can flag questions with comments for PSI’s review — PSI notes that substantive comments are analyzed and can lead to results being re-evaluated, and that this comment process is the only examination review available.
- Accommodations. PSI centers provide ADA access; candidates who need alternative arrangements request them through PSI. Candidates whose primary language is not English may qualify for an ESL authorization of time-and-a-half, requested with a personal letter and a letter from an English instructor or sponsor.
- Weather and emergencies. If severe weather or an emergency closes your center, PSI reschedules your exam at no additional charge and attempts to contact you; you can check your appointment status at (855) 340-3905.
- Results are immediate — on screen at the end, by email after, and viewable in your PSI account. If you passed, PSI notifies the Department within 48 hours, and your next step is the NIPR application in §5.
8. After you pass: keeping the license
Licensing is not the last administrative step, just the last one before you can work:
- Appointment. Holding the license gives you the authority; being appointed by an insurance company is what lets you sell that company’s products. Appointments are arranged with each carrier, and North Dakota’s regulation sections — tested on both exams — cover appointment and termination of appointment for a reason.
- Renewal. A producer license renews biennially: submit the renewal through NIPR within 90 days before expiration and pay the $25 renewal fee by the last day of your birth month. North Dakota allows no grace period — miss the date and the license and appointments are canceled, and you reapply as an initial applicant at $100 (reinstatement within the following year is possible under the bulletin’s terms if continuing education is in compliance).
- Continuing education. Resident producers complete 24 hours of continuing education biennially, including 3 hours of ethics. CE providers have 15 days to file your credits with the Department — courses finished in the last two weeks before your deadline may not post in time, so do not leave CE to the final fortnight.
- Changes. Notify the Department of a name or address change within 30 days; address, email, and phone updates can be reported through NIPR at no charge.
9. How to study for these exams
Two exams, one study logic: each is 40% state content by design (40 of 110), and the state material is the most learnable — and most commonly skipped — part of both.
- Treat the state sections as their own subject. The Property exam’s 26-question North Dakota laws section (valued policy law, the standard fire policy law, cancellation grounds and the five-day-notice conditions, countersignature, the Guaranty Association) and the Casualty exam’s 30-question section (the Auto Accident Reparations Act’s PIP benefit categories, UM/UIM rules, financial responsibility, the Automobile Insurance Plan) are concrete, statute-based, and heavily weighted. Insurance Regulation adds 14 more state questions on Property and 10 on Casualty. On the Casualty exam, state content is the single largest block on the test.
- Learn the shared sections once, use them twice. General Insurance Concepts (14 questions on each exam) and much of Insurance Regulation appear on both outlines. Study them once and they pay out on both sittings — one reason taking the two exams reasonably close together is efficient.
- Give the two Basics sections their combined weight. Property Insurance Basics (22) and Casualty Insurance Basics (22) are the largest general sections on their respective exams — valuation, coinsurance, and policy clauses on one side; negligence, damages, and limits of liability on the other. Policy forms come next: homeowners (11) and personal auto (11) are the heaviest single-form sections.
- Practice each exam at full length, against its own clock. 110 questions in 150 minutes is about 80 seconds per question, and the 5–10 experimental items stretch the sitting, not the clock. Full simulations for the specific exam you are about to sit — not mixed quizzes — build the pacing each sitting demands.
- Read every explanation, especially for questions you got right. A right answer from a wrong reason is a wrong answer waiting for a different question. On statute-based state questions especially, the explanation is where the rule — and its exceptions — actually gets learned.
- Book each exam when its simulations say so. Consistent full-exam practice at comfortably above 70% for the Property outline, then book Property; repeat for Casualty. If a sitting goes badly, the emailed diagnostic report tells you which sections to rebuild — and you can be back in a test center within days, not months.
PassProfessor’s North Dakota practice bank (9,994 questions, including 1,433 under the two North Dakota laws-and-regulations topics and 1,067 more under Insurance Regulation) is built on these same two PSI outlines, with generated practice exams available for each exam and for each outline section. The North Dakota Insurance Exam Prep program page shows the full coverage table — and the notify list there will email you when enrollment opens.
10. Frequently asked questions
How many questions are on the North Dakota property and casualty exams?
110 questions on each exam — 40 state questions and 70 general questions — with 150 minutes per exam. PSI may add 5 to 10 unscored experimental questions to a sitting. Across both exams, a full P&C candidate answers 220 outline questions.
Are the North Dakota Property and Casualty exams combined?
No. They are two separate PSI examinations, scheduled, sat, and passed separately. Each individual exam is a one-part exam combining product content (“Product”) and laws and regulations (“Laws”) — North Dakota moved from a two-part format to this one-part format on March 1, 2022.
What score do I need to pass?
70% on each exam — at least 77 of 110 questions correct. The standard applies per exam; scores do not average across the two sittings.
Does North Dakota require pre-licensing education?
No. North Dakota law does not require classroom instruction before the exams, no verification of study is ever requested, and the Department does not approve or regulate prelicensing providers. Preparation is self-directed — classroom, self-study, or practice-based — and entirely your responsibility.
How much do the North Dakota exams cost?
$67 per exam, paid to PSI — $134 for both the Property and Casualty exams. Exam fees are non-refundable and non-transferable. The license application afterward is $100 through NIPR, and fingerprinting costs $43 to the North Dakota Attorney General plus $29 to PSI if you use a PSI center’s fingerprinting service.
How do I register for the exams?
Create an account at PSI’s North Dakota insurance site (test-takers.psiexams.com/ndins) and schedule online, or call (855) 340-3905. Your account name must match your government ID exactly.
Can I take the North Dakota insurance exams online?
Not anymore. PSI’s current bulletin announces that remote proctored examinations are no longer available effective April 24, 2026. Exams are taken in person at PSI testing locations — Bismarck, Fargo, and Minot in-state, plus PSI centers in other states.
What happens after I pass?
Apply electronically through NIPR with the $100 fee and complete the fingerprint background check if you have not already. Your passing score is valid for one year, so finish the application inside that year. Once licensed, you still need an appointment from each insurer whose products you will sell.
How long is my passing score valid?
One year for licensing purposes. If you are licensed within that year and hold the license continuously, the examination remains valid while you hold it and for 12 months after a cancellation (unless the license was suspended or revoked).
If I fail, how soon can I retake?
You may retest an unlimited number of times. You cannot rebook for the same day; you can schedule the day after testing and sit again as early as the day after that, subject to availability. Each attempt costs $67, and you retake only the exam you failed.
What North Dakota-specific topics do the exams cover?
On the Property exam: valued policy law, the standard fire policy law, cancellation and nonrenewal rules, countersignature and binders, and the North Dakota Insurance Guaranty Association. On the Casualty exam: the Auto Accident Reparations Act (North Dakota’s no-fault personal injury protection system and its benefit categories), required auto coverages and financial responsibility, uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage, the North Dakota Automobile Insurance Plan, and the Guaranty Association. Both exams test licensing, the Commissioner’s powers, unfair practices, and appointments under Insurance Regulation. (Two often-guessed topics are not on these outlines: North Dakota’s state workers’ compensation system and any state fire/tornado fund — neither appears in PSI’s 2026 outlines.)
Do I need fingerprints if I already hold a North Dakota license?
No. Fingerprinting is required of initial resident applicants; a producer who already holds a valid North Dakota license and is adding a line of authority is not required to be fingerprinted again. It is also not required at renewal.
What identification do I need on test day?
One government-issued, current identification bearing your name, signature, and photograph — driver’s license, state ID, passport, military ID, or alien registration card. Temporary identification is not accepted, and the name must match your PSI registration.
Are PassProfessor’s questions the real exam questions?
No. They are original questions written from scratch to PSI’s published North Dakota outlines and North Dakota law. This program is exam preparation only: it is not pre-licensing education, provides no education credit, and is not affiliated with the North Dakota Insurance & Securities Department or PSI.
Disclaimer
PassProfessor is an independent exam-preparation provider and is not affiliated with the North Dakota Insurance & Securities Department, PSI, or any state agency or exam vendor. This guide is general information about the North Dakota licensing exam, current as of October 2026; the North Dakota Insurance & Securities Department and PSI publications govern if anything here differs from them.