PassProfessor’s Tennessee program is part of the expanding PassProfessor catalog. The 9,651-question Tennessee practice bank — built for both of Tennessee’s separate Property and Casualty exams — 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 exams.
This program is part of the expanding PassProfessor catalog — join the notify list and we’ll email you when enrollment opens.
The Tennessee P&C exams, in one paragraph
Tennessee does not license property and casualty producers with a single combined exam. The Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance (TDCI) requires two separate examinations, administered by Pearson VUE: the Property exam (InsTN-Prop03) and the Casualty exam (InsTN-Cas04). Each exam shows you 77 multiple-choice questions in 1 hour 45 minutes — 68 scored (50 on general insurance knowledge and 18 on Tennessee laws and departmental rules) plus 9 unscored pretest questions you cannot identify — and each is passed with its own scaled score of 70. You must pass both. Tennessee requires no pre-licensing education for these two lines, so the path is short to describe and entirely exam-driven: pass both exams, complete a fingerprint-based background check, and apply to TDCI through NIPR.
Who can take the Tennessee Property and Casualty exams?
Tennessee’s requirements for a resident producer license are set by TDCI, and the candidate handbook states them plainly. Before the Commissioner approves a license application, TDCI must be satisfied that:
- You are at least 18 years old.
- You reside in Tennessee (a resident license is an election of Tennessee residency; holding or claiming resident status in another state voids it).
- You are competent, trustworthy, financially responsible, and have a good business reputation. This is the character standard TDCI applies when it reviews your application and your fingerprint-based background check; TDCI, not Pearson VUE, makes the final decision on whether to license any applicant.
- You have passed the examination for each line of authority you are applying for. Tennessee’s rules require a separate examination for each line of insurance — for property and casualty authority, that means both the Property exam and the Casualty exam.
And one requirement Tennessee does not impose:
- No pre-licensing education. Unlike many states, Tennessee sets no classroom or course hours you must complete before sitting for the Property or Casualty exams. The handbook’s application procedure for exam-required resident producers contains no education step at all — schedule, pass, fingerprint, apply. (The one place “pre-licensing education” appears in Tennessee’s outlines is the Title line, a different license. If you are pursuing Property and Casualty only, there is no course certificate anyone will ask you for.) Preparation is entirely your choice — which makes the quality of your preparation the variable you control.
Two related points worth knowing before you start:
- A license is not yet permission to sell. Even after TDCI issues your producer license, the handbook is explicit that you may not engage in the business of insurance until you are contracted (appointed) by an insurer. Licensure first, appointment second, selling third.
- Temporary licenses exist but are narrow. TDCI may issue a temporary license without examination in specific circumstances — for example, to a surviving spouse or court-appointed representative of a deceased or disabled producer, or to the designee of a producer entering active military service. It is an emergency bridge for an existing business, not an alternative entry path for new producers.
The exams, piece by piece
Each exam is built from Pearson VUE’s Tennessee content outlines (publication #124301, effective October 7, 2026). The two exams share a shape — 50 general-knowledge questions and 18 Tennessee-specific questions — but different content, and the Tennessee-specific part is itself split: 14 questions on rules common to Life, Accident and Health, Property and Casualty insurance, and 4 questions on rules pertinent to that exam’s line only.
The Property exam (68 scored + 9 pretest = 77 on screen, 1 hour 45 minutes)
| Section | Scored questions | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| General knowledge | ||
| I. Types of Policies | 22 | Homeowners (HO-2 through HO-8), dwelling, commercial property and package policies, BOP, inland marine, flood, farm, and other property forms |
| II. Insurance Terms and Related Concepts | 15 | Risk, hazards, indemnity, valuation, coinsurance, vacancy, negligence and liability concepts as they frame property coverage |
| III. Policy Provisions and Contract Law | 13 | Declarations, insuring agreement, conditions, exclusions, duties of the insured, appraisal, subrogation, and the contract law underneath every policy |
| Tennessee laws and departmental rules | ||
| Rules Common to Life, Accident and Health, Property and Casualty Insurance | 14 | Powers of the Commissioner, producer definitions and licensing, appointments, license discipline, unfair practices (false advertising, defamation, boycotting, rebating, unfair claims settlement) |
| Rules Pertinent to Property Insurance Only | 4 | Fire insurance (fair value, inspection, loss by fire), personal risk insurance (nonrenewal, rates, the mandated offer of sinkhole coverage), commercial risk insurance (cancellation, nonrenewal, rates, loss runs) |
| Total scored | 68 | Plus 9 unscored pretest questions (5 general + 4 Tennessee) |
The Casualty exam (68 scored + 9 pretest = 77 on screen, 1 hour 45 minutes)
| Section | Scored questions | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| General knowledge | ||
| I. Types of Policies, Bonds, and Related Terms | 23 | Commercial general liability, personal and business auto, workers’ compensation concepts, commercial lines, and bonds |
| II. Insurance Terms and Related Concepts | 15 | Negligence, liability, limits (per occurrence and aggregate), insurable interest, loss valuation, and casualty vocabulary |
| III. Policy Provisions | 12 | Casualty policy provisions, who is an insured, endorsements, cancellation and nonrenewal concepts |
| Tennessee laws and departmental rules | ||
| Rules Common to Life, Accident and Health, Property and Casualty Insurance | 14 | The same common section as the Property exam: the Commissioner, licensing, appointments, discipline, unfair practices |
| Rules Pertinent to Casualty Insurance Only | 4 | Financial responsibility and Form SR-22, ride-sharing services, uninsured motorists coverage, cancellation of automobile insurance, notice of assigned risk eligibility, workers’ compensation, loss runs |
| Total scored | 68 | Plus 9 unscored pretest questions (5 general + 4 Tennessee) |
Four structural facts that shape how you should prepare:
- There is no combined score to hide in. Each exam produces its own result. A strong Property performance does nothing for a weak Casualty one, and most candidates who plan for “the P&C exam” as a single event underprepare for one of the two sittings.
- Tennessee law is 18 of 68 scored questions on each exam — about 26% of both tests. Fourteen of those questions come from the same common section on both exams, which makes that section the highest-leverage study block in the entire Tennessee program: master it once and it pays out twice. The remaining four questions per exam are line-specific and reward separate, targeted study.
- The two Types of Policies sections are the largest general-knowledge blocks — 22 of 50 on Property, 23 of 50 on Casualty. Policy forms are each exam’s center of gravity.
- The pretest questions are real work. Nine per exam (five general, four Tennessee-specific) are tryout questions Pearson VUE is evaluating for future exams. They are indistinguishable from scored questions and do not affect your result — the only correct strategy is to treat every question as scored and budget your 105 minutes for all 77.
How the sittings work. At a test center, each exam is taken alone in its own session. Online through OnVUE, Pearson VUE offers the two exams individually ($55 each) and also a combined “Property and Casualty” reservation ($80) that books both together — but understand what that is: a scheduling convenience, not a combined exam. The two exams remain separate tests with separate scores, and passing one while failing the other leaves you with exactly one retake to schedule.
The passing standard, explained
You pass each exam with a scaled score of 70, and the passing score for each examination is determined by TDCI — not by Pearson VUE.
A scaled score is not a percentage of questions answered correctly, and the handbook says so in as many words. Two statistical procedures sit between your answers and your result. Equating corrects for the fact that different forms of an exam mix slightly different questions and can run slightly harder or easier; it adjusts so that no candidate gains or loses from the particular form they drew. Scaling then converts your raw result onto a common reporting scale — Tennessee’s runs from 0 to 100, with 70 selected by TDCI as the passing point — so that 70 always represents the same level of knowledge, whatever the form. Two consequences matter for candidates:
- “70%” study targets are misleading. You cannot convert a practice percentage into a predicted scaled score with any precision. The safe approach is to practice until your full-simulation scores sit comfortably above the passing zone on both exams, with no outline section left weak.
- Passing brings no number. If you pass, your score report reads “pass” and no numeric score is reported. Numeric scaled scores are given only to candidates who do not pass — deliberately, the handbook notes, to avoid confusion about what the numbers mean.
What a failing score report gives you. Candidates who do not pass receive their numeric scaled score plus diagnostic information for each major area of the examination, intended to show areas of strength and weakness. Read it against the content outline: the diagnostics are organized by the same major sections listed in §3, which is exactly how a retake plan should be organized too.
A note on pass rates. Pearson VUE publishes examination pass-rate reports for some states (Texas is the familiar example). Neither Pearson VUE nor TDCI publishes an equivalent Tennessee pass-rate report, so this guide cites no Tennessee pass rate — treat any precise Tennessee pass-rate figure you see on a prep site with suspicion, because there is no official source behind it. What can be said honestly: these are professional licensing exams with a real failure rate, the Tennessee-law sections are where underprepared candidates lose the most ground, and the exams are routinely passed by candidates who prepare against the published outlines.
Fees and registration, step by step
Keep the payments separate in your mind — they go to different places at different times.
| Payment | Amount | Paid to | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property exam fee | $55 | Pearson VUE | When you reserve |
| Casualty exam fee | $55 | Pearson VUE | When you reserve |
| (Online alternative: OnVUE Property and Casualty reservation covering both exams) | $80 | Pearson VUE | When you reserve |
| Fingerprinting | IdentoGO’s fee (separate) | IdentoGO by IDEMIA | At your fingerprint appointment, after passing |
| License filing fee | $50 | TDCI, with your application | After you pass, via NIPR |
Exam fees are payable by credit card, debit card, or voucher at the time of reservation — fees are not accepted at the test center — and they are nonrefundable and nontransferable.
The sequence, in order:
- Reserve your exams. Create an account and book on Pearson VUE’s Tennessee insurance page, or call (800) 274-4957. Online and phone reservations must be made at least 24 hours before the desired examination date; walk-in examinations are not available. You will need your legal name, address, Social Security number, daytime telephone number, and date of birth — and your account name must match your government-issued identification, because that is the name that will appear on your score documentation and in reports to TDCI. Both exams are delivered at Pearson VUE test centers and online through OnVUE.
- Know the change and cancellation rules before you book. To change or cancel, use the Pearson VUE Tennessee page at least 48 hours before the examination. Change or cancel without proper notice and you forfeit the examination fee — there are no refunds. (A narrow excused-absence process exists for documented emergencies such as illness, a death in the immediate family, or military duty; you must call Pearson VUE within 14 days of the exam date to open a case.)
- Take the exams. Test-center procedures and identification rules are in §8 below. Pearson VUE electronically submits your scores to TDCI, and you leave the test center with your official score report in hand.
- Get fingerprinted — after passing. Tennessee requires a fingerprint-based background check of resident producer applicants. The handbook’s sequence places it after you pass: schedule through IdentoGO (www.identogo.com), which captures fingerprints for the state and FBI criminal-history check that supports TDCI’s licensing decision.
- Apply for the license. Submit your application and the $50 filing fee electronically through NIPR (www.nipr.com). One timing rule catches people out: you must wait 48 hours from taking the examination before you can submit the application electronically — the wait lets your results reach the system. A paper Uniform Application filed directly with TDCI is also available; the handbook gives paper applications a processing time of 15 days from receipt. Note that application and filing fees are good for one year from the date TDCI receives them.
- Get appointed. TDCI issues the license; an appointment by an insurance company is what lets you sell that company’s products, and it follows licensure.
After you pass
The steps in §5 are the whole of it, but three points deserve emphasis because they are where new Tennessee producers lose time:
- The 48-hour wait is mandatory for electronic filing. Passing on Monday does not mean applying on Monday. Build the two days into your timeline, especially if an employer is waiting on your license.
- Fingerprinting comes after the exam in Tennessee’s stated sequence — pass first, then IdentoGO, then apply. Follow the handbook’s order rather than advice written for states that fingerprint before testing.
- Passing is not the license. TDCI reviews the application and the background check and makes the final licensing decision. And once the license issues, the appointment step remains: no appointment, no selling for that insurer.
Once licensed, plan on Tennessee’s continuing-education cycle: resident producers must complete at least 24 hours of approved continuing education every two years, including 3 hours in ethics, as a condition of renewal. That is a post-licensing obligation, not something you need before the exams — but it is part of the real cost of holding the license, and it is worth knowing before you start.
Retakes and score validity
Tennessee’s retake rules are stricter than many states’, and they reward passing the first time:
- After a first failure, you must wait ten (10) days before retaking that examination.
- After each subsequent failure, you must wait thirty (30) days before retaking it.
- All candidates must wait 24 hours before even making a reservation to retake an examination.
- The $55 exam fee applies to each attempt, and the waiting periods apply per exam — failing Casualty does not delay anything about Property, and vice versa.
- OnVUE is a one-shot channel: each exam line is limited to one OnVUE attempt. Any retake must be taken at a physical test center.
The waiting periods are Tennessee law’s design, not Pearson VUE’s scheduling preference, and they change the retake calculus: a failed attempt costs you the fee plus at least ten days, and a second failure costs a month. The diagnostic information on a failing score report is the tool the system gives you — use the wait to rebuild around the sections it flags rather than re-sitting the same preparation.
Score validity. The candidate handbook does not set a deadline by which a passing Tennessee score must be used — there is no Tennessee equivalent of the 12-month application window some states impose. What the handbook does fix in time is your money: application and filing fees are good for one year from the date TDCI receives them. The practical reading is simple: once you have passed both exams, complete fingerprinting and file your application promptly rather than testing how long a pass stays usable, and direct any question about an old passing score to TDCI’s Producer Licensing Section before assuming it is still good.
Test day
- Arrive 30 minutes early. Candidates report to the test center thirty minutes before the examination to check in with the administrator. Late arrival can mean being considered absent and forfeiting the fee.
- Bring two forms of identification. Both must be current signature identification; the primary ID must be government-issued and photo-bearing with a signature (driver’s license, passport, military ID, state/national ID card), and the secondary must bear a valid signature (a Social Security card or a debit/credit card qualifies). Identification must be in English, and Pearson VUE recognizes no grace periods — an ID that expired yesterday is an expired ID, whatever your state’s renewal grace period says. Your registration name must match your ID.
- You will be photographed at check-in for the score report, and you will review and sign a Candidate Rules Agreement. Violating it — or any suspicion of cheating or tampering — can end the exam, forfeit the fee, and put the license itself at risk.
- A basic calculator is available. You may bring, or request from the test center, a basic non-scientific calculator, provided it is an independent device — not part of a phone or any other electronic device. Leave personal items behind; test centers enforce strict rules on what enters the testing room.
- A tutorial comes first, free. Before the exam you get a tutorial on the testing computer, and tutorial time does not reduce your examination time. The exam clock starts when you look at the first question; when time expires, the unit turns off automatically.
- Pace for 77, not 68. You have 105 minutes for everything on screen, including the 9 pretest items you cannot identify — roughly 80 seconds per question. Flag-and-return discipline matters: a hard question costs the same time whether you answer it now or after the ones you know.
- Results are immediate at a test center. You leave with your official score report in hand. Examination results are confidential — released only to you and to TDCI — and Pearson VUE will not provide score information by telephone. (If you test online through OnVUE, review Pearson VUE’s online-proctoring rules and system requirements in advance; remember the one-attempt-per-line limit before choosing that channel.)
How to study for these exams
The outlines are the syllabus — Pearson VUE publishes exactly what each exam covers, section by section, and the weights above are question counts, not suggestions. A plan built on that structure:
- Start with the common Tennessee-law section — it is on both exams. Fourteen scored questions per exam, 28 across your two sittings, come from one body of material: the Commissioner’s powers, producer licensing and appointments, license discipline, and the unfair-practices rules (false advertising, defamation, boycotting and coercion, rebating, unfair claims settlement). It is the single most efficient study block in Tennessee licensing, and it is concrete, memorizable material — the kind that rewards direct study fastest.
- Then split your study the way the state splits the tests. Property and Casualty are separate exams with separate results, so alternate focused blocks rather than blending everything: homeowners and dwelling forms are not casualty material, and studying them as one undifferentiated “P&C” mass is how candidates walk into one sitting ready and the other exposed.
- Give the two Types of Policies sections their combined weight. At 22 and 23 of their exams’ 50 general questions, policy forms decide the general half of each test. Learn them comparatively: what each form covers, what it excludes, and how it pays.
- Finish the Tennessee-law work with the line-specific sections. Only four questions per exam, but they are pure Tennessee: sinkhole-coverage offers and commercial-risk cancellation on the Property side; SR-22 financial responsibility, uninsured motorists, assigned-risk notice, and workers’ compensation on the Casualty side. Small sections, entirely learnable, and almost never covered by national materials.
- Practice at full length, against the clock, per exam. 77 questions in 105 minutes is a pacing skill separate from knowledge. Full generated practice exams at the real weights — taken separately for Property and for Casualty, and at least once back-to-back if you plan a same-day test day — build both.
- 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. Explanations are where scenario knowledge actually forms.
- Respect the retake waits in your scheduling. Because a first failure costs ten days and later failures cost thirty, the rational schedule is to book each exam when full-length practice says you are ready — not when the calendar says you are impatient. Passing both the first time is worth roughly a month of your licensing timeline.
PassProfessor’s Tennessee practice bank (9,651 questions, including 2,157 on Tennessee laws and departmental rules) is built section-by-section on these same outlines, and will generate full practice exams for the Property exam, the Casualty exam, or both in a combined session. The Tennessee Insurance Exam Prep program page shows the full coverage table — and the notify list there will email you when enrollment opens.
Frequently asked questions
Does Tennessee have one combined property and casualty exam?
No. Tennessee requires a separate examination for each line of insurance. Property and Casualty are two different Pearson VUE exams, taken in separate sittings, each with its own scaled score and its own pass/fail result. You must pass both to hold both lines of authority. Pearson VUE does offer an online reservation that books the two together, but the exams themselves are never combined or jointly scored.
How many questions are on the Tennessee Property exam?
77 questions appear on screen in 1 hour 45 minutes: 68 scored — 50 general knowledge and 18 Tennessee laws and rules — plus 9 unscored pretest questions mixed in so candidates cannot tell them apart. The Casualty exam has the identical structure: 77 on screen, 68 scored, 9 pretest.
What is the passing score for the Tennessee insurance exams?
A scaled score of 70 on each exam, set by TDCI. Scaled scores are adjusted across exam forms so every version demands the same knowledge; 70 is not the same as 70% correct. If you pass, your score report reads “pass” with no numeric score; failing candidates receive a numeric scaled score and diagnostic information by major area.
Does Tennessee require pre-licensing education for a P&C license?
No. Tennessee imposes no pre-licensing course requirement for the Property or Casualty lines — the application procedure is schedule, pass, fingerprint, apply. The Title line is the exception in Tennessee’s outlines; Property and Casualty candidates need no course and no certificate before testing. Preparation is still entirely on you, and Tennessee’s retake waiting periods make unprepared attempts expensive in time as well as fees.
How much do the Tennessee P&C exams cost?
$55 per exam, paid to Pearson VUE when you reserve — $110 for both exams at a test center. Online, each exam is also $55 through OnVUE, and Pearson VUE offers a combined Property and Casualty online reservation for $80. After you pass, the license filing fee is $50, paid with your application through NIPR, and fingerprinting through IdentoGO carries its own separate fee. Exam fees are nonrefundable and nontransferable.
How do I register for the Tennessee insurance exams?
Reserve through Pearson VUE’s Tennessee insurance page or by calling (800) 274-4957, at least 24 hours before the day you want to test; walk-ins are not available. To change or cancel, act at least 48 hours ahead or you forfeit the fee. The name on your account must match your government-issued ID.
Can I take the Tennessee insurance exams online?
Yes — both exams are offered through OnVUE online proctoring as well as at test centers, at the same $55 fee per exam. One limit matters: each exam line allows only one OnVUE attempt, so any retake must be taken at a physical test center.
What happens after I pass both exams?
Complete the fingerprint-based background check through IdentoGO, wait until 48 hours have passed since your examination, and submit your application with the $50 filing fee through NIPR. TDCI makes the final licensing decision. After the license issues, you need an appointment with an insurer before you can sell that insurer’s products.
How long is my passing score good for?
The Tennessee candidate handbook sets no deadline by which a passing score must be used; it specifies only that application and filing fees are good for one year from receipt. Do not sit on a pass — fingerprint and apply promptly, and if you are relying on an older passing score, confirm its status with TDCI’s Producer Licensing Section before you count on it.
If I fail, how soon can I retake?
Tennessee law sets the waits: ten (10) days after a first failure of an exam, thirty (30) days after each subsequent failure, and in all cases at least 24 hours must pass before you may make the retake reservation. The $55 fee is due again for each attempt, and a retake cannot be taken online — OnVUE is limited to one attempt per exam line.
What Tennessee-specific topics do the exams cover?
Each exam’s 18 Tennessee questions divide into 14 on rules common to all lines — the Commissioner’s authority, producer definitions and licensing, appointments and discipline, and unfair practices including rebating and unfair claims settlement — and 4 line-specific questions: fire insurance, personal and commercial risk rules, and the mandated offer of sinkhole coverage on the Property exam; financial responsibility and SR-22, uninsured motorists, assigned-risk notice, ride-sharing, and workers’ compensation on the Casualty exam.
What is a scaled score, in plain terms?
A way of making different versions of an exam equally hard to pass. Your raw result is converted onto a standard 0–100 scale where 70 always means the same level of knowledge, even if one form’s questions ran slightly harder than another’s. It is neither the number nor the percentage of questions you answered correctly.
Are PassProfessor’s questions the real exam questions?
No. They are original questions written from scratch to Pearson VUE’s published Tennessee content outlines and Tennessee insurance law. Real exam questions are Pearson VUE’s copyrighted property, candidates agree to rules against disclosing them, and no legitimate prep product contains them.
Does the PassProfessor Tennessee program count as pre-licensing education?
Tennessee requires no pre-licensing education for the Property or Casualty lines, and the program is exam preparation only — it provides no education credit in any state and is not affiliated with TDCI or Pearson VUE. It prepares you for the two exams themselves.
Disclaimer
PassProfessor is an independent exam-preparation provider and is not affiliated with the Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance, Pearson VUE, or any state agency or exam vendor. This guide is general information about the Tennessee licensing exams, current as of October 2026; TDCI and Pearson VUE publications govern if anything here differs from them.