- MNLH refers to the Minnesota Life & Health Insurance Producer Exam, administered by PSI for the Minnesota Department of Commerce.
- The test has 145 questions (130 scored, 15 unscored pretest) in 3 hours, and you need 70% to pass.
- The exam fee is $45, and you must be 18+ with 40 hours of prelicensing education completed.
- Minnesota Laws, Rules, and Regulations Common to Life, Health, Property, and Casualty Insurance is the single largest domain at 15.4%.
What "MNLH" Actually Means
If you've searched "what is a MNLH," you've likely landed on conflicting information, because the same four letters get used by more than one credential in different industries. On this site, and for the purposes of anyone preparing to sell insurance products in Minnesota, MNLH stands for the Minnesota Life & Health Insurance Producer Exam - the state licensing test that combines the Life line and the Accident & Health line into a single examination.
This is not a voluntary professional certification you add to a resume for prestige. It's a mandatory state exam. Pass it, and you're eligible to apply for a resident insurance producer license that authorizes you to sell life insurance, annuities, health insurance, disability income coverage, and related products in Minnesota. For a broader overview of the terminology, see our companion piece on What Is MNLH?, and if you want the short version of the acronym itself, check MNLH Meaning or What Does MNLH Stand For?
Who Administers the Exam
The Minnesota Life & Health Insurance Producer Exam is a regulatory requirement of the Minnesota Department of Commerce, which oversees insurance licensing in the state. Actual test delivery - scheduling, proctoring, scoring - is handled by PSI, a third-party testing vendor used by many state insurance departments across the country.
This matters for candidates because it means two sets of rules apply simultaneously: the Department of Commerce sets the licensing requirements (education hours, background checks, license renewal), while PSI sets the day-of-test logistics (ID requirements, testing center policies, remote proctoring rules). For a deep dive into the certifying structure, read MNLH Certification or What Is MNLH Certification?
Exam Format and Mechanics
Understanding the exact structure of the test removes a lot of anxiety on exam day. Here's what you're actually walking into:
- 145 total questions - 130 are scored and 15 are unscored pretest questions used to evaluate future exam content. You won't know which is which, so every question needs your full attention.
- 3-hour time limit for the entire exam.
- 70% passing score required on the scored portion.
- $45 exam fee, paid when you schedule through PSI.
- Closed-book format - no reference materials, no calculator, no notes of any kind.
- Computer-based testing, available either at a physical PSI test center or via remote proctoring from your own location.
One detail that surprises candidates who choose the remote option: unlike some other exams that allow scratch paper for physical test-center sessions, remote proctored sessions here allow no scratch paper and no breaks. If you tend to work through insurance math or scenario questions on paper, a test center may suit you better than remote testing. For the complete rundown on scoring mechanics, see MNLH Passing Score 2026: Exactly What You Need to Pass, and for everything related to cost, see MNLH Certification Cost 2026: Complete Pricing Breakdown.
Key Takeaway
Because 15 of the 145 questions are unscored pretest items you can't identify, don't waste mental energy trying to guess which questions "count." Treat every question as if it's scored.
The 12 Domains, Explained
The exam content is organized into 12 domains spanning Life topics, Accident & Health topics, and Minnesota-specific law. Weighting is not even - some domains carry far more exam weight than others, and your study time should reflect that.
Domain 10: Minnesota Laws, Rules, and Regulations Common to Life, Health, Property, and Casualty Insurance (15.4%)
This is the single largest domain on the exam and covers state-specific statutes that apply across insurance lines generally - producer licensing rules, unfair trade practices, and general regulatory conduct.
- Highest-weighted domain on the entire exam
- Cuts across both Life and Health content
Domain 5: Accident & Health - Types of Policies (12.3%)
Covers the range of health-related products a producer needs to understand - individual and group health plans, disability income, long-term care, and related policy types.
- Second-largest domain
- Requires knowing distinctions between plan types, not just definitions
The remaining domains, in descending order of weight, are:
- Domain 1: Life - Types of Policies (11.5%)
- Domain 2: Life Provisions, Riders, Options, and Exclusions (11.5%)
- Domain 6: Policy Provisions, Clauses, and Riders (11.5%)
- Domain 3: Completing the Application, Underwriting, and Delivering the Policy (9.2%)
- Domain 4: Retirement and Other Insurance Concepts (6.2%)
- Domain 9: Field Underwriting Procedures (6.2%)
- Domain 7: Social Insurance (4.6%)
- Domain 8: Other Insurance Concepts (3.8%)
- Domain 11: Minnesota Laws, Rules, and Regulations Pertinent to Life Insurance Only (3.8%)
- Domain 12: Minnesota Laws, Rules, and Regulations Pertinent to Health Insurance Only (3.8%)
Notice that the three Minnesota-law domains (10, 11, and 12) combine for over 23% of the exam when added together - nearly a quarter of your score depends on state-specific regulation, not general insurance product knowledge. For a domain-by-domain study breakdown, read MNLH Exam Domains 2026: Complete Guide to All 12 Content Areas.
| Content Area | Combined Weight |
|---|---|
| Life-focused domains (1, 2, 4, 11) | ~27.9% |
| Accident & Health-focused domains (5, 6, 7, 12) | ~32.2% |
| Application, underwriting, field procedures (3, 8, 9) | ~19.2% |
| Minnesota law common to all lines (10) | 15.4% |
Eligibility and Prelicensing Requirements
Before you're even allowed to sit for the exam, Minnesota requires you to meet baseline eligibility criteria:
- Minimum age of 18 at the time of application.
- 40 hours of approved prelicensing education total - 20 hours per line, covering both Life and Accident & Health - unless you qualify for an exemption.
- Your course provider must electronically certify your completion of prelicensing education directly to the state; you can't simply self-report having taken the hours.
After passing the exam, resident applicants also need to submit fingerprints for a state and national criminal-history background check as part of the license application. And here's a detail candidates frequently overlook: a passing exam result is only valid for three years. If you pass the exam but delay applying for your license past that window, you'll need to retest. For the full eligibility checklist, see MNLH Requirements 2026: Eligibility, Prerequisites & How to Qualify.
After You Pass: Licensing and Renewal
Once your license is issued, the work of staying compliant doesn't stop. Minnesota resident producer licenses renew every two years (biennially), and renewal requires 24 hours of continuing education, including 3 hours specifically on ethics. Building a habit of tracking CE credits early - rather than scrambling before a renewal deadline - will save you real stress down the line.
If you're weighing whether the licensing effort and ongoing CE commitment is worth it relative to the career opportunity, our analysis in Is the MNLH Certification Worth It? Complete ROI Analysis 2026 walks through the tradeoffs, and MNLH Salary Guide 2026: Complete Earnings Analysis looks at the earning side of the equation.
Who Actually Takes This Exam
Candidates for the Minnesota Life & Health Insurance Producer Exam generally fall into a few categories:
- New insurance agents entering the field, often hired contingent on obtaining a license, working for captive or independent agencies selling life and health products.
- Financial services professionals who need a life/health producer license to round out an existing securities or advisory practice.
- Career changers moving into insurance sales from adjacent fields like banking, benefits administration, or healthcare.
- Existing producers relocating to Minnesota or expanding their book of business into the state, who need to establish resident licensure here.
Employers hiring for these roles - insurance carriers, independent agencies, brokerage firms - typically require candidates to hold or be actively pursuing this license before they can sell. For a sense of what roles and hiring patterns look like once you're licensed, see MNLH Jobs, and for a look at training pathways leading up to the exam, see MNLH Training.
A Realistic Study Approach
Given the domain weights, your study time should be allocated proportionally rather than evenly. Spending equal time on Domain 8 (Other Insurance Concepts, 3.8%) and Domain 10 (Minnesota law, 15.4%) is a common mistake that costs candidates points they didn't need to lose.
Life Fundamentals
- Domain 1: Life - Types of Policies
- Domain 2: Life Provisions, Riders, Options, and Exclusions
Health Fundamentals
- Domain 5: Accident & Health - Types of Policies
- Domain 6: Policy Provisions, Clauses, and Riders
Process and Concepts
- Domain 3: Application, Underwriting, and Policy Delivery
- Domain 4: Retirement and Other Insurance Concepts
- Domain 9: Field Underwriting Procedures
Minnesota Law and Final Review
- Domain 10, 11, and 12: Minnesota law across all lines
- Domain 7 and 8: Social Insurance and Other Concepts
- Full-length timed practice runs
Notice that Minnesota law is deliberately scheduled last, close to your test date, since it's the highest-weighted single domain and benefits from being fresh in memory. For a structured week-by-week plan built specifically around this exam's content weighting, see MNLH Study Guide 2026: How to Pass on Your First Attempt. If you want an honest assessment of how difficult the exam tends to be for most candidates, read How Hard Is the MNLH Exam? Complete Difficulty Guide 2026, and for context on outcomes, see MNLH Pass Rate 2026: What the Data Shows.
Whatever schedule you use, timed practice under exam-like conditions matters more than passive review. Since you'll have no calculator, no scratch paper in remote sessions, and a strict 3-hour window, you want the format to feel familiar before test day. Our full-length practice tests are built around the same domain weighting as the real exam, so you can gauge readiness domain-by-domain rather than guessing. Working through practice questions repeatedly under time pressure is one of the most direct ways to build the recall speed a 145-question, 3-hour format demands.
Frequently Asked Questions
No. This site refers to the combined Life, Accident & Health Producer examination, which tests both lines in a single 145-question exam rather than as two separate tests.
Of the 145 total questions, 130 are scored and 15 are unscored pretest questions. You won't know which questions fall into which category, so treat all of them as scored.
You need 70% on the scored portion of the exam to pass.
No. The exam is closed book with no reference materials or calculator permitted, and remote proctored sessions additionally do not allow scratch paper or breaks.
A passing examination result is valid for three years. You must apply for your producer license, including completing the fingerprint-based background check, within that window.
Understanding exactly what the Minnesota Life & Health Insurance Producer Exam covers - its 12 domains, its 145-question format, and the licensing steps that follow a passing score - is the foundation for building an effective study plan. From here, the next step is turning this overview into a domain-by-domain preparation strategy.