How to Get a Property & Casualty License in Georgia

To get a Property and Casualty license in Georgia, you complete a 16-hour pre-licensing course, pass the state exam through Pearson VUE, clear a fingerprint-based background check, and submit your application through NIPR or Sircon with a notarized citizenship affidavit. The Office of the Commissioner of Insurance and Safety Fire reviews applications in roughly 14 business days, and most people move from first class to active license in a few weeks.¹

Who Qualifies to Apply

Georgia law sets a few gates before you spend a dollar on coursework. Under O.C.G.A. § 33-23-5, you must be at least 18 years old and either live in Georgia for at least six months each year or keep your principal place of business in the state. If you live in a border city or trade area that straddles the state line, you may still qualify as long as the neighboring state has comparable residency rules.²

The statute also requires “good character.” In practical terms, that includes a cap on controlled business: you cannot plan to use your license mainly to collect commissions on your own insurance, and controlled business cannot reach 25 percent or more of your total premium volume in any calendar year.²

Criminal history matters. Under O.C.G.A. § 33-23-21, the Commissioner can refuse a license to anyone convicted of a felony or a crime involving moral turpitude in Georgia, another state, or federal court. A guilty plea counts as a conviction even with an appeal pending, and first-offender treatment that avoided a formal guilty verdict still counts as grounds for denial. The Commissioner can also deny or revoke a license for misappropriating funds, misrepresenting policy terms, fraud, or concealing a material fact on the application. If you are arrested while the application is pending or afterward, you have 30 days to report it to the Commissioner with a copy of the complaint and any court orders. Failing to self-report is itself a separate ground for denial.³

Step 1: Complete the 16-Hour Pre-Licensing Course

You must finish a 16-hour pre-licensing course before sitting for the state exam. The hours split evenly between Property and Casualty: 8 hours each, which you can take as separate courses or as one combined program. Approved providers offer classroom and online options, and the material covers insurance contract fundamentals, coverage lines, and Georgia-specific regulation.¹

When you finish, the provider issues a completion certificate. Keep it. Check that the name on it matches your government-issued ID exactly, because any mismatch at the testing center or on the application can stall you.

Two groups can skip both the course and the exam. If you hold the Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter (CPCU) designation, attach a copy of your certificate to your application. If you held the same lines of authority in another state, you can bypass pre-licensing and testing provided your prior license was active at the time you moved to Georgia, you include an original clearance letter from the prior state, and you apply within 90 days of moving.¹²

Step 2: Pass the Pearson VUE Exam

Pearson VUE runs Georgia’s insurance exams. Register on their website or by phone, pick a testing center, and pay the $67 fee by credit card, debit card, or voucher when you book. Appointments must be scheduled at least 24 hours in advance; walk-ins are not available.⁴

The combined P&C exam gives you 2.5 hours. Every question is multiple choice, and you need at least 70 percent correct to pass. Some exams fold in unscored pretest questions being evaluated for future use; they don’t count toward your score, but you won’t be able to tell them apart from the real ones.⁴

If you fail, there is no mandatory waiting period and no cap on retakes. You do pay the $67 again each attempt. Candidates who stumble on the first try often underweighted the Georgia-specific regulation content, so give that section extra attention during review.

Step 3: Get Fingerprinted for the Background Check

Georgia runs its criminal history check through the Georgia Applicant Processing Service (GAPS), managed by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. The fingerprinting vendor is IDEMIA, which operates collection sites across the state. You register on IDEMIA’s website, enter your personal information including your Social Security number, acknowledge a Privacy Act statement authorizing release of your records, and book an appointment at a nearby location.⁵

Scheduling at collection sites varies by location, and the results take time to come back. Booking your fingerprints while you are still studying for the exam keeps the overall timeline tight.

Step 4: Submit the Application and Citizenship Affidavit

Once you have passed the exam, apply online through NIPR (nipr.com) or Sircon (sircon.com/georgia). Both portals feed the same state licensing system.⁴

Under O.C.G.A. § 50-36-1, every applicant must verify lawful presence. You print, complete, sign, and notarize the Citizenship Affidavit (Form GID-276-EN) and upload it with a copy of one secure, verifiable identification document showing both the front and the back. The requirement applies to every new applicant regardless of citizenship status.⁶⁷

You pay the state licensing fees as part of the online submission. Review every field before you hit submit. Data-entry mistakes are the most common cause of processing delays, and corrections mean waiting for the office to contact you before you can resubmit.

How Long Approval Takes

Average turnaround at the Office of the Commissioner is about 14 business days. If something is missing or questionable, the office will reach out. If approved, your license is emailed to you through an automated system, your license number appears in the public producer database, and the digital license is yours to download and save. Georgia does not issue a paper license.¹

Keeping the License Active

Your P&C license runs on a biennial renewal cycle, with continuing education due by the last day of your birth month every other year. The baseline requirement for agents with under 20 years of service is 24 CE hours, including 3 hours of ethics. Agents with 20 or more years of service drop to 20 hours (including 3 of ethics) beginning in 2026, and holders of certain professional designations such as CPCU, CLU, CIC, CFP, or a BBA in Risk Management and Insurance from an accredited college owe 12 hours (including 3 of ethics).⁸

Agent renewal fees are $100 without a variable products line of authority or $200 with it, plus a $5 processing fee.⁹ If you miss the deadline, Georgia allows reinstatement for up to one year past expiration with added penalty fees; after a full year lapsed, you have to start the licensing process over from scratch.¹⁰ Put the renewal date on your calendar the day your license arrives.

1
Office of the Commissioner of Insurance and Safety Fire. Get a Resident Insurance Agent License
2
Justia. Georgia Code 33-23-5 – Qualifications and Requirements for License
3
Justia. Georgia Code 33-23-21 – Grounds for Refusal, Suspension, or Revocation of License
4
Pearson VUE. Georgia Insurance Licensing Candidate Handbook
5
Georgia Bureau of Investigation. Georgia Applicant Processing Service
6
Office of Commissioner of Insurance and Safety Fire. Georgia Office of Insurance and Safety Fire Commissioner – Illegal Immigration Reform and Enforcement Act Notice
7
Office of the Commissioner of Insurance and Safety Fire. Citizenship Affidavit
8
Office of the Commissioner of Insurance and Safety Fire. Continuing Education
9
Office of the Commissioner of Insurance and Safety Fire. Renew an Agent License
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NIPR. Georgia Resident Renewal Individual