The Illinois Life license
Life
Sells life insurance in Illinois.
Course
20 hrs
The shortest single course route.
Ways in
5
2 of them skip the state exam.
Exam
$92
Required on some routes and not others.
Every way to qualify
More than one route leads to this license, and which one you take changes what you study and whether you sit the exam. They are listed in full because the course is only the first of them.
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Route 1 Take the 20-hour course, 7.5 of them in a classroom or webinar
State exam required
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20 hours of pre-licensing education for the Life line of authority, approved by the Department. 7.5 of those hours cannot be taken at your own pace, so a fully self-paced online course does not satisfy this on its own. The route's own note says which live formats the state accepts
The 7.5 hours that cannot be self-paced may be taken in a classroom OR A WEBINAR: 215 ILCS 5/500-30(b) says both, and the Department's applicant page says classroom alone. A live online class from a provider therefore satisfies Illinois, and a self-paced course on its own does not. Illinois also runs two examinations per line, a General and a State paper, registered for separately and passed within ninety days of each other, and nobody sits either without the course completion proof.
Read at ilga.gov on 2026-08-15
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Route 2 Hold one of the Life designations the Director's rule accepts
State exam required
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CLU Chartered Life Underwriter, from The American College of Financial Services
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ChFC Chartered Financial Consultant, from The American College of Financial Services
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CEBS Certified Employee Benefits Specialist, from the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans with the Wharton School
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CIC Certified Insurance Counselor, from The National Alliance for Insurance Education and Research
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CFP Certified Financial Planner, from the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards
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FLMI Fellow Life Management Institute, from LOMA
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LACP Life and Annuities Certified Professional, from the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors
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LUTCF Life Underwriting Training Council Fellow, from the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors
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RICP Retirement Income Certified Professional, from The American College of Financial Services
50 Ill. Adm. Code 3119.45(a)(2) exempts an applicant holding one of these from the pre-licensing requirement, and 215 ILCS 5/500-30(a)(3) is what lets it: the statute asks for a course "if required by the Director", and the Director's rule is where the requirement is switched off. The examination is not waived on this route. That is the difference between it and the two reciprocity routes below, which reach the paper as well, and it is why the classroom hours matter here and the paper still has to be sat. The rule keeps a separate list per class of insurance and this is the Life list, as amended at 50 Ill. Reg. 753 effective 2025-12-30: CEBS, ChFC, CIC, CFP, CLU, FLMI, LACP, LUTCF and RICP. A copy of the certification goes to the Department with the license application.
Read at ilga.gov on 2026-08-20
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Route 3 Hold a college degree in insurance
State exam required
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A degree in insurance. An official transcript is required
50 Ill. Adm. Code 3119.45(a)(2) puts the degree beside the designations and on the same footing: it removes the pre-licensing course for every class of insurance and it does not remove the examination. The rule counts a college degree in insurance from an institution of higher education accredited by a nationally recognized accrediting agency, and a copy goes to the Department at the time of application. It sets no credit count, so none is shown.
Read at ilga.gov on 2026-08-20
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Route 4 Hold this line in another state now, or have held it in the last 90 days
Exempt from the state exam
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90 days of the cancellation of another state's license for the Life line, or hold it there now, with that state certifying good standing at cancellation or the NAIC Producer Database showing it
215 ILCS 5/500-45(a): no pre-licensing education and no examination. Either limb works, and the first has no clock: currently licensed in the other state, or applying within ninety days of that license being cancelled. It reaches the 7.5 classroom hours as well as the rest, which is the only way anyone gets out of them.
Read at ilga.gov on 2026-08-16
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Route 5 Move to Illinois holding this line in your old home state
Exempt from the state exam
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90 days of establishing legal residence in Illinois, having held the Life line as a licensed producer in the previous state
215 ILCS 5/500-45(b). Neither pre-licensing education nor an examination for a line already held, and the ninety days run from establishing residence. The Director may say otherwise by rule.
Read at ilga.gov on 2026-08-16
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Courses
This is the part you buy. All 3 of the courses sold for this license satisfy the requirement above. Each seller opens to what it holds and what each package costs.
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Kaplan Financial Education
Meets the requirement: take the 20-hour course, 7.5 of them in a classroom or webinar.
$349.00
See 2 options Hide ▾Listed as "KAPLAN FINANCIAL EDUCATION" holding course 58128 in the Life group, delivered as Combination. Every approved Illinois pre-licensing course is a Combination or a Classroom course, which is what carries the hours that cannot be taken at your own pace
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Career Launcher (IL) (LH)
$349.00
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Career Launcher (IL) (L)
$349.00
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WebCE
Meets the requirement: take the 20-hour course, 7.5 of them in a classroom or webinar.
$159.95 to $174.95
See 2 options Hide ▾Listed as "WEBCE INC" holding course 6000105238 in the Life group, delivered as Combination. Every approved Illinois pre-licensing course is a Combination or a Classroom course, which is what carries the hours that cannot be taken at your own pace
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IL Life & Annuities Exam Prep Complete Package
$159.95
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IL Life, Annuities and Health Exam Prep Complete Package
$174.95
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XCEL Solutions
Meets the requirement: take the 20-hour course, 7.5 of them in a classroom or webinar.
$249.00 to $349.00
See 3 options Hide ▾Listed as "XCEL Solutions LLC" holding course 6000111739 in the Life group, delivered as Combination. Every approved Illinois pre-licensing course is a Combination or a Classroom course, which is what carries the hours that cannot be taken at your own pace
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Illinois Life Pre-licensing (English, Blended)
$249.00
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Illinois Life and Health Pre-licensing
$249.00
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Illinois Life and Health Pre-licensing Premier
$349.00
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