- DC-LH is two separate exams now - Life and Accident and Health - each $75, each two hours.
- Total scored questions: 155 across both exams, plus 20 unscored pretest items, for 175 total.
- A scaled score of 70 is required to pass either exam.
- 40 of the 155 scored items sit in the two shared District-law domains (5 and 12/13 combined logic).
Exam Snapshot: Fees, Format, Timing
Treat this page as the one-sheet you glance at the night before test day. Every number below comes straight from the current DC-LH structure administered through Pearson VUE under the District of Columbia Department of Insurance, Securities and Banking (DISB). There is no combined exam anymore - candidates sit for the Life exam and the Accident and Health exam separately, and each one is booked, paid for, and scored on its own.
- Cost: $75 per exam (Life and Accident and Health), so $150 total if you're pursuing both lines.
- Question count: 175 multiple-choice items combined - 155 scored, 20 unscored pretest questions mixed in without being flagged.
- Time allowed: Two hours per exam, four hours total if you sit for both.
- Passing score: A scaled score of 70 on each exam.
- Prep requirement: No mandated 40-hour prelicensing minimum, but you must show proof of completing a prelicensing course of study before you can test.
- Test environment: Pearson VUE test center, no reference materials or calculators permitted.
For a deeper walkthrough of how these numbers translate into study time, see the DC-LH Study Guide 2026: How to Pass on Your First Attempt. If you want the full pricing picture, including retake costs and prelicensing course fees, the DC-LH Certification Cost 2026: Complete Pricing Breakdown lays it out line by line.
All 13 Domains at a Glance
The DC-LH content outline spans 13 domains split across three exam sections: Life General Knowledge, District of Columbia Specific Life, and then the mirrored structure for Accident and Health. Knowing which domain belongs to which exam prevents you from over-preparing for content that won't even appear on the test you're sitting that day.
Life Exam Domains (1-6)
These six domains make up the Life exam and blend national life insurance knowledge with DC-specific law.
- Domain 1 - Types of Policies
- Domain 2 - Policy Riders, Provisions, Options, and Exclusions
- Domain 3 - Completing the Application, Underwriting, and Delivering the Policies
- Domain 4 - Retirement and Other Insurance Concepts
- Domain 5 - DC Laws, Rules, and Regulations Common to Life, Accident and Health, Property, and Casualty Insurance
- Domain 6 - DC Laws, Rules, and Regulations Pertinent to Life Insurance Only
Accident and Health Exam Domains (7-13)
These seven domains make up the Accident and Health exam, again mixing general knowledge with DC-specific law.
- Domain 7 - Types of Policies
- Domain 8 - Policy Provisions, Clauses, and Riders
- Domain 9 - Social Insurance
- Domain 10 - Other Insurance Concepts
- Domain 11 - Field Underwriting Procedures
- Domain 12 - DC Laws, Rules, and Regulations Common to Life, Accident and Health, Property, and Casualty Insurance
- Domain 13 - DC Laws, Rules, and Regulations Pertinent to Accident and Health Insurance Only
For a domain-by-domain study strategy - not just a list - check the DC-LH Exam Domains 2026: Complete Guide to All 13 Content Areas. It's the natural next stop after this cheat sheet.
The District-Law Domains You Cannot Skip
Under the September 2, 2025 outline, 40 of the 155 scored questions across both exams sit in the two shared District-law domains - Domain 5 on the Life side and Domain 12 on the Accident and Health side, both covering rules common to life, accident and health, property, and casualty insurance in the District. That's roughly a quarter of your total scored questions tied to material that has nothing to do with product mechanics and everything to do with DISB statute, licensing conduct, and consumer protection rules specific to the District of Columbia.
Candidates who transfer in from another jurisdiction's exam often underestimate this chunk because it doesn't resemble anything on a generic life-and-health study guide. Domains 6 and 13, the line-specific DC law domains, add another layer that's easy to conflate with the "common" domains if you don't study them separately.
Key Takeaway
Don't lump Domains 5, 6, 12, and 13 together in your notes. Domain 5 and 12 test rules shared across all lines; Domain 6 and 13 test rules unique to Life or to Accident and Health respectively. Mixing them up costs points on questions that ask "which rule applies to which line."
Scoring, Retakes, and Validity Windows
Because DC-LH uses scaled scoring rather than a raw percentage, your target number - 70 - isn't literally "70% correct." Pretest items (20 of the 175 total) are unscored and indistinguishable from live questions, so you can't strategize around which ones "count." Every question deserves full attention regardless of where it falls in the sequence.
- Retake wait: 24 hours minimum before you can reschedule either exam.
- Score validity: A passing score stays valid for 12 months, giving you a window to complete licensing paperwork and any second exam.
- Resident screening: Resident applicants also complete fingerprinting and a background check as part of the licensing process, separate from the exam itself.
For the exact mechanics of what "passing" means numerically, see the DC-LH Passing Score 2026: Exactly What You Need to Pass. If you're weighing how tough this test actually is relative to other state exams, the How Hard Is the DC-LH Exam? Complete Difficulty Guide 2026 breaks that down, and the DC-LH Pass Rate 2026: What the Data Shows covers DISB's published outcome data.
| Metric | Life Exam | Accident and Health Exam |
|---|---|---|
| Exam fee | $75 | $75 |
| Time allowed | 2 hours | 2 hours |
| Domains covered | Domains 1-6 | Domains 7-13 |
| Passing scaled score | 70 | 70 |
| 2025 DISB pass rate | 38% | 50% |
Licensing, CE, and Renewal Mechanics
Passing both exams is a milestone, not the finish line. DISB issues individual producer licenses that expire biennially on the last day of your birth month, and keeping the license active means completing 24 CE credits per renewal cycle - 21 general credits plus 3 ethics credits specifically. Mark this on a calendar the same day you get licensed; CE deadlines sneak up faster than the two-year window suggests.
If you're still mapping out whether you meet the baseline eligibility rules before you even schedule a test, the DC-LH Requirements 2026: Eligibility, Prerequisites & How to Qualify page walks through prelicensing proof, fingerprinting, and application steps in order. And if you're trying to figure out exactly when test centers have openings or when your prelicensing course needs to be finished by, the DC-LH Exam Dates 2026: Testing Windows, Deadlines & Scheduling guide covers scheduling logistics.
Final Week Prep Sequence
Cheat sheets work best paired with a short, deliberate final push rather than a generic multi-month plan. If your exam date is roughly a week out, sequence your remaining review around the domain weight, not alphabetical order.
Shared District Law First
- Drill Domain 5 (Life) or Domain 12 (Accident and Health) - the common DC law domain - since it's the single largest concentrated block of scored questions.
Line-Specific DC Law
- Move to Domain 6 or Domain 13 and drill the differences against the common domain so you stop confusing which rule applies where.
Product and Policy Mechanics
- Cycle through the general knowledge domains for whichever exam you're sitting - policy types, riders, underwriting, and either retirement concepts or social insurance depending on the exam.
Light Review Only
- Skim your weakest domain's notes once, confirm your Pearson VUE appointment details, and stop new material entirely.
Run full-length timed practice sets on our practice test platform during the middle days of this sequence - simulating the two-hour, no-reference-material format matters more for DC-LH than raw content review alone, since pretest items are mixed in unmarked and pacing under scaled scoring rewards consistency over speed.
Key Takeaway
Spend your last week weighted toward Domains 5/12 and 6/13 first - they carry the density of shared and line-specific DC law that generic multi-state study guides often shortchange.
If any of this terminology is still new to you - what the credential covers, who regulates it, or what the letters even stand for - start with the foundational pieces: What Is DC-LH?, DC-LH Meaning, and What Does DC-LH Stand For? before circling back to this sheet. Related quick-reference pages like What Is A DC-LH?, What Does DC-LH Mean?, and What Is DC-LH Certification? cover the same ground from different angles if you need a refresher. Once you're past definitions, the DC-LH Certification overview and DC-LH Training resources connect the exam to real prep options, and DC-LH Jobs is a useful look at where the license actually gets used day to day.
Frequently Asked Questions
Only if you want authority for both lines. Each exam is scored and licensed independently, so you can pursue Life only, Accident and Health only, or both, paying the $75 fee for each one you take.
Across both exams there are 175 total multiple-choice items, but only 155 are scored. The other 20 are unscored pretest questions mixed in without any indication of which is which.
You must wait 24 hours before scheduling a retake through Pearson VUE. There's no limit stated beyond that wait period, but each retake attempt requires paying the $75 fee again for that specific exam.
A passing scaled score of 70 remains valid for 12 months, giving you time to complete licensing steps like fingerprinting and background checks before the score expires.
Individual producer licenses expire every two years on the last day of your birth month, and renewal requires 24 CE credits total - 21 general credits and 3 ethics credits specifically.