Surplus Lines Broker License Application: Individual

The following requirements apply to both Arizona residents and residents of other states ("nonresidents") except as otherwise noted:

VIEW YOUR LICENSE

Your license will be available from the License Search option on this web site as soon as the Arizona Department of Insurance verifies you meet all license requirements.  You will not receive a printed license certificate. 

License applications can take up to one month to process.  You must not conduct insurance business until you are licensed.

NOT EVERYONE QUALIFIES FOR AN INSURANCE LICENSE

The Department can deny a license for any cause listed in Arizona Revised Statutes ("ARS") § 20-295. You should review this statute before deciding to spend the time, effort and money (fees are nonrefundable) to apply for a license. If you apply for a license, you must truthfully and completely answer questions asked on the application, and you may need to provide additional documentation.

MEET THE MINIMUM AGE REQUIREMENT

You must be at least 18 years old.

PASS THE INSURANCE EXAMINATION (*IF REQUIRED)

You must pass an Arizona insurance examination for the license authority you want to have under any the following circumstances:

  • Your primary residence or principal place of business is in Arizona; or, 
  • You relocate from a state where you did not hold the license that you want to have in Arizona (perhaps because the state did not issue that type of license).

You do not need to pass an exam if

  • You are applying to add Mexican Insurance Surplus Broker authority to your license [exempt from examination by ARS § 20-411.01(A)];
  • You are licensed in good standing in your home state for the license you want to have (as a nonresident) in Arizona; or,
  • You are relocating from a state where you have a license in good standing, and you want the same license in Arizona, and we receive your license application within 90 days after you cancel your license in your former home state, and you submit a clearance letter from that state.
IMPORTANT! Arizona law limits you to four attempts to pass an exam for a particular line of authority within a one-year period. After a fourth unsuccessful attempt, you will have to wait one year from the date of the last attempt to retake the exam. Arizona law treats failing an examination that covers more than one line of license authority the same as failing the examination for each individual line of license authority. ARS §20-284(H).

Insurance license examinations are administered by Prometric.  Prometric's Internet web sites contain license candidate publications that describe Arizona insurance licensing requirements and that outline material covered on each of the examinations. The outlines show the percentage of the examination that will deal with particular topic areas.  Neither Prometric nor the Department of Insurance publish study materials. However, the Department has available a document available on this web page that lists some resources that you may want to use to help you to prepare for your exam. 

Schedule to take your examination at any Prometric test center throughout the U.S. in which insurance examinations are offered

After you complete your exam, you will first see your exam score on the computer screen. Before you leave the test center, the test center staff will give you a printed score report showing your overall score and whether you passed or failed.  If you apply for your license on paper (rather than online), submit your score report with your license application. Keep a copy for your records. If you failed, you must retake the entire exam. You cannot just retake the sections of the exam on which you scored poorly. Focus your studies on the sections of the exam with the most questions and sections on which you performed poorly.

IMPORTANT! Once you pass an exam, you must apply for the corresponding license within one year.  ARS §20-284(A).

PROVIDE PROOF OF LAWFUL PRESENCE IN THE UNITED STATES

An Arizona resident that does not already hold an Arizona insurance license (or an individual who has not already submitted evidence pursuant to obtaining an Arizona insurance license) must submit Form L-152 (ARS § 41-1080) with one of the required forms of identification.  This form is not necessary if your fingerprints were submitted to the department electronically. 

PAY REQUIRED (NON-REFUNDABLE) FEES

Non-refundable fees:
SURPLUS LINES BROKER LICENSE FEE

For either

  • Surplus Lines Broker
  • Mexican Insurance Surplus Lines Broker
$500.00

to add authority to an existing license that expires in two years or less

OR
$1,000.00

for authority that expires in more than two years

OTHER INSURANCE LICENSE FEE

One fee per other class of license (insurance producer, insurance adjuster, etc.).  A person who holds more than one line of authority within a class of license only pays one fee (e.g. an insurance producer who holds life, property and casualty lines of authority only pays one $120.00 fee for the insurance producer license class).

$120.00
  • You can pay with a credit card if you submit your application online through the National Insurance Producer Registry (the fastest and easiest way to complete your licensing transaction).
  • You can pay by check or money order, made payable to "Insurance Licensing Section" if you send or deliver your payment with your license application and other required materials to the Department of Insurance.

SUBMIT A LICENSE APPLICATION

 

Submit your license application: You can either apply online through the National Insurance Producer Registry (NIPR) or you can submit a paper application (NAIC uniform license application for an Individual).  NIPR online applications are generally processed more quickly than applications submitted on paper. 

AFTER WE HAVE REVIEWED YOUR APPLICATION...

We will review your application and you will receive one of the following:

  • A notice telling you that your application was approved.  Use License Search to view your license on our web site to ensure that your license information appears correctly.  Use the National Insurance Producer Registry (NIPR) to correct or update information.
  • A notice telling you that your renewal application was denied.  The notice will tell you the reason for the denial and will provide you with instructions concerning your right to appeal the decision.
  • A notice telling you that your renewal application was deficient.  This notice will be emailed to you.  You must provide the Department with any additional materials identified in the deficiency notice or accompanying instructions.  You must cure all identified deficiencies or we may deny your license and you will forfeit the fees you paid.
NOTE:  We do not produce paper license certificates.  Licenses are accessible online through the LICENSE SEARCH option on our web site's main menu.

Surplus Lines Broker License Application: Individual

 

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All insurance professionals (both residents and nonresidents) can apply for licenses, renew licenses, and update addresses and phone numbers online through the National Insurance Producer Registry (NIPR), at www.nipr.com.  

NIPR license and renewal applications are easy to complete, and we can usually process them faster than applications that are mailed to us. NIPR charges a small transaction fee (around $5 to $7) to process a license application and fee payment.  Many people have found that overall, the added convenience plus the time and postage savings are worth paying the fee. 

USE NIPR FOR FREE to change an address, e-mail address or phone number!