California Life and Health License Cost: Exam Fees, Live Scan, and What You Actually Pay

People want one number. California gives you a short list of fixed state and vendor fees, plus a few variable costs you control.

Figures below come from CDI's fee schedule, PSI's Candidate Information Bulletin, and CDI's Capital Live Scan instructions. Recheck those pages before you pay, because fee schedules can update.

Fixed fees most resident applicants pay

Examination fee: $55 per attempt for Life-Only, Accident and Health, or the combined exam.

PSI convenience fee: $43 at PSI test centers. Not charged at the CDI Los Angeles examination site.

License filing fee: $188 for Life, for Accident and Health, or for both when selected together on the first Sircon application. Apply separately later and you pay $188 again.

Live Scan through Capital Live Scan: $74 ($17 FBI, $32 DOJ, $25 CLS).

Action Notice of Appointment or business entity endorsement: $32 per filing when a sponsor appoints you. You need an appointment (or equivalent endorsement) before you solicit, even though the license can issue without one.

Floor if you pass first try

Exam $55 + PSI $43 + license $188 + Live Scan $74 = $360 before any ethics course tuition, travel, retakes, or prep product.

If you sit at the CDI Los Angeles site and avoid the $43 convenience fee: $317 in those same buckets.

Add at least one $32 appointment filing when a carrier or agency appoints you.

12-hour Ethics and Code course

Since January 1, 2026, the old 20-hour prelicensing course is gone for Life and A&H under AB 943. The 12-hour Ethics and California Insurance Code course (including 1 hour on fraud) is still required before the license issues.

Tuition varies by CDI-approved provider. GetLicensedCA does not sell or replace that course and is not a CDI-approved ethics provider. Budget for it as a separate line item and pick a provider from CDI's Education Provider Course Lookup.

Retakes and second license types

Each PSI attempt is another $55 plus convenience fee when applicable. The 10-fail rule in Insurance Code section 1682 makes casual retakes expensive in more than dollars.

If you add Accident and Health later after licensing Life alone, expect another $188 filing fee and another exam fee unless you already passed a qualifying combined exam and are still inside rules for the application.

Optional prep

Prep is optional under the law. Timed practice still correlates with fewer retakes for most people.

GetLicensedCA: 3-day free trial, then $12.99 a month, or $69 lifetime. Includes 1,000+ PSI-style questions, Full Exam Simulator (150 questions, CA format), AI Study Tutor, English and Spanish. Pass or your money back: email hello@getlicensedca.com within 14 days. getlicensedca.com/pricing

Free timed practice test with no card: getlicensedca.com/diagnostic.

Renewal later

Renewal filing for Life and/or Accident and Health is $188 for the two-year term. Late renewal is higher on CDI's fee chart ($282 listed for late renewal on those license types).

CE is 24 hours per term including 3 hours of ethics with 1 hour on fraud. Product-specific annuity and LTC training can sit inside that CE for resident licensees when the statutes say so. CE course prices are separate from GetLicensedCA exam prep.

Sample totals

Lean first-try path at a PSI center, one appointment, ethics tuition not included: about $360 + $32 = $392 plus ethics tuition and any travel.

Same path with one exam retake at a PSI center: add roughly $98 ($55 + $43).

Lean path at CDI Los Angeles without the convenience fee: about $317 + $32 appointment plus ethics tuition.

Budget worksheet you can copy

Exam attempt line: $55.

PSI convenience line: $43 or $0 at CDI Los Angeles.

Ethics course line: provider tuition (variable).

License filing line: $188.

Live Scan line: $74.

First appointment line: $32 (usually paid in the appointment channel).

Prep line: $0 if you only use free tools, or GetLicensedCA trial then $12.99/mo or $69 lifetime.

Travel and time off work: your numbers.

Hidden costs people forget

Retake fees after a cold attempt.

A second $188 if you add the other license type later instead of selecting both first.

Rescheduling inside two business days and forfeiting the exam fee.

Fingerprint resubmits after a rejection if prints were unclear.

Product training courses for annuities or LTC before you can market those lines.

Comparing prep spend to retake spend

One PSI center retake is about $98 with the convenience fee. Two retakes erase most of a lifetime prep plan before you count lost study weeks. Timed practice is cheaper than pride.

Worked examples

Example A: Combined exam at a PSI center, pass first try, ethics tuition $150, one appointment. $55 + $43 + $150 + $188 + $74 + $32 = $542.

Example B: Same at CDI Los Angeles without convenience fee: $55 + $0 + $150 + $188 + $74 + $32 = $499.

Example C: Example A plus one retake at a PSI center: add $98, total $640 before extra travel.

Ethics tuition varies. Plug your provider's price into the worksheet instead of treating $150 as official.

What GetLicensedCA costs relative to the stack

Monthly $12.99 or lifetime $69 sits beside, not inside, CDI and PSI fees. The free timed practice test needs no card. Pass or your money back remains an honor-system email to hello@getlicensedca.com within 14 days if you use a paid plan and want to invoke it.