- The combined exam has 150 questions in 3 hours; you need 60% correct to pass.
- Each attempt costs $98 total: $55 to the state plus PSI's $43 convenience fee.
- Domains 1-3 (Life) and Domains 4-8 (Accident and Health or Sickness) each carry 75 of the 150 questions.
- Life Insurance (32.5%) and Medical Expense Insurance (30%) are the two heaviest tested domains.
What the CA-LAHS Exam Actually Covers
The California Life, Accident & Health or Sickness Insurance Exam (CA-LAHS) is administered by the California Department of Insurance through its testing vendor, PSI, at test centers or via remote online proctoring. It's a single combined exam built from two separately weighted halves: a 75-question Life component and a 75-question Accident and Health or Sickness component, for 150 multiple-choice questions total. You get 3 hours to finish, and a raw score of 60% correct is the passing line.
Because the two components are displayed at equal weight in the combined exam, you can't treat this as "mostly life insurance" or "mostly health insurance" prep. Half your points come from each side, and skipping either one caps your ceiling at 50% before you've answered a single medical or disability question correctly. If you want the full breakdown of how each domain's questions are distributed, the CA-LAHS Exam Domains 2026 guide maps every content area against its share of the test.
Registration, Fees, and Scheduling Mechanics
Every attempt costs $98 total, regardless of whether you sit at a physical PSI test center or test remotely with online proctoring: $55 is the state's examination fee, and $43 is PSI's convenience fee layered on top. That fee applies per attempt - if you fail and need to retake, you pay the full $98 again. This is one of the biggest reasons candidates should treat their first sitting as the one that counts rather than a "practice run."
A notable procedural change took effect January 1, 2026: California eliminated the former 20-hour line-specific prelicensing education requirement that used to precede the exam. You can now move toward the exam without logging those line-specific hours. However, you still need to complete 12 hours of Ethics and California Insurance Code coursework, including 1 hour specifically on insurance fraud, before your license is actually issued - that requirement didn't go away, it just sits at a different point in the process now. For a full accounting of every dollar and hour involved, see the CA-LAHS Certification Cost breakdown and the CA-LAHS Requirements guide.
Key Takeaway
Because retakes cost $98 each and the prelicensing structure changed for 2026, spend your prep time closing knowledge gaps in both the Life and Accident/Health sides before you schedule - not after a failed attempt tells you where they were.
The 8 Domains, Broken Down
The 150 questions are organized into eight domains. Domains 1-3 draw exclusively from the Life component; Domains 4-8 draw from the Accident and Health or Sickness component. Life Insurance is the single largest domain in the entire exam at 32.5% of the combined weight, and Medical Expense Insurance is the second-largest at 30%. Together, those two domains alone account for nearly two-thirds of your score.
Domain 1 & 4: General Insurance
Both components open with a general insurance domain covering foundational concepts - contract law basics, insurable interest, policy provisions, and regulatory terminology that applies across both life and health/accident products. Don't skim these thinking they're "easy warm-up" questions; they set the vocabulary the rest of the exam assumes you know.
- Contract elements and legal principles specific to insurance
- Producer duties and disclosure obligations
Domain 2: Life Insurance
At 32.5%, this is the domain that can make or break your score. Expect deep coverage of policy types, death benefit structures, premium mechanics, and how different life products are underwritten and priced.
- Term, whole, universal, and variable life distinctions
- Nonforfeiture options and policy loan mechanics
Domain 3: Life Policy Riders
A narrower but still important domain focused on the add-ons that modify a base life policy - waiver of premium, accelerated death benefit, guaranteed insurability, and similar riders. Questions often test whether you can match a rider to the client scenario it solves.
- Rider purpose and typical eligibility conditions
- How riders interact with the base policy's benefits
Domain 5: General Concepts of Medical and Disability Insurance
This domain lays the groundwork for the rest of the health side: cost-sharing mechanics, underwriting concepts, and how medical and disability products differ structurally from life insurance.
- Deductibles, coinsurance, and out-of-pocket maximums
- Group versus individual underwriting differences
Domain 6: Medical Expense Insurance
The second-heaviest domain on the entire exam at 30%. This covers major medical plans, managed care structures, and the provisions that govern how medical expense coverage pays claims.
- HMO, PPO, and indemnity plan structures
- Coordination of benefits and claims provisions
Domain 7: Disability Income Insurance
Focuses on how disability income policies define disability, calculate benefits, and handle elimination periods and benefit periods.
- Own-occupation versus any-occupation definitions
- Elimination periods and benefit duration limits
Domain 8: Long-Term Care Insurance
Covers long-term care policy triggers, benefit structures, and consumer protection provisions unique to this product line.
- Activities of daily living as benefit triggers
- Inflation protection and benefit period options
For a condensed reference you can review the night before your appointment, the CA-LAHS Cheat Sheet distills these eight domains into one page of must-know facts.
A Domain-Weighted Study Timeline
Generic study advice (spaced repetition, timed drills, flashcard decks) only helps if you're pointing it at the right domains at the right time. Because Life Insurance and Medical Expense Insurance together carry 62.5% of the combined exam, your schedule should give them the most repetition, not equal time with every domain.
Life Component Foundations
- Work through Domain 1 (General Insurance) and Domain 2 (Life Insurance) together, since Domain 2 alone is 32.5% of the exam
- Build a comparison chart of term, whole, universal, and variable life policies
Riders and Life Wrap-Up
- Master Domain 3 (Life Policy Riders) with scenario-based practice questions
- Run a full 75-question Life-only practice set to check retention
Health/Accident Foundations
- Cover Domain 4 (General Insurance) and Domain 5 (General Concepts of Medical and Disability Insurance)
- Drill cost-sharing math (deductibles, coinsurance) until it's automatic
Medical Expense Deep Dive
- Spend the most hours here on Domain 6 (Medical Expense Insurance) since it's 30% of the exam
- Compare HMO, PPO, and indemnity claim provisions side by side
Disability and Long-Term Care
- Study Domain 7 (Disability Income Insurance) and Domain 8 (Long-Term Care Insurance) together
- Take a full 150-question timed mock under the real 3-hour limit
Full-Length Review
- Retake missed-question sets from every domain, prioritizing Life Insurance and Medical Expense Insurance
- Run one final full-length timed practice exam through our practice test platform to confirm pacing
Why Repeat Test-Takers Struggle More
For the January-June 2026 window, the first-attempt pass rate on the English-language exam was 59%, while candidates retaking the exam passed at only 41%. That gap is worth sitting with. It suggests that failing once doesn't automatically mean the second attempt goes better - without a real change in preparation, the same knowledge gaps tend to resurface.
The practical implication: if you fail, don't just reschedule and hope for better luck. Go back through your practice results domain by domain, identify whether the miss was concentrated in the Life component or the Accident and Health or Sickness component, and rebuild that section specifically before paying the $98 fee again. If you're unsure whether your prep gap is conceptual or just about test-taking speed under the 3-hour limit, the How Hard Is the CA-LAHS Exam guide and CA-LAHS Pass Rate breakdown both dig into what separates a pass from a near-miss.
| Exam Element | Life Component (Domains 1-3) | Accident & Health or Sickness Component (Domains 4-8) |
|---|---|---|
| Question count | 75 questions | 75 questions |
| Weight in combined exam | 50% | 50% |
| Largest single domain | Life Insurance (32.5% overall) | Medical Expense Insurance (30% overall) |
| Domain count | 3 domains | 5 domains |
Licensing Steps After You Pass
Passing the exam is a milestone, not the finish line. Before your license is actually issued, you still need to complete the 12 hours of Ethics and California Insurance Code education, including the 1 hour on insurance fraud, that remains in place even after the 20-hour line-specific prelicensing requirement was eliminated on January 1, 2026. After licensing, the filing or renewal fee is $188, and resident licensees must complete 24 continuing-education hours every two-year term, including 3 hours of ethics with 1 hour specifically on insurance fraud.
Once licensed, the credential opens doors with carriers, agencies, and brokerages that need producers authorized to sell life, accident, and health or sickness products in California. If you're weighing whether the time and fees are worth it relative to what the license actually enables, the Is the CA-LAHS Certification Worth It analysis and CA-LAHS Salary Guide lay out the tradeoffs in more detail, while CA-LAHS Jobs covers the kinds of roles that typically require it.
Key Takeaway
Budget for both sides of the process: the $98 exam fee up front, and the $188 filing/renewal fee plus recurring 24-hour CE cycles once you're licensed and working.
If you're still early in the process and want a broader orientation before diving into domain-level study, start with the CA-LAHS Study Guide 2026 overview or the plain-language explainer at What Is CA-LAHS?. And regardless of where you are in your prep, running full-length timed sets on our practice test platform before exam day is the most reliable way to convert domain knowledge into a passing score within the 3-hour window.
Frequently Asked Questions
The combined exam has 150 multiple-choice questions split evenly between a 75-question Life component and a 75-question Accident and Health or Sickness component, with 3 hours to complete everything.
You need 60% correct across the combined 150 questions. See the CA-LAHS Passing Score guide for how that translates into a raw question count.
Each attempt costs $98 total: a $55 California examination fee plus PSI's $43 convenience fee, whether you test at a physical center or remotely with online proctoring.
No. California eliminated the 20-hour line-specific prelicensing requirement effective January 1, 2026. You still need 12 hours of Ethics and California Insurance Code education, including 1 hour on insurance fraud, before your license is issued.
Life Insurance (32.5%) and Medical Expense Insurance (30%) carry the most weight of the eight domains, so they deserve the largest share of your remaining hours if time is limited.