- The exam has 145 questions (130 scored, 15 unscored) with a 2 hour 30 minute limit.
- Total cost is $95, which already includes South Dakota's $10 state administrative fee.
- TYPES OF HEALTH POLICIES is the single largest domain at 12.31% of scored content.
- You need a scaled score of 70 to pass; retakes are allowed after just 24 hours.
Exam Snapshot: The Numbers You Must Memorize
Before you touch a single practice question, lock these figures into memory. Every one of them comes directly from the South Dakota Division of Insurance's current outline and Pearson VUE's administration rules for the combined Life, Accident & Health or Sickness Producer examination.
- Question count: 145 total multiple-choice questions - 130 are scored, 15 are unscored pretest items you cannot identify during the test.
- Time limit: 2 hours 30 minutes.
- Passing score: A scaled score of 70.
- Total fee: $95, which includes a $10 state administrative fee.
- Content outline effective date: March 1, 2024.
If you want the full context behind each of these numbers, including how NAIC data frames first-time performance, the SDLH Pass Rate 2026: What the Data Shows breakdown is worth a slower read after you finish this cheat sheet.
Registration, Fees, and Testing Format
The exam is governed by the South Dakota Division of Insurance within the Department of Labor and Regulation, but the actual test delivery is handled by Pearson VUE. That matters because your registration, scheduling, and identification rules all come from Pearson VUE's system, not a state office.
You have two ways to sit for the exam:
- In-person at a Pearson VUE test center - standard proctored environment.
- OnVUE remote proctoring - take the exam from home or another approved location, monitored by webcam. Important detail: OnVUE does not permit unscheduled breaks, so plan bathroom stops and snacks before you start the clock.
Unlike many producer licensing pathways, South Dakota does not mandate prelicensing education before you sit for this exam. That flexibility is a double-edged sword - it lowers the barrier to entry but also means the burden of preparation falls entirely on self-study and practice testing. For a full walkthrough of eligibility mechanics, see SDLH Requirements 2026: Eligibility, Prerequisites & How to Qualify, and for a line-by-line cost comparison, check SDLH Certification Cost 2026: Complete Pricing Breakdown.
Key Takeaway
Because there's no state-mandated prelicensing course, structured practice testing through a resource like our SDLH practice test platform is often the most efficient way to build exam-day readiness from a standing start.
All 12 Domains at a Glance
The current outline splits content into twelve domains spanning life insurance, health insurance, and South Dakota-specific statutes. Below is a condensed reference - treat this as your recall sheet, not your primary study source.
Domain 1: Types of Life Policies
Term, whole life, universal life, and variable products - know the structural differences and typical use cases.
- Distinguish level term from decreasing/increasing term
Domain 2: Life Provisions, Riders, Options, and Exclusions
Nonforfeiture options, settlement options, common riders (waiver of premium, accidental death), and standard exclusions.
- Memorize which riders modify death benefit vs. premium
Domain 3: Completing the Application, Underwriting, and Delivering the Policies
Field underwriting responsibilities, application accuracy, conditional receipts, and delivery requirements.
- Know when coverage actually takes effect relative to delivery
Domain 4: Retirement and Other Insurance Concepts
Annuity structures, qualified vs. nonqualified plans, and general retirement funding vehicles.
- Compare immediate vs. deferred annuity mechanics
Domain 5: Types of Health Policies - the largest domain at 12.31%
Individual and group health, disability income, long-term care, and managed care plan structures. Because this is the single heaviest-weighted domain, under-preparing here has an outsized effect on your score.
- Prioritize this domain first in your study calendar
Domain 6: Health Policy Provisions, Clauses, and Riders
Standard provisions, coordination of benefits, and common health riders and exclusions.
- Learn required vs. optional policy provisions
Domain 7: Social Insurance
Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security disability basics as they interact with private coverage.
- Know Medicare Part A/B/C/D distinctions cold
Domain 8: Other Insurance Concepts
Risk management principles, insurable interest, and general contract concepts applied across life and health.
Domain 9: Field Underwriting Procedures
Producer conduct during the application process, replacement rules, and disclosure obligations.
Domain 10: SD Statutes, Rules, and Regulations Common to Life, Accident and Health, Property, and Casualty Insurance
General South Dakota licensing law, unfair trade practices, and producer conduct standards that apply across lines.
Domain 11: SD Statutes, Rules, and Regulations Pertinent to Life Insurance Only
State-specific rules that apply exclusively to life products sold in South Dakota.
Domain 12: SD Statutes, Rules, and Regulations Pertinent to Accident and Health Insurance Only
State-specific rules unique to accident and health products, distinct from the general Domain 10 material.
For deeper coverage of each domain's sub-topics and how questions are typically phrased, read the full SDLH Exam Domains 2026: Complete Guide to All 12 Content Areas. If you're still calibrating how difficult this content actually is relative to your background, How Hard Is the SDLH Exam? Complete Difficulty Guide 2026 is a useful companion read.
Scoring, Retesting, and What "Passing" Means
The exam uses a scaled score, with 70 as the passing threshold. Scaled scoring means raw questions-correct doesn't map directly to a percentage - the state and Pearson VUE calibrate difficulty across the 130 scored items. The 15 unscored pretest questions are mixed in without identification, so treat every question on screen as if it counts.
If you don't pass on your first attempt, the rules are straightforward:
- You may retest after a 24-hour waiting period.
- You must pay a new exam fee for each attempt.
NAIC's 2024 state-compiled data shows a 64.6% first-time pass rate for the combined Life and Health examination - meaning a meaningful share of candidates need a second attempt. Understanding exactly what that number does and doesn't mean for your own preparation is covered in more depth in the pass rate breakdown, and the precise mechanics of the scaled score are unpacked further in SDLH Passing Score 2026: Exactly What You Need to Pass.
| Factor | Detail |
|---|---|
| Total Questions | 145 (130 scored + 15 unscored) |
| Time Allotted | 2 hours 30 minutes |
| Passing Score | Scaled score of 70 |
| Exam Fee | $95 (includes $10 state fee) |
| Retake Wait | 24 hours, new fee required |
| Testing Options | Pearson VUE center or OnVUE remote (no unscheduled breaks) |
After You Pass: License Application Timeline
Passing the exam is not the finish line - it's the start of a clock. South Dakota requires the following sequence:
- You may apply for your producer license 48 hours after passing the exam.
- You must submit your license application within 180 days of passing, or your exam result expires and you'd need to retest.
Once licensed, résumé-building and job searching become the focus. Many carriers, agencies, and independent brokerages specifically recruit newly licensed producers holding the combined Life and Health line. If you're mapping out what comes next professionally, SDLH Jobs and SDLH Salary Guide 2026: Complete Earnings Analysis cover the employer landscape and compensation structures typical of this license.
Renewal, CE Hours, and the Annuity Course
Licensing doesn't end at issuance. South Dakota resident producer licenses renew biennially, timed to your birth month. For producers holding only Life and Health lines, the continuing education requirement is 10 hours per renewal cycle.
There's one additional rule that trips up newer producers: anyone licensed on or after January 1, 2023 must complete a one-time 4-hour annuity best-interest course before selling, soliciting, or negotiating any annuity business. This is separate from your general CE hours and only needs to be completed once, but it's mandatory before you can legally discuss annuities with a client.
- 10 CE hours every two years for Life and Health-only producers
- One-time 4-hour annuity best-interest course for producers licensed 1/1/2023 or later, required before any annuity business
- Renewal cycle tied to birth month, not exam date
Final-Week Review Plan
With a defined domain list and a fixed time limit, the last stretch before your exam date should be about targeted repetition, not new material. Here's a sequence built around the exam's actual weighting, with the heaviest domain scheduled first.
Health-Heavy Domains
- Domain 5 (Types of Health Policies) - the largest single domain, tackle it first
- Domain 6 (Health Policy Provisions, Clauses, and Riders)
- Domain 7 (Social Insurance)
Life Insurance Core
- Domain 1 (Types of Life Policies)
- Domain 2 (Life Provisions, Riders, Options, and Exclusions)
- Domain 4 (Retirement and Other Insurance Concepts)
Process and Concepts
- Domain 3 (Completing the Application, Underwriting, and Delivering the Policies)
- Domain 8 (Other Insurance Concepts)
- Domain 9 (Field Underwriting Procedures)
South Dakota Statutes and Full Simulations
- Domains 10, 11, and 12 (all SD-specific statute domains)
- Two full 145-question timed simulations under the 2 hour 30 minute limit
- Review OnVUE or test-center logistics ahead of exam day
Timed full-length simulations in week four matter more than most candidates expect - 145 questions in 150 minutes leaves roughly a minute per question, and pacing under that pressure is a skill separate from knowing the material. For a structured week-by-week methodology built around this same domain weighting, see the SDLH Study Guide 2026: How to Pass on Your First Attempt. You can build that timed-practice habit directly using our full-length SDLH practice exams, which mirror the scored-and-unscored question mix.
Key Takeaway
Spend proportionally more review time on Domain 5 than any other single domain - at 12.31% weighting, it has more scored questions attached to it than any other content area.
FAQ
There are 145 total multiple-choice questions: 130 are scored and 15 are unscored pretest items mixed in without identification. You get 2 hours 30 minutes to complete all of them.
$95 total, which already includes South Dakota's $10 state administrative fee. This fee is paid again for every retake attempt.
No. South Dakota does not require prelicensing education for this exam, which places more weight on independent study and practice testing.
You can apply 48 hours after passing, and you must submit your application within 180 days of your passing date or the result expires.
Yes, through Pearson VUE's OnVUE remote proctoring option. Note that OnVUE does not allow unscheduled breaks during the exam, unlike some in-person testing conditions.
Keep this page bookmarked as your fast-recall reference in the days before your appointment, and pair it with hands-on practice through our SDLH practice test question bank to confirm you've internalized the numbers above rather than just recognized them.