- The MI L&H exam is PSI's Series 16-80: 150 scored questions plus up to 10 unscored pretest items in 2 hours 30 minutes.
- You need a 75% cut score, and the exam fee is $41 per attempt.
- Remote testing ended in June 2025 - every sitting now happens at a physical PSI test center.
- Insurance Regulation is the single largest domain at 11.5% of the exam.
Quick-Reference Snapshot
If you only have five minutes before you walk into the testing center, this is the section to reread. Every number below applies specifically to the Michigan Life, Accident and Health Producer exam - not a generic multi-state combo exam and not a similarly-named credential from another state or organization.
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Governing body | Michigan Department of Insurance and Financial Services (DIFS) |
| Test administrator | PSI - exam code Series 16-80 |
| Exam fee | $41 |
| Question count | 150 scored + 1 to 10 unscored experimental items |
| Time allowed | 2 hours 30 minutes |
| Passing score | 75% |
| Testing format | In-person only at authorized PSI test centers (remote testing ended June 2025) |
| Prelicensing education | 40 hours combined Life and Health, unless exempt |
| Validity period | Prelicensing certificate and passing result each valid 12 months |
| Current bulletin | Effective June 10, 2025 |
| Content outline / cut score effective date | May 1, 2020 |
For a deeper walkthrough of how these numbers were set and where they come from, see the full MI L&H Passing Score 2026 breakdown and the MI L&H Certification Cost 2026 pricing guide.
Domain Weight Cheat Sheet
The Michigan content outline splits the exam into 15 domains. Weighting drives your study time allocation more than anything else - a domain worth 1.5% simply shouldn't get the same number of practice hours as one worth 11.5%.
| # | Domain | Weight |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Insurance Regulation | 11.5% |
| 2 | General Insurance | 10% |
| 3 | Life Insurance Basics | 10% |
| 4 | Life Insurance Policies | 5% |
| 5 | Life Insurance Policy Provisions, Options, and Riders | 10% |
| 6 | Annuities | 4% |
| 7 | Federal Tax Considerations for Life Insurance, Annuities, and Qualified Plans | 3.5% |
| 8 | Accident and Health Insurance Basics | 10% |
| 9 | Individual Accident and Health Insurance Policy General Provisions | 5% |
| 10 | Disability Income and Related Insurance | 5.5% |
| 11 | Medical Plans | 9% |
| 12 | Group Health Insurance | 5% |
| 13 | Dental Insurance | 1.5% |
| 14 | Health Insurance for Senior Citizens and Special Needs Individuals | 8% |
| 15 | Federal Tax Considerations for Health Insurance | 2% |
The Four Domains That Carry Nearly Half the Exam
Insurance Regulation (11.5%), General Insurance (10%), Life Insurance Basics (10%), and Life Insurance Policy Provisions, Options, and Riders (10%) together account for roughly 41.5% of scored questions. If your review time is limited, these four topics deserve first priority.
- Insurance Regulation covers Michigan-specific licensing rules, producer conduct, and DIFS authority.
- General Insurance covers foundational contract law concepts that resurface across every other domain.
- Life Insurance Basics and Policy Provisions/Riders overlap heavily - mastering one reinforces the other.
Domains 8, 11, and 14 (Accident and Health Basics, Medical Plans, and Senior/Special Needs coverage) form the health-side backbone of the exam. Together they represent 27% of scored content, which is nearly as much as the top four life domains combined. For a full topic-by-topic breakdown of what each domain actually tests, read the MI L&H Exam Domains 2026: Complete Guide to All 15 Content Areas.
Key Takeaway
Don't ignore the small domains entirely. Dental Insurance is only 1.5%, but skipping it outright still costs you roughly 2-3 questions on a 150-item exam - enough to matter when the cut score is 75%.
Registration & Eligibility Essentials
Before you can sit for Series 16-80, Michigan requires 40 hours of combined Life and Health prelicensing education, unless you qualify for an exemption. Once you complete that education, your prelicensing certificate is valid for 12 months - and separately, once you pass the exam, that passing result is also only valid for 12 months before you must be appointed or apply for licensure. Missing either window means starting the education or the exam process over.
- Prelicensing hours: 40 hours combined Life and Health (unless exempt)
- Certificate validity: 12 months from completion
- Passing score validity: 12 months from your exam date
- Exam fee: $41, paid directly to PSI at scheduling
Because both clocks run independently, sequence your prelicensing course and exam date close together. For the complete checklist of documents, age, residency, and background requirements, see MI L&H Requirements 2026: Eligibility, Prerequisites & How to Qualify. If you're still confirming what the license actually authorizes you to sell, start with What Is MI L&H? or MI L&H Meaning.
Exam Day Mechanics
One of the most important operational changes for 2026 candidates: Michigan discontinued remote insurance examinations in June 2025. That means there is no online proctoring option anymore - every candidate must test in person at an authorized PSI test center. If you were planning around a home-testing setup, that plan is no longer valid for this exam.
Inside the testing room, you'll face 150 scored multiple-choice questions plus up to 10 unscored experimental items, all within a 2-hour, 30-minute window. That works out to roughly one minute per question if you want a comfortable buffer for review at the end - tight, but workable if you're not stalling on any single item. For scheduling logistics, blackout periods, and how far in advance to book, see MI L&H Exam Dates 2026: Testing Windows, Deadlines & Scheduling.
Scoring & Pass Rate Reality Check
The cut score has been 75% since the current content outline took effect on May 1, 2020, and the active PSI bulletin governing today's exam took effect June 10, 2025. Nothing about the passing threshold is a moving target - it's been stable for years.
What is worth internalizing is the actual outcome data. Michigan's July 2026 report shows a 45.28% first-time pass rate and a 36.39% overall pass rate across all attempts. Read that carefully: fewer than half of first-time candidates pass, and the overall rate - which includes repeat attempts - is even lower. This isn't meant to be discouraging; it's meant to justify why a structured review matters more than a casual skim of your prelicensing notes.
Key Takeaway
A 36.39% overall pass rate means most candidates who fail once do not pass easily on a retake either. Treat your first attempt as the one that counts.
For the full statistical picture, including how these numbers compare across recent reporting periods, see MI L&H Pass Rate 2026: What the Data Shows and How Hard Is the MI L&H Exam? Complete Difficulty Guide 2026.
One-Week Review Timeline
This isn't a generic 8-week study calendar - it's a compressed final-review schedule built around the domain weights above, meant for candidates who have already completed their 40 hours of prelicensing education and need a structured last pass before test day.
High-Weight Life Domains
- Insurance Regulation (11.5%) - Michigan-specific producer rules and DIFS authority
- Life Insurance Basics (10%) and Policy Provisions, Options, and Riders (10%)
Health & Medical Core
- Accident and Health Insurance Basics (10%)
- Medical Plans (9%) and Health Insurance for Senior Citizens and Special Needs Individuals (8%)
Mid-Weight & Tax Topics
- Disability Income and Related Insurance (5.5%), Group Health Insurance (5%), Life Insurance Policies (5%)
- Federal Tax Considerations for Life Insurance, Annuities, and Qualified Plans (3.5%) and for Health Insurance (2%)
Small Domains + Full Timed Run-Through
- Annuities (4%), Individual Accident and Health Policy General Provisions (5%), Dental Insurance (1.5%)
- Simulate the full 150-question, 2-hour-30-minute format under real time pressure
If you want a longer, more comprehensive path rather than this compressed version, the MI L&H Study Guide 2026: How to Pass on Your First Attempt lays out a full multi-week plan. And to actually simulate exam-day pacing before you commit to a testing center date, run a few timed sessions on the practice test platform.
Question Style Traps to Watch
The Series 16-80 exam relies on scenario-based multiple-choice items far more than straight definition recall. A question won't simply ask "what is a waiver of premium rider" - it will describe a policyholder situation and ask you to identify which provision, rider, or regulatory rule applies.
- Regulation questions often hinge on specific Michigan producer conduct rules rather than generic insurance law - read for state-specific wording.
- Life policy provision questions frequently test the difference between similarly-named riders (e.g., waiver of premium vs. guaranteed insurability) using near-identical answer choices.
- Health domain questions often blend Medicare/senior coverage rules with general accident and health provisions, so don't study Domain 14 in isolation from Domain 8.
- Tax questions (Domains 7 and 15) are low-weight but high-precision - expect exact thresholds and treatment rules rather than conceptual questions.
Who Actually Uses This License
The MI L&H producer license is the credential Michigan requires before someone can sell individual and group life insurance, annuities, disability income, medical, dental, and senior/special-needs health products in the state. Captive and independent insurance agencies, health insurance brokerages, financial services firms bundling insurance with investment products, and Medicare-focused agencies all hire licensed producers holding this credential.
Because the license itself is Michigan-issued and DIFS-governed, it's tied directly to work within the state's regulatory framework - which is why Domain 1 (Insurance Regulation) carries the heaviest weight of any single domain. For a broader look at where this license fits into a career path and what roles typically require it, see MI L&H Jobs and MI L&H Salary Guide 2026: Complete Earnings Analysis. If you're still weighing whether pursuing the license is worth the time and the $41 exam fee plus prelicensing course cost, Is the MI L&H Certification Worth It? Complete ROI Analysis 2026 walks through the tradeoffs in detail.
New to the terminology entirely? Related primers like What Does MI L&H Stand For?, What Is A MI L&H?, What Does MI L&H Mean?, and What Is MI L&H Certification? cover the basics before you dive into domain-level review. If you haven't yet chosen a prelicensing course provider, MI L&H Training compares options, and MI L&H Certification covers the licensing process end to end.
Whichever stage you're at, running practice questions on the full practice test platform alongside this cheat sheet is the fastest way to convert domain weights into actual exam-day recall.
FAQ
The exam fee is $41, paid to PSI, the administrator of Series 16-80.
No. Michigan discontinued remote insurance examinations in June 2025. All candidates must test in person at an authorized PSI test center.
There are 150 scored multiple-choice questions plus 1 to 10 unscored experimental items, and you have 2 hours 30 minutes to complete the exam.
You need a 75% cut score, a threshold that has been in place since the content outline took effect on May 1, 2020.
Insurance Regulation, at 11.5%, is the single largest domain. General Insurance, Life Insurance Basics, and Life Insurance Policy Provisions, Options, and Riders each carry 10% and should be next in priority.