- MI L&H is Michigan's Life, Accident and Health Producer license, tested as PSI Series 16-80.
- The exam has 150 scored questions plus up to 10 experimental items, in 2 hours 30 minutes.
- You need a 75% cut score to pass, and the exam fee is $41.
- Insurance Regulation is the heaviest domain at 11.5% of the exam.
What Is the MI L&H License?
MI L&H stands for Michigan Life, Accident and Health Producer - the state insurance license that authorizes an individual to sell, solicit, or negotiate life insurance, annuities, accident insurance, and health insurance products to Michigan residents. It is not a voluntary professional certification you add to a resume for prestige; it is the legal credential the Michigan Department of Insurance and Financial Services (DIFS) requires before anyone can act as a licensed producer in these lines of business.
If you've searched terms like "MI L&H certification" or "what does MI L&H mean," you may have run into unrelated credentials that happen to share the same abbreviation. This article - and every resource on this site - refers specifically to the Michigan insurance producer license tested through PSI as Series 16-80. For a deeper breakdown of the terminology itself, see our companion piece on MI L&H meaning and the related explainer on what MI L&H stands for.
Who Governs and Administers the Exam
Two entities matter here, and it's worth keeping them separate in your head:
- Michigan DIFS - the state regulator that sets licensing requirements, prelicensing education rules, and the content outline for the exam.
- PSI - the third-party testing vendor that actually delivers the exam under the code Series 16-80, following DIFS's specifications.
This division matters practically: DIFS decides who is exempt from prelicensing hours and how long your credentials remain valid, while PSI controls scheduling, test-day logistics, and score reporting. When something changes about where or how you sit for the exam, it usually comes from PSI's bulletin; when something changes about education hours or license renewal, it comes from DIFS.
Exam Format, Fee, and Scoring
The MI L&H exam is built to be answerable within a defined window, with a fixed fee and a specific pass threshold. Here's what candidates are actually working with:
| Exam Detail | Specification |
|---|---|
| Exam code | PSI Series 16-80 |
| Scored questions | 150 multiple-choice |
| Unscored experimental items | 1 to 10 additional questions |
| Time allowed | 2 hours 30 minutes |
| Passing score | 75% |
| Exam fee | $41 |
| Content outline effective date | May 1, 2020 |
| Current bulletin effective date | June 10, 2025 |
Note the unscored experimental items - you won't know which questions count toward your score and which don't, so treat every question on the screen as if it matters. For a full breakdown of exactly how the cut score works and what a 75% actually requires in raw numbers, see MI L&H Passing Score 2026: Exactly What You Need to Pass.
Key Takeaway
Budget the full 2 hours 30 minutes even if you finish early - use leftover time to revisit flagged questions rather than leaving the center ahead of schedule.
The 15 Content Domains
The MI L&H exam outline splits into 15 domains covering both the life and health sides of the license. Weighting is not even across topics - some domains carry more than triple the weight of others, which should directly shape how you allocate study time.
Domain 1: Insurance Regulation (11.5%)
The single largest domain on the exam. Expect questions on producer licensing rules, DIFS authority, unfair trade practices, and Michigan-specific compliance requirements.
- Highest point value of any domain - do not under-study this section
Domain 2: General Insurance (10%)
Foundational insurance concepts and terminology that underpin every other domain on the test.
Domain 3: Life Insurance Basics (10%)
Core life insurance concepts, contract structure, and the fundamentals examiners assume you know before testing you on policy specifics.
Domain 5: Life Insurance Policy Provisions, Options, and Riders (10%)
Tied with Domain 3 and Domain 2 for second-highest weight. Covers nonforfeiture options, settlement options, and common riders.
Domain 8: Accident and Health Insurance Basics (10%)
The health-side counterpart to Domain 3 - foundational A&H concepts that later domains build on.
The remaining ten domains - Life Insurance Policies, Annuities, Federal Tax Considerations for Life Insurance, Individual A&H Policy Provisions, Disability Income, Medical Plans, Group Health Insurance, Dental Insurance, Senior/Special Needs Health Insurance, and Federal Tax Considerations for Health Insurance - round out the remaining weight, ranging from as little as 1.5% (Dental Insurance) up to 9% (Medical Plans). For the complete percentage-by-percentage breakdown of all 15 domains with topic-level detail, read our full MI L&H Exam Domains 2026: Complete Guide to All 15 Content Areas.
Prelicensing Education and Eligibility
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. This is a real barrier for many first-time candidates - it's not optional coursework, it's a prerequisite DIFS checks before your exam registration is valid.
Two time limits matter and are easy to overlook:
- Prelicensing certificate validity: 12 months from completion.
- Passing exam result validity: 12 months from your passing test date.
If either window lapses before you complete the next step in the licensing process, you may need to repeat education or retest. Plan your timeline so education completion, exam date, and license application all fall within these 12-month windows. For the full eligibility checklist, including exemption criteria, see MI L&H Requirements 2026: Eligibility, Prerequisites & How to Qualify.
Testing Location Changes You Need to Know
One of the most consequential recent changes for MI L&H candidates: Michigan discontinued remote insurance examinations in June 2025. If you were expecting to test from home, that option is gone. As of the current PSI bulletin (effective June 10, 2025), MI L&H candidates must test in person at an authorized PSI test center.
Key Takeaway
Schedule your PSI test center appointment early - center availability can be tighter than remote testing slots were, especially near application deadlines tied to your 12-month prelicensing or pass-result windows.
For a rundown of testing windows, how far in advance to book, and what to expect at check-in under the current rules, see MI L&H Exam Dates 2026: Testing Windows, Deadlines & Scheduling.
Who Actually Needs This License
MI L&H is the entry credential for anyone selling life insurance, annuities, disability income, or health insurance products in Michigan. That includes:
- Independent insurance agents building a life and health book of business
- Captive agents at carriers writing life and health lines
- Financial advisors adding insurance products to a broader practice
- Career-changers entering insurance sales roles that require dual life and health authority
Because the license covers both life and health lines in a single exam, it's more efficient than pursuing separate life-only and health-only credentials for producers who plan to sell across both categories. If you're evaluating whether this path fits your career goals, our analysis on Is the MI L&H Certification Worth It? Complete ROI Analysis 2026 walks through the tradeoffs, and MI L&H Salary Guide 2026: Complete Earnings Analysis covers earnings considerations for licensed producers.
You can also browse open roles that specifically call for this license in MI L&H Jobs, and review structured coursework options in MI L&H Training.
Building a Study Plan Around the Domain Weights
Because Domain 1 (Insurance Regulation) carries the most weight at 11.5%, and Domains 2, 3, 5, and 8 each sit at 10%, an effective study sequence front-loads these five areas before moving to lower-weighted domains like Annuities (4%), Federal Tax Considerations for Life Insurance (3.5%), or Dental Insurance (1.5%).
Regulation and Foundations
- Domain 1: Insurance Regulation (11.5%)
- Domain 2: General Insurance (10%)
Life Insurance Core
- Domain 3: Life Insurance Basics (10%)
- Domain 4: Life Insurance Policies (5%)
- Domain 5: Policy Provisions, Options, and Riders (10%)
Annuities, Tax, and A&H Basics
- Domain 6: Annuities (4%)
- Domain 7: Federal Tax Considerations for Life Insurance (3.5%)
- Domain 8: Accident and Health Insurance Basics (10%)
Health Lines and Final Review
- Domains 9-15: A&H Provisions, Disability Income, Medical Plans, Group Health, Dental, Senior/Special Needs, Health Tax Considerations
- Full-length timed practice under exam-style conditions
This is only a starting framework - your own pacing should depend on how comfortable you already are with insurance concepts. For a more detailed, day-by-day approach with practice question targets, see the MI L&H Study Guide 2026: How to Pass on Your First Attempt. If you want a compact reference for last-minute review, bookmark the MI L&H Cheat Sheet 2026: One-Page Review of Must-Know Facts.
Running full-length timed practice exams on our practice test platform is one of the most direct ways to simulate the 150-question, 2-hour-30-minute format before test day. Repeating sets under real time pressure at the main practice site also helps surface which of the 15 domains still need review, rather than relying on a general sense of "feeling ready."
What the License Actually Costs to Obtain
Beyond the $41 exam fee itself, total cost includes prelicensing education, any study materials, and potential retake fees if you don't clear the 75% cut score on the first attempt. Because the passing result and prelicensing certificate are only valid for 12 months, delays between steps can add cost if you're forced to redo education or scheduling. A full breakdown of every line item is available in MI L&H Certification Cost 2026: Complete Pricing Breakdown.
Frequently Asked Questions
It's one combined exam, Series 16-80, covering both life and health domains in a single 150-question test rather than requiring separate life-only and health-only exams.
No. Michigan discontinued remote insurance examinations in June 2025. As of the current PSI bulletin, testing is only available at authorized PSI test centers.
150 questions are scored. The exam also includes 1 to 10 unscored experimental questions mixed in, which you cannot identify during the test.
You need 40 hours of combined Life and Health prelicensing education unless you're exempt, and your prelicensing certificate is valid for 12 months - it does not need to be repeated for each retake within that window.
Insurance Regulation, at 11.5%, is the single highest-weighted domain. General Insurance, Life Insurance Basics, Life Insurance Policy Provisions/Options/Riders, and Accident and Health Insurance Basics each follow at 10%.