- MI L&H is administered by PSI as Series 16-80 and regulated by the Michigan Department of Insurance and Financial Services.
- The exam has 150 scored questions (plus up to 10 unscored), a 2.5-hour limit, and a 75% cut score.
- Insurance Regulation is the single largest domain at 11.5% of the exam.
- Michigan ended remote testing in June 2025 - you must test at a physical PSI center.
What Is MI L&H Certification, Exactly?
MI L&H stands for the Michigan Life, Accident and Health Producer license - the state credential that authorizes an individual to sell, solicit, or negotiate life insurance, accident insurance, and health insurance products to Michigan residents. It is not a voluntary professional designation like some other credentials that share a similar acronym; it is a state-issued insurance producer license required before anyone can legally act as an agent for these product lines in Michigan.
Because the name overlaps with other credentials in the insurance and financial services world, it's worth being precise: this article covers only the Michigan-regulated Life, Accident and Health Producer license tested through PSI's Series 16-80 exam. If you've seen conflicting details elsewhere online, the facts below are specific to this Michigan license and its current testing bulletin.
Who Governs and Administers It
The Michigan Department of Insurance and Financial Services (DIFS) sets the licensing requirements, content outline, and passing standard for the MI L&H exam. Actual test delivery is outsourced to PSI, which lists the exam under the code Series 16-80. The current PSI candidate bulletin governing test-day rules took effect June 10, 2025, while the underlying content outline and 75% cut score have been in place since May 1, 2020.
One operational detail matters a lot for scheduling: Michigan discontinued remote insurance examinations in June 2025. That means every candidate now sits for the MI L&H exam in person at an authorized PSI test center - there is no online-proctored option anymore. If you're planning around specific testing windows, review MI L&H Exam Dates 2026: Testing Windows, Deadlines & Scheduling before you lock in a study timeline.
Key Takeaway
Remote testing is gone. Build travel time to a physical PSI center into your exam-day plan, not just study time.
Exam Format and Scoring
The MI L&H exam is a fixed, well-defined instrument:
- 150 scored multiple-choice questions, plus 1 to 10 additional unscored (experimental) items mixed in without identification
- 2 hours and 30 minutes total testing time
- 75% required to pass - this is the official cut score set in the May 2020 content outline update
- $41 exam fee paid directly to PSI at registration
Because unscored items are indistinguishable from scored ones, every question deserves your full attention - there's no reliable way to identify and skip the experimental ones. For a full breakdown of exactly what the 75% threshold means in terms of correct answers and how it compares to other benchmarks, see MI L&H Passing Score 2026: Exactly What You Need to Pass.
| Exam Element | Detail |
|---|---|
| Administering body | PSI (Series 16-80) |
| Regulator | Michigan DIFS |
| Scored questions | 150 |
| Unscored items | 1 to 10 |
| Time allowed | 2 hours 30 minutes |
| Passing score | 75% |
| Exam fee | $41 |
| Testing format | In-person at PSI centers only (remote discontinued June 2025) |
The 15 Content Domains
The MI L&H content outline is organized into 15 domains, each carrying a specific weight on the exam. Understanding these weights is the single most useful thing you can do before you open a study guide, because it tells you exactly where the questions are concentrated.
Domain 1: Insurance Regulation (11.5%)
The largest domain on the exam, covering Michigan-specific licensing rules, producer conduct, unfair trade practices, and DIFS authority.
- Producer licensing requirements and renewal
- Prohibited practices and penalties
Domain 2: General Insurance (10%)
Foundational insurance concepts that underpin every product-specific domain later in the exam.
- Risk, insurable interest, and contract law basics
Domain 3: Life Insurance Basics (10%)
Core life insurance mechanics candidates must know before tackling policy-specific questions.
- Types of life insurance and underwriting fundamentals
The remaining domains - Life Insurance Policies (5%), Life Insurance Policy Provisions, Options, and Riders (10%), Annuities (4%), Federal Tax Considerations for Life Insurance, Annuities, and Qualified Plans (3.5%), Accident and Health Insurance Basics (10%), Individual Accident and Health Insurance Policy General Provisions (5%), Disability Income and Related Insurance (5.5%), Medical Plans (9%), Group Health Insurance (5%), Dental Insurance (1.5%), Health Insurance for Senior Citizens and Special Needs Individuals (8%), and Federal Tax Considerations for Health Insurance (2%) - round out the outline. Together, these fifteen areas leave no meaningful gap between life products and health/accident products, which is exactly why the license covers both lines under one exam.
For a domain-by-domain breakdown with the kind of question detail you'll actually see on test day, work through MI L&H Exam Domains 2026: Complete Guide to All 15 Content Areas.
Prelicensing Education and Eligibility
Before sitting for the exam, most candidates must complete 40 hours of combined Life and Health prelicensing education, unless they qualify for an exemption (such as holding certain existing designations recognized by DIFS). This education requirement is separate from - and a prerequisite to - the PSI exam itself.
Two timing rules matter here and are easy to overlook:
- Your prelicensing education certificate is valid for 12 months from completion.
- A passing exam result is also valid for 12 months, during which you must submit your license application.
Miss either window and you may need to repeat steps. For the full sequence of requirements, exemptions, and documentation, see MI L&H Requirements 2026: Eligibility, Prerequisites & How to Qualify. If you're comparing prelicensing course providers, MI L&H Training covers what to look for in an approved program.
Key Takeaway
Schedule your exam soon after finishing prelicensing coursework - both your certificate and your eventual passing score expire in 12 months, and letting either lapse means starting over.
Registering and Scheduling at PSI
Registration and payment for the MI L&H exam happen through PSI, with a $41 exam fee due at the time you schedule. Because remote proctoring was discontinued in June 2025, every candidate now selects an in-person appointment at an authorized PSI test center - there's no way around traveling to a physical site. Confirm your ID requirements, arrival time, and permitted materials directly against the current PSI candidate bulletin (effective June 10, 2025) before test day, since bulletin details can shift between administrations.
For a full cost picture - including prelicensing course fees, the exam fee, and license application costs - see MI L&H Certification Cost 2026: Complete Pricing Breakdown.
Who Earns This License and Why
The MI L&H license is the entry credential for anyone who wants to sell life insurance, health insurance, disability income products, Medicare-related plans, or annuities in Michigan. It's typically pursued by:
- New insurance agents at carriers or independent agencies who need to write both life and health business
- Financial advisors and financial services professionals adding insurance products to their offering
- Career-changers entering insurance sales, including those moving from banking or retail financial services
- Existing property/casualty producers expanding into life and health lines
Because Michigan requires the license before you can legally discuss or sell these products, it functions as a hard gate to employment in many producer roles, not just a resume enhancement. If you're evaluating whether the license leads to real opportunities, MI L&H Jobs outlines the types of roles that require it, and MI L&H Salary Guide 2026: Complete Earnings Analysis looks at how producers are typically compensated once licensed.
How Difficult Is It Really
Michigan's own reporting on this exam shows a first-time pass rate of 45.28% and an overall pass rate of 36.39%, according to the state's July 2026 report. Those numbers indicate that a majority of first-time candidates do not pass on their initial attempt, which should inform how seriously you take preparation - this is not an exam to walk into casually.
The 150-question format combined with the 75% cut score means there's limited room for guessing your way through weak domains. Content spread across 15 distinct areas, from Insurance Regulation to Dental Insurance to Federal Tax Considerations for Health Insurance, also means broad coverage matters more than depth in any single topic. For a detailed look at what makes candidates struggle and how the format contributes to difficulty, read How Hard Is the MI L&H Exam? Complete Difficulty Guide 2026 and MI L&H Pass Rate 2026: What the Data Shows.
Building a Domain-Aligned Study Plan
Rather than studying topics in the order your prelicensing course presents them, allocate your remaining review time according to exam weight. Spend the most time on Insurance Regulation (11.5%), General Insurance (10%), Life Insurance Basics (10%), Accident and Health Insurance Basics (10%), and Life Insurance Policy Provisions, Options, and Riders (10%) - these five domains alone represent over half the scored exam.
Regulation and Foundations
- Insurance Regulation (11.5%) - licensing rules, DIFS authority, prohibited practices
- General Insurance (10%) - risk, insurable interest, contract basics
Life Insurance Core
- Life Insurance Basics (10%)
- Life Insurance Policies (5%)
- Life Insurance Policy Provisions, Options, and Riders (10%)
Health, Accident, and Disability
- Accident and Health Insurance Basics (10%)
- Individual Accident and Health Insurance Policy General Provisions (5%)
- Disability Income and Related Insurance (5.5%)
Plans, Groups, and Smaller Domains
- Medical Plans (9%), Group Health Insurance (5%)
- Health Insurance for Senior Citizens and Special Needs Individuals (8%)
- Annuities (4%), Dental Insurance (1.5%), and both Federal Tax Considerations domains (3.5% and 2%)
Save the last few days before your test date for full-length practice under timed conditions that mirror the real 2-hour-30-minute format, ideally using a practice test platform built around this exact 150-question structure so you get comfortable with pacing before you're sitting in a PSI center. A structured week-by-week walkthrough with more specific milestones is available in MI L&H Study Guide 2026: How to Pass on Your First Attempt, and a condensed one-page reference for last-minute review is in MI L&H Cheat Sheet 2026: One-Page Review of Must-Know Facts.
Key Takeaway
Don't split study time evenly across all 15 domains - the top five by weight cover over half the exam, so start there.
If you're still deciding whether pursuing this license fits your career goals, weighing the time and fee investment against typical producer earnings is worthwhile; Is the MI L&H Certification Worth It? Complete ROI Analysis 2026 lays out that comparison directly. And once you're ready to start testing your knowledge, practice questions modeled on the real exam format are the fastest way to find out which domains still need work.
Frequently Asked Questions
It's technically a state-issued producer license, though it's commonly referred to as a certification. Passing the PSI exam and completing prelicensing education are steps toward obtaining the Michigan Life, Accident and Health Producer license from DIFS.
No. Michigan discontinued remote insurance examinations in June 2025. All candidates must now 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're given 2 hours and 30 minutes to complete the exam.
Insurance Regulation, at 11.5%, is the single largest domain on the exam and should be a top priority alongside General Insurance, Life Insurance Basics, Accident and Health Insurance Basics, and Life Insurance Policy Provisions, Options, and Riders.
Both the prelicensing education certificate and a passing exam result are valid for 12 months. If either expires before you complete your license application, you'll likely need to retake the relevant step.