- What the TN-LH Certification Actually Covers
- How the Life and Accident and Health Exams Are Structured
- Registration, Fees, and Retake Rules
- The 13 Domains That Determine Your Score
- Licensing Steps After You Pass
- Building a Study Schedule Around Domain Weight
- Who Hires TN-LH Licensed Producers
- Frequently Asked Questions
- The TN-LH Certification is two separately scored exams: Life and Accident and Health, each with 77 questions.
- Each exam allows 1 hour 45 minutes, and a scaled score of 70 is required to pass either one.
- Test-center appointments cost $55 per exam; the OnVUE combination for both lines costs $80.
- No prelicensing course is required, but the current outlines take effect October 15, 2025.
What the TN-LH Certification Actually Covers
The TN-LH Certification - the Tennessee Life & Health Insurance Producer Exam - is the state licensing test administered through the Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance and delivered via Pearson VUE. It exists to confirm that a producer understands the products, provisions, and Tennessee-specific rules governing life insurance and accident and health insurance before that person can legally sell those lines in the state. Unlike some other exam programs that bundle everything into one test, this credential is really two separate exams sitting under one licensing goal: Life and Accident and Health.
If you're still getting oriented, it helps to start with a plain-language explanation of what TN-LH is and how the acronym is used across the industry, or a quick primer on TN-LH meaning before diving into exam mechanics. This article focuses on the certification itself - what's tested, what it costs, and what happens once you pass.
How the Life and Accident and Health Exams Are Structured
Each of the two exams - Life, and Accident and Health - contains 77 total questions, but only 68 are scored. The remaining 9 are unscored pretest items used to evaluate future questions; you won't know which is which, so every question deserves your full attention. Candidates get 1 hour and 45 minutes per exam, and a scaled score of 70 is needed to pass each one independently. Passing Life does not automatically pass Accident and Health, and vice versa - they are graded and reported separately.
Across both exams, there are 136 scored questions total, and the domain weight percentages you'll see throughout this site are calculated as each domain's share of that combined pool of 136 questions. Understanding this scoring structure matters because it changes how you should allocate study time - a topic covered in depth in the TN-LH Exam Domains 2026: Complete Guide to All 13 Content Areas.
Key Takeaway
Treat Life and Accident and Health as two distinct study projects with two distinct pass/fail outcomes, even though most candidates schedule and prepare for both around the same time.
Registration, Fees, and Retake Rules
Pearson VUE offers two ways to sit for these exams: a traditional test-center appointment or the remote OnVUE option. A single test-center appointment for either the Life or Accident and Health exam costs $55. If you choose to take both exams together through OnVUE as a combination appointment, the cost is $80 total rather than paying $55 twice. That combination pricing is one of the more practical cost-saving details candidates overlook - it's broken down further in the TN-LH Certification Cost 2026: Complete Pricing Breakdown.
Retake rules are strict and worth memorizing before you schedule anything:
- After a first failed attempt on either exam, you must wait 10 days before retaking it.
- After any subsequent failure, the wait period extends to 30 days.
- Candidates are limited to two OnVUE attempts per exam line - after that, you must complete remaining attempts at a physical Pearson VUE test center.
These limits make it far more efficient to enter your first attempt fully prepared rather than treating the exam as a low-stakes trial run. For a full walkthrough of eligibility mechanics and how these rules interact with licensing, see the TN-LH Requirements 2026: Eligibility, Prerequisites & How to Qualify guide, and if you want the exact number behind "passing," the TN-LH Passing Score 2026: Exactly What You Need to Pass article explains how the scaled score of 70 is derived.
| Detail | Life Exam | Accident and Health Exam |
|---|---|---|
| Total questions | 77 (68 scored, 9 pretest) | 77 (68 scored, 9 pretest) |
| Time allowed | 1 hour 45 minutes | 1 hour 45 minutes |
| Passing score | 70 (scaled) | 70 (scaled) |
| Test-center fee | $55 | $55 |
| OnVUE combination fee (both exams) | $80 total | |
The 13 Domains That Determine Your Score
Every scored question on the TN-LH Certification exams comes from one of 13 domains split across the Life and Accident and Health content outlines. Weight is expressed as each domain's share of the combined 136 scored questions, and the outlines currently in effect took effect October 15, 2025.
Domain 1: Life - Types of Policies (11.0%)
Covers term, whole, universal, and variable life products, along with how each policy type functions and where they differ in cash value, flexibility, and cost structure.
- Distinguish permanent versus term coverage mechanics
Domain 2: Life - Policy Riders, Provisions, Options, and Exclusions (11.0%)
Tests knowledge of add-ons like waiver of premium, accelerated death benefit, and standard exclusions that limit or modify coverage.
- Know which riders change benefit amounts versus eligibility
Domain 3: Life - Completing the Application, Underwriting, and Delivering the Policies (8.8%)
Focuses on the producer's role from application through underwriting decisions and proper policy delivery procedures.
- Understand insurable interest and disclosure obligations at the point of sale
Domain 4: Life - Retirement and Other Insurance Concepts (5.9%)
Covers annuities, retirement plans, and how life insurance concepts intersect with retirement income planning.
- Compare annuity payout structures and qualified plan basics
Domain 5: Life - Tennessee Laws and Departmental Rules Common to Life, Accident and Health, Property and Casualty Insurance (10.3%)
State-level rules that apply broadly across insurance lines, including licensing standards and unfair trade practices.
- Memorize producer conduct and disclosure statutes
Domain 6: Life - Tennessee Laws and Departmental Rules Pertinent to Life Insurance Only (2.9%)
Narrower, life-specific statutory requirements unique to Tennessee.
- Know replacement and free-look rules specific to life policies
Domain 7: Accident and Health - Types of Policies (11.8%)
The single highest-weighted domain across both exams, covering disability income, major medical, long-term care, and other A&H product categories.
- Prioritize this domain first when scheduling review time
Domain 8: Accident and Health - Policy Provisions, Clauses, and Riders (11.0%)
Standard and optional provisions found in health contracts, including elimination periods and renewability clauses.
- Learn the difference between guaranteed renewable and noncancellable
Domain 9: Accident and Health - Social Insurance (4.4%)
Covers how private A&H products interact with Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security disability benefits.
- Know coordination-of-benefits basics with government programs
Domain 10: Accident and Health - Other Insurance Concepts (3.7%)
Miscellaneous concepts including group versus individual coverage distinctions and COBRA-type continuation basics.
- Review conversion privileges between group and individual plans
Domain 11: Accident and Health - Field Underwriting Procedures (5.9%)
The producer's underwriting responsibilities specific to health applications, including field underwriting red flags.
- Understand what information a producer must verify before submission
Domain 12: Accident and Health - Tennessee Laws and Departmental Rules Common to Life, Accident and Health, Property and Casualty Insurance (10.3%)
Mirrors Domain 5 but tested within the Accident and Health exam context.
- Expect overlapping statutory questions between the two exams
Domain 13: Accident and Health - Tennessee Laws and Departmental Rules Pertinent to Accident and Health Insurance Only (2.9%)
Narrow, A&H-specific state rules, including mandated benefits and continuation requirements unique to Tennessee.
- Know Tennessee's specific mandated coverage requirements
Notice that the two heaviest domains - Domain 7 (Accident and Health Types of Policies at 11.8%) and Domains 1 and 2 (Life Types of Policies and Life Riders/Provisions, each at 11.0%) - together account for roughly a third of all scored questions. For a candidate-friendly breakdown of how difficult each domain tends to feel in practice, the How Hard Is the TN-LH Exam? Complete Difficulty Guide 2026 article walks through common trouble spots domain by domain.
Licensing Steps After You Pass
Passing the exam is not the same as holding an active Tennessee producer license. Once you pass either or both exams, three steps remain:
- Fingerprinting. Required as part of the background check process before licensure.
- A 48-hour wait. Candidates must wait 48 hours after fingerprinting before filing their license application electronically.
- License application fee. A $50 fee is due when filing the application.
Building a Study Schedule Around Domain Weight
Generic study advice - spaced repetition, timed practice blocks, active recall - works, but only if it's pointed at the right content in the right order. Because Domains 1, 2, and 7 together make up roughly a third of your scored questions, a smart schedule front-loads those topics rather than moving through the outline in numerical order.
Life Policy Types and Riders (Domains 1-2)
- Build flashcards for policy types, riders, and exclusions
- Take a short practice quiz focused only on these two domains
Accident and Health Policy Types and Provisions (Domains 7-8)
- Compare A&H product categories side by side
- Drill provision language until renewability terms are automatic
Tennessee Law Domains (5, 6, 12, 13) and Underwriting (3, 11)
- Memorize state-specific statutes separately from general A&H/Life concepts
- Review application and delivery procedures for both lines
Lower-Weight Domains and Full Review (Domains 4, 9, 10)
- Cover retirement concepts and social insurance topics
- Run full-length timed practice exams for both Life and Accident and Health
For a more detailed week-by-week plan with specific resource recommendations, see the TN-LH Study Guide 2026: How to Pass on Your First Attempt. It's also worth reviewing a condensed reference before test day - the TN-LH Cheat Sheet 2026: One-Page Review of Must-Know Facts compresses the highest-weight domains into a single quick-scan page, and running through timed questions on our practice test platform helps you get a feel for the 1 hour 45 minute pacing before exam day.
Who Hires TN-LH Licensed Producers
Holding an active Tennessee life and accident and health producer license opens roles at carriers, independent agencies, and brokerages that sell life insurance, disability income, long-term care, and supplemental health products within the state. Because the exams are scored separately, some producers pursue only one line first - often Accident and Health for agencies focused on supplemental and voluntary benefits - before adding the other. If you're weighing whether this path fits your career goals, the TN-LH Salary Guide 2026: Complete Earnings Analysis and Is the TN-LH Certification Worth It? Complete ROI Analysis 2026 articles go into that decision in more depth, and the TN-LH Jobs overview covers the types of employers actively recruiting newly licensed producers.
Whatever your motivation, practicing with realistic, domain-weighted questions on TN-LH Exam Prep before you book your Pearson VUE appointment is the most direct way to convert study time into a passing scaled score of 70 on your first attempt.
Frequently Asked Questions
They can be. Pearson VUE's OnVUE option allows a combination appointment for both exams at a combined cost of $80, though you can also schedule and pay for them separately at $55 each if you prefer to prepare for one line at a time.
Each exam has 77 total questions, but only 68 are scored. The other 9 are unscored pretest questions used for future exam development, and you won't be able to tell which ones they are.
A first failure requires a 10-day wait before retaking that exam; any later failure requires a 30-day wait. You're also limited to two OnVUE attempts per exam line before you must retest at a physical Pearson VUE test center.
No. Tennessee does not require a prelicensing education course for the life or accident and health lines, which places more emphasis on independent study and practice testing.
You'll need to complete fingerprinting, wait 48 hours, then file your license application electronically along with a $50 license application fee to complete the licensing process.