- What "Pass Rate" Actually Means for This Exam
- Why Kansas Doesn't Publish a Public Pass Rate
- How the 70% Passing Score Is Calculated
- Domain Weighting and Where Candidates Lose Points
- What Happens If You Fail: The 7-Day Rule
- Who Actually Sits for Exam 12-KS-05
- A Domain-Priority Study Plan
- Format Factors That Influence Outcomes
- Frequently Asked Questions
- The Kansas Department of Insurance does not publish a public pass rate for Exam 12-KS-05.
- Passing requires a 70% score across 140 scored questions out of 154 total on the exam.
- A failed attempt requires a mandatory 7 calendar day wait before retesting.
- Kansas has no prelicensing education requirement, so preparation quality varies widely by candidate.
What "Pass Rate" Actually Means for This Exam
Anyone searching for a KSLH pass rate is usually trying to answer one practical question: how likely am I to pass Exam 12-KS-05 on the first try? The honest answer is that neither the Kansas Department of Insurance nor Pearson VUE releases a candidate pass-rate percentage for this specific exam. That absence of a public number is itself useful data, and it changes how you should prepare compared to certifications that do publish pass statistics.
Instead of guessing at a figure, this article works from what is actually published and verifiable: the exam structure, the scoring threshold, the retake policy, and the domain weighting that governs which content areas carry the most scored questions. Those mechanics tell you far more about your realistic odds than a single aggregate percentage would anyway, because a national or statewide average doesn't reflect your specific study habits, background knowledge, or how well you've covered each of the 12 domains.
Why Kansas Doesn't Publish a Public Pass Rate
State insurance departments generally leave exam analytics to their testing vendor, and Pearson VUE administers Exam 12-KS-05 as the official testing provider for the Kansas Department of Insurance. Aggregate pass-rate reporting for state producer exams is often handled internally for regulatory oversight rather than released as consumer-facing marketing data, which is common across state insurance licensing exams generally, not just this one.
This means any pass-rate percentage you encounter attached to "KSLH" from another source is likely describing a completely different credential that happens to share the same acronym. If you want to understand your odds, the more reliable approach is to study the actual exam blueprint. Our KSLH Exam Domains 2026: Complete Guide to All 12 Content Areas breaks down each of the 12 domains in detail, which is the closest thing to a predictive model you'll find for this exam.
How the 70% Passing Score Is Calculated
Exam 12-KS-05 contains 154 multiple-choice questions total, but only 140 of those are scored. The remaining 14 are unscored pretest items used to evaluate future questions before they count toward anyone's result. You won't know which 14 are pretest items while you're testing, so every question deserves full attention regardless of whether it ultimately counts.
You have 150 minutes to complete the full 154-question exam, and the life and health content is combined into a single test that produces one overall score - there is no separate pass/fail result for life topics versus health topics. To pass, you need to answer 70% of the scored questions correctly, which works out to hitting the threshold across 140 scored items combined.
Key Takeaway
Because life and health questions are blended into one combined score, you cannot compensate for a weak life-insurance foundation by over-preparing only on health topics, or vice versa. Both halves matter equally toward the same 70% threshold.
For a full walkthrough of how scaled scoring and the passing threshold work together, see KSLH Passing Score 2026: Exactly What You Need to Pass.
Domain Weighting and Where Candidates Lose Points
The current exam outline took effect March 1, 2025, and domain weights are calculated directly from the official scored-question counts Pearson VUE assigns to each content area. The 12 domains span both life and health insurance content, plus Kansas-specific statutes and regulations:
Domain 1 & 5: Types of Policies
Covers the structural differences between life and health policy types - term, whole, universal life on the life side, and individual, group, and specialty coverage on the health side.
- Know policy classifications cold; this content repeats in application-based questions elsewhere on the exam.
Domain 2 & 6: Provisions, Riders, Options, and Exclusions
Tests your ability to identify what a rider adds, what an exclusion removes, and how nonforfeiture or renewability options function within a policy.
- Expect scenario questions that describe a policyholder situation and ask which provision applies.
Domain 3 & 9: Underwriting and Field Procedures
Covers completing applications accurately, underwriting classifications, and the producer's responsibilities when delivering a policy to a client.
- Pay attention to disclosure requirements and replacement rules, which show up in both life and health contexts.
Domain 4, 7 & 8: Retirement, Social Insurance, and Other Concepts
Blends annuities, retirement planning vehicles, Social Security/Medicare basics, and general insurance concepts like risk pooling.
- Medicare and Social Security terminology trips up candidates who only studied private insurance products.
Domains 10-12: Kansas Statutes and Regulations
These three domains are entirely state-specific: general statutes common to all lines, statutes pertinent to life insurance only, and statutes pertinent to health insurance only.
- National prep material won't cover this - you must study Kansas-specific regulatory content separately.
Because these Kansas statute domains can't be learned from generic multi-state materials, they're consistently where out-of-state candidates or those relying only on national content lose points. Our KSLH Cheat Sheet 2026: One-Page Review of Must-Know Facts is built specifically to reinforce these Kansas-only rules in a fast-review format before test day.
What Happens If You Fail: The 7-Day Rule
If you don't reach the 70% threshold, Kansas requires a 7 calendar day wait before you can retest. That's a fixed, non-negotiable gap - not a suggestion - so a failed attempt has a real cost in time, not just the $64 exam fee charged again for another sitting of Exam 12-KS-05.
On the other end, a passing result is valid for 2 years, giving you a defined window to finish any remaining licensing steps with the Kansas Department of Insurance. Since Kansas does not require prelicensing education, there's no coursework gate standing between you and your first attempt - which also means the responsibility for readiness falls entirely on your own preparation, not a mandated classroom hour count.
For the full breakdown of fees, retake costs, and what a second attempt actually adds up to, read KSLH Certification Cost 2026: Complete Pricing Breakdown.
Who Actually Sits for Exam 12-KS-05
Candidates taking this exam are typically pursuing a Kansas resident life and health producer license - insurance agency hires, career-changers entering financial services, and independent agents adding life and health lines to an existing property and casualty book of business. Because there's no prelicensing education requirement, candidates arrive with a wide range of prior exposure: some come from carrier-sponsored training pipelines, others self-study from scratch.
If you're weighing whether this exam and the license behind it fit your career goals, KSLH Salary Guide 2026: Complete Earnings Analysis and Is the KSLH Certification Worth It? Complete ROI Analysis 2026 cover the earning and career-path side of that decision. For eligibility specifics before you even schedule, check KSLH Requirements 2026: Eligibility, Prerequisites & How to Qualify.
A Domain-Priority Study Plan
Since domain weight is drawn directly from scored-question counts, the smartest use of limited study time is to sequence your review so the heaviest domains get repeated exposure, while the Kansas-only statute domains get dedicated, focused sessions rather than being lumped in with general content.
Policy Types & Provisions (Domains 1, 2, 5, 6)
- Build flashcards distinguishing life policy types from health policy types
- Drill rider and exclusion scenarios until you can identify the applicable provision instantly
Underwriting, Retirement & Other Concepts (Domains 3, 4, 7, 8, 9)
- Practice application and field-procedure scenario questions
- Review annuity structures alongside Social Insurance and Medicare basics
Kansas Statutes (Domains 10, 11, 12)
- Study state-specific regulatory content separately from general insurance concepts
- Focus on rules unique to life-only and health-only statute domains
Full Combined Review
- Take timed practice sessions matching the 150-minute, 154-question format
- Revisit weak domains identified during practice testing
This kind of spaced repetition works because it forces repeated contact with the highest-weight domains while still protecting dedicated time for the Kansas statute material that's easy to under-study. For a more detailed walk-through of this approach, see KSLH Study Guide 2026: How to Pass on Your First Attempt.
Format Factors That Influence Outcomes
A few structural details of Exam 12-KS-05 quietly affect how candidates perform, independent of how much they've studied:
| Factor | Detail | Why It Matters |
|---|---|---|
| Delivery format | English at test centers or via OnVUE; Spanish combination exams at test centers only | OnVUE remote testing removes travel time but requires a compliant testing environment |
| Question mix | 154 total, 140 scored, 14 unscored pretest | You can't identify pretest items, so pacing must assume every question counts |
| Time limit | 150 minutes | Roughly under a minute per question on average if paced evenly |
| Scoring structure | Combined life and health score, single result | Weakness in either subject area pulls down the same overall score |
Understanding these mechanics ahead of time reduces surprises on test day. If you're still deciding how much difficulty to expect relative to your background, How Hard Is the KSLH Exam? Complete Difficulty Guide 2026 goes deeper into how the format and content combine to create the exam's actual challenge level. You can also get comfortable with the pacing and question style using realistic practice questions on our practice test platform before you sit for the real thing.
Scheduling logistics matter too - since there's no mandated prelicensing coursework, some candidates schedule their exam before they're fully ready simply because nothing is stopping them. Review KSLH Exam Dates 2026: Testing Windows, Deadlines & Scheduling before locking in a date, and use practice exams to confirm you're consistently scoring above the 70% threshold first.
Frequently Asked Questions
No. Neither the Kansas Department of Insurance nor Pearson VUE releases a public pass-rate percentage for Exam 12-KS-05. Any pass-rate figure attributed to "KSLH" from another source almost certainly refers to a different credential.
You need 70% correct across the 140 scored questions. The exam includes 154 total questions, but 14 are unscored pretest items that don't count toward your result.
Kansas requires a mandatory 7 calendar day wait before you can retake the exam. You'll also need to pay the $64 exam fee again to schedule another attempt.
No. Kansas does not require prelicensing education for this exam, so preparation is entirely self-directed unless your employer or agency provides training.
A passing result is valid for 2 years, giving you a defined window to complete any remaining steps toward your Kansas life and health producer license.