- KSLH stands for the Kansas Life & Health Insurance Producer Exam, administered through Pearson VUE.
- Exam 12-KS-05 costs $64 and covers 154 questions (140 scored, 14 unscored) in 150 minutes.
- A 70% score is required, and the combined life-and-health test produces a single pass/fail result.
- Kansas has no prelicensing education requirement, so preparation is entirely self-directed.
What Does KSLH Mean?
KSLH stands for the Kansas Life & Health Insurance Producer Exam, the state licensing test that anyone who wants to sell life or health insurance products in Kansas must pass. It is not a designation you earn once and keep as a badge on a resume - it is the gatekeeping exam administered on behalf of the Kansas Department of Insurance, and passing it is a prerequisite for holding a producer license in the state.
The acronym gets used loosely in conversation, so it helps to be precise: this page, and every other resource on this site, refers specifically to the Kansas combination life-and-health producer exam identified as Exam 12-KS-05. If you searched for a general definition, you may also want the companion explainer at What Is KSLH? or the shorter breakdown of the letters themselves at What Does KSLH Stand For?.
Who Governs and Administers the Exam
The Kansas Department of Insurance owns the licensing requirement and sets the content outline that examinees are tested against. Pearson VUE is the testing vendor that actually delivers the exam, whether a candidate sits at a physical test center or uses the remote-proctored OnVUE option. This two-party structure - state regulator plus testing vendor - is standard for insurance producer exams across the country, but the specific rules below apply to Kansas only.
The current version of the outline, and the domain weightings referenced throughout this article, took effect March 1, 2025. If you started studying from an older outline, confirm you're working from the current one before you build a study schedule.
Exam Format, Timing, and Fees
Exam 12-KS-05 is a single combination exam covering both life and health content, and it produces one combined score rather than two separate pass/fail results. Here is how the mechanics break down:
| Detail | Specification |
|---|---|
| Exam code | 12-KS-05 |
| Total questions | 154 (140 scored, 14 unscored pretest) |
| Time limit | 150 minutes |
| Passing score | 70% |
| Fee | $64 |
| Delivery (English) | Test center or OnVUE remote proctoring |
| Delivery (Spanish) | Test center only |
| Prelicensing education | Not required in Kansas |
Two details trip up first-time candidates. First, the 14 unscored pretest questions are mixed into the 154 without being flagged, so there's no way to identify or skip them - treat every question on screen as if it counts. Second, because the exam produces a single combined score, you cannot pass the life portion and fail the health portion separately; every scored question across both content areas contributes to the same 70% threshold. For a deeper walkthrough of exactly how that score is calculated, see KSLH Passing Score 2026: Exactly What You Need to Pass, and for a full cost breakdown beyond the base exam fee, check KSLH Certification Cost 2026: Complete Pricing Breakdown.
Key Takeaway
Because Kansas requires no prelicensing course, the content outline itself is your syllabus - there's no instructor filtering the material for you, which makes an accurate domain breakdown essential before you start studying.
The 12 KSLH Content Domains
The Kansas outline organizes exam content into twelve domains. Domain weights are derived from the official scored-question counts, meaning some domains simply carry more questions than others on test day. Below is each domain with a short description of what it covers.
Domain 1: Types of Policies
Foundational life insurance product categories - term, whole life, universal life, and variable products - along with how each is structured.
- Distinguishing permanent from temporary coverage
Domain 2: Life Provisions, Riders, Options, and Exclusions
The contractual features attached to life policies, including nonforfeiture options, settlement options, and common riders.
- Knowing which riders add cost versus which are built in
Domain 3: Completing the Application, Underwriting, and Delivering the Policy
The lifecycle of a life insurance transaction from application through policy delivery, including underwriting classifications.
- Producer responsibilities at each transaction stage
Domain 4: Retirement and Other Insurance Concepts
Annuities, qualified plans, and retirement-related insurance products tested alongside core life concepts.
- Annuity structures and tax treatment basics
Domain 5: Types of Policies (Health)
Health insurance product categories, including individual, group, and specialty health plans.
- Differences between indemnity and managed care structures
Domain 6: Policy Provisions, Clauses, and Riders
Standard health policy provisions and the clauses that define coverage limits and conditions.
- Mandatory versus optional policy provisions
Domain 7: Social Insurance
Government-administered programs such as Medicare and Medicaid and how they interact with private health coverage.
- Coordination of benefits with social insurance programs
Domain 8: Other Insurance Concepts
Additional health-related coverage types and concepts that round out the health portion of the exam.
- Concepts that don't fit neatly into policy or provision categories
Domain 9: Field Underwriting Procedures
The producer's role in gathering accurate information during underwriting for health coverage.
- Accurate disclosure and application completion practices
Domain 10: Kansas Statutes and Regulations Common to Life, Health, Property, and Casualty Insurance
State-specific rules that apply across all lines of insurance sold in Kansas.
- General producer licensing and conduct rules
Domain 11: Kansas Statutes and Regulations Pertinent to Life Insurance Only
State law specific to life insurance transactions and producer obligations in Kansas.
- Kansas-specific life insurance disclosure requirements
Domain 12: Kansas Statutes and Regulations Pertinent to Health Insurance Only
State law specific to health insurance transactions in Kansas.
- Kansas-specific health insurance requirements and prohibited practices
Because the outline splits life and health content into parallel domain sets (product types, then provisions, then supporting concepts, then state law), it helps to study them as two connected tracks rather than twelve unrelated topics. A domain-by-domain walkthrough with more detail on each bullet point is available in KSLH Exam Domains 2026: Complete Guide to All 12 Content Areas.
Who Uses This Credential
Passing the Kansas Life & Health Insurance Producer Exam is the licensing step that lets someone legally sell life insurance, annuities, and health insurance products as an agent in Kansas. Employers and agencies that require it typically include:
- Independent insurance agencies writing life and health policies for Kansas residents
- Captive agents working under a single carrier's brand within Kansas
- Financial services firms whose advisors also sell insurance products alongside investments
- Health insurance brokerages placing individual and group coverage
Because the license is state-issued rather than a private credential, the exam itself doesn't come with a job offer attached - it's the entry ticket that makes you eligible to be hired or contracted as a producer. If you're evaluating whether this path fits your career goals, KSLH Jobs and KSLH Salary Guide 2026: Complete Earnings Analysis cover the employment side in more depth, while Is the KSLH Certification Worth It? Complete ROI Analysis 2026 weighs the licensing effort against the career upside.
Registration, Retesting, and Validity Rules
Scheduling and retake logistics matter as much as content knowledge, especially since there's no prelicensing course to walk you through the process. Key rules to know:
- No prelicensing education required: Kansas does not mandate a course before you sit for the exam, unlike many other states.
- Language and delivery options: English-language candidates can test at a physical Pearson VUE center or remotely via OnVUE; Spanish-language combination exams are test-center only.
- Passing validity: A passing result remains valid for 2 years, which is the window you generally have to complete any remaining licensing steps.
- Retake waiting period: If you fail, you must wait 7 calendar days before scheduling another attempt.
These rules are worth internalizing before you book a seat, since a failed attempt costs both the $64 fee again and a week of lost time. For a full rundown of scheduling windows and what to do if you need to reschedule, see KSLH Exam Dates 2026: Testing Windows, Deadlines & Scheduling, and for the specific requirements you need to satisfy before you're even eligible to register, review KSLH Requirements 2026: Eligibility, Prerequisites & How to Qualify.
Turning the Outline Into a Study Plan
Because Kansas skips prelicensing coursework, your preparation timeline is entirely self-paced. A practical way to organize it is to assign each week of study to a cluster of domains, moving from foundational product knowledge toward the state-specific law domains that tend to feel least intuitive.
Life Fundamentals
- Domain 1: Types of Policies
- Domain 2: Life Provisions, Riders, Options, and Exclusions
Life Transactions and Retirement Concepts
- Domain 3: Completing the Application, Underwriting, and Delivering the Policy
- Domain 4: Retirement and Other Insurance Concepts
Health Fundamentals
- Domain 5: Types of Policies (Health)
- Domain 6: Policy Provisions, Clauses, and Riders
- Domain 7: Social Insurance
Health Concepts and Kansas Law
- Domain 8: Other Insurance Concepts
- Domain 9: Field Underwriting Procedures
- Domains 10-12: Kansas Statutes and Regulations
Spend the final days before your appointment mixing practice questions across all twelve domains rather than continuing to study new material - since the exam produces one combined score, a weak spot in even one domain can pull down an otherwise strong result. A structured walkthrough of this exact sequencing, with more detail on pacing and question drills, is available in KSLH Study Guide 2026: How to Pass on Your First Attempt, and you can run timed practice sessions that mirror the real 150-minute format on the main practice test platform.
Key Takeaway
Schedule the Kansas statutes domains (10-12) toward the end of your plan, not the beginning - they build on vocabulary and concepts introduced in the earlier product and provision domains.
If you're still weighing how demanding this exam actually is compared to other insurance licensing tests, How Hard Is the KSLH Exam? Complete Difficulty Guide 2026 breaks down the format and question style in more depth, and KSLH Pass Rate 2026: What the Data Shows looks at what the available data actually shows without inflating the numbers. A condensed one-page reference for the final 24 hours before your appointment is also available at KSLH Cheat Sheet 2026: One-Page Review of Must-Know Facts.
Frequently Asked Questions
Passing the KSLH exam is a required step toward holding a Kansas life and health producer license, but the exam itself is the test - the license is issued by the Kansas Department of Insurance after all licensing requirements, including the passing exam result, are satisfied.
No. Kansas does not require prelicensing education, so you can register and test directly through Pearson VUE once you meet the state's eligibility requirements.
The English-language version of Exam 12-KS-05 is available at Pearson VUE test centers or through OnVUE remote proctoring. Spanish-language combination exams must be taken at a physical test center.
You must wait 7 calendar days before scheduling a retake, and you'll pay the $64 fee again for another attempt at the full 154-question exam.
A passing result is valid for 2 years, giving candidates a window to complete any remaining steps toward an active Kansas producer license.