- Scheduling the Life exam and the Accident and Health exam on the same day costs a single $90 fee.
- Each exam runs 2 hours 15 minutes, for 4 hours 30 minutes total if you sit for both major lines.
- Insurance Ethics carries 24 of 182 scored questions on the January 15, 2025 outline - don't skip it.
- Delaware has no mandated prelicensing course, but you still need a background report and the $125 application fee.
Exam Snapshot at a Glance
Before you memorize a single provision, get the mechanics straight. The Delaware Department of Insurance regulates the licensing process while Pearson VUE administers the actual test at its centers. This is the exam most candidates simply call the DE-LH Certification path, and it's really two separate major-line exams - Life, and Accident and Health - each split into a general portion and a Delaware state portion.
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Regulator | Delaware Department of Insurance |
| Test administrator | Pearson VUE |
| Exams | Life (separate) and Accident and Health (separate) |
| Scored + pretest items | 221 total across both exams - 182 scored, 39 pretest per the handbook |
| Time per exam | 2 hours 15 minutes (4 hours 30 minutes if both are scheduled) |
| Same-day scheduling fee | $90 for both major-line exams |
| Application fee | $125 producer application fee |
| Prelicensing education | Not required by Delaware |
| Language options | English and Spanish |
If you want the long-form version of this material, the DE-LH Study Guide 2026: How to Pass on Your First Attempt walks through each requirement in more depth. This page is designed as the condensed, printable version you glance at the night before test day.
17-Domain Cheat Sheet
Delaware's content outline splits knowledge into 17 domains spread across the two major lines. Treat the general-knowledge domains as portable insurance fundamentals and the Delaware-specific domains as jurisdiction rules you must memorize cold - they can't be reasoned out from general knowledge alone.
Life Exam Domains (1-8)
Domain 1: Life General Knowledge - Types of Policies
Know the structural differences between term, whole, universal, and variable products, plus how each pays out and accumulates value.
- Distinguish level term from decreasing/increasing term
- Understand cash-value mechanics in permanent products
Domain 2: Life General Knowledge - Life Provisions, Riders, Options, and Exclusions
Riders and nonforfeiture options are tested heavily because they show up in real policy disputes.
- Waiver of premium, accelerated death benefit, guaranteed insurability
- Suicide clause and contestability period language
Domain 3: Life General Knowledge - Completing the Application, Underwriting, and Delivering the Policy
This domain covers the producer's actual paperwork responsibilities from application to delivery receipt.
- Field underwriting duties and material misrepresentation
- Delivery requirements and free-look period
Domain 4: Life General Knowledge - Retirement and Other Insurance Concepts
Annuities and retirement vehicles cross over with life products and often trip up candidates who study life insurance in isolation.
- Fixed vs. variable annuity structure
- Qualified vs. nonqualified plan taxation basics
Domain 5: Delaware Specific Life - Statutes/Regulations/Bulletins Pertinent to Life, A&H, P&C
Cross-cutting Delaware rules that apply regardless of which line you're selling.
- Producer licensing authority under Delaware code
- Unfair trade practices applicable statewide
Domain 6: Delaware Specific Life - Statutes Common to Both Life and Health
Rules that show up on both the Life and the Accident and Health state portions.
- Replacement regulations
- Producer appointment and termination rules
Domain 7: Delaware Specific Life - Statutes Pertinent to Life Insurance Only
Life-only Delaware provisions, including specific consumer protection statutes tied to life contracts.
- Delaware-specific free-look and grace period rules
- Beneficiary designation statutes
Domain 8: Delaware Specific Life - Insurance Ethics
This is the domain candidates most often underrate, yet the January 15, 2025 outline assigns 24 of 182 scored questions to Insurance Ethics across the combined path.
- Fiduciary duty and disclosure obligations
- Rebating, coercion, and misrepresentation prohibitions
Accident and Health Exam Domains (9-17)
Domain 9: Accident and Health General Knowledge - Types of Policies
Covers the product landscape: individual medical, group health, disability income, LTC, and dental/vision.
- Indemnity vs. managed care structures
- Long-term care policy features
Domain 10: Accident and Health General Knowledge - Policy Provisions, Clauses, and Riders
Mandatory and optional provisions that define how a health contract actually behaves.
- Guaranteed renewable vs. noncancelable
- Coordination of benefits clauses
Domain 11: Accident and Health General Knowledge - Social Insurance
Government programs that interact with private coverage - Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security disability basics.
- Medicare Parts A, B, C, D differences
- Medicaid eligibility fundamentals
Domain 12: Accident and Health General Knowledge - Other Insurance Concepts
Broader concepts like taxation of health benefits and managed care terminology.
- HSA/FSA tax treatment
- Preexisting condition limitations
Domain 13: Accident and Health General Knowledge - Field Underwriting Procedures
Producer-level responsibilities during health application intake.
- Application accuracy and disclosure duties
- Replacement notice requirements
Domain 14: Delaware Specific A&H - Statutes Pertinent to Life, A&H, P&C
Same cross-cutting statutes as Domain 5, tested again from the health-exam angle.
- General licensing conduct rules
Domain 15: Delaware Specific A&H - Statutes Common to Both Life and Health
Mirrors Domain 6 but applied to health scenarios.
- Replacement and appointment rules in a health context
Domain 16: Delaware Specific A&H - Statutes Pertinent to Health Insurance Only
Health-only Delaware statutes, including state-mandated benefits and continuation coverage.
- Delaware continuation of coverage provisions
- Small group and individual market rules
Domain 17: Delaware Specific A&H - Insurance Ethics
The health-side counterpart to Domain 8; expect overlapping ethics scenarios framed around health claims and disclosures.
- Claims handling ethics
- Producer conduct standards specific to health sales
For a deeper breakdown of how these 17 areas interrelate and which ones deserve extra flashcards, see the DE-LH Exam Domains 2026: Complete Guide to All 17 Content Areas.
Question Format & Timing
Delaware's current candidate handbook lists 221 multiple-choice items spanning both exams - 182 scored and 39 pretest. Each exam is allotted 2 hours 15 minutes, so booking both major lines on the same day means a 4-hour-30-minute total appointment. Worth noting: the separate content-outline PDF references only five general pretest questions per exam, which doesn't match the handbook's pretest total. Don't let that discrepancy rattle you on test day - pretest items are unscored and unidentified either way, so your strategy stays the same regardless of which document's count is accurate.
Fees & Scheduling Mechanics
Delaware's fee structure rewards candidates who plan ahead:
- Scheduling the Life exam and the Accident and Health exam for the same day costs one $90 fee instead of paying separately for two appointments.
- The producer application itself carries a $125 fee, paid once you're ready to submit for licensure.
- Testing happens at Pearson VUE centers, with both major-line exams available in Spanish as well as English.
A full walkthrough of every fee line item - application, background check, and testing costs - lives in the DE-LH Certification Cost 2026: Complete Pricing Breakdown. If you're still deciding when to sit for the exam, the DE-LH Exam Dates 2026: Testing Windows, Deadlines & Scheduling article covers how Pearson VUE availability works.
Licensing Requirements Checklist
Delaware keeps its resident licensing path relatively lean compared to states with mandatory coursework:
- No prelicensing education requirement - Delaware does not mandate a specific prelicensing course before you sit for the exam.
- Pass both exam portions - general and state, for each major line you're pursuing.
- Submit a Delaware State Police criminal background report as part of your application.
- Pay the $125 producer application fee.
Key Takeaway
Because there's no state-mandated course, self-study quality is everything - a structured outline of the DE-LH Requirements 2026: Eligibility, Prerequisites & How to Qualify page helps you sequence background checks, application timing, and exam scheduling correctly.
Retake Rules by Portion
Each major-line exam (Life, and Accident and Health) is divided into a general portion and a Delaware state portion. If you pass one portion but fail the other, you don't have to retake the portion you already passed - you only retest the failed portion. The catch: you must pass that remaining portion within one year, or your passing score on the other portion expires and you start over.
For a realistic read on how challenging each portion tends to be for candidates, review How Hard Is the DE-LH Exam? Complete Difficulty Guide 2026 and DE-LH Pass Rate 2026: What the Data Shows.
CE & License Renewal
Once licensed, resident producers renew biennially by the last day of February in even-numbered years. Renewal requires 24 continuing education credits, including 3 ethics credits within that same biennium.
- Health producers who sell long-term care products must complete at least 3 Delaware long-term-care-specific CE hours within the biennium, on top of the general 24-credit requirement.
- Ethics CE (3 credits) is mandatory every renewal cycle - treat it as non-negotiable, not optional filler.
Track your renewal window carefully; missing the last-day-of-February deadline in an even year can lapse your license and force you to re-qualify.
Final-Week Review Plan
You don't need a generic 12-week calendar to use this cheat sheet effectively - you need a short, targeted final push that maps directly onto Delaware's domain weighting. Here's how to spend your last two weeks before test day.
Domain Triage
- Re-drill Domains 1-4 (Life general knowledge) and 9-13 (A&H general knowledge) using timed practice sets
- Isolate any provisions, riders, or exclusions you keep missing and build flashcards for just those
Delaware-Specific Lockdown
- Focus heavily on Domains 5-8 and 14-17 - these are jurisdiction-specific and can't be guessed from general insurance logic
- Spend extra time on Domain 8 and Domain 17 (Insurance Ethics), since ethics questions make up 24 of the 182 scored items across both exams
- Run a full-length timed practice exam to simulate the 2-hour-15-minute pacing per exam
Use our practice test platform to simulate both the general and state portions under real time pressure - pacing yourself for 2 hours 15 minutes per exam is a skill you build through repetition, not just content review.
Who Hires DE-LH Licensees
Holding an active Life or Accident and Health producer license issued through Delaware's exam process opens doors with carriers, independent agencies, and brokerage general agencies operating in the state. Common hiring paths include:
- Captive life and health insurance carriers building Delaware-licensed sales teams
- Independent insurance agencies that place life, disability, LTC, and supplemental health products
- Employee benefits brokerages needing licensed producers for group health placement
- Medicare-focused agencies (leveraging the Social Insurance domain knowledge from Domain 11)
If you're evaluating whether this credential fits your career goals financially, the DE-LH Salary Guide 2026: Complete Earnings Analysis and Is the DE-LH Certification Worth It? Complete ROI Analysis 2026 pages go deeper on earning potential and career trajectory. For active openings and how licensed producers typically get hired, see DE-LH Jobs.
FAQ
No, but doing so lets you pay a single $90 combined fee instead of scheduling and paying for each major-line exam separately.
The current handbook lists 182 scored items and 39 pretest items across both exams combined, though a separate outline PDF cites a different pretest count - the scored total of 182 is what determines your result either way.
No. Delaware does not require candidates to complete a specific prelicensing education program before sitting for the exam.
You retake only the failed portion, but you must pass it within one year of passing the other portion, or your passing result expires.
The January 15, 2025 content outline assigns 24 of the 182 total scored questions to Insurance Ethics, split between the Life exam's Domain 8 and the Accident and Health exam's Domain 17.
Keep this page bookmarked as your quick-reference sheet, but pair it with full practice runs on our exam simulator so the domain weighting and timing become second nature before your Pearson VUE appointment.