- The Life-and-Health combination runs 210 questions (180 scored, 30 pretest) in 4 hours 30 minutes.
- A scaled score of 70 is required to pass, and results stay valid for one year.
- The two Alaska law domains together make up one-third of all scored questions.
- Applicants need no prelicensing hours, but must submit a fingerprint card and be at least 18.
What the AK-LH Exam Actually Covers
The Alaska Life & Health Insurance Producer Exam (AK-LH) is the state licensing test administered by Pearson VUE on behalf of the Alaska Division of Insurance. It is not a voluntary professional certification with marketing-style credentials attached to it - it's the gatekeeping exam that determines whether you can legally sell life insurance, accident and health insurance, or both, in Alaska. Because of that, everything about the exam's structure, from question count to content weighting, is defined by regulatory outline rather than by a private certifying body's curriculum.
If you're brand new to the topic, start with our plain-language explainer on what is AK-LH or the quick-reference AK-LH meaning page before diving into study specifics. This guide assumes you already know you're pursuing the combined Life and Accident and Health path and want a concrete plan to pass on the first attempt.
Format, Fees, and Registration Mechanics
Under the outline dated March 3, 2025, the combined Life-and-Health path totals 210 multiple-choice items: 180 scored questions plus 30 unscored pretest questions mixed in without indication of which is which. You get 4 hours 30 minutes to finish. Note that an older table still printed in the candidate handbook references 220 items - treat the March 3, 2025 outline as current and don't be thrown off if you see the legacy number referenced elsewhere.
Registration mechanics matter as much as content knowledge here:
- Cost: A same-session Life-and-Health combination at a Pearson VUE test center costs $89.
- Delivery method: The combination is only offered at a physical test center. Individual Life-only or Health-only exams may be available through OnVUE online proctoring, but the combined path is not.
- Eligibility: You must be at least 18 years old, reside in Alaska, and be deemed trustworthy and competent. No prelicensing education hours are mandated before sitting for the exam.
- Fingerprinting: Initial applicants must submit a fingerprint card as part of the licensing process.
For the exact dollar breakdown across scheduling, retakes, and licensing fees, see AK-LH Certification Cost 2026: Complete Pricing Breakdown. If you're trying to map out when to sit relative to other life commitments, AK-LH Exam Dates 2026 covers scheduling windows in more detail.
The 13 Domains, Section by Section
The combined exam pulls from 13 content domains split across the Life exam and the Accident and Health exam. Domain percentages are normalized against the official scored-item counts across the full two-exam path, so some domains carry noticeably more weight than others. A full breakdown of every domain with study priorities lives at AK-LH Exam Domains 2026: Complete Guide to All 13 Content Areas, but here's the working list you need to memorize before building a study plan:
Domain 1-4: Life General Knowledge
Covers types of policies, provisions/riders/options/exclusions, completing the application and underwriting, plus retirement and other insurance concepts.
- Distinguish term, whole, universal, and variable life structures
- Know how riders (waiver of premium, accelerated death benefit, guaranteed insurability) alter a base contract
- Understand underwriting classifications and how field underwriting affects policy delivery
Domain 5-6: Alaska Specific Life
Domain 5 covers Alaska laws, rules, and regulations common to life, health, property, casualty, and personal lines insurance. Domain 6 narrows to laws pertinent to life insurance only.
- Producer licensing standards under Alaska statute
- Unfair trade practices and replacement rules specific to life contracts
Domain 7-11: Accident and Health General Knowledge
Covers types of policies, policy provisions/clauses/riders, social insurance, other insurance concepts, and field underwriting procedures.
- Know Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security disability basics under "Social Insurance"
- Understand coordination of benefits and pre-existing condition clauses
- Master field underwriting steps unique to health applications
Domain 12-13: Alaska Specific Accident and Health
Domain 12 mirrors Domain 5 but applies to accident and health lines specifically alongside property, casualty, and personal lines. Domain 13 covers Alaska law pertinent to accident and health insurance only.
- State-specific mandated health benefits
- Grievance and appeal procedures unique to Alaska-regulated health contracts
Why the Alaska Law Domains Deserve Extra Attention
The two common Alaska-law domains - Domain 5 (common to life, health, property, casualty, and personal lines) and Domain 12 (the accident-and-health equivalent) - together account for one-third of all scored questions on the combined exam. That's a disproportionate share concentrated in state-specific statute rather than general insurance concepts, and it's the section candidates most often underestimate because it doesn't map to anything they might have studied for a different state's exam.
Key Takeaway
Because one-third of scored questions sit in the two shared Alaska law domains, memorizing generic national insurance principles is not enough - you need Alaska-specific statute recall, not just conceptual understanding.
Candidates who assume the exam is "mostly product knowledge" tend to be surprised by how test-like the law questions feel - scenario-based items asking what a producer must disclose, when a policy delivery is compliant, or how a complaint gets escalated under Alaska rules. If you want a sense of how these questions are phrased and what makes them harder than they look, our breakdown at How Hard Is the AK-LH Exam? Complete Difficulty Guide 2026 walks through the question style in more depth.
A Domain-Aligned Study Timeline
Generic study techniques only help if they're pointed at the right material in the right order. Given that Alaska law makes up a third of the score and the remaining domains split across life and health product knowledge, sequence your review so law content gets reinforced repeatedly rather than crammed once.
Life Product Foundations
- Work through Domains 1-2: policy types, provisions, riders, exclusions
- Build flashcards for rider names and what each modifies
Life Application, Underwriting, and Concepts
- Cover Domain 3 (application/underwriting/delivery) and Domain 4 (retirement and other concepts)
- Start light review of Domain 5 Alaska law alongside life topics
Accident and Health Foundations
- Work through Domains 7-9: policy types, provisions/clauses/riders, and social insurance
- Re-run Domain 5/6 flashcards as spaced repetition
Health Concepts, Underwriting, and Full Alaska Law Pass
- Finish Domains 10-11 (other concepts, field underwriting)
- Dedicate focused sessions to Domain 12 and Domain 13 specifically
- Run full-length timed practice covering all 13 domains together
This sequencing means the highest-weighted material - the Alaska law domains - gets touched in weeks 2, 3, and 4 instead of only once. For a condensed reference you can review in the final days before your appointment, the AK-LH Cheat Sheet 2026: One-Page Review of Must-Know Facts consolidates the highest-yield facts across all 13 domains.
Scoring, Retakes, and Result Validity
Passing requires a scaled score of 70. Because the exam mixes 180 scored items with 30 unscored pretest items across the total 210, you won't know which questions counted - treat every question as if it's scored and manage your pace across the full 4 hour 30 minute window rather than trying to guess which sections "matter more."
| Element | Detail |
|---|---|
| Total items (current outline) | 210 (180 scored / 30 pretest) |
| Time allotted | 4 hours 30 minutes |
| Passing score | Scaled score of 70 |
| Result validity | 1 year |
| Combination fee | $89 (test center only) |
Passing results are valid for one year, which matters if you're coordinating your exam date with an employer's onboarding timeline or a licensing deadline. For the precise mechanics of how the scaled score is calculated and what a "70" actually represents relative to raw questions answered, see AK-LH Passing Score 2026: Exactly What You Need to Pass. If you're curious how outcomes trend across candidates who prepare with a structured plan versus those who don't, AK-LH Pass Rate 2026: What the Data Shows lays out what's publicly known.
After You Pass: Licensing and CE
Passing the exam is one requirement among several for full licensure - the Alaska Division of Insurance still reviews your fingerprint submission and confirms trustworthiness and competence before issuing the producer license. Once licensed, renewal happens biennially, and each full two-year licensing period requires 24 continuing-education hours, including 3 hours specifically in ethics. Build that into your long-term planning now so it doesn't catch you off guard two years from now.
If you haven't yet confirmed you meet every prerequisite - residency, age, background requirements - double-check against AK-LH Requirements 2026: Eligibility, Prerequisites & How to Qualify before you pay the exam fee. And if you're weighing whether the license is worth the time investment given what carriers and agencies actually pay licensed producers, AK-LH Salary Guide 2026: Complete Earnings Analysis and Is the AK-LH Certification Worth It? Complete ROI Analysis 2026 are worth reading alongside the requirements page.
Carriers, independent agencies, and brokerages hiring in Alaska's life and health market generally require this exact license before a producer can bind or sell policies, which is why open roles frequently list "active AK life and health producer license" as a hard requirement rather than a preference - see AK-LH Jobs for a sense of how the license translates into hiring criteria.
For a broader orientation on terminology before you get deep into domain content, our companion explainers - What Does AK-LH Stand For?, What Is A AK-LH?, and What Does AK-LH Mean? - clear up naming confusion that trips up first-time candidates searching for study material. If you want a structured course rather than self-study, AK-LH Training outlines what a guided prep path typically includes, and AK-LH Certification and What Is AK-LH Certification? cover the credentialing side once you've passed. You can also return to practice mode any time at the main practice test site to keep drilling weak domains until test day.
Frequently Asked Questions
The current outline, dated March 3, 2025, sets the combination at 210 multiple-choice items: 180 scored and 30 unscored pretest questions, delivered in 4 hours 30 minutes.
No. Alaska does not require prelicensing education hours to sit for the Life and Accident and Health exams, though you must be at least 18, an Alaska resident, and demonstrate trustworthiness and competence.
No. The Life-and-Health combination is offered only at a physical Pearson VUE test center. Individual Life-only or Health-only exams may be available through OnVUE online proctoring.
Passing results are valid for one year, so plan your licensing application and any employer onboarding within that window.
Producer licenses renew biennially. After each full two-year licensing period, you must complete 24 continuing-education hours, including 3 hours of ethics, to renew.