- What Does AK-LH Actually Mean?
- Who Regulates and Administers the Exam
- Exam Format, Timing, and Scoring
- The 13 AK-LH Domains Explained
- Who Can Sit for the AK-LH
- Registration, Fees, and Test-Day Mechanics
- After You Pass: Validity and Renewal
- Who Actually Needs the AK-LH
- Scheduling Your Prep Around the Domain Mix
- Frequently Asked Questions
- AK-LH is the Alaska Life & Health Insurance Producer Exam, regulated by the Alaska Division of Insurance.
- The combined Life-and-Health test-center session costs $89 and covers 210 items across 13 domains.
- A scaled score of 70 is required, and passing results stay valid for one year.
- No prelicensing education hours are required, but applicants must be 18+, Alaska residents, and submit a fingerprint card.
What Does AK-LH Actually Mean?
AK-LH stands for the Alaska Life & Health Insurance Producer Exam - the state licensing test that anyone who wants to sell life insurance, health insurance, or both in Alaska must pass. It is not a voluntary professional designation you add to a business card; it is the mandatory gateway exam tied directly to your Alaska producer license. If you plan to write life policies, accident and health policies, annuities tied to life products, or any combination of the above inside the state, this is the exam standing between you and a license.
Because several unrelated credentials in other industries also use the letters "AK-LH," it's worth being precise: this article, and every resource on this site, refers exclusively to the Alaska insurance producer exam. For a deeper breakdown of the terminology and how the acronym is used across licensing materials, see AK-LH Meaning and What Does AK-LH Stand For?
Who Regulates and Administers the Exam
The AK-LH falls under the authority of the Alaska Division of Insurance, which sets licensing eligibility rules, continuing education requirements, and the scoring standard candidates must meet. Day-to-day test delivery, however, is handled by Pearson VUE, the testing vendor that runs the physical and remote-proctoring infrastructure used across most U.S. insurance licensing exams.
This two-party structure matters practically: the Division of Insurance determines who is eligible to sit for the exam and what happens after you pass, while Pearson VUE controls scheduling, test-center logistics, and the delivery format on exam day. If you're comparing this structure to other credentials, note that policies around scheduling windows and rescheduling deadlines are Pearson VUE's domain - covered in more detail in AK-LH Exam Dates 2026: Testing Windows, Deadlines & Scheduling.
Exam Format, Timing, and Scoring
The AK-LH is built around a combined structure: a candidate pursuing both lines of authority sits for the Life exam and the Accident and Health exam in the same session at a physical test center. According to the March 3, 2025 outlines, that combined session totals 210 multiple-choice items - 180 of which are scored and 30 of which are unscored pretest questions used to evaluate future exam content. Candidates get 4 hours and 30 minutes to complete the full combined test.
One detail worth flagging for anyone cross-referencing older materials: the current outline reflects 210 total items, while an older table still circulating in the candidate handbook lists 220. Rely on the current outline figure, not the legacy table, when estimating pacing.
To pass, you need a scaled score of 70. Because pretest questions are unscored and indistinguishable from scored ones during the test, there's no way to identify or skip them - every question deserves full attention. For a complete walkthrough of exactly how the scaled score works and what it implies about how many raw questions you need right, see AK-LH Passing Score 2026: Exactly What You Need to Pass.
Key Takeaway
Treat all 210 questions as scored during the actual test - you cannot tell pretest items apart from the 180 that count toward your score of 70.
The 13 AK-LH Domains Explained
The AK-LH content outline is organized into 13 domains split across three major knowledge areas: general Life knowledge, general Accident and Health knowledge, and Alaska-specific law for each line. Understanding how these domains are grouped is far more useful than memorizing a flat list, because it shows you where the exam concentrates its scored questions.
Domain 1: Life General Knowledge - Types of Policies
Covers the structural differences between term, whole, universal, and variable life products.
- Know how cash value accumulation differs across policy types
Domain 2: Life General Knowledge - Life Provisions, Riders, Options, and Exclusions
Tests your understanding of policy add-ons and standard contract language.
- Be able to distinguish riders like waiver of premium from nonforfeiture options
Domain 3: Life General Knowledge - Completing the Application, Underwriting, and Delivering the Policies
Focuses on the producer's role in the application-to-issue pipeline.
- Understand insurable interest and delivery requirements
Domain 4: Life General Knowledge - Retirement and Other Insurance Concepts
Covers annuities and retirement-adjacent insurance products sold alongside life policies.
- Know annuity payout structures and how they interact with life products
Domain 5: Alaska Specific Life - Laws Common to Life, Health, Property, Casualty, and Personal Lines
Covers general Alaska insurance code that applies across virtually every line of authority.
- Licensing rules, unfair trade practices, and general producer conduct standards
Domain 6: Alaska Specific Life - Laws Pertinent to Life Insurance Only
Narrower Alaska statutes that apply specifically to life products.
- State-specific replacement rules and disclosure requirements for life policies
Domain 7: Accident and Health General Knowledge - Types of Policies
Covers major medical, disability income, long-term care, and other health product categories.
- Differentiate individual vs. group health contract structures
Domain 8: Accident and Health General Knowledge - Policy Provisions, Clauses, and Riders
Standard health contract language and optional benefit riders.
- Understand coordination of benefits and pre-existing condition clauses
Domain 9: Accident and Health General Knowledge - Social Insurance
Covers how private insurance interacts with programs like Medicare and Medicaid.
- Know eligibility basics and how supplemental policies coordinate with social insurance
Domain 10: Accident and Health General Knowledge - Other Insurance Concepts
Broader concepts tying health insurance to risk management principles.
- Underwriting classifications and risk pooling fundamentals
Domain 11: Accident and Health General Knowledge - Field Underwriting Procedures
The producer's practical responsibilities when submitting health applications.
- Application accuracy, disclosure duties, and initial premium handling
Domain 12: Alaska Specific Accident and Health - Laws Common to Life, Health, Property, Casualty, and Personal Lines
The same general Alaska code tested in Domain 5, applied to the health context.
- Reinforces the state's cross-line conduct and licensing rules
Domain 13: Alaska Specific Accident and Health - Laws Pertinent to Health Insurance Only
Alaska statutes unique to health insurance regulation.
- State mandates and health-specific disclosure requirements
For a full breakdown of how domain percentages are calculated and normalized across the two-exam path, read AK-LH Exam Domains 2026: Complete Guide to All 13 Content Areas. If you're trying to gauge overall difficulty based on this domain spread, How Hard Is the AK-LH Exam? Complete Difficulty Guide 2026 walks through what makes certain domains harder to retain than others.
Who Can Sit for the AK-LH
Eligibility for the AK-LH is refreshingly straightforward compared to many other licensing exams. There is no mandatory prelicensing education requirement in Alaska - you can self-study and go straight to scheduling. However, you must meet these baseline conditions:
- Be at least 18 years old
- Reside in Alaska
- Be considered trustworthy and competent under Division of Insurance standards
- Pass the required examination(s)
Initial applicants are also required to submit a fingerprint card as part of the background component of licensure. None of this replaces the exam itself - it's the administrative side of qualifying to sit for it. A full eligibility checklist, including how residency and background requirements are verified, is available in AK-LH Requirements 2026: Eligibility, Prerequisites & How to Qualify.
Registration, Fees, and Test-Day Mechanics
Scheduling the AK-LH runs through Pearson VUE, and cost depends on how you take it. A same-session combination of the Life and Health exams at a physical test center costs $89. This combined format is test-center-only - you cannot take the bundled Life-and-Health session remotely. Individual exams (Life alone, or Health alone), by contrast, may be available through OnVUE online proctoring, giving you more flexibility if you're only pursuing one line of authority.
| Option | Format | Delivery |
|---|---|---|
| Life + Health combination | 210 items, 4 hrs 30 min | Test center only |
| Life exam only | Subset of Life domains | Test center or OnVUE |
| Health exam only | Subset of A&H domains | Test center or OnVUE |
For a complete cost breakdown, including how fees compare across single-exam and combined paths, see AK-LH Certification Cost 2026: Complete Pricing Breakdown.
After You Pass: Validity and Renewal
Passing the AK-LH doesn't lock in your license forever without upkeep. Passing results are valid for one year, meaning you need to complete your licensing application within that window. Once licensed, Alaska producer licenses renew on a biennial (two-year) cycle, and renewal requires 24 continuing education hours, including 3 hours of ethics, completed after a full two-year licensing period.
Key Takeaway
Don't pass the exam and then delay your license application - the one-year validity window is a hard clock, not a suggestion.
Who Actually Needs the AK-LH
The AK-LH is the entry credential for a wide range of insurance-selling roles in Alaska: independent life and health agents, captive agents working for a single carrier, financial services representatives who cross-sell life and annuity products, and health insurance brokers assisting individuals and small groups with plan selection. Because no prelicensing coursework is mandated, candidates come from varied backgrounds - some are career-changers, others are already licensed in another state and adding Alaska residency-based licensure.
If you're weighing whether pursuing this license is worth the time and $89 exam cost relative to the career paths it opens, Is the AK-LH Certification Worth It? Complete ROI Analysis 2026 and AK-LH Salary Guide 2026: Complete Earnings Analysis dig into that question in more depth. For a look at where licensed producers actually find work once they pass, see AK-LH Jobs.
Scheduling Your Prep Around the Domain Mix
Because Domains 5 and 12 (the two Alaska-law domains) together make up a full third of scored questions, your study calendar should not treat all 13 domains as equal in study time. A practical approach is to front-load general Life and Health knowledge early, since those domains build the conceptual foundation, then dedicate concentrated blocks specifically to Alaska statute closer to your test date - since state-specific rules are easier to forget and don't build on prior knowledge the way product concepts do.
Life General Knowledge (Domains 1-4)
- Policy types, provisions, underwriting, and retirement concepts
Accident and Health General Knowledge (Domains 7-11)
- Policy types, provisions, social insurance, and field underwriting
Alaska Law Domains (5, 6, 12, 13)
- Concentrated review of common and line-specific state statutes
Full Practice Sessions
- Simulate the 4 hour 30 minute, 210-item format under timed conditions
A structured week-by-week plan with more granular daily tasks is laid out in AK-LH Study Guide 2026: How to Pass on Your First Attempt, and a condensed reference for last-minute review sits in the AK-LH Cheat Sheet 2026: One-Page Review of Must-Know Facts. To see how your progress compares against the scaled score of 70 before test day, running full-length simulations on our practice test platform is one of the most direct ways to gauge readiness.
Frequently Asked Questions
It's structured as a combined session: candidates pursuing both lines of authority take the Life exam and the Accident and Health exam together in one 210-item, 4 hour 30 minute sitting at a Pearson VUE test center.
No. Alaska does not require prelicensing education hours for the AK-LH. You do need to meet age, residency, and trustworthiness requirements, and submit a fingerprint card as an initial applicant.
No. The same-session combination is test-center-only. Individual Life or Health exams taken separately may be available through OnVUE online proctoring.
Passing results are valid for one year, so you should complete your license application within that window rather than delaying.
Alaska producer licenses renew biennially and require 24 continuing education hours, including 3 hours of ethics, completed after a full two-year licensing period.
Understanding exactly what the AK-LH tests - and how its 13 domains, $89 combined fee, and scaled score of 70 fit together - is the foundation for building an efficient study plan. For related terminology and quick definitions, browse What Is AK-LH? and What Is AK-LH Certification?, or explore AK-LH Training options as you move from research into active preparation.