How to renew a Texas insurance license: deadlines, CE and late renewal

To renew a Texas general lines property and casualty license, finish 24 hours of continuing education (CE) and pay the $50 renewal fee before your license expires. Licenses run on a two-year cycle that ends in your birth month. Miss the date and you pay a late fee and CE fines, and after 90 days you can no longer act as an agent on that license.

Most new agents treat renewal as something to sort out later. That is a mistake, because the cheap path and the expensive path are separated by a single deadline. This guide walks through the cycle, the CE requirement, the fees, and what each stage of lapse costs you. It covers the general lines property and casualty license that the exam leads to.

How often does a Texas insurance license need to be renewed?

Every two years. Under Texas Insurance Code section 4003.001, an individual license expires on the holder's birthday. If you were licensed in an even-numbered year, it expires on your birthday in each even-numbered year. If it was issued in an odd-numbered year, the odd years apply. TDI's practice puts the end of the cycle at the end of your birth month, so check the exact date on your license instead of assuming.

Two details catch people out:

• If you hold more than one license, all of them expire on the earliest expiration date among them.
• The first term is often shorter or longer than two full years, because it is tied to your birthday and not to the day you passed.

The department must send written notice of the coming expiration not later than the 30th day before it happens, to the address it has on file. That is why keeping your contact details current matters. A notice sent to an old address does not move your deadline.

What do you need to do to renew?

Two things, both of which must be done before TDI will renew the license, according to the TDI license management page:

1. Complete your CE requirements, and pay any CE fines you already owe.
2. Pay the renewal fee through Sircon, the licensing system TDI uses.

Because the invoice goes to your email address, an out-of-date email on file is one of the most common reasons renewals are missed. Under the statute, a license whose holder has filed a proper renewal application stays in effect until TDI issues the renewal, so a pending renewal does not leave you unlicensed.

How many CE hours do you need?

Section 4004.053 requires an individual holding a general property and casualty license to complete 24 hours of continuing education during each license period. Holding several licenses does not multiply this: you do not have to complete more than 24 hours for all of them combined.

Inside those 24 hours, TDI sets two conditions:

• At least 12 hours must be "classroom" or "classroom equivalent" courses, which is the half of the total that cannot be satisfied by self-study alone.
• Three hours must be in ethics. Older material mentions two hours, which applied to licenses that expired on or before 31 August 2022.

You can take courses at any time in the term. The only hard limit is midnight Central Time on your expiration date. Courses must come from approved providers, and you can check your hours with the Continuing Education Transcript Inquiry on Sircon.

What does it cost if you miss the CE deadline?

TDI fines you $50 for each CE hour you have not completed by midnight Central Time on your expiration date, and it applies the fines automatically, with no exceptions. For licenses that expired after 1 June 2018, the maximum fine is $500 per license type. Paid fines are not refundable, even if an exemption or extension is granted afterward.

The fine is not a substitute for the education. You must still complete the hours and pay the fines before you are CE compliant. For a general lines agent missing all 24 hours, the cap is the practical ceiling on the penalty, but the real cost is the delay: the license cannot renew until the hours are done.

Can you get an extension or skip CE?

Sometimes. TDI lists two routes:

• Extension. You can ask for more time to finish your hours through the Services section on Sircon. The request must reach TDI at least two weeks before your license expires.
• 20-year exemption. If you have been continuously licensed in Texas for at least 20 years without interruption, you may not need to complete CE. You apply through Sircon, again at least two weeks before expiration.

Non-residents generally follow their home state's CE rules. If your home state does not require CE, or you hold a Texas designated home state license, Texas rules apply.

What happens if your license expires?

The statute sets three stages. They come from section 4003.007 and they matter more than any other part of renewal.

TDI's page puts the late fee at $25 if you do not pay the renewal fee before midnight Central Time on your expiration date. That is half of the $50 renewal fee, which is how the statute's one-half works out in practice.

Look closely at the first row. The 90-day window is a way to renew late, not a grace period. A license that has expired is not active. TDI's rules bar the person from acting as an agent during that window, so any business you write in it is a problem you created yourself.

The last row is the one that connects renewal back to the exam. Let the license stay expired for a year and you are back to the beginning, with the exam included. If this is you, our guide to who has to take the exam and who does not covers the exemption for a license that expired less than a year ago, and how to get a Texas general lines license walks through the application from scratch.

What does this mean for you as a new agent?

Treat the date on your license as a project deadline, not an administrative detail.

• Put the expiration date in your calendar, then set a second reminder at least 30 days earlier for CE completion.
• Spread the 24 hours across the term. Doing it all in the last week is how people hit the fine.
• Check that the email and mailing address on file are right. Both TDI notices and the Sircon invoice depend on them.
• Remember that insurance law and ethics are exam content too. The ethics hours you take for CE reinforce rules you study now, and our free practice questions give you a way to test the Texas insurance law side while it is fresh.

If you have not passed the exam yet, renewal is a problem for later. The Texas P&C course is built around the exam first, and the costs to expect on the way in are laid out in what it costs to get a Texas P&C license.

Frequently asked questions

How much does it cost to renew a Texas insurance license?

The renewal fee for a general lines property and casualty license is $50, paid through Sircon. TDI adds a $25 late fee if you pay after midnight Central Time on your expiration date. CE fines are separate: $50 for each hour you have not completed by that same deadline, capped at $500 per license type for recent terms.

How long after a Texas license expires can you renew it?

You can renew an expired license for 90 days after expiration by paying the renewal fee plus an additional fee equal to one-half of it. After 90 days but before one year, you cannot renew, but you can apply for a new license without retaking the exam. After a year, you need to reexamine.

Can you work while your license is in the late renewal window?

No. The 90-day period is not a grace period. Your license has expired, and TDI's rules bar you from acting as an agent during it. The late window only lets you renew the same license at a higher fee without starting over.

How many CE hours are required, and how many must be ethics?

You need 24 hours every two years. At least 12 must be classroom or classroom equivalent courses, and three must be ethics. If you hold more than one license, you still only need 24 hours across all of them for the same period.

Do you need to renew a Texas license that has never been used?

Yes. The license term, CE requirement and renewal fee apply whether or not you have written any business. An unused license that expires follows the same stages as any other, so keep the dates in view even if you are not selling yet.

Where do you actually renew?

You pay the renewal fee and manage your CE record on Sircon, which is the licensing system linked from the TDI license management page. TDI sends your invoice by email, so make sure your address on file is correct.