- You need 105 of 150 correct answers (70%) to pass the NY-LAH exam.
- The exam gives 2 hours 30 minutes for 150 multiple-choice questions, administered electronically.
- The 2025 English-language pass rate was 46.63% across 13,164 examinees - barely below a coin flip.
- Life Insurance Policy Provisions, Options, and Riders is the single largest domain at 10% of the exam.
The Exact NY-LAH Passing Score
The New York Life, Accident & Health Insurance Agent/Broker Exam (Series 17-55) has one passing threshold, and it doesn't move by domain, testing window, or exam form: you must answer 105 of the 150 scored multiple-choice questions correctly, which works out to exactly 70%. There's no partial credit, no curve, and no separate cut score for the life-only or health-only portions - the passing score applies to the exam as a single, integrated test covering all 18 content domains administered by PSI on behalf of the New York State Department of Financial Services (DFS).
That 70% figure sounds simple, but it hides a real margin for error. With 150 questions, you have exactly 45 questions of "room" to miss and still pass. Once you understand how those 45 misses are distributed across 18 unevenly weighted domains, the passing score stops being an abstract percentage and starts functioning as a study-planning tool. For a full breakdown of what's actually tested inside each domain, the NY-LAH Exam Domains 2026: Complete Guide to All 18 Content Areas is the natural companion to this article.
How the Score Fits the Exam Format
The passing score can't be separated from the format it's attached to. The NY-LAH exam is:
- 150 multiple-choice questions, delivered electronically at PSI test centers or via remote online proctoring
- 2 hours and 30 minutes in length
- Scored on a straightforward correct/incorrect basis, with 105 correct answers required to pass
- Available only after completing the required 40 hours of DFS-approved combined prelicensing education
- Priced at a $40 exam fee per sitting
Two and a half hours for 150 questions gives you roughly one minute per question, which is workable if you know the material but punishing if you're guessing on unfamiliar terminology. Because the exam blends life, accident, and health content into one sitting rather than splitting them into separate tests, candidates who are strong in life insurance but weak in health topics (or vice versa) can still fail the 70% threshold even if they excel in half the material. If you're trying to gauge whether this format is manageable for your background, How Hard Is the NY-LAH Exam? Complete Difficulty Guide 2026 walks through the difficulty factors in more depth.
Key Takeaway
Budget your 150 minutes so you're never spending more than about 60 seconds per question on your first pass through the exam - flag anything uncertain and return to it, rather than stalling early and running out of time on later domains.
Domain Weighting and the Passing Score Math
The topic locator behind the NY-LAH exam (currently the 2018-2019 DFS-linked version) organizes content into 18 domains, each carrying a different percentage weight. Because the passing score is a flat 70% across the whole exam, heavier domains carry more raw points - meaning your prep hours should not be spread evenly across all 18 areas.
| Domain | Weight |
|---|---|
| Life Insurance Policy Provisions, Options, and Riders | 10% |
| Life Insurance Basics | 8% |
| Life Insurance Policies | 8% |
| Insurance Regulation | 7% |
| Annuities | 7% |
| Disability Income and Related Insurance | 6% |
| Medical Plans | 6% |
| Federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act | 6% |
| Long-Term Care (LTC) Insurance | 6% |
| Private Insurance for Senior Citizens and Special Needs Individuals | 6% |
| Accident and Health Insurance Basics | 5% |
| Group Health and Blanket Insurance | 5% |
| Government Health Insurance Plans | 5% |
| General Insurance | 4% |
| Individual Health Insurance Policy General Provisions | 4% |
| Life Settlement | 3% |
| Federal Tax Considerations for Life Insurance and Annuities | 2% |
| Qualified Plans | 2% |
Notice that the top four domains - Life Insurance Policy Provisions, Options, and Riders; Life Insurance Basics; Life Insurance Policies; and Insurance Regulation - together account for a third of the exam. If you master those four domains cold, you can bank a large share of your 105 needed correct answers before you even touch the accident and health side. The NY-LAH Cheat Sheet 2026: One-Page Review of Must-Know Facts is built around exactly this kind of weighted-priority review.
Life Insurance Policy Provisions, Options, and Riders (10%)
As the single largest domain, this section deserves outsized attention. Candidates must understand:
- Nonforfeiture options and how cash value can be applied at lapse
- Standard policy provisions (grace period, reinstatement, incontestability, misstatement of age)
- Common riders (waiver of premium, accidental death, guaranteed insurability, accelerated death benefit) and what triggers each
- Settlement and payout options available to beneficiaries
Where Candidates Lose the Most Points
The 2025 English-language pass rate for the NY-LAH exam was 46.63% across 13,164 examinees - meaning more than half of everyone who sat for it did not clear the 70% bar. That statistic matters when you're thinking about your own score target: it tells you the exam is not a rubber stamp, and it rewards candidates who treat every domain as testable rather than skimming the smaller-weighted sections.
In practice, candidates tend to lose points in two predictable places: the health-side domains (Medical Plans, the Federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, Long-Term Care Insurance, and Government Health Insurance Plans) because they receive less classroom emphasis than life insurance during prelicensing courses, and the numerically dense sections like Annuities and Federal Tax Considerations for Life Insurance and Annuities, where candidates must distinguish similar-sounding tax and distribution rules under time pressure. A closer look at how the overall numbers break down is available in NY-LAH Pass Rate 2026: What the Data Shows.
Registration, Retesting, and the License Window
Understanding the passing score also means understanding the mechanics around it. To sit for the NY-LAH exam, you must be at least 18 years old and have completed the 40 hours of DFS-approved combined prelicensing education. Each attempt costs a $40 exam fee, and testing is available either at a PSI test center or through remote online proctoring - so there's no reason a scheduling conflict should force you into an underprepared sitting.
If you don't reach 105 correct answers, you simply register and pay the fee again; there's no cap described in the licensing framework that would prevent a retake once you're ready. But there is a deadline that matters after you do pass: your passing result must be used to apply for a license within two years. Once licensed, the license fee is $40 per year or fraction of a year, and licenses can be issued for up to two years at a time. If your license stays active beyond two years, renewal requires 15 continuing-education credits. Full detail on these mechanics, including everything you need before exam day, is covered in NY-LAH Requirements 2026: Eligibility, Prerequisites & How to Qualify and in NY-LAH Certification Cost 2026: Complete Pricing Breakdown.
One more mechanic worth flagging: if you intend to sell variable life insurance or variable annuities, passing the NY-LAH exam and getting your DFS license isn't the finish line - that authority additionally requires FINRA registration and a CRD number. Candidates who only need the state life, accident, and health license can skip that step entirely.
Key Takeaway
Don't let a passing score go stale. If you pass but delay applying for your license past the two-year window, you'll need to retake the $40 exam and re-clear 105 correct answers before you can apply.
A Domain-Focused Prep Schedule
Generic study techniques only help if they're mapped onto the exam's actual weight distribution. Here's a schedule built specifically around the NY-LAH domain percentages, assuming you're studying alongside or after your 40-hour prelicensing course:
Heaviest life domains
- Life Insurance Policy Provisions, Options, and Riders (10%)
- Life Insurance Basics (8%) and Life Insurance Policies (8%)
Regulation, annuities, and tax edges
- Insurance Regulation (7%) and General Insurance (4%)
- Annuities (7%), Federal Tax Considerations (2%), Qualified Plans (2%), Life Settlement (3%)
Health and disability core
- Accident and Health Insurance Basics (5%), Individual Health Insurance Policy General Provisions (4%)
- Disability Income and Related Insurance (6%), Medical Plans (6%)
Regulatory health programs and full-length practice
- Federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (6%), Long-Term Care Insurance (6%)
- Group Health and Blanket Insurance (5%), Government Health Insurance Plans (5%), Private Insurance for Senior Citizens and Special Needs Individuals (6%)
- Timed 150-question practice run at ../ to rehearse the 2.5-hour pace
Spacing your review this way front-loads the highest-value domains while still leaving a full week for the health and senior-focused content that trips up candidates whose classroom time leaned heavily toward life products. For a more detailed week-by-week breakdown of exactly what to read and drill, see NY-LAH Study Guide 2026: How to Pass on Your First Attempt. Running full-length, timed practice exams at the NY-LAH practice test site in your final week is one of the few reliable ways to confirm you're actually hitting 105+ correct under real time pressure, rather than just recognizing terms in isolation.
What a Passing Score Doesn't Cover
Clearing 105 correct answers proves you know the material tested by DFS's Series 17-55 exam - it doesn't automatically mean you're licensed, employable, or done with education requirements. A few things a passing score does not include:
- License issuance - you still have to apply and pay the $40 per-year license fee within two years of your passing result
- Variable product authority - selling variable life or variable annuities requires FINRA registration and a CRD number on top of the state license
- Long-term maintenance - once a license runs past two years, you need 15 continuing-education credits to renew it
- Employment - carriers, agencies, and brokerages hiring life, accident, and health producers still evaluate candidates on more than the exam result
If you're weighing whether the time and $40 fee are worth it relative to what the license opens up professionally, Is the NY-LAH Certification Worth It? Complete ROI Analysis 2026 and NY-LAH Salary Guide 2026: Complete Earnings Analysis go into that side of the decision. And if your exam date is still unscheduled, NY-LAH Exam Dates 2026: Testing Windows, Deadlines & Scheduling covers how PSI availability and remote proctoring windows work.
FAQ
You need 105 correct answers out of 150 multiple-choice questions, which equals 70%. This single threshold applies across the entire exam, not per domain.
Since the exam has 150 questions and requires 105 correct, you can miss up to 45 questions and still pass with exactly 70%.
Yes. The 105-out-of-150 (70%) standard is fixed by the exam design administered through PSI on behalf of the New York State Department of Financial Services; it does not vary by sitting or by remote versus in-person testing.
You must use your passing exam result to apply for a license within two years. If that window lapses, you'll need to retake the exam and clear 105 correct answers again.
No. The Series 17-55 exam and its 70% passing score cover life, accident, and health content together across all 18 domains in one combined test, so there is no separate cut score by content area.