- What NY-LAH Certification Actually Means
- Who Runs the NY-LAH Exam
- Exam Format, Timing, and Scoring
- The 18 Domains You're Tested On
- Eligibility and Prelicensing Requirements
- Fees: Exam, License, and Renewal Costs
- What Happens After You Pass
- Who Actually Needs This Certification
- Preparing Around the Domain Weights
- Frequently Asked Questions
- NY-LAH stands for the New York Life, Accident & Health Insurance Agent/Broker Exam, regulated by DFS and delivered via PSI.
- The exam has 150 questions, a 2-hour-30-minute limit, and requires 105 correct (70%) to pass.
- Life Insurance Policy Provisions, Options, and Riders is the heaviest domain at 10% of the exam.
- Candidates must be 18+, complete 40 hours of DFS-approved prelicensing education, and use a passing score within two years.
What NY-LAH Certification Actually Means
NY-LAH is short for the New York Life, Accident & Health Insurance Agent/Broker Exam - sometimes referred to informally as "Series 17-55." It is the qualifying exam that New York State requires before someone can be licensed to sell, solicit, or negotiate life insurance, annuities, accident insurance, and health insurance products in the state. Passing the exam is not itself a license - it is the gateway test that clears the way for a license application.
Because the acronym is used loosely across the insurance world, it's worth being precise here: on this site, and in this article, NY-LAH refers exclusively to the New York-specific exam described above. If you've landed here trying to confirm exactly what the letters stand for, our companion pieces "What Is NY-LAH?" and "What Does NY-LAH Stand For?" walk through the naming in more detail.
Who Runs the NY-LAH Exam
The exam is owned and regulated by the New York State Department of Financial Services (DFS). DFS sets the licensing rules, the education prerequisites, and the fee structure. Actual test delivery is contracted out to PSI, a national testing vendor, which administers the exam at physical testing centers and through remote online proctoring.
This two-party structure matters for candidates: DFS controls what you need to qualify (age, education hours, license type), while PSI controls how and where you actually sit for the test. If you're unclear on the difference between eligibility rules and exam-day logistics, the NY-LAH Requirements 2026: Eligibility, Prerequisites & How to Qualify guide separates the two clearly.
Exam Format, Timing, and Scoring
The NY-LAH exam is delivered electronically and consists of 150 multiple-choice questions. Candidates get 2 hours and 30 minutes to complete it. To pass, you need 105 correct answers, which is 70%. There is no partial credit or essay component - it is a straightforward multiple-choice format, but the breadth of subject matter across 18 domains is what makes the timing feel tight for many candidates.
In 2025, the English-language pass rate was 46.63% across 13,164 examinees - a figure that tells you the exam is not a rubber stamp. Roughly half of test-takers do not clear the 70% bar on a given sitting. For a full breakdown of what that number implies about difficulty and preparation, see NY-LAH Pass Rate 2026: What the Data Shows and How Hard Is the NY-LAH Exam? Complete Difficulty Guide 2026.
Key Takeaway
You need 105 of 150 questions correct to pass - treat every practice session as a countdown against that exact number, not a vague "study more" goal. Our full-length practice tests score against the same 70% threshold so you always know where you stand.
The 18 Domains You're Tested On
The Series 17-55 topic locator - currently labeled 2018-2019 by DFS - breaks the exam into 18 domains. Each domain carries a specific weight, which tells you roughly how many of the 150 questions will come from that topic area. Studying without knowing these weights is studying blind.
Domain 5: Life Insurance Policy Provisions, Options, and Riders (10%)
This is the single largest domain on the exam. Expect detailed questions on standard policy provisions, nonforfeiture options, settlement options, and common riders attached to life policies.
- Highest point value of any domain - prioritize it first in your study calendar
Domain 3 & 4: Life Insurance Basics and Life Insurance Policies (8% each)
Together these two domains account for 16% of the exam. They cover foundational life insurance concepts and the structural differences between policy types - term, whole, universal, and variable products.
- Combined with Domain 5, life insurance fundamentals make up nearly a quarter of the test
The remaining domains, listed by weight, are:
- Domain 1: Insurance Regulation - 7%
- Domain 2: General Insurance - 4%
- Domain 6: Annuities - 7%
- Domain 7: Federal Tax Considerations for Life Insurance and Annuities - 2%
- Domain 8: Qualified Plans - 2%
- Domain 9: Life Settlement - 3%
- Domain 10: Accident and Health Insurance Basics - 5%
- Domain 11: Individual Health Insurance Policy General Provisions - 4%
- Domain 12: Disability Income and Related Insurance - 6%
- Domain 13: Medical Plans - 6%
- Domain 14: Federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act - 6%
- Domain 15: Long-Term Care (LTC) Insurance - 6%
- Domain 16: Group Health and Blanket Insurance - 5%
- Domain 17: Government Health Insurance Plans - 5%
- Domain 18: Private Insurance for Senior Citizens and Special Needs Individuals - 6%
Notice how health-related domains (10 through 18) collectively carry substantial weight - roughly matching the life insurance side of the exam. That's a direct result of the "Accident & Health" half of the credential's name, and it's a common blind spot for candidates who assume NY-LAH is mostly a life insurance test. For a domain-by-domain study breakdown, see NY-LAH Exam Domains 2026: Complete Guide to All 18 Content Areas.
Eligibility and Prelicensing Requirements
Before sitting for the exam, candidates must:
- Be at least 18 years old
- Complete 40 hours of DFS-approved combined prelicensing education covering life, accident, and health topics
- Plan to use a passing exam result to submit a license application within two years of the test date
If you intend to sell variable life insurance or variable annuities, you'll also need FINRA registration and a CRD number - an additional layer that goes beyond the DFS exam itself. This is a common point of confusion for new agents, and it's covered in more depth in NY-LAH Requirements 2026: Eligibility, Prerequisites & How to Qualify.
Fees: Exam, License, and Renewal Costs
The NY-LAH cost structure has a few separate line items, and candidates are sometimes surprised there's more than just an exam fee:
| Item | Cost |
|---|---|
| Exam fee (per attempt) | $40 |
| Individual license fee | $40 per year or fraction of a year |
| License term | Issued for up to two years |
| Continuing education (after 2+ years licensed) | 15 CE credits required for renewal |
Because the license fee is charged per year (or fraction of a year) and can be issued for up to two years, total upfront licensing costs vary depending on when in the cycle you apply. For the full math on exam fees, license fees, and prelicensing course costs combined, see NY-LAH Certification Cost 2026: Complete Pricing Breakdown.
What Happens After You Pass
Passing the NY-LAH exam is a milestone, not the finish line. You then have up to two years to file a license application using your passing result. Once licensed, the license itself can run for up to two years before renewal is due. If your license has been in effect for more than two years, renewal requires 15 continuing-education credits - a maintenance requirement separate from the initial 40-hour prelicensing course.
Anyone planning to offer variable products will need to layer FINRA registration on top of the DFS license. This dual-track structure - state insurance license plus, where applicable, securities registration - is one reason agents sometimes describe NY-LAH licensing as more involved than a single test-and-done credential.
Who Actually Needs This Certification
The NY-LAH exam is required for anyone in New York State who wants to act as an agent or broker selling life insurance, annuities, accident insurance, or health insurance. In practice, that includes:
- New agents entering captive or independent life insurance agencies
- Financial professionals adding insurance products to an existing securities or advisory practice
- Health insurance brokers working with individual, group, or Medicare-related plans
- Career-changers moving into insurance sales from adjacent fields
Employers hiring for these roles typically list the license as a hard requirement, not a preference - you generally cannot legally sell these products in New York without it. For a closer look at where NY-LAH license holders actually work and what roles hire for it, see NY-LAH Jobs and NY-LAH Salary Guide 2026: Complete Earnings Analysis.
Key Takeaway
If your job offer mentions selling life, annuity, accident, or health products in New York, the NY-LAH exam and resulting license aren't optional add-ons - they're the legal precondition for the role.
Preparing Around the Domain Weights
Because the exam spans 18 domains with weights ranging from 2% to 10%, an efficient study plan allocates time proportionally rather than treating every topic equally. A practical rhythm looks like this:
Life Insurance Core (Domains 3, 4, 5)
- Master policy provisions, riders, and product structures - these three domains alone total 26% of the exam
Health and Regulation (Domains 1, 10-14)
- Cover insurance regulation plus accident/health basics, disability income, medical plans, and ACA provisions
Senior, Government, and Group Coverage (Domains 15-18)
- Long-term care, government health plans, group/blanket insurance, and senior-focused products
Small-Weight Cleanup and Full Timed Practice
- Annuities, life settlement, taxes, and qualified plans, then simulate the full 150-question, 2.5-hour format
This is one reasonable sequence, not the only one - the point is to weight your hours to match the exam's own weighting rather than studying every domain equally. A more detailed week-by-week plan, including how to use timed practice sets effectively, is in NY-LAH Study Guide 2026: How to Pass on Your First Attempt. If you just need a fast-reference summary of the highest-yield facts before test day, the NY-LAH Cheat Sheet 2026: One-Page Review of Must-Know Facts condenses it further.
Running full-length, timed simulations under real exam conditions is one of the best predictors of readiness. You can practice against the same 150-question, 105-correct benchmark using our practice tests before you commit to an official exam date.
Frequently Asked Questions
NY-LAH refers to the exam itself. Passing it is a required step toward obtaining a New York insurance agent/broker license, but the exam and the license are technically separate - you still need to file a license application using your passing result.
The exam has 150 multiple-choice questions, delivered electronically, with 2 hours and 30 minutes to complete it.
You need 105 correct answers out of 150, which equals 70%. See NY-LAH Passing Score 2026: Exactly What You Need to Pass for more detail.
Life Insurance Policy Provisions, Options, and Riders (Domain 5) carries the highest weight at 10% of the exam, making it the single most valuable topic to master.
You have up to two years from your passing exam date to use that result on a license application. After that window, the passing result generally can't be used, and you would need to retest.