License lines, the pre-licensing course, the exam, retakes and the appointment, in the order they happen.
Every state licenses its own agents, so the details differ, but the path has the same shape everywhere. Here it is in order, with the questions to answer for your own state at each step.
States usually issue a life line, a health line, or both, sometimes as one combined license. Start from what you expect to sell in your first year. A combined license means a longer course and exam, so take it because you will use both lines, not because it sounds more complete.
Many states require a course from a provider the state approves before you can be licensed; some do not. Your department of insurance lists approved providers, and some states publish each provider's pass and fail numbers. That is a real denominator, which is more than most pass-rate badges offer.
When comparing courses, look for practice questions that explain every answer and follow your state's current outline, state law that cites the actual sections, the access window and what extensions cost, and the real conditions on any guarantee.
The exam is usually run for the state by a testing vendor, and the vendor or the state publishes a content outline that lists every section and what it weighs. Read it before you study anything else. Most of a life exam is general knowledge, the same everywhere; the rest is your state's own insurance law.
If you do not pass, the score report usually shows how you did by section. Retake rules, such as waiting periods and limits on attempts, differ by state, so look yours up before you rebook. Study the heaviest weak section first.
The license application, fingerprints and background check come next, then an appointment from each insurer whose products you sell. Your first 90 days walks through that part.
Which license lines it offers. Whether a pre-licensing course is required, and how many hours. Who runs the exam, and where the outline is. The retake rules. Whether fingerprints are required. Whether you must be appointed before you act. The continuing education cycle.
We are not a state-approved pre-licensing provider, and nothing here counts toward a required course. Life School is what you study alongside it: the general knowledge topics, your state's law sections as each state is released, the products with their tradeoffs left in, and the job after the exam. It does not teach annuities.