Tennessee Insurance CE Requirements for Agents

Tennessee continuing education requirements for Property and Casualty (P&C) insurance producers are administered by the Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance (TDCI). Every resident licensed agent with a major line of authority must complete CE to maintain their license, and Tennessee provides one of the more producer-friendly structures in the country — including a generous 12-hour carryover policy and full flexibility for online course completion. That said, the deadlines are firm, and allowing your license to lapse means losing your ability to write business and potentially triggering carrier appointment terminations that take time and effort to restore.

TLDR: Tennessee P&C producers must complete 24 hours of CE every 2 years, including 3 hours of ethics. Licenses expire on the last day of your birth month biennially. Up to 12 excess general hours carry over (ethics hours do not carry over). Producers licensed before January 1, 1994 with continuous licensure are exempt from CE.

Who Needs CE in Tennessee

All Tennessee-resident licensed insurance producers holding major lines of authority must complete 24 hours of CE per biennial license term. This includes agents licensed for Property & Casualty, Life, Accident & Health, and any combination of major lines. If you hold multiple lines on a single license, you are not required to complete additional hours beyond the 24-hour total — one set of CE satisfies all lines.

Tennessee offers one of the more notable exemptions in the country: producers licensed before January 1, 1994, are exempt from all CE requirements, provided they have maintained continuous licensure since that date. If your license lapsed at any point and was reissued after that date, the exemption does not apply.

Other producers with different obligations include:

• Limited lines licensees (such as credit insurance, travel insurance, or rental car insurance) are generally exempt from the 24-hour CE requirement. Check with the TDCI to confirm the specific exemption for your limited line.
• Nonresident producers are exempt from Tennessee CE if they maintain compliance with their home state's CE requirements and their home state participates in a reciprocity agreement with Tennessee. Tennessee honors the NAIC CE Reciprocity (CER) program.
• First-term producers must complete their CE in the same timeframe as all other producers — Tennessee does not grant a reduced hour requirement for newly licensed agents.

There is no years-of-service exemption beyond the pre-1994 provision. The 24-hour biennial requirement applies regardless of experience level for agents licensed after that date.

How CE Hours Break Down

Tennessee requires 24 total hours of approved continuing education every two-year license term. Here is the breakdown:

• Ethics (3 hours required): Three of your 24 hours must be completed in TDCI-approved ethics courses. These hours count toward the 24-hour total — they are not in addition to it. Ethics courses cover topics such as producer responsibilities, fiduciary duties, regulatory compliance, and professional conduct. Ethics hours cannot be carried over from a previous cycle — you must complete 3 fresh ethics hours each renewal period.

• General/Elective Hours (21 hours): The remaining hours can be completed in any TDCI-approved subject area related to your lines of authority. There is no requirement that the hours match your specific line — a P&C-only agent can take a life insurance CE course and receive general credit.

Specialty Training Requirements

Tennessee P&C producers may face additional training mandates depending on the products they sell:

• Flood Insurance (3 hours, one-time): Before selling flood insurance policies, Tennessee P&C producers must complete a one-time 3-hour FEMA-approved flood insurance course. This is a prerequisite to writing flood coverage and is separate from the recurring 24-hour requirement.

• Annuity Best Interest (4 hours, one-time): Before selling, soliciting, or negotiating any annuity products, producers must complete a state-approved 4-hour Annuity Suitability Best Interest Standard course. This is a one-time requirement for existing licensees.

• Long-Term Care (8 hours initial, 4 hours ongoing): Before selling long-term care insurance, producers must complete an 8-hour state-approved LTC training course. After the initial course, producers who continue selling LTC products must complete 4 hours of LTC-specific CE every 24 months.

These specialty hours may count toward your 24-hour total depending on the course approval. Confirm with your CE provider or the TDCI.

Carryover and Course Restrictions

Tennessee allows up to 12 excess CE hours to carry over to the next renewal period. However, ethics hours do not carry over as ethics credit — excess ethics hours will only count as general credit in the next cycle. You must complete 3 fresh ethics hours every renewal period regardless of carryover.

Course repetition is not permitted within 2 years of the original completion date. You must wait a full 24 months before retaking the same course for credit.

Renewal Timeline and Deadlines

Tennessee producer licenses expire on the last day of the licensee's birth month, every two years. Your renewal date is set based on your initial license issuance, aligned to your birth month.

CE providers have 30 days to report course completions to the TDCI, and there is a $1.00 per credit hour reporting fee assessed to providers (which may be passed along to you). Given the 30-day reporting window, we strongly recommend completing all CE at least 60 days before your license expiration to ensure your transcript reflects full compliance at the time of renewal.

Tennessee does not offer a CE grace period or a penalty-free late renewal window. If your CE is incomplete when your license expires, your license enters expired status and you cannot legally transact insurance business.

Producers who have been expired for less than one year can reinstate by completing all outstanding CE requirements and paying the $60 renewal fee plus a $60 reinstatement penalty, for a total of $120. After one year, your license cannot be reinstated — you must reapply as a new applicant and pass the state licensing exam again. During any lapse, all carrier appointments are terminated.

Renewals are processed through NIPR or through the TDCI's licensing portal. The TDCI does not guarantee that renewal reminder notices will be sent — you are solely responsible for tracking your expiration date.

Approved CE Providers

The TDCI certifies CE providers and approves courses for Tennessee credit. You can search for approved courses through the TDCI CE requirements page or through the Sircon/NIPR database.

Tennessee accepts a broad range of delivery methods:

• Online (internet-based, self-paced)
• Classroom instruction
• Live webinars
• Correspondence (print-based study)
• Company-sponsored seminars
• CBT/CD-ROM

Unlike states such as Texas, Tennessee does not impose a minimum classroom percentage. You can complete all 24 hours through online self-paced courses from approved providers. There is no proctoring requirement for online course exams, making Tennessee one of the more flexible states for CE completion logistics.

National providers including Kaplan, WebCE, ExamFX, and AD Banker offer Tennessee-approved courses. When selecting courses, confirm that the course is approved for Tennessee credit and covers your lines of authority. Keep your certificates of completion as backup documentation.

Common Mistakes Agents Make

1. Assuming ethics hours carry over as ethics credit. Tennessee's 12-hour carryover policy is generous, but ethics hours are specifically excluded from carrying over as ethics credit. If you completed 5 ethics hours in your current cycle, the 2 excess ethics hours will only count as general credit in the next cycle. You must take 3 new ethics hours every renewal period.

2. Repeating a course too soon. Tennessee prohibits retaking the same course within 2 years of the original completion. If you relied on a favorite ethics course last cycle, you will need to find a different one this time. Plan your course selections early to avoid discovering at the last minute that your preferred course is ineligible.

3. Ignoring the flood insurance prerequisite. The one-time 3-hour FEMA flood course is required before selling flood insurance — not alongside your regular CE cycle. If you have been writing flood coverage without completing this training, you are out of compliance. This is a common oversight for agents who add flood to their offerings mid-career.

4. Waiting until the final month to complete CE. With a 30-day provider reporting window, courses completed in the last few weeks before your expiration date may not appear on your transcript in time. An agent who completes all 24 hours on the 28th of their birth month may find their transcript shows only 16 hours on renewal day. Complete your CE early.

5. Assuming the pre-1994 exemption applies without verifying. The CE exemption for producers licensed before January 1, 1994, only applies if you have maintained continuous licensure since that date. If your license lapsed at any point and was reissued, you may not qualify. Verify your exemption status with the TDCI before skipping CE.

How Tennessee Compares to Other States

Tennessee's 24-hour biennial CE requirement matches the national average for P&C producers. The 3-hour ethics requirement is also standard — many states require 3 hours, while a few (like Florida with 4 hours) require slightly more.

Where Tennessee stands out is its carryover policy. Allowing up to 12 excess hours to roll into the next renewal cycle is generous compared to states like Maryland and Wisconsin, which do not allow any carryover at all. This rewards agents who invest in extra education and provides a buffer for the next renewal period.

Tennessee's pre-1994 exemption is also unusual. Most states do not exempt long-tenured producers from CE requirements entirely. While this benefits veteran agents who have maintained continuous licensure since before that date, it is a policy that is increasingly rare across the industry as states move toward universal CE compliance.

Tennessee's full online flexibility — no classroom minimums, no proctoring requirements — puts it in line with the majority of states and is a clear advantage over Texas, which requires 50% classroom instruction. For agents managing busy books of business, the ability to complete all hours at their own pace on their own schedule is a meaningful benefit.

The reinstatement process — $60 renewal plus $60 penalty — is relatively moderate compared to other states. However, Tennessee's lack of any late renewal window makes it important to complete CE on time. Missing your deadline by even a single day results in an expired license.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I take CE courses online in Tennessee?

Yes. Tennessee allows all CE courses — including the 3-hour ethics requirement — to be completed online through self-paced courses from any TDCI-approved provider. There is no classroom minimum, no live webinar requirement, and no proctoring requirement for online exams. This gives Tennessee producers full flexibility to complete CE on their own schedule from any location. Multiple national providers offer Tennessee-approved online course packages.

What happens if I don't complete CE on time in Tennessee?

Tennessee has no grace period or late renewal window. If your CE is incomplete when your license expires, your license enters expired status. You have up to one year to reinstate by completing all outstanding CE, paying the $60 renewal fee, and paying a $60 reinstatement penalty. After one year, reinstatement is not available — you must reapply as a new applicant and pass the licensing exam. During any lapse, you cannot transact insurance business and all carrier appointments are terminated.

Do CE hours from other states transfer to Tennessee?

Tennessee does not automatically accept CE hours completed in other states unless the course is also approved by the TDCI. Some national CE providers offer courses approved across multiple states, which can help agents working across state lines. For nonresident producers licensed in Tennessee, you may be exempt from Tennessee's CE requirements if your home state has reciprocity and you maintain compliance there. Check with the TDCI or NIPR to confirm your status.

How do I verify my CE hours with the Tennessee DOI?

You can verify your CE completion status by logging into your producer profile through Sircon or the TDCI licensing portal. Your CE provider is required to report completed hours to the TDCI, and the department uses this data to confirm compliance at renewal. We recommend checking your transcript at least 60 days before expiration. If you find a discrepancy, contact your CE provider first. If the issue is not resolved, reach out to the TDCI licensing division at ce.agent.licensing@tn.gov or (615) 741-2693. Keep your certificates of completion as backup documentation.