- What Is SCLH Certification?
- Who Governs and Administers the Exam
- Exam Format, Timing, and Fee
- The 12 Content Domains
- Scoring and Passing Requirements
- Registration, Retakes, and Validity
- Who Earns This License and Why
- Continuing Education and License Renewal
- Building a Study Plan Around the Domains
- Frequently Asked Questions
- SCLH is the combined South Carolina Life, Accident and Health Insurance Producer Exam, administered by Pearson VUE.
- The exam has 140 questions (130 scored, 10 unscored), a 2 hour 30 minute limit, and costs $59.
- A scaled score of 70 is required, and general plus state content is scored together as one exam.
- The Department's cumulative report through July 2026 shows a 51% first-time pass rate.
What Is SCLH Certification?
"SCLH" refers to the South Carolina Life & Health Insurance Producer Exam - the state licensing test that authorizes an individual to sell, solicit, or negotiate life insurance and accident and health/sickness insurance products in South Carolina. It is not a designation earned through a private certifying body; it is a regulatory examination tied directly to obtaining a resident producer license from the state. If you've searched terms like What Is SCLH?, SCLH Meaning, or What Does SCLH Stand For?, this is the exam those questions point to.
Unlike many professional certifications that stack credentials on top of a base license, SCLH is the base requirement itself. Pass it, complete the associated application steps, and you're eligible to hold a South Carolina resident producer license authorizing life and health lines of authority together, in a single combined credential.
Who Governs and Administers the Exam
The exam is governed by the South Carolina Department of Insurance, which sets the content outline, passing standard, and licensing rules. Actual test delivery is handled by Pearson VUE, a third-party testing vendor used across many state insurance licensing programs. This split matters for candidates: policy questions (fees, retake limits, license renewal) come from the Department, while scheduling, test-day logistics, and technical proctoring come from Pearson VUE.
Candidates can sit for the exam in one of two ways:
- In person at a physical Pearson VUE testing center
- Remotely through OnVUE online proctoring, from a private, compliant location
Both delivery methods use the same question bank, time limit, and passing standard - the choice is purely about convenience and comfort with remote proctoring requirements.
Exam Format, Timing, and Fee
The SCLH exam is a fixed, well-defined format:
| Exam Element | Detail |
|---|---|
| Total questions | 140 multiple-choice |
| Scored questions | 130 |
| Unscored pretest questions | 10 (unidentified, mixed in) |
| Time limit | 2 hours 30 minutes |
| Passing score | Scaled score of 70 |
| Fee | $59 |
| Delivery options | Pearson VUE test center or OnVUE remote proctoring |
Because 10 of the 140 questions are unscored pretest items and are not identified during the test, candidates should treat every question as if it counts. There is no way to know which ten are experimental, so pacing and effort should stay consistent from question one through question 140.
For a full breakdown of how this fee compares to other licensing costs and what candidates should budget for, see SCLH Certification Cost 2026: Complete Pricing Breakdown.
The 12 Content Domains
The exam outline is organized into twelve domains spanning life insurance, accident and health insurance, and South Carolina-specific law. Understanding how these domains are weighted - and which one dominates the exam - is central to an effective study plan. For the complete percentage breakdown of every domain, see SCLH Exam Domains 2026: Complete Guide to All 12 Content Areas.
Domain 1: Life - Types of Policies
Covers whole life, term life, universal life, and other product structures candidates must be able to distinguish.
- Know how each policy type builds cash value (or doesn't)
Domain 2: Life - Policy Riders, Provisions, Options, and Exclusions
Focuses on how riders and standard provisions modify a base life policy.
- Waiver of premium, accelerated death benefit, and nonforfeiture options are common exam themes
Domain 3: Life - Completing the Application, Underwriting, and Delivering the Policy
Tests the procedural side of issuing a life policy from application through delivery.
- Field underwriting responsibilities and required disclosures
Domain 4: Life - Retirement and Other Insurance Concepts
Blends life insurance with retirement planning vehicles and annuity concepts.
- Understand how annuities differ from life insurance products
Domain 5: Accident & Sickness - Types of Policies
Covers health, disability, and related policy categories.
- Distinguish individual, group, and supplemental health products
Domain 6: Accident and Sickness - Policy Provisions, Clauses, and Riders
Parallels Domain 2, but for health and accident policies.
- Elimination periods, renewability clauses, and exclusions
Domain 7: Social Insurance
Covers government-administered programs candidates must know at a conceptual level.
- Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security disability basics
Domain 8: Accident and Sickness - Other Insurance Concepts
Broader health insurance concepts outside specific policy provisions.
- Managed care structures and coordination of benefits
Domain 9: Accident and Sickness - Field Underwriting Procedures
Mirrors Domain 3, applied to accident and health applications.
- Application completion accuracy and disclosure timing
Domain 10: South Carolina Laws and Regulations Pertinent to All Lines
The largest domain on the exam at 13.85% of questions, covering general producer licensing law, ethics, and conduct rules that apply regardless of line of authority.
- Licensing, appointment, and unfair trade practice rules
Domain 11: South Carolina Laws and Regulations Pertinent to Life Insurance
State-specific statutes and regulations that apply specifically to life products.
- Free-look periods and state disclosure mandates for life policies
Domain 12: South Carolina Laws and Regulations Pertinent to Accident & Health Insurance
State-specific statutes and regulations that apply specifically to accident and health products.
- State mandates on health policy provisions and consumer protections
Scoring and Passing Requirements
General insurance content and South Carolina state-specific content are not scored or reported separately - they combine into one scaled score, and a candidate needs a 70 to pass. There is no minimum threshold you must hit within an individual domain; a strong showing in one area can offset a weaker showing in another, as long as the overall scaled score clears 70.
Because the outline is scored as a whole, spreading study time across all twelve domains - rather than mastering a few and skipping others - is the safer strategy. For a deeper look at exactly how the scaled score is calculated and what it means in practice, read SCLH Passing Score 2026: Exactly What You Need to Pass.
Key Takeaway
Treat the exam as one integrated test, not two separate sections. A weak South Carolina law score can undo strong performance on life or health product knowledge.
Registration, Retakes, and Validity
A few mechanical details shape how candidates plan their testing timeline:
- No prelicensing education requirement - candidates are not required to complete a prelicensing course before sitting for the exam, though many still choose structured preparation.
- Fingerprints required - new resident license applicants must submit fingerprints as part of the licensing process.
- Retake limit - candidates may attempt the exam no more than six times within a one-year period.
- Validity of passing results - a passing result remains valid for one year, so the license application process should follow soon after passing.
- Current outline window - the outline in effect runs from September 2, 2025 through September 14, 2026, with a revised outline beginning September 15, 2026.
Anyone testing near the outline transition date should confirm which version of the content outline applies to their scheduled test date. Details on eligibility and the fingerprint process are covered in SCLH Requirements 2026: Eligibility, Prerequisites & How to Qualify, and scheduling specifics are covered in SCLH Exam Dates 2026: Testing Windows, Deadlines & Scheduling.
Who Earns This License and Why
This exam is the entry point for anyone who wants to be appointed to sell life insurance, health insurance, disability coverage, or related products as an agent in South Carolina. That includes new agents joining a carrier or agency, career-changers entering the insurance industry, and existing producers adding life and health authority alongside other lines they already hold.
Because the license is tied to an active business function - selling insurance products for compensation - most candidates are motivated by a specific job offer, agency requirement, or career transition rather than pursuing it as a standalone credential. If you're weighing whether the licensing investment makes sense for your situation, Is the SCLH Certification Worth It? Complete ROI Analysis 2026 walks through the considerations, and SCLH Jobs looks at where this license opens doors.
Continuing Education and License Renewal
Passing the exam is only the starting point. Once licensed, a South Carolina resident producer must renew biennially and complete 24 hours of continuing education during each renewal period, including at least 3 hours of ethics. Producers who hold both life/health and property and casualty authority face an additional structural requirement: at least 8 hours must be completed within each broad authority area, rather than concentrating all CE hours in one line.
Building a Study Plan Around the Domains
Because Domain 10 carries the heaviest weight and general state law questions can also surface inside Domains 11 and 12, a study sequence that front-loads South Carolina law tends to pay off. A simple approach: spend early study sessions on the three law domains and Social Insurance (Domain 7), since these rely on memorizing specific rules rather than conceptual reasoning, then move into the life and health product domains where concepts build on each other.
State Law Foundation
- Domain 10 general state law and licensing rules
- Domain 7 social insurance basics (Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security)
Life Insurance Core
- Domain 1 policy types and Domain 2 riders/provisions
- Domain 11 state law specific to life insurance
Accident & Health Core
- Domain 5 policy types and Domain 6 provisions/clauses
- Domain 12 state law specific to accident and health
Application, Underwriting, and Review
- Domains 3 and 9 field underwriting and application procedures
- Domain 4 and Domain 8 concepts, then full-length practice exams
For a structured, week-by-week breakdown built specifically around this outline, see SCLH Study Guide 2026: How to Pass on Your First Attempt. And before test day, a condensed review can help lock in the state-specific numbers and rules that are easy to blank on under time pressure - see SCLH Cheat Sheet 2026: One-Page Review of Must-Know Facts.
Running full-length, timed practice sessions on our practice test platform is one of the most direct ways to get comfortable with the 140-question, 2 hour 30 minute format before sitting for the real thing. Repeated exposure to the pacing and question style through realistic practice exams also helps reduce the surprise factor of the 10 unscored pretest questions, since you won't be trying to guess which ones don't count.
How the Format Affects Difficulty
With a 51% first-time pass rate reported in the Department's cumulative report through July 2026, close to half of first-time candidates do not clear the scaled score of 70 on their initial attempt. That doesn't mean the exam is unreasonably difficult - it reflects the breadth of twelve domains covering two full lines of insurance plus three separate law domains, all scored together. For a fuller discussion of what drives difficulty and how the six-attempt retake limit factors into planning, see How Hard Is the SCLH Exam? Complete Difficulty Guide 2026 and SCLH Pass Rate 2026: What the Data Shows.
Frequently Asked Questions
It is one combined examination. General life and health content and South Carolina state-specific content are delivered together and scored as a single result, not as separate life and health tests.
No. Prelicensing education is not required to sit for the South Carolina Life & Health Insurance Producer Exam, though many candidates still use structured study materials to prepare.
Candidates may attempt the exam no more than six times within a one-year period. A passing result stays valid for one year after you pass.
You can test at a physical Pearson VUE testing center or remotely through OnVUE remote proctoring, whichever fits your situation.
New resident applicants must submit fingerprints as part of the licensing process. Once licensed, resident producers renew biennially and complete 24 hours of continuing education, including 3 ethics hours, with an 8-hour minimum in each broad authority for dual-line producers.