GALAS Certification

What GALAS Certification Actually Means

GALAS stands for the Georgia Life, Accident & Sickness Agent Exam, the state licensing test that qualifies an individual to sell life insurance and accident & sickness (health) products as a resident producer in Georgia. It is not a voluntary professional designation you add to a resume for prestige - it is the mandatory gateway exam that stands between prelicensing education and an active Georgia insurance license. If you want a clear plain-language definition, our companion piece on what GALAS is breaks down the terminology further, and the GALAS meaning guide covers how the acronym is used across Georgia's licensing system.

Because GALAS covers two lines of authority - life insurance and accident & sickness insurance - in a single exam, candidates need working knowledge of both product families plus Georgia-specific statutes. This dual scope is what makes the exam broader than a single-line test, and it's the reason the content outline spans twelve distinct domains rather than four or five.

Who Administers and Regulates the Exam

The Georgia Office of the Commissioner of Insurance and Safety Fire sets the licensing requirements and content standards for GALAS, while Pearson VUE administers the actual test at its network of test centers. This split is standard for state insurance exams: the regulator owns the rules, the testing vendor owns the delivery. The exam itself carries the code 12-GA-05, and every candidate handbook, score report, and registration confirmation will reference that code.

The current version of the exam is built on a content outline effective October 22, 2024, and referenced again in the August 2026 candidate handbook. That continuity matters: if you're studying from older materials, confirm they align with the effective outline date rather than an outdated version, since insurance exam content periodically shifts as Georgia statutes are amended.

Exam Format, Fees, and Registration Mechanics

GALAS is a closed-book, computer-based exam delivered at Pearson VUE test centers in either English or Spanish. Here's what the format looks like on test day:

• Total questions: 135 multiple-choice items
• Scored questions: 125 (the remaining 10 are unscored pretest questions mixed in without identification)
• Time limit: 2 hours 30 minutes
• Passing score: 70%
• Exam fee: $67
• Format: Closed-book, multiple choice only

Because 10 of the 135 questions are unscored pretest items you can't identify, treat every question on screen as if it counts. There's no way to skip or "save time" by rushing through questions that feel unfamiliar - pace yourself evenly across all 135 rather than trying to guess which ones are scored. For a full breakdown of what the $67 fee does and doesn't include alongside prelicensing course costs, see our GALAS certification cost breakdown.

The 12 GALAS Exam Domains

The content outline organizes GALAS into twelve domains split across Life topics, Accident & Sickness topics, Social Insurance, and Georgia-specific law. Understanding how these domains relate to each other helps you allocate study time intelligently instead of treating the material as one undifferentiated block. For a domain-by-domain walkthrough with sample question styles, read our complete guide to all 12 content areas.

Eligibility Requirements Before You Sit for the Exam

Georgia sets specific prerequisites for resident applicants before they're allowed to register for the GALAS exam. These aren't optional steps - Pearson VUE and the state confirm them as part of the licensing chain. A full walkthrough lives in our eligibility and prerequisites guide, but the core requirements are:

• Be at least 18 years old
• Maintain a Georgia residence or business address
• Complete 8 hours of Life prelicensing education and 8 hours of Accident & Sickness prelicensing education within 12 months of applying
• Pass the GALAS exam
• Submit the Sircon application along with a citizenship affidavit
• Complete fingerprinting as part of the background check process

Note the 12-month window on prelicensing hours - if you complete your coursework too far in advance of scheduling your exam and finishing your application, you risk having to repeat education hours. Sequence your prelicensing courses, exam date, and application submission with that window in mind.

Passing Score and Retake Policy

You need 70% correct to pass GALAS, calculated from the 125 scored questions (the 10 pretest items don't count toward your result). Officially reported Q1 2026 data shows a 54% overall pass rate across all candidates and a 59% pass rate among first-time test-takers - a meaningful gap that underscores the value of thorough preparation before your first attempt. For the full context behind those numbers, see our GALAS pass rate analysis, and for a deeper look at exactly how scoring works, read our passing score explainer.

If you don't pass on the first try, Georgia's retake policy allows unlimited attempts, but with waiting periods:

• 14-day wait required after each of your first two failed attempts
• 60-day wait required after any failure beyond the second attempt
• No cap on the total number of retakes allowed

Because there's no attempt limit, a failed try isn't disqualifying - but each retake costs the $67 fee again and burns calendar time against your prelicensing education window, so treating the first attempt seriously is the more efficient path.

Building a Domain-Focused Study Timeline

Rather than studying generically, map your preparation to the weight and structure of the twelve domains. Since Georgia law content (Domains 10-12) makes up a large, distinct portion of the exam separate from product knowledge, it deserves its own dedicated study block rather than being reviewed as an afterthought.

This sequencing front-loads product knowledge while it's freshest, then dedicates concentrated time to Georgia's statutory material right before your exam date, since that's the domain cluster most likely to trip up candidates who studied from generic national materials instead of Georgia-specific sources. For a step-by-step prep framework built around this exact structure, see our GALAS study guide, and if you want a quick-reference companion for final review, our one-page cheat sheet condenses the must-know facts.

After You Pass: Licensing and Continuing Education

Passing the exam is one step in the licensing chain, not the final one. After you pass, you still need to have submitted your Sircon application and citizenship affidavit and completed fingerprinting before Georgia issues your resident producer license for Life and Accident & Sickness.

Once licensed, continuing education keeps your license active:

• Standard requirement: 24 hours of continuing education every two years, including 3 hours of ethics
• Veteran producer reduction: Producers licensed 20 years or more complete 20 hours every two years, still including 3 hours of ethics

Mark your CE cycle dates as soon as your license issues so you're not scrambling near a renewal deadline. If you're still mapping out your testing timeline before you even get to this stage, our exam dates and scheduling guide covers how to plan registration around Pearson VUE availability.

Who Hires GALAS-Licensed Producers

A Georgia Life, Accident & Sickness license opens the door to selling term and permanent life policies, annuities, disability income coverage, Medicare supplement plans, and other health-related products through carriers, agencies, and independent brokerages operating in Georgia. Because the license covers both life and health lines, licensees have flexibility to work across multiple product categories rather than being confined to a single line of authority.

If you're weighing whether the licensing effort is worthwhile relative to earning potential, our salary guide and ROI analysis dig into that question in more depth. For candidates researching entry points into the field, our jobs overview and training resources pages outline common pathways new producers take after licensing.

Whatever path you're on, practicing under realistic, timed conditions before test day remains one of the most reliable ways to close the gap between the 54% overall pass rate and the higher first-time pass rate. You can start running full-length practice sessions modeled on the actual 135-question, 2-hour-30-minute format at our GALAS practice test platform, and return to the main practice site as you rotate through each domain in your study plan.

Frequently Asked Questions