- Overview: What Qualifying for GALAS Actually Means
- Who Needs to Meet These Requirements
- Age, Residency, and Basic Eligibility
- The 8+8 Prelicensing Education Rule
- Registering for Exam 12-GA-05
- Exam Format, Timing, and Passing Score
- The 12 Domains You Must Qualify Yourself On
- After You Pass: Sircon, Affidavit, and Fingerprints
- If You Don't Pass: Retake Waiting Periods
- Staying Qualified: Continuing Education
- Building a Prep Schedule Around These Requirements
- Frequently Asked Questions
- You must be 18+, have a Georgia address, and complete 8 hours of Life plus 8 hours of Accident & Sickness prelicensing within 12 months.
- Exam 12-GA-05 costs $67, has 135 questions (125 scored), runs 2 hours 30 minutes, and requires a 70% score.
- The Q1 2026 pass rate was 54% overall and 59% for first-time candidates - preparation matters.
- After passing, you still must submit the Sircon application, a citizenship affidavit, and complete fingerprinting.
Overview: What Qualifying for GALAS Actually Means
"Requirements" for the Georgia Life, Accident & Sickness Agent Exam cover more than just showing up to a testing center. Qualifying for a Georgia resident producer license in the Life, Accident & Sickness lines involves a sequence: meeting basic eligibility, completing prelicensing education hours, registering for and passing the exam administered by Pearson VUE under exam code 12-GA-05, and then finishing paperwork through the Georgia Office of the Commissioner of Insurance and Safety Fire. Missing any one step - even after passing the exam itself - will stall your license.
This guide walks through every prerequisite in the order you'll actually encounter them, using the mechanics defined for exam 12-GA-05. If you want a deeper breakdown of what's actually tested, pair this with the GALAS Exam Domains 2026: Complete Guide to All 12 Content Areas guide once you've confirmed you meet the base eligibility below.
Who Needs to Meet These Requirements
These requirements apply to anyone pursuing a resident Life, Accident & Sickness producer license in Georgia - career-changers entering insurance sales, financial services staff adding a Life & Health line, and existing property-casualty producers expanding into health and life products. If you're still deciding whether this path fits your career goals, the Is the GALAS Certification Worth It? Complete ROI Analysis 2026 article and the GALAS Jobs overview cover what employers actually look for once you're licensed.
If you're not sure what the credential even represents before committing to prelicensing hours, start with What Is GALAS? or the shorter GALAS Meaning explainer - both clarify the state-issued nature of this license before you invest time and money.
Age, Residency, and Basic Eligibility
To qualify as a resident applicant, Georgia requires:
- You must be at least 18 years old.
- You must have a Georgia residence or business address.
- You must pass exam 12-GA-05 with a 70% score or higher.
- You must submit a completed Sircon application and citizenship affidavit.
- You must complete fingerprinting as part of the background check process.
The 8+8 Prelicensing Education Rule
Georgia requires resident applicants to complete prelicensing education split evenly between the two lines covered by this exam:
- 8 hours of Life prelicensing education
- 8 hours of Accident & Sickness prelicensing education
Both blocks must be completed within 12 months of your exam date - course credit that's older than that window won't satisfy the eligibility requirement, and you'll need to retake the prelicensing coursework. Choose an approved provider that maps its curriculum to the same content outline used in the candidate handbook (effective October 22, 2024) so the hours you log actually prepare you for what's tested, rather than covering material irrelevant to Georgia's specific exam.
Key Takeaway
Schedule your 16 total prelicensing hours close to your intended exam date - not months in advance - so the 12-month eligibility window doesn't expire before you sit for 12-GA-05.
Registering for Exam 12-GA-05
Once prelicensing hours are complete, registration happens through Pearson VUE. Key mechanics to know before you book a seat:
- Exam code: 12-GA-05
- Cost: $67 per attempt
- Delivery: Closed-book, at a Pearson VUE test center
- Language options: English or Spanish
Because this is a closed-book exam with no reference materials permitted, everything you need to answer questions must already be memorized or reasoned through using concepts you've studied. For a full cost breakdown including how the $67 fee fits into your total path to licensure, see GALAS Certification Cost 2026: Complete Pricing Breakdown.
Exam Format, Timing, and Passing Score
Exam 12-GA-05 consists of 135 multiple-choice questions: 125 are scored and 10 are unscored pretest items you can't distinguish from the scored questions. You have 2 hours and 30 minutes to complete the exam, and a 70% score is required to pass.
The Q1 2026 data showed a 54% overall pass rate and a 59% pass rate for first-time candidates - a meaningful gap that underscores the value of structured preparation rather than walking in cold. For a full statistical breakdown, review GALAS Pass Rate 2026: What the Data Shows, and for a candid assessment of exam difficulty relative to other insurance licensing exams, read How Hard Is the GALAS Exam? Complete Difficulty Guide 2026.
| Exam Detail | Specification |
|---|---|
| Exam Code | 12-GA-05 |
| Total Questions | 135 (125 scored, 10 unscored pretest) |
| Time Limit | 2 hours 30 minutes |
| Passing Score | 70% |
| Fee | $67 |
| Format | Closed-book, multiple choice |
| Languages | English, Spanish |
Exactly what a 70% translates to in terms of correct answers, and how to think about that margin during your prep, is covered in detail in GALAS Passing Score 2026: Exactly What You Need to Pass.
The 12 Domains You Must Qualify Yourself On
Eligibility isn't just administrative - you also need to demonstrate command of the content outline effective October 22, 2024, which organizes the exam into 12 domains spanning Life, Accident & Sickness, and Georgia-specific law. The largest single domain is Georgia laws, rules, and regulations pertinent to Life, Accident & Sickness insurance, weighted at 15.2% of the exam - more than any other single area.
Domain 10: Georgia Laws, Rules, and Regulations Pertinent to Life, Accident & Sickness Insurance
As the heaviest-weighted domain at 15.2%, this section covers state-specific statutes and regulatory requirements that apply across both lines of insurance.
- Producer licensing law and conduct standards
- Unfair trade practices specific to Georgia
- Policy replacement and disclosure rules
The remaining 11 domains split across Life products (types of policies, riders/provisions/exclusions, application and underwriting, retirement concepts), Accident & Sickness products (types of policies, provisions and riders, field underwriting), Social Insurance, other insurance concepts, and two additional Georgia-specific domains covering rules unique to Life insurance and rules unique to Accident & Sickness insurance separately from the combined domain above.
Domains 11 & 12: Georgia Rules - Life Only, and Accident & Sickness Only
Unlike Domain 10, these two domains isolate state rules that apply exclusively to one line of insurance rather than both, so don't assume Georgia-specific content ends after the largest domain.
- Life-only statutory nuances (Domain 11)
- Accident & Sickness-only statutory nuances (Domain 12)
Because three of the twelve domains are Georgia-law-specific, candidates coming from out-of-state insurance backgrounds or general knowledge sources often underestimate how much of this exam is unique to Georgia rather than universal insurance principles. A full domain-by-domain walkthrough with weight context is available in GALAS Exam Domains 2026: Complete Guide to All 12 Content Areas.
After You Pass: Sircon, Affidavit, and Fingerprints
Passing 12-GA-05 is not the final requirement - it's a prerequisite for the application steps that follow:
- Submit the Sircon application - Georgia's designated licensing platform for producer applications.
- Complete a citizenship affidavit - required documentation confirming legal status for licensure.
- Complete fingerprinting - part of the state's background check process for all resident producer applicants.
Candidates sometimes assume the exam is the finish line and get caught off guard by these follow-up steps. Build time into your plan for processing the Sircon application and scheduling fingerprinting so your license isn't delayed after you've already cleared the harder hurdle of the exam itself.
If You Don't Pass: Retake Waiting Periods
Given that the overall pass rate sits at 54%, it's worth understanding the retake structure before test day rather than after a disappointing result:
- First failure: 14-day waiting period before retesting
- Second failure: 14-day waiting period before retesting
- Third failure and beyond: 60-day waiting period before each subsequent retest
There is no limit on the total number of attempts, but each retake means paying the $67 fee again and scheduling another Pearson VUE session. Given the 59% first-time pass rate versus the 54% overall figure, candidates who prepare thoroughly before their first sitting have measurably better odds than those relying on retakes to eventually pass by attrition.
Staying Qualified: Continuing Education
Passing the exam and getting licensed isn't a one-time qualification - Georgia resident producers must maintain their license through continuing education:
- Standard requirement: 24 hours of CE every two years, including 3 hours of ethics
- Veteran producers: Those licensed 20 years or more complete a reduced 20 hours, still including 3 hours of ethics
This ongoing requirement is worth factoring into your long-term view of the license, especially if you're weighing whether the credential fits your career plans - see the ROI discussion in Is the GALAS Certification Worth It? Complete ROI Analysis 2026 for how CE obligations factor into total cost of ownership over a career.
Building a Prep Schedule Around These Requirements
Because Domain 10 carries the heaviest weight at 15.2%, and Domains 11 and 12 add further Georgia-specific content, your study schedule should front-load state law material rather than treating it as an afterthought after covering general Life and Accident & Sickness concepts.
Life Fundamentals
- Domain 1: Types of policies
- Domain 2: Riders, provisions, options, exclusions
Life Application & Concepts
- Domain 3: Application, underwriting, policy delivery
- Domain 4: Retirement and other insurance concepts
Accident & Sickness Core
- Domain 5: Types of policies
- Domain 6: Provisions, clauses, riders
- Domain 9: Field underwriting procedures
Social Insurance & Other Concepts
- Domain 7: Social Insurance
- Domain 8: Other insurance concepts
Georgia Law - Heaviest Weight
- Domain 10: Georgia laws pertinent to Life, Accident & Sickness (15.2%)
- Domain 11: Georgia rules - Life only
- Domain 12: Georgia rules - Accident & Sickness only
Use timed practice sessions that mirror the real 2-hour 30-minute, 135-question format so pacing feels familiar on test day. For a step-by-step methodology built specifically around these domains, see the GALAS Study Guide 2026: How to Pass on Your First Attempt, and run full-length timed simulations on our practice test platform before scheduling your Pearson VUE appointment.
Keep a condensed reference of high-yield facts handy during final review - the GALAS Cheat Sheet 2026: One-Page Review of Must-Know Facts is built for exactly this kind of last-pass review across all 12 domains.
Frequently Asked Questions
Both are required. Georgia resident applicants must complete 8 hours of Life prelicensing education and 8 hours of Accident & Sickness prelicensing education, for 16 hours total, within 12 months of testing.
It no longer satisfies the eligibility requirement. The 12-month window is measured against your exam date, so coursework completed too far in advance means retaking the prelicensing hours before you can register.
No. After passing exam 12-GA-05 with a 70% score, you still need to submit the Sircon application, complete a citizenship affidavit, and finish fingerprinting before licensure is granted.
There's no limit on total attempts. You must wait 14 days after each of your first two failures, and 60 days after any failure beyond that, before scheduling another Pearson VUE session.
Georgia laws, rules, and regulations pertinent to Life, Accident & Sickness insurance (Domain 10) is the single largest domain at 15.2%, making it the highest-priority area if your time is limited.
Meeting Georgia's requirements for this exam is a multi-step process, not a single test date - but each step is manageable when tackled in order: eligibility, prelicensing hours, exam registration, the exam itself, and the post-exam paperwork. For a broader look at the credential itself before you begin, What Is GALAS Certification? and GALAS Training both offer useful context, and our practice platform can help you gauge readiness before you commit to a Pearson VUE appointment.