- You need a 70% raw score on 130 scored questions to pass the MD L&A/H combo exam.
- The exam includes 10 additional unscored questions you can't identify, out of 140 total items.
- You get 2 hours 30 minutes to finish, at Prometric or via ProProctor remote proctoring.
- Insurance Regulation carries 30% weight - by far the largest single domain on the exam.
The 70% Passing Score, Explained
The Maryland Insurance Administration sets a single, unambiguous bar for the Series 20-30 Life and Accident and Health or Sickness Producer - Combo exam: a 70% passing score. There's no scaled scoring model to decode, no separate cut score by domain, and no "borderline review" process. You either answer enough questions correctly to clear 70% of the scored content, or you don't.
That simplicity is a double-edged sword. On one hand, you don't need to guess at a mysterious scaled-score conversion table. On the other, a flat 70% threshold means every domain matters - you can't fully punt on a low-weight area like Dental Insurance and expect to coast purely on Insurance Regulation knowledge, because a poor showing across several small domains adds up fast.
How Scoring Actually Works
Here's the mechanic candidates often misunderstand: the MD L&A/H exam delivers 140 total multiple-choice questions, but only 130 of them are scored. The remaining 10 are unscored "pretest" items used by Prometric and the Maryland Insurance Administration to evaluate future exam content. You will not be told which questions are scored and which aren't, so treat every single item - all 140 of them - as if it counts.
Because the passing threshold applies to the 130 scored questions, you need roughly 91 correct answers out of those 130 to clear 70%. Since you can't tell scored items from unscored ones, the practical strategy is straightforward: answer every question as carefully as you would if it were guaranteed to count, because statistically most of them do.
Key Takeaway
Don't waste mental energy trying to guess which questions are "just" pretest items. With 130 of 140 questions scored, nearly every question you see affects your result.
If you want a deeper breakdown of how the exam is structured question-by-question, the MD L&A/H Exam Domains 2026 guide walks through all 16 content areas in detail, and the difficulty guide covers how test-takers typically experience the pacing and question style.
Exam Format: Timing, Question Count, and Delivery
Beyond the passing score itself, the logistics of the exam directly affect how you should pace your studying and your test-day strategy:
- 140 total questions - 130 scored, 10 unscored, all multiple-choice
- 2 hours 30 minutes to complete the entire exam
- $62 exam fee, paid through Prometric at registration
- Two delivery options: an in-person Prometric test center or remote proctoring through ProProctor
- Immediate results - you learn whether you passed as soon as you finish
Do the math on timing: 2 hours 30 minutes across 140 questions gives you a little over one minute per question on average. That's workable if you know the material cold, but it leaves almost no room for questions you have to reread three times or look up mentally from scratch. This is one more reason the 70% passing score should drive your prep rather than a vague sense of "I'll study everything a bit."
If you haven't locked in your test date yet, the exam dates and scheduling guide covers how Prometric availability and ProProctor windows work in practice.
Turning Domain Weights Into a Study Plan
The 70% passing score isn't applied domain-by-domain - it's a single score across the full 130 scored questions. But domain weighting tells you where those 130 questions are concentrated, which means it tells you where your study hours produce the most return. Here's the official weighting alongside an approximate scored-question count (based on 130 scored items):
| Domain | Weight | Approx. Scored Questions |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Insurance Regulation | 30% | ~39 |
| 3. Life Insurance Basics | 9% | ~12 |
| 5. Life Insurance Policy Provisions, Options and Riders | 8% | ~10 |
| 12. Medical Plans | 8% | ~10 |
| 9. Health Insurance Basics | 7% | ~9 |
| 2. General Insurance | 5% | ~7 |
| 4. Life Insurance Policies | 5% | ~7 |
| 6. Annuities | 5% | ~7 |
| 11. Disability Income and Related Insurance | 5% | ~7 |
| 15. Insurance for Senior Citizens and Special Needs Individuals | 5% | ~7 |
| 7. Federal Tax Considerations for Life Insurance and Annuities | 4% | ~5 |
| 8. Qualified Plans | 2% | ~3 |
| 10. Individual Health Insurance Policy General Provisions | 2% | ~3 |
| 13. Group Health Insurance | 2% | ~3 |
| 16. Federal Tax Considerations for Health Insurance | 2% | ~3 |
| 14. Dental Insurance | 1% | ~1 |
Notice how lopsided this is: Insurance Regulation alone is roughly equal to the bottom seven domains combined. That single domain covers Maryland-specific licensing law, producer conduct standards, and administrative rules - material that's dense but highly learnable because it's rule-based rather than conceptual.
Insurance Regulation (30%)
This is the domain most likely to make or break your 70% threshold. It covers Maryland Insurance Administration authority, licensing requirements, producer duties, and disciplinary standards.
- Know licensing categories and renewal mechanics cold - they show up repeatedly in different question wordings
- Understand producer responsibilities around disclosure, replacement, and unfair trade practices
- Don't skim this domain because it "feels administrative" - at 30% weight, weak recall here is the single fastest way to miss 70%
For a full walkthrough of every domain with the concepts tested inside each one, see the complete exam domains guide. And if you're still deciding how much lead time to budget before test day, the MD L&A/H Study Guide lays out a fuller first-attempt strategy.
Registration, Fees, and What Changed in 2024
Passing the exam starts with getting to test day correctly. The Maryland Insurance Administration governs the license itself, while Prometric administers the actual Series 20-30 exam. A few mechanics worth knowing before you register:
- The exam fee is $62, paid directly through Prometric during scheduling.
- You can sit for the exam at a physical Prometric test center or remotely through ProProctor.
- Results are delivered immediately after you submit your final answer - no waiting days for a score report.
- As of October 1, 2024, Maryland no longer requires completion of a Commissioner-approved prelicensing program before you can sit for the producer exam.
That prelicensing change is significant. It means your path to the exam is shorter than it used to be, but it also means the exam itself is now the primary gatekeeper for demonstrating competency - there's no mandatory course serving as a built-in safety net beforehand. Whatever preparation you do is now entirely on you to structure.
For a complete breakdown of every cost associated with getting licensed - not just the exam fee - check the certification cost guide. And if you're unsure whether you meet baseline eligibility before registering, review the requirements guide first.
If You Don't Hit 70%: The Retake Process
Because results are immediate, you'll know your fate the moment you submit your last answer. If your score falls short of 70%, Maryland's retake rule is simple but firm: you must wait four days before scheduling another attempt. There's no cap mentioned on total attempts, but each retake requires paying the $62 fee again and rebooking through Prometric or ProProctor.
That four-day window is short compared to some state licensing exams, which is good news if you fail narrowly - you don't lose months of momentum. But it also means four days isn't much time to fix a fundamental gap in a 30%-weighted domain like Insurance Regulation. Use that window wisely:
- Review which domains felt weakest immediately after the exam, while it's fresh
- Focus remaining study time on your two or three lowest-confidence domains rather than restarting from scratch
- Run timed practice questions again before rebooking to confirm pacing hasn't slipped
If you're trying to gauge realistic expectations around first-attempt success before you even sit for the exam, the pass rate analysis is worth reading alongside this article.
A Domain-Sequenced Prep Timeline
Generic study advice - flashcards, timed drills, spaced review - only helps if it's mapped to which domains actually carry weight on this specific exam. Below is a sequencing approach built around the MD L&A/H domain list rather than a one-size-fits-all template.
Insurance Regulation Foundation
- Spend the majority of this week on Domain 1 (Insurance Regulation) given its 30% weight
- Build a running list of licensing rules, producer duties, and MIA authority points you keep missing
Life Insurance Core
- Cover Life Insurance Basics, Life Insurance Policies, and Policy Provisions, Options and Riders together since they build on each other
- Layer in Annuities and Federal Tax Considerations for Life Insurance and Annuities
Health Insurance Core
- Work through Health Insurance Basics and Medical Plans, the two heaviest health-side domains
- Add Disability Income and Related Insurance and Group Health Insurance
Small Domains and Timed Review
- Clean up the lower-weight domains: Qualified Plans, Dental Insurance, Individual Health Insurance Policy General Provisions, Senior Citizens and Special Needs coverage, and Federal Tax Considerations for Health Insurance
- Run full-length timed practice sets under the 2-hour-30-minute limit to confirm pacing
This sequencing front-loads the highest-weighted domain first, when your energy and focus are strongest, and saves the smallest domains for a final cleanup pass. A well-built practice test platform lets you simulate that timed final week realistically instead of guessing at your readiness.
Frequently Asked Questions
You need 70% correct on the 130 scored questions. The other 10 questions on the exam are unscored pretest items, but you won't know which ones those are, so treat all 140 questions as if they count.
Since 70% of 130 scored questions is roughly 91 correct answers, you have some room for error - but with domains like Insurance Regulation carrying 30% weight, missing too many questions in one heavy domain can eat into that margin quickly.
No. The 70% passing score, the 130 scored plus 10 unscored question format, and the 2-hour-30-minute time limit are identical regardless of whether you test at a Prometric center or remotely through ProProctor.
As of October 1, 2024, Maryland no longer requires a Commissioner-approved prelicensing program before sitting for the exam. That means your preparation strategy - not a mandatory course - is what determines whether you clear 70%.
You'll see your result immediately after finishing, and if you didn't reach 70%, you must wait four days before scheduling a retake and pay the $62 exam fee again through Prometric.
Understanding the 70% passing score is only useful once you pair it with real practice under exam-like conditions. Working through domain-weighted questions on a full-length MD L&A/H practice test is the most direct way to see where your score would actually land before you spend $62 finding out on test day.