- VA P&C is the Series 11-03 exam Prometric administers for the Virginia Bureau of Insurance under the State Corporation Commission.
- The exam has 135 scored questions plus 10 unscored pretest items in a 2-hour 30-minute window.
- The exam fee is $35, and Virginia does not require prelicensing education for this major-line exam.
- Auto Insurance is the heaviest domain at 16%, followed closely by Insurance Regulation, Property and Casualty Insurance Basics, and Homeowners Policy.
What VA P&C Actually Is
VA P&C stands for the Virginia Property and Casualty Insurance Examination, officially designated Series 11-03 by Prometric on behalf of the Virginia Bureau of Insurance, a division of the State Corporation Commission. Passing this exam is the licensing step that lets a candidate legally sell, solicit, or negotiate property and casualty insurance products in Virginia - think homeowners policies, auto coverage, commercial package policies, and workers compensation, among others.
This is not a voluntary professional certification you add to a resume for prestige. It's a state-mandated exam tied directly to licensure. Without a passing score, an insurance producer cannot legally transact P&C business in Virginia, regardless of how much company training or sales experience they have. If you're trying to understand the exam at a conceptual level before diving into study materials, our VA P&C Meaning breakdown and What Does VA P&C Stand For? article both cover the terminology in more depth.
Who Needs the VA P&C License
Most candidates fall into one of a few categories: new hires at independent agencies who need to be licensed before writing policies, career-changers moving into insurance sales, and captive agents brought on by carriers who require the license as a condition of employment. Some candidates are also completing this exam as one leg of a dual-line license alongside Life & Health.
Because Virginia does not require prelicensing education hours for this major-line exam, many candidates study independently using textbooks, practice questions, and self-paced review rather than a formal classroom course. That makes self-directed prep - and knowing exactly what the exam covers - especially important. For a full breakdown of eligibility mechanics, see our VA P&C Requirements guide.
Key Takeaway
Because there's no mandatory prelicensing course, the burden falls on you to structure your own study plan around the exact domain weights Prometric tests - guessing at coverage wastes time.
Exam Format and Registration Mechanics
The VA P&C exam consists of 135 scored multiple-choice questions plus 10 unscored pretest items woven in without identification, giving you 145 total questions to answer within a 2-hour, 30-minute limit. The pretest items don't count toward your score but you won't know which ones they are, so every question deserves full attention.
Registration and testing mechanics worth knowing before you schedule:
- The exam fee is $35, paid at scheduling through Prometric.
- You can test at a physical Prometric test center or remotely via ProProctor online proctoring.
- Resident applicants must complete fingerprinting as part of the licensing process.
- A passing result is valid for license application purposes for 183 calendar days - don't pass the exam and then sit on it too long.
If you want a plain-language walkthrough of scoring mechanics and what "passing" actually requires numerically, read VA P&C Passing Score 2026: Exactly What You Need to Pass. For scheduling windows and how far in advance to book a seat, see VA P&C Exam Dates 2026: Testing Windows, Deadlines & Scheduling. And if budgeting matters to your decision timeline, our VA P&C Certification Cost 2026 breakdown covers the $35 exam fee alongside other costs you'll encounter along the way.
The 10 VA P&C Content Domains
Prometric organizes the exam into ten content domains, each with a fixed weight. Understanding these weights is the single most useful thing you can do before opening a study guide, because it tells you where your study hours actually pay off. For the full domain-by-domain breakdown with subtopics, see VA P&C Exam Domains 2026: Complete Guide to All 10 Content Areas.
Domain 6: Auto Insurance (16%)
The single largest domain on the exam. Candidates need to understand liability coverage, physical damage coverage, uninsured/underinsured motorist provisions, and how Virginia-specific auto rules interact with standard policy forms.
- Highest-weighted domain - prioritize accordingly
- Expect scenario-based questions on coverage application
Domain 1: Insurance Regulation (15%)
Covers the Bureau of Insurance's authority, licensing rules, producer conduct standards, and the regulatory framework governing how P&C insurance is sold and administered in Virginia.
- Tests knowledge of who regulates the industry and how
- Ties directly into ethical and legal obligations of a licensed producer
Domain 3: Property and Casualty Insurance Basics (13%)
Foundational concepts - policy structure, insurable interest, underwriting principles, and terminology that underpins every other domain.
- Master this early; it supports comprehension of later domains
Domain 5: Homeowners Policy (13%)
Covers HO policy forms, covered perils, exclusions, and endorsements. A close third in weight behind Auto and Regulation.
- Know the differences between HO form types
- Understand liability vs. property sections of the policy
| Domain | Weight |
|---|---|
| Auto Insurance | 16% |
| Insurance Regulation | 15% |
| Property and Casualty Insurance Basics | 13% |
| Homeowners Policy | 13% |
| Commercial Package Policy (CPP) | 12% |
| General Insurance | 9% |
| Workers Compensation Insurance | 7% |
| Dwelling Policy | 5% |
| Businessowners Policy | 5% |
| Other Coverages and Options | 5% |
Notice that the four largest domains - Auto Insurance, Insurance Regulation, Property and Casualty Insurance Basics, and Homeowners Policy - together account for well over half the exam. That's not a coincidence you should ignore when allocating study time. If you're trying to gauge how tough this mix of domains actually feels in practice, our How Hard Is the VA P&C Exam? Complete Difficulty Guide 2026 article goes into the specifics candidates report.
How to Sequence Your Study by Domain
Rather than studying domains in the order they're listed, build your schedule around domain weight and conceptual dependency. Basics should come first since regulation, homeowners, and auto concepts all build on foundational terminology.
Foundations and Regulation
- Property and Casualty Insurance Basics - terminology, underwriting, policy structure
- Insurance Regulation - Bureau of Insurance authority and producer conduct rules
The Big Two Personal Lines
- Auto Insurance - liability, physical damage, UM/UIM coverage
- Homeowners Policy - HO forms, perils, exclusions, endorsements
Commercial Lines
- Commercial Package Policy (CPP)
- Businessowners Policy
- Workers Compensation Insurance
Remaining Coverage Areas and Full Review
- Dwelling Policy, General Insurance, Other Coverages and Options
- Timed practice sessions mimicking the 2.5-hour, 145-question format
Spacing your review this way lets the heaviest-weighted material (Auto Insurance, Regulation, Basics, Homeowners) get repeated exposure across multiple sessions before exam day, while lighter domains like Dwelling Policy or Businessowners Policy get a single focused pass. For a more detailed week-by-week plan with specific resource recommendations, see our VA P&C Study Guide 2026: How to Pass on Your First Attempt. You can also run full-length timed simulations at our practice test platform to get comfortable with the pacing before test day.
Key Takeaway
Don't study domains in numerical order. Study them in order of weight and dependency - basics first, then Auto and Homeowners, then commercial lines, then the smaller remaining domains.
What Happens After You Pass
Passing the exam is only one step in becoming licensed. Resident applicants still need to complete fingerprinting as part of the background check process required by the Bureau of Insurance. Your passing result is valid for license application purposes for 183 calendar days, so you shouldn't delay submitting your application indefinitely after passing.
Once licensed, resident agents generally need to complete 16 continuing-education hours per biennium, including 3 ethics hours, to keep the license active. This ongoing requirement means the exam isn't a one-time hurdle - it's the entry point into a license you maintain through periodic education.
If you're weighing whether pursuing this license is worth the time investment relative to career outcomes, our Is the VA P&C Certification Worth It? Complete ROI Analysis 2026 article and VA P&C Salary Guide 2026: Complete Earnings Analysis both dig into that question. For a look at how candidates historically perform on this exam, see VA P&C Pass Rate 2026: What the Data Shows. And if you want employer-side context on who's hiring licensed producers in Virginia, check out VA P&C Jobs.
For quick review once you've built a study foundation, keep a condensed reference nearby - our VA P&C Cheat Sheet 2026: One-Page Review of Must-Know Facts compresses the domain weights and key definitions into a single scannable page. And if you're still deciding between formal training and self-study, VA P&C Training compares the options. Running a few timed sets on our practice exam site before test day is one of the most reliable ways to confirm you're ready for the real 145-question, 2.5-hour format.
Frequently Asked Questions
VA P&C stands for the Virginia Property and Casualty Insurance Examination, known formally as Series 11-03, administered by Prometric on behalf of the Virginia Bureau of Insurance.
No. Virginia does not require prelicensing education for this major-line exam, though many candidates still use study guides and practice questions to prepare independently.
The exam includes 135 scored multiple-choice questions plus 10 unscored pretest items, for 145 total questions, within a 2-hour 30-minute time limit.
Yes. You can test at a Prometric test center or remotely through ProProctor online proctoring, depending on your preference and setup.
A passing exam result is valid for license applications for 183 calendar days from the date you pass, so plan your application submission accordingly.