PA-PC Pass Rate 2026: What the Data Shows

What the Passing Score Data Actually Tells You

When people search for a "pass rate" on the Pennsylvania Property & Casualty Insurance Producer Exam (PA-PC), they're usually hoping for a single percentage that tells them how many candidates succeed. The Pennsylvania Insurance Department and PSI Services LLC, which administers the Producer's Property and Casualty Insurance Series 16-06, do not publish a public statewide pass-rate figure the way some other testing programs do. What they do publish - and what's far more useful for your preparation - is the scoring mechanics itself.

The exam consists of 150 scored multiple-choice questions, and you need 105 correct answers to hit the required 70%. That's not a moving target based on how other test-takers perform; it's a fixed standard. Every candidate who sits for the PA-PC is judged against that same 105-question benchmark, whether they test on a Monday morning or a Friday afternoon. For a deeper breakdown of exactly how that score threshold works, see PA-PC Passing Score 2026: Exactly What You Need to Pass.

Why There's No Official Published Pass Rate

Unlike some professional credentials that release annual pass-rate statistics broken down by first-time versus repeat test-takers, Pennsylvania's producer licensing exam program does not make this data publicly available in a standardized report. That's an important distinction to understand before you go looking for a magic number online - any specific percentage you find attributed to "the PA-PC pass rate" should be treated skeptically unless it's sourced directly from the Pennsylvania Insurance Department or PSI.

Because a specific pass-rate figure isn't published, the more productive question isn't "what percentage of people pass," but "what does it take to be one of the people who passes." That reframing is the entire premise of this article: instead of chasing an unverifiable statistic, we're going to walk through the concrete mechanics - domain weighting, question format, fee structure, and study sequencing - that actually determine whether you clear the 105-question bar.

If you're earlier in your research and still wondering what the credential covers before worrying about pass rates at all, What Is PA-PC? and PA-PC Meaning are good starting points.

The Exam Format Behind the Numbers

Format shapes performance. The PA-PC is a closed-book, computer-based exam with no reference materials and no calculators allowed at the desk. That constraint alone eliminates a common crutch - you can't look up a definition mid-question or run a quick premium calculation. Everything has to live in your memory on test day.

• 150 scored multiple-choice questions - no essay, no simulation, no drag-and-drop.
• 170 minutes to complete the exam, which averages out to a little over a minute per question.
• $55 exam fee, payable when you schedule through PSI.
• Two delivery options: an in-person PSI test center or online proctoring from home or office.
• Closed-book: no notes, manuals, or calculators permitted during the session.

Because it's entirely multiple-choice, question quality - not question format - is what separates a comfortable pass from a nail-biter. PSI writes items that test applied judgment, not just memorized definitions, so candidates who only memorize glossary terms tend to struggle on scenario-based questions about coverage triggers or endorsement application. For a full walkthrough of how difficult this actually feels in practice, read How Hard Is the PA-PC Exam? Complete Difficulty Guide 2026.

Domain Weighting: Where Points Are Won and Lost

The single biggest lever you control in your prep is time allocation across the 13 domains, and that allocation should mirror the exam's own weighting. Insurance Regulation sits at the top at 20% - by far the largest single domain - followed by Property and Casualty Basics at 14% and Personal Automobile Policy at 10%.

Notice that the top three domains alone - Insurance Regulation, Property and Casualty Basics, and Personal Automobile Policy - account for 44% of the entire exam. That means nearly half your score is determined by mastery of just three content areas. A candidate who nails those three but skims the smaller domains is in a fundamentally stronger position than one who spreads study time evenly across all 13.

For a domain-by-domain breakdown of all 13 content areas with study guidance for each, see PA-PC Exam Domains 2026: Complete Guide to All 13 Content Areas.

Registration Mechanics That Affect Retake Rates

Cost and process friction influence how many candidates retest versus pushing through preparation the first time. The PA-PC carries a $55 exam fee through PSI and a separate $55 license application fee submitted to the Pennsylvania Insurance Department after passing, alongside a fingerprint-based background review. Because each exam attempt carries its own $55 charge, there's a real financial incentive to prepare thoroughly rather than treat the test as a low-stakes trial run.

Another factor that changed the preparation landscape: Pennsylvania eliminated mandatory prelicensing education effective April 29, 2025. Previously, a required course provided a built-in structure and pacing for candidates. Without that mandate, self-directed study - using a structured resource like a PA-PC Study Guide 2026: How to Pass on Your First Attempt - carries more of the preparation burden than it used to. Candidates who don't replace that structure with a disciplined plan of their own are more likely to walk in underprepared.

Once licensed, producers face a two-year renewal cycle requiring 24 continuing-education hours, including 3 ethics hours and, for property and casualty authority specifically, 2 flood hours. That renewal structure is worth knowing before you even sit for the initial exam, since it frames licensing as an ongoing commitment rather than a one-time hurdle. Full eligibility and process details are covered in PA-PC Requirements 2026: Eligibility, Prerequisites & How to Qualify, and a complete cost breakdown - exam fee, application fee, and renewal CE costs - is available in PA-PC Certification Cost 2026: Complete Pricing Breakdown.

Who's Testing: The Hiring Landscape Shaping Demand

The pool of people sitting for the PA-PC skews toward candidates entering roles at independent agencies, captive carrier offices, and brokerages that write personal and commercial property and casualty business across Pennsylvania. Because the license is a prerequisite for legally selling or servicing P&C policies in the state, hiring managers at these firms often bring candidates on with the explicit expectation that they'll pass the exam within a defined window after starting.

This hiring reality shapes how seriously candidates should treat their first attempt. A retake costs another $55 and, more importantly, another delay before a new hire can start writing business or earning commission-eligible work. If you're evaluating whether the licensing effort translates into real career traction, PA-PC Salary Guide 2026: Complete Earnings Analysis and Is the PA-PC Certification Worth It? Complete ROI Analysis 2026 both dig into that question in more depth, and PA-PC Jobs looks at where licensed producers typically land.

A Realistic Prep Timeline Tied to Domain Weight

Rather than a generic week-by-week template, the schedule below allocates study time roughly in proportion to domain weight, front-loading the heaviest domains while they're fresh and leaving the smaller ones for later review passes.

Practicing under real time pressure matters here specifically because the format is unforgiving - you get roughly one minute per question with no reference material to fall back on. Running full-length sets on our practice test platform before test day is one of the more reliable ways to confirm your pacing holds up across all 150 questions, not just the ones you've studied most recently.

What Actually Moves the Needle on Test Day

Since there's no published pass-rate percentage to benchmark against, focus on the factors within your control that directly affect whether you clear 105 correct answers:

• Domain-weighted study time. Spending proportional effort on Insurance Regulation, Property and Casualty Basics, and Personal Automobile Policy addresses 44% of the exam before you've touched the smaller domains.
• Timed practice under closed-book conditions. Since no calculators or references are allowed during the real exam, practicing without them removes a false sense of security built during open-note review.
• Format familiarity. All 150 questions are multiple-choice, so practice should emphasize recognizing distractor patterns and scenario-based phrasing, not just recalling flashcard definitions.
• Realistic pacing. At 170 minutes for 150 questions, you can't afford to get stuck. Practice tests that track your per-question pace help you spot where you're losing time.
• Knowing the passing threshold cold. Understanding that 105 of 150 is the target - not a percentile against other test-takers - helps you self-assess accurately during practice.

For a condensed reference you can review in the final days before your appointment, the PA-PC Cheat Sheet 2026: One-Page Review of Must-Know Facts pulls together the highest-yield facts across all 13 domains. And if you haven't yet locked in your test date, PA-PC Exam Dates 2026: Testing Windows, Deadlines & Scheduling covers how PSI scheduling works for both center-based and online-proctored sessions.

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