- Understanding the NVLH Exam Blueprint
- Domains 1-4: Life Insurance Content
- Domains 5-9: Health Insurance Content
- Domains 10-13: Nevada Statutes and Codes
- Domain Weight Reference Table
- How the Domains Are Actually Tested
- Scheduling Your Study Around the 13 Domains
- Registration and Fee Mechanics You Need to Know
- Who Hires Candidates Who Master These Domains
- Frequently Asked Questions
- The InsNV_LAH05 outline has 13 domains covering Life, Health, and Nevada-specific statute content.
- Domain 1 (Types of Policies) carries 15 of the exam's 144 scored questions.
- Life domains 1-4 together account for 50 of the 144 scored questions on the combo exam.
- The exam has 159 total questions (144 scored, 15 unscored) in a 3-hour 35-minute window.
Understanding the NVLH Exam Blueprint
The Nevada Life & Health Insurance Producer Exam (NVLH), administered under exam code InsNV_LAH05 through Pearson VUE, is built around 13 defined content domains. These domains are not arbitrary study topics - they are the official outline published by the Nevada Department of Business and Industry, Division of Insurance, and every scored question on your test maps to one of them. Understanding how these 13 areas are structured, weighted, and tested is the single most useful thing you can do before opening a textbook.
The current outline took effect October 1, 2024, and remains in force through November 13, 2026, when a revised version replaces it. If you're testing before that cutoff, the domain list and structure described here is exactly what you'll face. For a broader look at how to prepare for the exam as a whole, pair this breakdown with the NVLH Study Guide 2026, which covers first-attempt pass strategy in more depth.
Domains 1-4: Life Insurance Content
The first four domains form the Life portion of the combined outline. Together, they account for 50 of the exam's 144 scored questions - a substantial block that candidates often underestimate because they assume "life insurance" is the easy half.
Domain 1: Types of Policies
This domain carries 15 scored questions and is the largest single domain on the entire outline. It covers the full range of life insurance products a Nevada producer must be able to explain to a client.
- Term life (level, decreasing, increasing, renewable, convertible)
- Whole life, limited-pay, and modified whole life
- Universal life and variable life/variable universal life
- Endowments, group life, and credit life products
Domain 2: Life Provisions, Riders, Options, and Exclusions
Candidates must know how a life policy behaves after issue - not just what it covers at purchase.
- Nonforfeiture options (cash surrender, reduced paid-up, extended term)
- Riders: waiver of premium, accidental death, guaranteed insurability, accelerated death benefit
- Settlement/payout options for beneficiaries
- Standard exclusions: suicide clause, aviation, war exclusions
Domain 3: Completing the Application, Underwriting, and Delivering the Policies
This is the procedural domain - the mechanics of turning an application into an in-force policy.
- Insurable interest and application completion requirements
- Field underwriting responsibilities of the producer
- Conditional receipts and binding coverage
- Policy delivery, free-look period, and statement of good health
Domain 4: Retirement and Other Insurance Concepts
This domain shifts from pure life insurance into retirement-adjacent products and tax treatment.
- Fixed, variable, and indexed annuities
- Qualified vs. nonqualified retirement plans, IRAs
- Taxation of life insurance proceeds and annuity distributions
- Section 1035 exchanges
Domains 5-9: Health Insurance Content
Domains 5 through 9 form the Health portion of the outline. Note that Domain 5 reuses the label "Types of Policies," but here it refers to health products rather than life products - a naming quirk that trips up candidates skimming the outline too quickly.
Domain 5: Types of Policies (Health)
Covers the health product landscape a Nevada producer will sell or service.
- Individual and group health plans, HMO/PPO structures
- Disability income insurance
- Long-term care insurance
- Medicare Supplement (Medigap) policies
Domain 6: Policy Provisions, Clauses, and Riders
Focuses on the contractual language that governs how health claims and benefits actually work.
- Mandatory and optional Uniform Policy Provisions
- Elimination periods, waiting periods, and probationary periods
- Coordination of benefits between multiple policies
Domain 7: Social Insurance
Tests knowledge of government-run programs a producer must be able to explain relative to private coverage.
- Medicare Parts A, B, C, and D
- Medicaid eligibility basics
- Social Security disability income benefits
Domain 8: Other Insurance Concepts
A catch-all domain covering regulatory and structural concepts that don't fit neatly into product categories.
- COBRA continuation coverage
- HIPAA portability rules
- Taxation of health insurance premiums and benefits
Domain 9: Field Underwriting Procedures
The health-side counterpart to Domain 3, covering how producers handle applications and underwriting for health products.
- Application completion and disclosure requirements
- Replacement rules when switching health coverage
- Producer responsibilities during the underwriting process
Key Takeaway
Domains 5 and 1 share an identical title but test entirely different content - Domain 1 is Life products, Domain 5 is Health products. Don't let outline labels lull you into skipping review.
Domains 10-13: Nevada Statutes and Codes
The final four domains are entirely state-specific, and they're the domains most likely to be neglected by candidates who study from generic national materials. Nevada's insurance code has its own definitions, licensing rules, and penalty structures that don't necessarily match what's taught in a general life/health textbook.
Domain 10: Nevada Statutes and Codes Common to Life, Health, Property, and Casualty Insurance
Broad producer licensing and conduct rules that apply across every line of insurance in Nevada.
- Producer licensing, appointments, and renewal requirements
- Unfair trade practices and unfair claims settlement practices
- Penalties for violations under Nevada insurance code
Domain 11: Nevada Statutes and Codes Common to Life and Health Insurance Only
Rules that narrow specifically to the life/health line rather than all insurance lines.
- Replacement regulations for life and health contracts
- Advertising and disclosure rules specific to life/health products
Domain 12: Nevada Statutes and Codes Pertinent to Life Insurance Only
Life-specific statutory provisions, including state variations on standard nonforfeiture and grace period rules.
Domain 13: Nevada Statutes and Codes Pertinent to Health Insurance Only
Health-specific statutory provisions, including state mandates on required benefits and continuation coverage.
These four law-focused domains reward memorization more than conceptual reasoning, which makes them ideal candidates for a dedicated one-page review sheet in the final days before your test.
Domain Weight Reference Table
Domain weights on the combined exam are calculated from the official scored-question counts, not from the total 159 questions (which include 15 unscored pretest items you can't identify during the test). The table below summarizes what's confirmed from the current outline.
| Domain Group | Domains | Scored Question Share |
|---|---|---|
| Life Insurance | 1-4 | 50 of 144 scored questions |
| - Types of Policies | Domain 1 specifically | 15 of 144 scored questions |
| Health Insurance | 5-9 | Remaining balance of scored questions, split across five domains |
| Nevada Statutes and Codes | 10-13 | Remaining balance of scored questions, split across four domains |
| Total Scored Questions | All 13 | 144 (plus 15 unscored, 159 total on-screen) |
Because the outline document itself omits the exact per-domain count on some lines, treat Domain 1's 15-question figure as your most reliable anchor point, and study the remaining domains proportionally by how much content each one actually covers rather than chasing invented percentages.
How the Domains Are Actually Tested
Every question on the InsNV_LAH05 exam is multiple-choice, and questions are drawn from all 13 domains in a mixed order rather than grouped by section - you won't see "Domain 1 questions" followed by "Domain 2 questions" in sequence. This matters for pacing: you need working recall across all 13 areas simultaneously, not just mastery of whichever domain you studied most recently.
A few structural facts worth internalizing:
- 159 total questions appear, but only 144 are scored - the other 15 are unscored pretest items mixed in without identification.
- You have 3 hours and 35 minutes to complete the exam, which averages out to a comfortable pace if you're not stalling on statute-recall questions.
- The passing standard is a scaled score of 70 - not 70% correct answers - so don't try to calculate your pass/fail status by counting right answers during the test.
- The combined Life/Health exam is only available at a physical test center; the standalone Life-only and Health-only exams can be taken through Pearson's OnVUE remote proctoring.
If you're weighing whether to sit the combined exam or split it into two standalone tests, that decision affects your domain study order too - see the details in NVLH Exam Dates 2026 for scheduling implications and How Hard Is the NVLH Exam? for a difficulty comparison between the combo and standalone formats.
Scheduling Your Study Around the 13 Domains
Rather than studying domains in numerical order, group your review by content family - Life (1-4), Health (5-9), Nevada law (10-13) - and finish the law domains last since they're most sensitive to review decay. A short spaced-repetition pass on statute numbers in the final week keeps that recall sharp on test day.
Life Domains 1-4
- Master policy types (Domain 1) first since it's the single largest domain
- Drill riders, nonforfeiture options, and settlement options (Domain 2)
Health Domains 5-9
- Compare HMO/PPO and Medicare Supplement structures (Domain 5)
- Memorize elimination periods and coordination-of-benefits rules (Domain 6)
Nevada Statutes 10-13
- Build a statute-by-statute reference sheet for licensing and penalties (Domain 10)
- Isolate life-only vs. health-only state mandates (Domains 12-13)
Mixed Review and Timing
- Take full-length practice sessions that mix all 13 domains in random order
- Review your weakest domain from each of the three groups
For a domain-by-domain walkthrough of exactly what mastery looks like at each score level, the NVLH Passing Score 2026 guide breaks down what a scaled score of 70 actually requires across this kind of mixed-domain test.
Registration and Fee Mechanics You Need to Know
Domain knowledge only matters if you actually get seated for the exam correctly. A few mechanical details from the current InsNV_LAH05 exam structure:
- The exam costs $47 through Pearson VUE.
- The combined Life/Health exam must be taken at a physical Pearson VUE test center; it is not available via OnVUE remote proctoring, though the standalone Life and Health exams are.
- After passing, applicants must apply for licensure within 1 year and submit required fingerprint documentation as part of the application.
- The current outline governing these 13 domains runs through November 13, 2026, after which a revised outline takes effect - if your test date falls right around that boundary, confirm which version applies to you.
A full cost breakdown, including what happens if you need to retest, is available in NVLH Certification Cost 2026: Complete Pricing Breakdown. If you're still confirming basic eligibility before you even register, check NVLH Requirements 2026 first.
Who Hires Candidates Who Master These Domains
Passing the NVLH exam and obtaining licensure opens the door to producer roles at life and health insurance carriers, independent agencies, and brokerage firms operating in Nevada. Employers care less about which domain you scored highest on and more about whether you can move fluently between life products, health products, and Nevada-specific compliance rules in front of a client - which is exactly what all 13 domains are designed to test in combination. If you're evaluating whether the licensing effort translates into real opportunity, the NVLH Salary