MD-PC Exam Domains 2026: Complete Guide to All 10 Content Areas

MD-PC Exam Structure Overview

The Maryland Property and Casualty Producer Combo Exam, often shortened to MD-PC, is administered by the Maryland Insurance Administration through Prometric. If you're wondering what is MD-PC or need a plain-language breakdown of the MD-PC meaning, the short version is this: it's the state licensing exam that combines property insurance and casualty insurance content into a single test, known as the Series 20-32 exam.

Candidates face 120 scored questions plus 10 unscored pretest questions - all four-option multiple choice - within a 2 hour 30 minute window. You won't know which questions are unscored, so every question deserves full attention. As of October 1, 2024, Maryland-approved prelicensing education is no longer a requirement to sit for the exam, which changes how many candidates approach preparation. For a deeper dive into who qualifies and what's still required, see our full MD-PC requirements breakdown.

This guide walks through all ten content domains in the order they're weighted, from the heaviest topic (Insurance Regulation at 30%) down to the lightest (Businessowners Policy at 1%). Understanding exactly how much of the exam each domain represents is the single most important planning tool you have before you open a textbook.

Domain 1: Insurance Regulation (30%)

Insurance Regulation is by far the largest domain on the MD-PC exam, and it deserves the largest share of your study time. Questions here focus on the Maryland Insurance Administration's authority, producer licensing rules, and the legal framework that governs how property and casualty insurance is sold and serviced in the state.

Because producer licenses in Maryland renew biennially with 24 continuing-education hours (including 3 ethics hours), expect exam content to reflect these same regulatory habits - testing whether you understand the ongoing compliance obligations that follow licensure, not just the steps to get licensed initially.

Domain 2: General Insurance (7%)

General Insurance covers the foundational vocabulary and concepts that apply across every line of property and casualty coverage. Think of it as the connective tissue between the more specialized domains later in the exam.

Even though this domain is only 7% of the exam, its concepts resurface throughout Domains 4 through 10. A weak grasp of general insurance terminology will slow you down on questions in every other domain, so don't treat its small weight as a signal to skip it.

Domain 3: Property and Casualty Insurance Basics (13%)

This domain builds directly on General Insurance but narrows the focus to how property and casualty policies specifically are structured, rated, and serviced. At 13%, it's one of three domains tied for the second-highest weight on the exam.

Candidates who struggle here often haven't internalized the difference between named-peril and open-peril coverage - a distinction that reappears in the Dwelling and Homeowners domains, so getting it right early pays off twice.

Domain 4: Dwelling Policy (8%)

Dwelling Policy questions test your knowledge of the standard fire and dwelling forms used for residential property that doesn't qualify for a Homeowners policy - think rental properties, seasonal homes, or dwellings in higher-risk categories.

Expect exam questions to test whether you can match a described property scenario to the correct dwelling form - this is a classic MD-PC question style that rewards memorizing the form-by-form coverage differences.

Domain 5: Homeowners Policy (13%)

Homeowners Policy is tied with Property and Casualty Basics and Commercial Package Policy as the second-heaviest domain. Given that most producers licensed under MD-PC will sell homeowners coverage regularly, this domain reflects real-world job relevance as much as exam weight.

Domain 6: Auto Insurance (8%)

Auto Insurance covers the Personal Auto Policy (PAP) and Maryland-specific auto insurance requirements, including how liability, collision, comprehensive, and uninsured motorist coverages function together.

Because auto insurance is heavily regulated at the state level, don't rely solely on generic national study guides for this domain - cross-check any Maryland-specific minimums against current state statute.

Domain 7: Commercial Package Policy (13%)

Commercial Package Policy (CPP) rounds out the trio of domains weighted at 13%, and it's often the domain that catches candidates off guard because it combines multiple commercial coverage lines into one topic area.

This domain rewards candidates who understand how CGL occurrence and claims-made triggers differ - a concept commonly tested through scenario-based questions rather than direct definitions.

Domain 8: Businessowners Policy (1%)

At just 1% of the exam, Businessowners Policy (BOP) is the smallest domain by far. Expect only a handful of questions here, covering the basics of how a BOP bundles property and liability coverage for small to mid-sized businesses.

Given its 1% weight, a light review pass is sufficient - spend your limited study time here understanding the BOP-vs-CPP distinction rather than memorizing every endorsement.

Domain 9: Workers' Compensation Insurance (3%)

Workers' Compensation is a small but distinct domain testing your understanding of how employers cover employee injuries and how this line interacts with liability exclusions found elsewhere on the exam.

Domain 10: Other Coverages and Options (5%)

This catch-all domain covers miscellaneous coverages and endorsements that don't fit neatly into the other nine categories - think umbrella/excess liability, inland marine, and specialty endorsements.

Because this domain pulls from several smaller topics, a quick-reference sheet works better than deep study here. Our MD-PC cheat sheet consolidates exactly this kind of miscellaneous, easy-to-forget detail into one page.

Building a Domain-Weighted Study Order

With ten domains and uneven weights, the smartest sequencing puts the heaviest domains first while they still have time to sink in, and saves the lightest domains for quick review passes near the end.

This isn't the only valid sequence, but it front-loads the highest-weight material while it has the most time to be reinforced through repetition. For a more detailed week-by-week study framework, including how to layer in practice questions, see our complete MD-PC Study Guide.

Once you've mapped out your domain priorities, it helps to understand exactly how many questions you need right on test day. Our guide to the MD-PC passing score walks through how the scoring works, while our breakdown of the MD-PC certification cost covers the $62 Series 20-32 fee alongside any other expenses to budget for. If you're still deciding whether to pursue licensure at all, our ROI analysis and salary guide lay out the career case in more detail.

To get comfortable with the exam's question style before test day, work through timed practice sessions on our MD-PC practice test platform, which mirrors the four-option multiple-choice format and 2 hour 30 minute time constraint you'll face at Prometric. Repeated exposure to realistic questions across all ten domains - not just the heaviest ones - is what separates candidates who feel prepared from those who are only guessing at their readiness. You can also review additional practice sets organized by domain to target your weaker areas directly.

Frequently Asked Questions