- The MD-PC exam has 120 scored plus 10 unscored questions in 2 hours 30 minutes, all four-option multiple choice.
- Insurance Regulation is the largest domain at 30% - prioritize it above all others.
- As of October 1, 2024, Maryland-approved prelicensing coursework is no longer required to sit for the exam.
- The exam is administered by Prometric and can be taken at a test center or remotely via ProProctor.
What the MD-PC Exam Actually Tests
The Maryland Property and Casualty Producer Combo Exam (MD-PC) is the state licensing exam administered on behalf of the Maryland Insurance Administration, delivered through Prometric testing centers. It qualifies candidates to sell both property insurance and casualty insurance products in Maryland - homeowners, dwelling, auto, commercial package, businessowners, and workers' compensation coverages among them. It is not a voluntary professional certification you add to a resume for prestige; it is the regulatory gate you must pass through before an insurance carrier or agency can appoint you to write P&C business in the state.
Because it's a combo exam, it blends two traditionally separate licensing tracks - property and casualty - into a single 120-question scored assessment. That means your study plan has to cover regulatory law, general insurance concepts, and product-specific policy mechanics all in one pass. If you're still getting oriented to what this credential covers and who needs it, the overview in What Is MD-PC? is a useful starting point before you dive into content review.
Exam Format, Timing, and Fees
Understanding the mechanics of the test itself removes a lot of exam-day anxiety. The MD-PC exam consists of 120 scored questions plus 10 unscored (pretest) questions, all in a four-option multiple-choice format, for a total of 130 questions. You are given 2 hours and 30 minutes to complete the exam. The unscored questions are mixed in and indistinguishable from scored ones, so you should treat every question as if it counts.
The exam fee is $62, paid at the time you schedule through Prometric. That's a relatively modest financial barrier compared to many professional exams, but it still means a failed attempt costs both time and money - one more reason to walk in prepared rather than treat the first sitting as a "practice run." For a full cost picture including any other fees you might encounter along the licensing path, see MD-PC Certification Cost 2026: Complete Pricing Breakdown.
Key Takeaway
With 130 questions in 150 minutes, you have roughly 69 seconds per question on average. Practice pacing early so you're not rushing through the Insurance Regulation section, which carries the most weight and often the densest reading.
Domain-by-Domain Breakdown
The MD-PC exam is built from ten content domains with official weights that round to 101% in total. Insurance Regulation dominates the exam at 30%, meaning nearly a third of your scored questions come from licensing law, producer duties, unfair trade practices, and Maryland-specific statutes. No other domain comes close in weight, which should directly shape how you allocate study hours.
Domain 1: Insurance Regulation (30%)
This is the single most important domain on the exam by a wide margin. It covers producer licensing rules, appointment and termination procedures, unfair claims practices, and Maryland Insurance Administration authority.
- Know license types, renewal cycles, and continuing education obligations
- Understand penalties for unfair trade practices and misrepresentation
- Study the Administration's enforcement and complaint-handling powers
Domain 3: Property and Casualty Insurance Basics (13%)
This domain builds the vocabulary and legal concepts - insurable interest, indemnity, subrogation, and policy structure - that every other domain assumes you already know.
- Master definitions before moving to product-specific policies
- Understand how endorsements and exclusions modify a base policy
Domain 5: Homeowners Policy (13%)
Tied with Domain 3 and Domain 7 as a second-tier priority, this domain tests the standard HO forms, coverage parts, and common exclusions.
- Learn the difference between named-peril and open-peril forms
- Know liability and medical payments coverage limits and triggers
Domain 7: Commercial Package Policy (CPP) (13%)
Commercial lines candidates often underestimate this domain because it feels less familiar than personal auto or homeowners content.
- Understand how CPP bundles multiple commercial coverage parts
- Review commercial property and general liability coverage triggers
The remaining domains - General Insurance (7%), Dwelling Policy (8%), Auto Insurance (8%), Workers' Compensation Insurance (3%), Other Coverages and Options (5%), and Businessowners Policy (1%) - carry lighter weight individually but still appear on every exam form. Skipping any of them entirely is risky since even a 1% domain represents a guaranteed question or two. For a question-by-question walkthrough of what each of these ten areas actually tests, read MD-PC Exam Domains 2026: Complete Guide to All 10 Content Areas.
| Domain | Weight | Study Priority |
|---|---|---|
| Insurance Regulation | 30% | Highest |
| General Insurance | 7% | Moderate |
| Property and Casualty Insurance Basics | 13% | High |
| Dwelling Policy | 8% | Moderate |
| Homeowners Policy | 13% | High |
| Auto Insurance | 8% | Moderate |
| Commercial Package Policy (CPP) | 13% | High |
| Businessowners Policy | 1% | Low |
| Workers' Compensation Insurance | 3% | Low |
| Other Coverages and Options | 5% | Moderate |
If you want a sense of how these weights translate into real difficulty on test day, the analysis in How Hard Is the MD-PC Exam? Complete Difficulty Guide 2026 breaks down which domains trip up candidates most often and why.
Registration and Scheduling Mechanics
One of the biggest recent changes to MD-PC is eligibility: as of October 1, 2024, Maryland-approved prelicensing education is no longer a requirement to sit for the exam. That doesn't mean prelicensing coursework has no value - it means the state removed the mandatory gate, so your path to test day can be shorter if you're confident studying independently. If you're unsure what documentation or steps are still required before you can schedule, review MD-PC Requirements 2026: Eligibility, Prerequisites & How to Qualify before locking in a date.
Once you're ready, exams are scheduled through Prometric, the official testing administrator. You have two delivery options:
- In-person testing at a Prometric test center, following standard check-in and ID verification procedures.
- Remote proctoring via ProProctor, which lets you test from a private space with a compliant computer setup and webcam, subject to Prometric's remote testing rules.
Both formats deliver the same 130-question, 150-minute exam for the same $62 fee. Choosing between them usually comes down to whether you have reliable, quiet internet access versus a preference for a controlled test-center environment. For help mapping out when to book relative to your study plan, see MD-PC Exam Dates 2026: Testing Windows, Deadlines & Scheduling.
Building a Study Timeline Around the Weighting
Generic study advice - spaced repetition, timed practice blocks, active recall - works, but only if it's applied against MD-PC's actual weighting rather than spread evenly across all ten domains. Since Insurance Regulation alone accounts for nearly a third of the exam, it deserves close to a third of your calendar, not one-tenth.
Insurance Regulation Deep Dive
- Licensing law, producer duties, and Maryland Insurance Administration authority
- Unfair trade practices and penalty structures
- Practice questions focused solely on this domain
Foundations Plus Homeowners and Dwelling
- Property and Casualty Insurance Basics terminology
- Homeowners Policy forms and exclusions
- Dwelling Policy coverage differences from HO forms
Commercial Lines and Auto
- Commercial Package Policy structure and coverage parts
- Auto Insurance liability, collision, and comprehensive triggers
- Businessowners Policy basics and how it differs from CPP
Lighter Domains and Full Review
- General Insurance concepts and Workers' Compensation basics
- Other Coverages and Options
- Full-length timed practice exam under 2-hour-30-minute conditions
Run at least one full practice exam under real time pressure before your scheduled date. A one-page reference like the MD-PC Cheat Sheet 2026: One-Page Review of Must-Know Facts is useful during the final review week to reinforce definitions you've already studied - not as a substitute for the deeper domain work in weeks one through three. You can also work timed question sets on our practice test platform to get comfortable with the four-option format before test day.
Mistakes That Sink First-Time Candidates
Most repeat test-takers don't fail because the material is impossibly hard - they fail because their prep didn't match the exam's actual structure. Common patterns include:
- Treating all ten domains equally. Spending the same number of hours on Businessowners Policy (1%) as on Insurance Regulation (30%) is a losing time allocation.
- Skipping timed practice. With 130 questions in 150 minutes, candidates who never rehearse pacing often run out of time on the final stretch of questions.
- Ignoring the unscored questions. Because you can't tell which 10 of the 130 questions are unscored, mentally checking out on any question is a gamble.
- Underestimating commercial lines. Candidates coming from a personal-lines background sometimes gloss over Commercial Package Policy content, which carries the same 13% weight as Homeowners.
- Not confirming eligibility rules before scheduling. With the prelicensing requirement removed for exams taken on or after October 1, 2024, some candidates still assume they need a course certificate they no longer do - double-check current requirements before you pay the $62 fee.
If you want a broader sense of how test difficulty compares across attempts and what the data actually shows about outcomes, MD-PC Pass Rate 2026: What the Data Shows is worth reading alongside your study plan, and MD-PC Passing Score 2026: Exactly What You Need to Pass explains exactly what threshold you're studying toward.
After You Pass: Licensing and Renewal
Passing the MD-PC exam is the milestone, but it isn't the finish line. Once licensed, Maryland P&C producers must renew biennially, completing 24 continuing-education hours during each renewal cycle, including 3 hours specifically dedicated to ethics. Building a habit of tracking CE credits from day one prevents a scramble near your renewal deadline.
From a career standpoint, this license is the credential agencies check before appointing you to sell homeowners, auto, commercial package, and workers' compensation products in Maryland. If you're weighing whether the licensing investment pays off relative to the career paths it opens, Is the MD-PC Certification Worth It? Complete ROI Analysis 2026 and MD-PC Salary Guide 2026: Complete Earnings Analysis lay out the practical considerations, while MD-PC Jobs covers the types of roles that typically require this license. Once you've passed and secured your license, keep sharpening your product knowledge with continued practice on our exam prep platform - the same domain concepts you studied for licensing show up constantly in day-to-day P&C sales work.
Frequently Asked Questions
No. For examinations taken on or after October 1, 2024, Maryland-approved prelicensing education is not required to sit for the MD-PC exam.
The exam includes 120 scored questions plus 10 unscored questions, for 130 total four-option multiple-choice questions, and you're given 2 hours and 30 minutes to complete it.
The exam fee is $62, paid when you schedule your test through Prometric.
Yes. In addition to Prometric test centers, the exam is available through ProProctor remote proctoring for candidates who meet the technical and environment requirements.
Insurance Regulation, which makes up 30% of the exam - nearly a third of all scored questions - should receive the largest share of your study time, followed by Property and Casualty Insurance Basics, Homeowners Policy, and Commercial Package Policy, each weighted at 13%.