The Texas Life & Health exam in Spanish: how it works, and what the numbers say.

About one in ten Texas Life & Health exam sittings is in Spanish. The mechanics are simple and badly explained online, and the pass-rate gap is large. Here is the handbook's version, plus the data.

How to take it in Spanish

1. Ask for Spanish when you book. The handbook: "Spanish versions of the examinations are available. Candidates who would like to take an examination in Spanish should indicate this when they contact Pearson VUE when making a reservation." The exam codes are InsTX-LAH25 (Life, Accident & Health) and InsTX-Life21 (Life Agent). Same $49 or $39 fee, same 150 or 120 minutes.
2. You can toggle every question. "Candidates taking a Spanish version of the exam can switch back and forth between Spanish and English at any time during the exam." This matters more than it sounds; see below.
3. Everything else is identical. Same outline, same number of questions, same scaled score of 70, same test centers, same rules.

Extra time: the ESL form is separate from the Spanish exam

Many people mix these up. Choosing the Spanish exam does not give you more time. Extra time comes from the English as a Second Language (ESL) Request Form at the back of the handbook, and the rules are strict:

• You send the form to Pearson VUE with "a letter from either his/her English instructor or sponsoring company (on official letterhead if from a company) stating that English is not the candidate's primary language."
• If approved, the exam is 1.5 times the standard length: 225 minutes instead of 150.
• Do not book until Pearson VUE emails the approval. The approval lasts one year.
• "NO OTHER accommodations will be granted for ESL": no separate room, reader or marker; those are for ADA accommodations only.

If an agency recruited you, its letter on letterhead satisfies the sponsoring-company requirement. Ask for it early; approval takes time and you cannot book meanwhile.

What the pass rates say

The Spanish first-time rate fell sharply from December 2025 and has stayed between 16% and 27% most months of 2026. Pearson VUE publishes no explanation. It could be a new Spanish form, a change in who is taking it, or both; we do not know. All months, both languages ›

What that means for how you prepare

• Use the toggle on purpose. Insurance terms are English-first in Texas: the policies you will sell, the agency training, the Texas Insurance Code. Many bilingual candidates do better reading the English version and switching to Spanish only when a sentence is unclear, rather than the other way round. Practise that way.
• Practise in English with explanations. If your study material is a Spanish translation of a course, the exam's phrasing will feel foreign. Scenario questions in English, with every option explained, close that gap faster.
• Get the ESL letter if you qualify. 75 extra minutes removes the time pressure that pushes borderline scores under the line.
• Texas law is the same 30 questions. It is the section most people lose, in either language.

One question, in the exam's English

Read it as you would at the test center. Then switch to Spanish in your head and notice what changes.

Questions people ask