How to Apply for a Hong Kong Insurance Intermediary Licence — Three Licence Types, the Process, and Real Timelines

Last updated 2026-08-11

Passing the IIQE does not mean you can sell insurance.

A pass in the examination is only one of the prerequisites for a licence application — what actually lets you practise lawfully is the insurance intermediary licence issued by the Insurance Authority (IA). We covered the difference between the two in the exam and the licence are two different things.

This page covers the second half: how the licence itself is applied for, what you must satisfy, and how long it takes.

First, be clear: the licence follows the business line

An individual licence is not a general-purpose permit — it follows which business line you join. The three types of individual licence each correspond to one kind of "principal" (the organisation that appoints you):

In other words: whether you join an insurance company, an agency or a broker firm determines which category of licence you apply for. Agents and brokers are completely different in law as to "whom they represent" — before picking a side, read the difference between an agent and a broker.

The four prerequisites

All four must be met at the same time — none can be missing:

1. Appointment by a principal — an organisation must be willing to take you on before an

application is even possible;

1. Meeting the education requirements of GL23 (next section);
2. Passing the qualifying examination — unless exempted; for which papers correspond to which

lines of business, see which papers you should sit;

1. Repute and financial position satisfactory to the IA.

Note the position of item 1: appointment comes first, application second. Without a principal, an individual cannot lodge a licence application alone — and this directly dictates the order of steps described below.

Education requirements: eight routes, any one will do

GL23 §5.2 lists eight education routes in total; meeting any one of them is enough:

1. Level 2 or above in five subjects in the HKDSE — which must include Chinese or English,

plus Mathematics — the route matching current local school-leaving qualifications;

1. Grade E or above in five subjects in the HKCEE — likewise including one language subject plus

Mathematics;

1. The International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma;
2. The Yi Jin Diploma;
3. An accredited diploma from a local degree-awarding institution;
4. A diploma that is non-locally registered or exempted and accepted;
5. Insurance qualifications specified from time to time on the IA website;
6. Other equivalent or higher qualifications — a degree is generally regarded as acceptable,

so applicants holding a university degree usually fall straight under this route, with no need to go back and piece together secondary-school results.

Check route 1 (HKDSE) and route 8 (degree) first — the two most direct entrances — and only work through the other six one by one if neither fits. In addition, GL23 §5.2(b) also requires passes in the relevant papers of the qualifying examination (unless exempted); combining results from different sittings is acceptable — papers passed in separate examination sessions can be counted together.

Where to apply: Insurance Intermediaries Connect

Applications are submitted through the IA's e-portal, Insurance Intermediaries Connect (保險中介一站通). The key point: setting up an account requires your principal's assistance.

This confirms the order once again — find the company first, then apply for the licence; the other way round does not work. The correct path is: join (be appointed) → the principal helps you set up an Insurance Intermediaries Connect account → submit the application.

The official processing timetable

The IA's published processing times are as follows, all counting from the date the documents are complete:

Note the qualifier "counting from the date the documents are complete": the clock starts only once the documents are complete, so getting the materials right in one go does more than anything else to shorten the actual wait. Also, simple and non-simple cases differ by a factor of 4 in processing time — the same individual licence can land anywhere between the two ends.

After you get the licence

The licence is not the finish line. In every assessment period, licensees must meet Continuing Professional Development (CPD) hour requirements — see the CPD requirements for Hong Kong insurance intermediaries; the overall regulatory framework (the IA's role and how intermediaries are regulated) is introduced in Hong Kong's insurance regulatory regime.

Back to the start: the first link in this chain is still passing the examination. Work out which papers you should sit, pass them, and then follow the order in this page — appointment first, then application.

Sources and currency

The licence categories, application prerequisites, application channel and processing times in this article are taken from the Insurance Authority's (ia.org.hk) licence application pages and GL23 (the guideline on "fit and proper" criteria) §5.2; the CPD content is based on the 2025 edition of GL24 (effective 1 August 2025). Licensing and CPD are regulatory requirements and are adjusted from time to time; the IA's current publications prevail. This article is organised and written by Mange and is not a quotation from any official document.

Mange does not own, and does not claim to own, copyright in any official examination material; the content on this page is written by Mange. Nothing on this page is a promise about any examination outcome, nor does it constitute legal advice; actual application requirements and processing arrangements are governed by the IA's current publications and the circumstances of each case.