How to Verify a Texas Insurance Agent License

Before you share your Medicare number, your income, or your family's health history with an insurance agent, spend five minutes confirming that the person is licensed in Texas. The check is free, the records are public, and it protects you from the small number of people who sell insurance without a license. This guide walks you through the Texas Department of Insurance (TDI) agent lookup, explains what a National Producer Number is, shows you what "appointed with" means on an agent's record, and lists the red flags that should end a conversation.

Key takeaways

• Everyone who sells insurance in Texas must hold a license from the Texas Department of Insurance. You can look up any agent by name or license number at no cost.
• An agent's National Producer Number (NPN) is a single ID that follows them across every state. You can check it through NIPR.
• "Appointed with" lists the insurance companies an agent is authorized to sell for. An agent can only enroll you in plans from those carriers.
• A license confirms the person is legally allowed to sell. It does not tell you whether they are good at the job, so pair the lookup with a few direct questions.
• If an agent will not give you their full name and NPN, or their record does not match what they told you, walk away.

Why a license check is worth five minutes

Insurance agents handle sensitive information: your Medicare number, your Social Security number on Marketplace applications, your prescriptions, and your income. An unlicensed seller may be running a scam, may put you in a plan that does not fit, or may vanish when a claim goes wrong.

A licensed Texas agent, by contrast, has passed a state exam, cleared a background check, and completes continuing education to keep the license. If a licensed agent treats you badly, TDI can investigate and take action against the license. That accountability is the whole point of checking.

What a Texas insurance license covers

TDI issues several license types. For the products most people shop for on MeetBrokers, the relevant one is usually a general lines license covering life, accident, health, and HMO products. Some agents hold a narrower life-only license, which does not allow them to sell health or Medicare plans. The lookup record shows which lines the agent holds.

Two more requirements sit on top of the state license:

• Medicare plans. Agents who sell Medicare Advantage or Part D plans must complete Medicare training and carrier certification every year. The state lookup will not show this, so ask the agent directly.
• Marketplace plans. Agents who help with HealthCare.gov plans must register with the Marketplace and complete its training each year. Registered agents appear in the Marketplace's Find Local Help tool along with their NPN.

Step-by-step: use the TDI agent lookup

1. Get the agent's details. Ask for their full legal name as it appears on the license, plus their Texas license number or NPN. Some agents go by a nickname, and the lookup works best with the legal name or a number.
2. Open the lookup. Go to the "Agent and adjuster lookup" page on tdi.texas.gov. TDI's search tool runs on Sircon, a licensing platform used by a number of states, so do not be alarmed when the address changes to a Sircon page.
3. Search. Choose the individual search and enter the name or license number. Searching by number avoids mix-ups with agents who share a common name.
4. Read the record. The details are what matter, not just that a record exists.

Here is what you will see and how to read it:

If you cannot find the agent, double-check the spelling and try the license number. If you still get nothing, ask the agent to send a screenshot of their own record. A licensed agent can pull it up in seconds and will not be offended by the request.

Check the NPN through NIPR

Every licensed insurance producer in the United States has a National Producer Number, assigned through the National Insurance Producer Registry (NIPR). The number is unique to the person and stays the same in every state where they hold a license.

You can look up an NPN on NIPR's site by name and state or by state license number. The result confirms the number belongs to the person in front of you. Two reasons this is worth doing alongside the TDI check:

• Many agents are licensed in several states. The NPN ties those licenses together, so you can see the full picture.
• Medicare and Marketplace enrollment forms record the agent's NPN as the agent of record. If a problem comes up later, that number is how the carrier and regulators identify who enrolled you.

For a deeper look, read what is an NPN.

What "appointed with" means

Insurance companies do not let every licensed agent sell their products. A carrier "appoints" an agent, and that appointment is filed with TDI. The appointments section of an agent's record therefore tells you exactly which companies the agent can enroll you with.

This matters more than most people realize:

• An agent appointed with a single carrier is a captive agent. They can only show you that carrier's plans.
• An agent appointed with many carriers is an independent agent, sometimes called a broker. They can compare across those carriers, but still not beyond them.
• If an agent showed you plans from a company that is not on their appointment list, ask why. Appointment filings can lag by a few weeks, so there may be an innocent explanation, but you want to hear it.

The practical question to ask is specific: "Which carriers are you appointed with for Medicare plans in my county?" You can read more about the two models in Medicare agent vs. broker.

Extra checks for Medicare and Marketplace agents

For Medicare plans, federal marketing rules add protections on top of the state license:

• Agents may not cold-call you or show up at your door without an invitation.
• Before discussing Medicare Advantage or Part D plans, the agent must document a Scope of Appointment, in which you choose what you want to talk about.
• Agents may not claim to be from Medicare or the government.

For Marketplace plans, the agent must have your consent before working on your HealthCare.gov application, and you can confirm they are registered by searching the Marketplace's Find Local Help tool.

Red flags to stop for

One mismatch can be a clerical issue. Several together are a pattern.

What to do if something is wrong

• Contact TDI. You can file a complaint online or call the consumer help line listed on tdi.texas.gov. TDI investigates licensing violations.
• Call Medicare. For Medicare marketing violations or suspected fraud, call 1-800-MEDICARE and use the fraud reporting steps on Medicare.gov.
• Protect your numbers. If you already gave your Medicare number to someone suspicious, report it so Medicare can watch for misuse.

How MeetBrokers handles verification

Every agent profile on MeetBrokers lists the states where the agent is licensed and their NPN, with a link to look it up. Profiles marked as verified have had the license confirmed by our team. Even so, we encourage you to run the lookup yourself before you share personal information, whether you find an agent through our Medicare agents in Texas or health insurance agents in Texas listings, a referral, or anywhere else. It takes five minutes and it is the single most useful step before any insurance conversation. Once the license checks out, our questions to ask a health insurance agent will help you judge the rest.

Talk to a licensed agent for free

Health and Medicare insurance agents are paid by the insurance carriers whose plans they sell, so you pay nothing extra for their help, and your premium is the same either way. A licensed Texas agent can compare plans across the carriers they are appointed with, check your doctors and prescriptions, and help you enroll before the deadline. When you are ready, you can find a licensed health insurance agent near you and verify their license before you ever speak.