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CA Department of Insurance
CA Department of Insurance
CA Department of Insurance

Notice - BEWARE!! Cheating is a Crime . . .

Per Section 1681.5(b) of the California Insurance Code, willfully cheating or subverting a license examination is punishable by a fine not to exceed $10,000 or imprisonment not to exceed one year.


Offenses that Constitute Cheating on License Examinations

  • Open workbooks or study notes during any part of the examination session
  • Cheat sheets: anything with answers written on scraps of paper; inside Kleenex tissue
  • Electronic devices not turned off (i.e. cell phones, pagers, PDA [personal data assistant], cameras)
  • Removal of any CDI examination material from the examination room (book examinations)
  • Looking at another examinees computer monitor or examination answer sheet during book examinations
  • Bribery
  • Gifts (i.e., candy, flowers, coffee, gift card) for examination proctors and other CDI employees
  • Reviewing any study material/notes in the restroom/lobby during the course of the examination
  • Taking study material/electronic devices out of the examination room during restroom/water break
  • Using someone else's identification for admittance to examination
  • Falsifying identification for admittance to examination
  • Contact with another individual during restroom/drink break
  • Any attempt during the course of examination to record examination questions. This includes, but is not limited to, attempts to download questions from computer based examinations or access of PSI site/software
  • Recording by any method of examination questions and/or responses
  • Communication with any person other than the proctor during the course of the examination
  • Damaging or attempting to damage CDI examination equipment
  • Leaving the examination room during the course of the examination without approval of the examination proctor. Approved restroom breaks are limited to the candidate taking a direct route to and from the restroom without stopping and are limited to five minutes

Specifically, Section 1681.5 states, in part, that no person shall cheat on, subvert, or attempt to subvert, any licensing examination given by the CDI, including, but not limited to, engaging in, soliciting, or procuring any of the following:

  1. Any communication between one or more examinees and any other person, other than a proctor or examination official, while the examination is in progress.
  2. The taking of all or a part of the examination by a person other than the applicant.
  3. Possession or use at any time during the examination or while the examinee is on the examination premises of any device, material, or document that is not expressly authorized for use by examinees during the examination, including, but not limited to, notes, crib sheets, textbooks, and electronic devices.
  4. Failure to follow any examination instruction or rule related to examination security.
  5. The provision of false, fraudulent, or materially misleading information concerning education, experience, or other qualifications as part of, or in support of, any application for admission to any examination.

In addition to the penalties stated above, the Insurance Commissioner can bar any candidate caught willfully cheating from taking any license examination and from holding an active license under any provision of this code for a period of five years.


If you have any questions about the license information you retrieved, please see the most commonly asked questions in our License Questions and Answers section. If you need further assistance, please call CDI's Examination Unit at (916) 492-3570, or send an e-mail to the Producer Licensing Bureau. Please be sure to include your name, telephone number, license number and e-mail address in all correspondence with the Department.

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