(a) A resident individual applying for an insurance producer license shall pass a written examination unless exempt pursuant to Section 27-7-5 or 27-7-29.1. The examination shall test the knowledge of the individual concerning the lines of authority for which application is made, the duties and responsibilities of an insurance producer, and the insurance laws and regulations of this state. Examinations required by this section shall be developed and conducted under rules and regulations prescribed by the commissioner.

(b) The commissioner may make arrangements, including contracting with an outside testing service, for administering examinations and collecting the nonrefundable fee set forth in Section 27-4-2.

(c) Each individual applying for an examination shall remit a nonrefundable fee prescribed by the commissioner as set forth in Section 27-4-2.

(d) An individual who fails to appear for the examination as scheduled or fails to pass the examination shall reapply for an examination and remit all required fees and forms before being rescheduled for another examination.

(e) No individual who has taken and failed to pass two examinations given pursuant to this section for a particular line of insurance shall be entitled to take any further examination for that line of insurance until after the expiration of three months from the date of the last examination which the individual failed to pass. If the individual thereafter fails to pass the examination after two more attempts, the individual shall not be eligible to take any further examination for that line of insurance until after the expiration of six months from the date of the last unsuccessful examination. An examination fee shall be paid for each and every examination.

(f) If the commissioner has contracted with an outside testing service as provided for in subsection (b), fees approved by the commissioner for the examinations may, in the commissioner's discretion, be paid directly to the outside testing service and the fee shall be in lieu of, but not in excess of, the fees for the examination required under this section as specified in Section 27-4-2.