AHIP 2027 One-Page Prep Checklist

What's on the page

The checklist walks the full 2027 cycle in order, so you can use it as a single planning sheet from “haven't started” to “ready to sell”:

1. Before you start — confirm your resident state license is active; that has to be in place before AHIP means anything.
2. The 5 training modules — Medicare basics, MA & Part D structure, enrollment periods, marketing/compliance rules, and Fraud, Waste & Abuse. Budget 6–8 hours; drill the module Review Questions (unlimited submissions, with feedback).
3. The final exam — 50 questions drawn from all 5 modules, 2-hour limit, CLOSED-book, 90% to pass. AHIP publishes no attempt cap — carriers set their own cutoffs.
4. Cost check — $175 list price; nearly every carrier/FMO has a discount link, commonly around $125. Check yours before paying full price.
5. If you don't pass — up to 2 retakes inside your enrollment; fail all 3 and you re-enroll, repeat the modules, and pay again.
6. After AHIP: carrier certification — each carrier's own shorter product course, required separately per carrier.
7. Deadline reality — no single AHIP-enforced date; each carrier sets its own, almost always ahead of AEP opening October 15, 2026.
8. Ready-to-sell check — AHIP/NABIP done + every carrier's product cert done + active license + current E&O + contracting/appointment complete.

Want the deeper version?

This page is the free, one-page overview. For the full picture on any single step — exact exam mechanics, the real cost breakdown, retake consequences, or the new-agent order of operations — see the guides below.

Frequently asked questions

Official & industry sources

Figures on this page are cross-checked against primary and industry-primary sources:

• Medicare.gov — official program
• CMS.gov — Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
• Ritter Insurance Marketing — AHIP certification guide