United States · Licensing examHow do you become an insurance adjuster?
- Pick your license. Texas, for example, has All Lines, Property and Casualty, and Workers' Compensation adjuster licenses, and Florida's main one is the 6-20 All-Lines Adjuster.
- Meet any education or experience rule, such as Georgia's 16 course hours or California's 2 years of certified adjusting experience.
- Pass the state exam with the testing company your state uses, unless your state lets a course or designation replace it.
- Get fingerprinted and apply. Texas wants your application within one year of passing, through Sircon. North Carolina and Alabama take applications through NIPR.
- Keep the license active. Florida's adjuster license needs an appointment and expires if you go 48 months without one, and Texas, Florida, California, Alabama and North Carolina set continuing education.
Insurance adjuster requirements by state
As of October 2026, from each state's insurance department and its testing company's handbook:
| State | Before the exam | Exam | Exam fee | License fee |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Texas | Nothing required; an approved course can replace the exam | Pearson VUE, 150 scored questions (All Lines) | $49 | $50 |
| Florida | Nothing required; listed designations waive the exam | Pearson VUE, 100 scored questions | $44 | $50 plus $5 license ID fee |
| California | 2 years (4,000 paid hours) of certified adjusting experience | PSI, 100 questions | $79 | $311 for two years |
| Georgia | 16 hours of property and casualty adjuster courses | Pearson VUE, 100 scored questions | $67 | $120 |
| North Carolina | No pre-licensing course | Pearson VUE, 100 questions | $45 | $169 in total |
| New York | No course for independent adjusters | PSI | Not listed by DFS | $100 for a full two-year term |
| Alabama | Not described on the department's page | Alabama state exam | Not listed | $110 |
| Oklahoma | Not stated in the PSI bulletin | PSI, by line (property, casualty, crop and hail and others) | $20 | See the OID fee schedule |
What if your state doesn't license adjusters?
Then you can pick a designated home state (DHS): you pass another state's exam and use that license as your base for nonresident licenses elsewhere. Several states offer this.
Texas offers a Designated Home State adjuster license only to residents of states that don't license adjusters. You pass the Texas All Lines exam ($49) or qualify through an approved course or the CPCU or AIC designation, get fingerprinted and pay $50. If your home state does license adjusters, Texas declines the application and keeps the fee.
North Carolina lets you take its exam through Pearson VUE's Out of State Testing without traveling there, and then you follow North Carolina's continuing education rules. Alabama allows it too, and its department lists these as non-licensing states: CO, DC, IA, IL, KS, MA, MD, MO, ND, NE, NJ, OH, PA, SD, TN, VA and WI.
Alabama and Oklahoma
Alabama's independent adjuster license covers people who adjust property, casualty or workers' compensation claims for an insurer, as contractors or a contractor's employees. You must be 18, pass the Alabama exam, wait 3 to 5 business days and apply through NIPR. Fingerprints must go through Fieldprint, taken the day before you apply. The license costs $110 and renews every two years for $80.
Oklahoma's Insurance Department licenses insurance adjusters (independent and staff), emergency adjusters and public adjusters. PSI runs separate adjuster exams for property and casualty, property, casualty, crop and hail, and workers' compensation, at $20 each. You need 70% to pass, there's no limit on retakes, and you apply at licensing.oid.ok.gov after you pass.
Sources: Texas Department of Insurance · Pearson VUE · Florida DFS and 11 more. Checked October 2026.
- Texas Department of Insurance: Adjuster, all lines (updated 7/25/2025) ↗
- Texas Department of Insurance: Adjuster, designated home state (updated April 11, 2025) ↗
- Pearson VUE: Texas Insurance Licensing Candidate Handbook, October 2024 (PDF) ↗
- Florida DFS: 6-20 Resident All-Lines Adjuster License (PDF) ↗
- Pearson VUE: Florida Insurance Licensing Candidate Handbook, 2024 (PDF) ↗
- California Department of Insurance: Insurance Adjuster Licensing Information ↗
- Georgia OCI: Licensed Adjusters, Public Adjusters, Counselors and Surplus Lines Brokers ↗
- Pearson VUE: Georgia Insurance Licensing Candidate Handbook, October 2026 (PDF) ↗
- Pearson VUE: North Carolina Insurance Licensing Candidate Handbook, October 2025 (PDF) ↗
- NC Department of Insurance: Registration Fees for Adjusters (modified 07/16/2025) ↗
- NY DFS: Independent Adjuster and Public Adjuster licensing ↗
- Alabama Department of Insurance: Adjuster Requirements ↗
- Oklahoma Insurance Department: Insurance License Types ↗
- PSI: Oklahoma Insurance Licensing Examination Candidate Information Bulletin, 8/1/2024 (PDF) ↗
Rules and fees can change, so check the official site before your test.
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