Application Procedures-Individual Residents

Please follow the steps noted below to schedule your license examination and complete an application:

Step 1 - Prelicensing Education

Must complete 20 hours of public insurance adjuster prelicensing education prior to the issuance of the license. Please use the approved education courses list and complete the drop down menus to retrieve a list of approved 20-hour prelicensing courses.

Please Note:  California Insurance Code section 15009.1 waives the requirement if the applicant’s out-of-state license is current.

Step 2 - Qualifying License Examination

Schedule and pass the qualifying public insurance adjuster license examination using the following link that will provide you with information on how to schedule this license examination: Insurance License Examination Information.

• The Public Insurance Adjuster Educational Objectives detail the topics that are covered in the 20-hour prelicensing education course and serve as a study guide for preparing to take the qualifying public insurance adjuster license examination.

The Department requires California resident applicants to first pass the qualifying license examination prior to submitting their license application.

Step 3- Application

After passing the qualifying license examination, apply online for a public insurance adjuster license using Sircon, or the National Insurance Producer Registry (NIPR)  Individual Application Public Adjuster and Apprentice License, CDI-180.

Please note: before a public insurance adjuster license can be issued, California Insurance Code section 15011(d) requires both California resident applicants and non-resident applicants to have a maintained business address location in the state of California with public access during regular business hours.

The following are the required items to be submitted with the public adjuster license application:

Step 3(a) - Experience Requirement

Must have two years certified experience in the insurance adjusting field (California Insurance Code section 15011(c), which is 2,000 hours of compensated time in the adjusting field is equal to one year of experience (California Code of Regulations, Title 10, section 2691.4). New Applicants who were licensed as an Apprentice Public Insurance Adjuster for 12 months will satisfy the two-year experience requirement (California Insurance Code section 15016).

Step 3(b) - Bond

Complete a Bond of Public Insurance Adjuster, form LIC 94A in the penal sum of $20,000, by a California admitted surety, in the name of the applicant and signed by the applicant authorizing the person to act as a public insurance adjuster.

This bond requires the following items to be included/uploaded into  the Sircon application:

• The completed LIC 94A
• The Power of Attorney (if the bond was not executed by an officer of the insurer)
• The Jurat (if the Seal of Surety Corporation was not included in the Power of Attorney)

Step 3(c) – Passport Size Photographs

Attach two electronic (in color) passport size photographs that are not older than six month.

Step 3(d) – Public Adjuster Authorization

Complete and attach a Public Adjuster Authorization Application, LIC 0100A, to the Sircon application. Please note this form must be signed by both the employee and the employer prior to being uploaded into the Sircon application.

Step 3(e) - Contract

Submit a contract. Pursuant to California Insurance Code section 15027, no licensee shall, directly or indirectly, act within this state as a public insurance adjuster without having first entered into a business contract, in writing, on a form approved by the insurance commissioner and executed in duplicate by the public adjuster and the insured or a duly authorized representative. One original contract shall be kept on file by the licensee, available at all times for inspection, without notice, by the commissioner or his or her duly authorized representative, and one original contract shall be given to the insured.

The Department has provided a sample contract for Public Insurance Adjusters to follow when developing their business contract. Please submit a new or revised business contract to the following address: Sac.Adjusters@insurance.ca.gov.

Although the applicant or licensee is not required to use the sample contract, following the sample contract should expedite the approval process. However, all contract forms must meet the requirements stated in California Insurance Code section 15027 and must be approved by the Department’s Legal Division prior to use.

Note: Pursuant to California Insurance Code section 15027(v) prior to the signing of the contract, the licensee shall provide the insured with a separate printed disclosure document that bears the name and license number of the licensee.

Step 4 - Fingerprint impressions

Fingerprint impressions are required for unlicensed applicants and are to be submitted soon after submitting the public insurance adjuster license application on Sircon.

To submit fingerprint impressions, please follow the procedures on the Department’s California Resident Licensing Fingerprint Requirements web page. Failure to submit fingerprints in a timely manner may cause a delay in the issuance of your license.

Step 5 – If applicable: 1033 Application for Written Consent

Any person who has been convicted of felony crimes of dishonesty or breach of trust in a state or federal jurisdiction, or who has been convicted of any violation of Title 18 U.S.C. Section 1033 (Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994, the "Act"), must first obtain the written consent of the Commissioner prior to engaging or continuing to engage in the business of insurance in California by submitting the 1033 Application for Written Consent.

Step 6 - Fees

• License two-year filing fee: $264
• Examination fee: $68 per scheduled examination date at the Department’s Insurance examination site or $101 per scheduled examination date at one of PSI’s test centers located throughout California. Do not include the examination fee when submitting the public insurance adjuster license application.

No portion of the filing fees shall be refunded whether or not the application is acted upon or the examination is taken. (California Insurance Code section 1751.5)

Continuing Education (CE):

California Insurance Code section 15059.1 requires 24 hours of CE, of which three hours shall be in ethics, prior to the two-year license term for California resident public insurance adjusters. The Department provides an approved education course list.

Designated Home State applicants

California will issue licenses to public insurance adjusters who reside in states that do not license public insurance adjusters. Such individuals must meet all of the licensing requirements of a California resident public insurance adjuster to designate California as their home state.

Additional Documents

The Insurance Commissioner may require such other documents as will aid in determining whether the applicant meets the qualifications for a license.

Contact

For specific questions regarding this license, please send an e-mail to the Sac.Adjusters@insurance.ca.gov or call the Department’s Licensing Hotline at (800) 967-9331 and select the Adjuster extension 6. Please be sure to provide your name, telephone number, license number and e-mail address in all correspondence with the Department.