A free field guide
Almost nothing in this job is the same in two states.
Who may hold a licence, what you are allowed to charge, how long the carrier has to answer, how long anyone has to sue. All of it is set state by state. Change what the map is showing and watch how far apart the answers are.
- Jurisdictions
- 51
- Source documents
- 2,028
- Free tables
- 23
- Licence required
- Registration
- No licence
- Not permitted
Select a state
Drawn from each state’s own statutes and regulator pages. Follow a state through to its guide for the citations.
Please read this
A free educational resource, not an authority.
We built this to make the public record easier to find, in one place, for people entering a profession that badly needed it. That is all it is. Everything below matters, and it applies to every page on this site.
Read the full disclaimer and terms of use- It comes from the public record, not from us
- Everything here is gathered from government and other official public sources: statutes, administrative codes, regulator websites, department bulletins and published industry standards. We collect it and link to it. We do not write the law, and we are not the authority on it.
- We are not affiliated with anyone
- PublicAdjust.ing is independent. We are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or acting on behalf of any government agency, insurance department, regulator, insurance carrier, trade association or licensing body. Names and links appear only to identify the source of a document.
- Educational only, not legal or claims advice
- This site is published for general education. Nothing on it is legal advice, claims advice, coverage advice, or a professional opinion about any policy, claim or situation, and reading it creates no attorney-client or professional relationship. For advice on an actual claim, speak to a licensed professional in the relevant state.
- Rules change, sometimes overnight
- Statutes are amended, regulations are replaced, fees and deadlines move, and a rule that was accurate when a page was written may be wrong today. Pages carry the date the material was gathered, but that date is not a promise that it is still current, complete or correct.
- Check the source before you rely on anything
- Treat every page here as a starting point and a set of pointers, never as the final word. The controlling authority is the insurance policy itself, the statute or regulation as published by the state, and the regulator or licensed professional who can speak to your facts. Follow the links and read the original.
The work
You work for the policyholder. Nobody else.
Who you represent
A public adjuster is hired by the insured, under a written contract, to document, value and negotiate a property claim with the carrier. Staff and independent adjusters work for the insurer; you are the only licensed adjuster on the policyholder's side.
How you are paid
Almost always a percentage of what the carrier pays. Several states cap that percentage, cut it during declared emergencies, and forbid charging on money the insurer had already offered. The contract form itself is regulated in most licensing states.
What you are not
Not a lawyer: you cannot give legal advice or file suit. Not a contractor: nearly every state bars you from repairing what you adjust or taking a referral fee from someone who does. Cross either line and you lose the license.
Three ways in
Start wherever you actually are.
Most people arrive here with one of three questions. Each one has a whole section behind it.
51 jurisdictions
“Can I even do this where I live?”
Your state
Whether your state licenses public adjusters, what the exam and bond are, what you may charge, and the statute that governs all of it. One page per jurisdiction, each linked to the regulator it came from.
Find your state2 guides
“I have the licence. What now?”
The guides
How a property policy is put together and which parts decide claims, then the eleven stages a claim moves through, with your state's own deadline shown at every stage.
Read the guides19 associations · 21 events
“Who else is out there?”
The profession
The trade associations that cover your state, the designations you can earn after the licence, the conferences people actually attend, and the portals and data this work runs on.
Open the resourcesThe path in
Six things to learn, in this order.
The order matters. Licensing decides whether you may practise at all, the policy decides what a claim is worth, and the clocks decide whether it gets paid.
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1
Confirm your state licenses the work
Find your state on the map above. If it licenses public adjusters, the regulator page lists prelicensing, exam, fingerprinting and bond requirements. If it does not, understand what you can and cannot call yourself before taking a client.
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2
Read the model act your state copied
Most state PA statutes descend from the NAIC Public Adjuster Licensing Model Act. Reading it once makes every state version legible: contract requirements, fee disclosure, conflicts of interest, record retention.
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3
Learn the policy before the damage
The HO-3, DP-3 and commercial property forms, their endorsements, and the loss settlement clause (replacement cost vs. actual cash value) are what a claim is measured against. Depreciation rules and hurricane deductibles vary by state.
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4
Know the claim lifecycle
Intake and triage, coverage review, investigation, mitigation, scoping and estimating, submission, negotiation, dispute, closeout, and the supplement that reopens it. Restoration standards (IICRC S500 water, S520 mold, S700 fire) define what a proper scope looks like.
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5
Memorize the clocks
Notice of loss, proof of loss, the carrier's acknowledgement and decision deadlines, appraisal demand windows, pre-suit notice, and the statute of limitations. Missing one can end a claim regardless of its merits.
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6
Learn where the lines are
Solicitation waiting periods after a loss, contract cancellation rights, fee caps in declared emergencies, unfair claims settlement practices acts, and what a bad-faith claim actually requires in your state. These are the rules that get licenses revoked.
Reading the law
Not every document carries the same weight.
Everything in this library is filed under one of four tiers. When two sources disagree, the higher tier wins. Learn to ask which tier you are reading before you quote it to a carrier.
Binding law
Statutes, administrative regulations, and the NFIP rules. These can be enforced against a carrier and against you.
Fla. Stat. § 626.854 · 215 ILCS 5/1570 · 44 C.F.R. pt. 61
Official guidance
Regulator bulletins, emergency orders, and consumer notices. Not law, but the regulator will hold carriers to it.
DOI bulletins · emergency orders · NAIC model acts
Professional standards
Association codes of ethics, IICRC restoration standards, and consumer guides written by regulators.
NAPIA Code of Ethics · IICRC S500 · DOI consumer guides
Techniques
Intake checklists, inspection and documentation methods, negotiation practice. Useful, but never citable.
Playbooks · sample letters · scoping checklists
Free reference tables
Fifty-one answers to the same question.
Each table takes one question a claim will eventually ask and answers it for every state, with the citation. No account needed.
- Read first Public Adjuster Licensing & Fee Caps Licensing, fee caps, bonds and solicitation rules for every state.
- Read no. 2 Notice of Claim Filing Deadlines How fast a loss has to be reported before coverage is at risk.
- Read no. 3 Proof of Loss Requirements The sworn proof of loss: when it is due and what it must contain.
- Read no. 4 Property Insurance Claims Timelines What the carrier owes you: acknowledgement, decision and payment clocks.
- Read no. 5 Appraisal Demand Deadlines & Requirements The dispute tool you will use most, and how to invoke it.
- Read no. 6 Statute of Limitations (SOL) The last deadline: when a claim can no longer be sued on.
- Additional Living Expenses (ALE) & Loss of Use Reference Guide
- Assignment of Benefits (AOB) Restrictions
- Bad Faith Framework
- Common Endorsements Reference Guide
- Cosmetic Damage Exclusion Rules
- Depreciation & ACV Calculation Rules
- Depreciation Schedules by Category
- Examination Under Oath (EUO) Requirements
- FAIR Plans & Wind Pools
- Fire Insurance Claims Reference Guide
- Hurricane & Named Storm Deductible Rules
- NFIP Flood Insurance Claims Requirements
- Penalty Interest Rates & Remedies
- Pre-Suit Notice Requirements
- Valued Policy Laws
- Wind vs. Water Causation & Anti-Concurrent Causation Rules
- Window Insurance Claims Reference Guide
Free templates
Paperwork you will send on day one.
Letters, checklists and contract forms are published as they are reviewed. See the template library.
Go to the source
Where the rules actually live.
Official bodies, standards and the handful of industry publications worth a newcomer's time. Each link was working when this page was published. We are not affiliated with any of them. See the full resources section for 26 more portals and data sources.
- NAPIA · association National Association of Public Insurance Adjusters The national trade association for public adjusters: code of ethics, continuing education, the SPPA and CPPA designations, and a member directory.
- NAIC · law NAIC Public Adjuster Licensing Model Act (MDL-228) The model act most state licensing statutes are built on: examinations, reciprocity, contracts, fees, and conduct standards. Read this first, then your state's version.
- NAIC · regulator NAIC state insurance department directory Contact directory for every state insurance department, which is where public adjuster licenses are issued and complaints are filed.
- NIPR · licensing National Insurance Producer Registry The portal most states use to apply for, renew, and look up adjuster licenses.
- FEMA · law NFIP manuals and handbooks FEMA's official NFIP Claims Manual and Flood Insurance Manual, the rulebook for every flood claim under the Standard Flood Insurance Policy.
- FEMA · guidance FloodSmart FEMA's public site explaining flood coverage, policies, and the flood claim process for policyholders.
- IICRC · standards IICRC standards The ANSI-accredited restoration standards (S500 water, S520 mold, S700 fire) that define accepted practice when scoping mitigation and repairs.
- UP · guidance United Policyholders claim guidance library A consumer nonprofit's plain-language library on the claim process, policy provisions, and disputes; useful to share with clients.
- Merlin · blog Property Insurance Coverage Law Blog Long-running policyholder-side blog covering property insurance case law, claim practices, and public adjusting regulation.
State and regional associations
Membership is where most people find a mentor, continuing education and the current read on their regulator. 19 organisations are listed in full, filterable by state.
Full association directory, filterable by state- CAPIA Carolina Association of Public Insurance Adjusters
- FAPIA Florida Association of Public Insurance Adjusters
- GAPIA Georgia Association of Public Insurance Adjusters
- IAPIA Iowa Association of Public Insurance Adjusters
- LAPA Louisiana Association of Public Adjusters
- MAPIA Massachusetts Association of Public Insurance Adjusters
- MAPIA Mid-Atlantic Association of Public Insurance Adjusters
- NYPAA New York Public Adjusters Association
- PCAPIA Pacific Coast Association of Public Insurance Adjusters
- PPAANJ Professional Public Adjusters Association of New Jersey
- RMAPIA Rocky Mountain Association of Public Insurance Adjusters
- TAPIA Texas Association of Public Insurance Adjusters
The library
2,028 primary sources, filed by state and by weight.
Statutes, regulations, bulletins, NFIP manuals, model acts and consumer guides, stored as the government published them and tagged by jurisdiction, authority tier, peril, and claim phase. Access is by account, so the corpus cannot be scraped and resold; accounts are issued by invitation while the library is in preview.