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State guide

How to become a public adjuster in California

California requires a public adjuster license. There is no statutory fee cap; the surety bond is $20,000; the governing law is Cal. Ins. Code § 15000 et seq. (bond § 15011; fees § 15027).

No percentage cap, but § 15027 bars fees on amounts the insurer paid before the contract was signed.

The pathway

Getting licensed in California

The license is the Public Insurance Adjuster (license type PJ). It is its own license, so make sure any course or exam you book is the public adjuster one and not the company or independent adjuster version. Issued by the California Department of Insurance under the Public Insurance Adjusters Act, Cal. Ins. Code §§ 15000–15062. Independent adjusters hold a separate Insurance Adjuster (AJ) license.

Official sources

Gathered from these sources on August 28, 2026. Fees and hours change with the legislative calendar, and this page may be out of date. The regulator’s own page is the only current authority.

  1. Complete the 20-hour CDI-approved public insurance adjuster prelicensing course.

  2. Register with PSI and pass the California Public Adjuster exam (100 questions, 165 minutes, 70% to pass).

  3. Document two years of adjusting experience (2,000 hours = one year), or serve 12 months as a licensed Apprentice Public Insurance Adjuster.

  4. Submit fingerprints through Capital Live Scan ($74).

  5. Obtain a $20,000 surety bond on form LIC 94A from a California-admitted surety.

  6. Apply online through NIPR or Sircon (or paper form CDI-180) and pay the $264 two-year fee; attach the bond, photographs, employer authorization (LIC 0100A), and approved contract.

  7. Renew every two years for $264 after completing 24 hours of CE including 3 hours of ethics.

Who can apply
At least 18 years old · Residents and non-residents · Two years' certified experience handling loss claims under insurance contracts; 2,000 hours of compensated adjusting time equals one year. Twelve full months as a licensed Apprentice Public Insurance Adjuster (PI) satisfies the requirement (Cal. Ins. Code § 15011(c)). California residency is not required, but a licensee must maintain an office in California with public access during regular business hours (Cal. Ins. Code § 15011(d)).
Prelicensing course
20 hours 20 hours of public insurance adjuster prelicensing education from a CDI-approved provider. The PSI bulletin states the course is not required before sitting the exam but must be completed before the license is issued.
State exam
PSI · 100 questions · 165 minutes · pass at 70% · $68 per attempt $68 is the fee when the exam is taken at the CDI Los Angeles test site (re-examination $28). CDI's procedures page lists $101 when taken at a PSI test center. Cal. Ins. Code § 15060(a) still reads $62. A passed exam is valid for one year.
Application
NIPR or Sircon (or paper form CDI-180) · $264 application fee Exam $68 (CDI site) or $101 (PSI center); adjuster identification card $28. $264 is the two-year license filing fee from the CDI fee schedule; Cal. Ins. Code § 15060(c) lists $240. Application must also include bond form LIC 94A, two passport-style photographs, employer authorization form LIC 0100A, and the commissioner-approved public adjuster contract.
Background check
Fingerprints required through the department's Live Scan vendor, Capital Live Scan; total fee $74 ($17 FBI + $32 DOJ + $25 vendor). Fingerprint fee $74
Surety bond
$20,000 Surety bond executed by a California-admitted surety (Cal. Ins. Code § 15011(f)); filed on CDI form LIC 94A.
Renewal
Every 2 years · $264 License expires two years after the last calendar day of the month in which it was issued (Cal. Ins. Code § 15054); may be renewed late within one year with a delinquency fee (late renewal total $396). Cal. Ins. Code § 15060(d)(1) lists the renewal fee as $240; the CDI fee schedule currently charges $264.
Continuing education
24 hours · Every 2 years · 3 in ethics Cal. Ins. Code § 15059.1. Not required of a licensee licensed less than one full year before the end of the biennium, or of a nonresident who meets the CE requirement of their home state.
Already licensed elsewhere?
Reciprocity available Nonresident public insurance adjuster license issued under Cal. Ins. Code § 15017 if the applicant holds a home-state license in good standing and the home state awards nonresident licenses to California residents on the same basis. Whether the California exam is waived for nonresidents was not confirmed.

Not stated in these sources

These points were not stated in the sources listed, so we have left them blank rather than guess. Ask the regulator directly:

  • ·Reciprocity exam waiver: Cal. Ins. Code § 15017 was read from our library copy; it does not state whether the state exam is waived for nonresident applicants.
  • ·Prelicensing hours: The 20-hour figure comes from the CDI application procedures page; the underlying statutory or regulatory citation was not located.

California in the reference tables

Each table answers one question for all 50 states and DC, with the citation. Open one and find the California row.

See how a claim runs in California, stage by stage Associations covering California

California law in the library

73 primary-source documents for California: statutes, regulations, bulletins and consumer guides, stored as published. Sign in to open them.

  • 10 CCR §§ 2695.1–2695.14 — Fair Claims Settlement Practices Regulations (verbatim, property-applicable sections) California Department of Insurance
  • California Civil Code § 3294 — Punitive (Exemplary) Damages California State Legislature
  • California Civil Code, Article 2 — Interest as Damages (§§ 3287, 3288, 3289, 3289.5, 3290, 3291) California State Legislature
  • California Insurance Code Section 790.03 - Unfair Methods of Competition and Unfair and Deceptive Acts or Practices California State Legislature
  • California Insurance Code § 1861.01 et seq. — Proposition 103 (Insurance Rate Regulation) California Voters (Proposition 103, 1988)
  • California Insurance Code § 2057 — 30-Day Payment Deadline, Interest, and Costs of Collection (Fire Insurance) California State Legislature
  • California Insurance Code § 2071 — Standard Form Fire Insurance Policy California State Legislature
  • California Insurance Code § 675.1 — Mandatory One-Year Moratorium on Cancellation/Non-Renewal After Declared Disaster California State Legislature