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State guide

How to become a public adjuster in Kentucky

Kentucky requires a public adjuster license. Fees are capped at 10% of settlement proceeds received by the insured (contracts from July 15, 2026); the surety bond is $50,000; the governing law is KRS 304.9-430, 304.9-433, 304.9-4333.

New public adjuster licenses are frozen. 2026 HB 568 (effective April 13, 2026) bars the Department from accepting or approving any new public adjuster application for two years; existing licensees may renew. A court challenge is pending.

The pathway

Getting licensed in Kentucky

The license is the Public Adjuster. 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. Kentucky Department of Insurance. Under KRS 304.9-430(1)(b), as amended by 2026 Ky. Acts ch. 141 (HB 568), effective April 13, 2026, the Commissioner may not accept or approve any public adjuster license application, and no public adjuster licenses may be issued, for two years (through April 2028). Only persons holding a temporary/apprentice adjuster license on April 13, 2026 may still be licensed; existing licensees may renew.

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 Fees and hours change with the legislative calendar, and this page may be out of date.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. Do not apply: from April 13, 2026 through April 2028 the Department cannot accept or approve any new public adjuster license application (KRS 304.9-430(1)(b), HB 568 of 2026).

  2. If you held a Kentucky temporary or apprentice adjuster license on April 13, 2026, you may still apply for a public adjuster license under KRS 304.9-432.

  3. If you already hold a Kentucky public adjuster license, keep it active: complete 24 CE hours (3 ethics) and renew every two years ($50) through the Department's eServices portal, and keep the $50,000 bond or letter of credit in force.

  4. After the moratorium ends, the pre-2026 path was: apply through NIPR ($50 license fee plus $50 exam fee), obtain a Kentucky criminal background report, pass the state-administered exam, and file the $50,000 bond or letter of credit.

  5. Watch the litigation: HB 568 was challenged in Jefferson Circuit Court (Case No. 26-CI-003349) in May 2026; the statute text we checked on 2026-08-28 still contains the moratorium.

Who can apply
At least 18 years old · Residents and non-residents · Apprentice adjuster license (up to 12 months, exam not required) exists under KRS 304.9-432, but no apprentice licenses supervised by a public adjuster may be issued during the two-year moratorium (KRS 304.9-432(6)). Resident applicant must be eligible to designate Kentucky as home state; nonresidents apply on reciprocal basis. Moratorium applies regardless of residency.
Prelicensing course
Not required The Department's pre-licensing page imposes a 20-hour course only on agent (producer) exam candidates; none is listed for adjusters.
State exam
State-administered · $50 per attempt Exam fee of $50 (806 KAR 4:010) is added to the NIPR application transaction; the Department then schedules the exam at its own testing sites. During the moratorium no public adjuster application can be accepted, so no exam authorization can issue.
Application
NIPR · $50 application fee Exam $50; $50,000 bond or letter of credit. 806 KAR 4:010: adjuster license, biennial renewal, or late renewal penalty $50 each. Applications for public adjuster licenses are NOT being accepted from April 13, 2026 for two years.
Background check
Resident applicants must obtain a criminal background report through kycourts.gov (Department licensing FAQ).
Surety bond
$50,000 Surety bond in favor of the Commonwealth or irrevocable letter of credit, minimum $50,000, maintained for the life of the license; license terminates automatically if it lapses (KRS 304.9-430(3)).
Renewal
Every 2 years · $50 Biennial renewal through the Department's eServices portal; CE must be completed and filed before the renewal due date or the license goes to 'pending replacement' status. Existing public adjuster licenses in effect on April 13, 2026 may be renewed (KRS 304.9-430(1)(d)).
Continuing education
24 hours · Every 2 years · 3 in ethics Applies to resident public adjusters and nonresidents using Kentucky as designated home state; up to 12 hours carry over as general hours.
Already licensed elsewhere?
No reciprocity Statute provides for nonresident licensing on a reciprocal basis, but the moratorium in KRS 304.9-430(1)(b) bars acceptance of any public adjuster application, resident or nonresident, until April 2028.

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:

  • ·Exam questions: Department does not publish question count for the adjuster exam on the pages we checked
  • ·Exam time minutes: Not published on the pages we checked
  • ·Exam passing score: Not published on the pages we checked
  • ·Exam vendor: Department FAQ describes its own exam scheduled after the NIPR application; no vendor named, so it is recorded as State-administered
  • ·Status: Licensing still exists in statute, but no new public adjuster licenses can be issued from April 13, 2026 for two years. The Department's own website notice could not be reached when we checked; the moratorium is confirmed from the statute text on the Legislative Research Commission site.

Kentucky in the reference tables

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

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

Kentucky law in the library

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

  • 806 KAR 12:095 - Kentucky Claims Settlement Timelines Kentucky Department of Insurance
  • 806 KAR 12:095 - Kentucky Claims Settlement Timelines — official source PDF Kentucky Department of Insurance
  • 806 KAR 9:400 Public adjuster filings Kentucky Department of Insurance, Licensing Division
  • 806 KAR 9:400 Public adjuster filings — official source PDF Kentucky Department of Insurance, Licensing Division
  • KRS 304.12-010 — Unfair Competition; Unfair, Deceptive Practices Prohibited Kentucky General Assembly
  • KRS 304.12-010 — Unfair Competition; Unfair, Deceptive Practices Prohibited — official source PDF Kentucky General Assembly
  • KRS 304.12-220 — Definition of 'Person' for UCSPA Kentucky General Assembly
  • KRS 304.12-220 — Definition of 'Person' for UCSPA — official source PDF Kentucky General Assembly