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State guide

How to become a public adjuster in New Jersey

New Jersey requires a public adjuster license. There is no statutory fee cap; the surety bond is $10,000; the governing law is N.J.S.A. 17:22B-1 et seq.; N.J.A.C. 11:1-37.

Fees must be reasonably related to the services rendered.

The pathway

Getting licensed in New Jersey

The license is the Public Adjuster (individual license, with organization license and sublicensee status for firms). 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 New Jersey Department of Banking and Insurance (DOBI) under the Public Adjusters' Licensing Act, N.J.S.A. 17:22B. New Jersey does not license company or independent adjusters; the public adjuster license is the only adjuster license the state issues.

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 Fees and hours change with the legislative calendar, and this page may be out of date.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. Register with PSI and pass the 70-question New Jersey Public Adjuster exam (70% to pass, $38 fee); your score report is good for 12 months.

  2. Schedule electronic Live Scan fingerprinting with IDEMIA/IdentoGO using service code 2F1F7N and pay the $66.05 fee; keep the PCN number you are given.

  3. Buy a $10,000 public adjuster surety bond from an A-rated surety licensed in New Jersey, using DOBI's bond form.

  4. Complete DOBI's paper Application for Initial Resident or Nonresident Individual Public Adjuster License (form app5) with two passport-size photos, the PSI score report, the bond, and the PCN number.

  5. Mail the application with a $70 check or money order (license $50 + processing $20) payable to 'State Treasurer of New Jersey' to DOBI Licensing Services.

  6. Every two years, complete 15 hours of approved public adjuster continuing education and renew by the last day of your birth month, keeping the bond in force.

Who can apply
Residents and non-residents · No fixed experience requirement. The Commissioner may require evidence of prior employment with an insurer, independent adjuster or public adjuster as preliminary training (N.J.S.A. 17:22B-6(d)); a 'temporary sublicensee' program exists for catastrophic loss occurrences (N.J.A.C. 11:1-37.7). Resident and nonresident individuals may apply on the same DOBI form. 'Nonresident' means a person whose home state for licensing purposes is a state other than New Jersey (N.J.A.C. 11:1-37.2).
Prelicensing course
Not required Neither N.J.S.A. 17:22B nor N.J.A.C. 11:1-37 imposes a prelicensing course for public adjusters; the PSI candidate bulletin's prelicensing-education language applies to insurance producers. DOBI maintains a list of approved education providers whose study courses are optional.
State exam
PSI · 70 questions · 210 minutes · pass at 70% · $38 per attempt 70 scored items (plus up to 5-19 unscored experimental items), 3.5 hours. Passing score report is valid for 12 months (N.J.A.C. 11:1-37.4(a)2). Exam waived for nonresidents licensed in a home state with substantially similar public adjuster laws, or for those who previously operated a public adjusting business in NJ (N.J.S.A. 17:22B-7(b)).
Application
Paper · $70 application fee PSI exam fee $38; surety bond premium (market rate); temporary sublicense $150. DOBI's licensing page states public adjuster applications are paper only. Fee is $50 license fee + $20 processing fee, one check or money order payable to 'State Treasurer of New Jersey' (N.J.A.C. 11:1-37.18). Application must include two passport-size photographs, the PSI score report, the bond, and the Live Scan PCN number. Fingerprint fee is paid directly to IDEMIA and is not waivable.
Background check
Electronic Live Scan fingerprinting through IDEMIA/IdentoGO (service code 2F1F7N) before the application is filed; anyone convicted of an indictable offense or a crime involving fraud or dishonesty is ineligible unless rehabilitated under N.J.S.A. 2A:168A-1 et seq. (N.J.S.A. 17:22B-6(b); N.J.A.C. 11:1-37.4(a)4). Fingerprint fee $66.05
Surety bond
$10,000 Surety bond in the penal sum of $10,000 per licensee, issued by an A-rated surety approved in NJ, filed with DOBI before issuance and each renewal (N.J.S.A. 17:22B-12; N.J.A.C. 11:1-37.9). An applicant refused by at least three sureties may deposit $10,000 cash, CD or irrevocable letter of credit as alternative security for up to one year. Sublicensees are covered under the firm's bond.
Renewal
Every 2 years · $50 Individual licenses expire on the last day of the licensee's birth month every two years; organization licenses expire May 31 every two years (N.J.A.C. 11:1-37.3(d)-(e); DOBI Bulletin 11-10). DOBI licensing page lists the renewal fee as $50; N.J.A.C. 11:1-37.18 sets the license fee at $50 (the $150 figure in Bulletin 11-10 predates the current rule). Late renewal is available within one year of expiration with proof of CE.
Continuing education
15 hours · Every 2 years 15 credit hours of approved public-adjusting CE during each two-year license term as a condition of renewal (N.J.S.A. 17:22B-10; N.J.A.C. 11:1-37.4(f)). No statutory ethics-hour minimum. May be waived for hardship, or for nonresidents who meet substantially similar CE in their home state.
Already licensed elsewhere?
Reciprocity available Nonresident license available; the exam may be waived if the applicant is currently licensed in a home state whose public adjuster laws are substantially similar to New Jersey's and that recognizes NJ licensees (N.J.S.A. 17:22B-7(b)(1); N.J.A.C. 11:1-37.4(a)2). Nonresidents still file the bond and fingerprints.

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:

  • ·Eligibility minimum age: Neither the statute, N.J.A.C. 11:1-37, nor the DOBI application states a minimum age.
  • ·Prelicensing required: Reported as not required because no primary source imposes a course; DOBI does not publish an explicit 'no prelicensing' statement for public adjusters.
  • ·Renewal fee: DOBI licensing page shows $50 and N.J.A.C. 11:1-37.18 sets a $50 license fee; unclear whether the $20 processing fee also applies at renewal.
  • ·Application method: DOBI page says paper only; N.J.A.C. 11:1-37.4 references 'electronic online submissions, when applicable' but no online public adjuster application was found.

New Jersey in the reference tables

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

See how a claim runs in New Jersey, stage by stage Associations covering New Jersey

New Jersey law in the library

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

  • Homeowners Insurance Notices, Hurricane Deductibles, and Earthquake Endorsement Offers (N.J.S.A. 17:36-5.31 to -5.41) Binding law
  • Homeowners Insurance: Standard Hurricane Deductibles and Expedited Rate Change Process (N.J.A.C. 11:2-42) Binding law
  • Insurance Claims Ombudsman Act (N.J.S.A. 17:29E-1 to -15) Binding law
  • Licensing of Public Adjusters (N.J.A.C. 11:1-37) Binding law
  • Limitation of Actions - 6 Years: Injury to Property and Contractual Claims (N.J.S.A. 2A:14-1) Binding law
  • New Jersey Insurance Fair Conduct Act (N.J.S.A. 17:29BB-1 to -3) Binding law
  • New Jersey Insurance Underwriting Association - FAIR Plan (N.J.S.A. 17:37A-1 to -27) Binding law
  • P.L.2025, c.84 - Public Adjuster Contracts (session law) Binding law