PublicAdjust.ing Knowledge Base
Overview States Guides Resources Carriers Templates Reference

State guide

How to become a public adjuster in New York

New York requires a public adjuster license. Fees are capped at 12.5% of the recovery; the surety bond is $1,000; the governing law is N.Y. Ins. Law § 2108; 11 NYCRR Part 25.

The pathway

Getting licensed in New York

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. Issued by the New York State Department of Financial Services (DFS). Insurance Law § 2108(a)(1) requires adjusters to be licensed either as independent adjusters or as public adjusters; a public adjuster may act only on behalf of the insured. Lines covered: fire, miscellaneous property, water, burglary and theft, glass, boiler and machinery, elevator, and inland marine.

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 Fees and hours change with the legislative calendar, and this page may be out of date.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 a DFS-approved 40-hour public adjuster prelicensing course, or have an insurance employer complete the DFS Statement of Employer form showing one year of sales, underwriting or claims work within the last three years.

  2. Register with PSI and pass the New York Public Adjuster exam (Series 17-62: 60 questions, 1 hour, 70% to pass, $40).

  3. Get electronically fingerprinted through IdentoGO (non-residents may mail a fingerprint card) and gather five Certificates of Character.

  4. Buy a $1,000 surety bond made out to the State of New York covering the whole licensing period.

  5. Apply online through the DFS NY LINX portal within two years of passing the exam, uploading the bond, certificates, fingerprint confirmation and school certificate or Statement of Employer, and pay the fee ($100 for a term over one year, $50 for one year or less).

  6. Renew by December 31 of each even-numbered year; after the first full two-year term, complete 15 hours of DFS-approved CE before renewing and pay the $10 CE filing fee.

Who can apply
At least 18 years old · Residents and non-residents · None required if the 40-hour prelicensing course is completed. Alternatively, one year of regular employment in the insurance business (sales, underwriting or claims) within the last three years, documented on a DFS Statement of Employer form, substitutes for the course. Resident and non-resident licenses are issued. DFS defines a resident as someone with either a residence or business address in New York; non-residents who cannot use IdentoGO pre-enroll and mail a fingerprint card.
Prelicensing course
40 hours DFS-approved course of not less than 40 hours (Insurance Law § 2108(e)(1)(B)). Waived with a Statement of Employer documenting at least one year of insurance employment in sales, underwriting or claims within the last three years (§ 2108(e)(1)(A)).
State exam
PSI · 60 questions · 60 minutes · pass at 70% · $40 per attempt PSI Services LLC administers all NY DFS insurance exams (test centers and remote). Exam fee is non-refundable and expires if not used within one year. The license application must be filed within two years of passing. Statute lets DFS waive the exam for someone who previously held a NY public adjuster license.
Application
NY LINX (DFS Portal) · $100 application fee $50 if the license is issued for a period of one year or less; $40 exam fee; $10 biennial CE certificate filing fee at renewal; $15 duplicate license. Statutory fee is $50 per year or fraction of a year (§ 2108(i)(1)), so $100 for a license issued for more than one year. Attach the $1,000 bond, five Certificates of Character, fingerprint confirmation and, if applicable, the Statement of Employer. Paper applications are available on request from DFS.
Background check
Fingerprints required by Insurance Law § 2108(d)(2); NY-address applicants are electronically fingerprinted through IdentoGO. Applicants must also submit five Certificates of Character from persons who have known them at least five years.
Surety bond
$1,000 Insurance Law § 2108(l): surety bond in the penal sum of $1,000, made to the State of New York, conditioned on faithful performance; must cover the licensing period from issue date to expiration. Required for every public adjuster license and renewal (independent adjusters are exempt).
Renewal
Every 2 years · $100 All adjuster licenses expire December 31 of even-numbered years; renewals run 1/1 of an odd year through 12/31 of the following even year. A first license may be issued for up to 30 months. Renewal fee is the same $50 per year statutory rate ($100 for a full two-year term) plus the $10 CE filing fee. No birth-month renewal for adjusters.
Continuing education
15 hours · Every 2 years Insurance Law § 2108(r): 15 credit hours per full biennial licensing period; required only once the license has been in effect for a full two years; excess credits do not carry forward. Non-resident public adjusters may satisfy this with home-state CE if DFS deems it equivalent, unless the home state does not license or require CE for public adjusters. DFS's CE page adds 1 hour each of insurance law, ethics/professionalism, and diversity/inclusion for licenses renewing on or after 2022-04-01, but does not say whether that applies to public adjusters (see unverified).
Already licensed elsewhere?
Reciprocity available Non-resident public adjuster licenses are issued. Non-resident licensees in good standing in their home state attest to home-state CE compliance instead of taking NY CE, unless the home state does not license public adjusters or require CE for them. Statute does not waive the NY exam or the 40-hour/experience prerequisite for non-residents; DFS non-resident public adjuster exam-waiver policy could not be 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:

  • ·Application fingerprint fee: Neither DFS pages nor the statute state the IdentoGO fingerprint fee
  • ·Continuing education ethics hours: DFS CE page requires 1 hr law, 1 hr ethics, 1 hr diversity for licenses renewing on/after 2022-04-01 but does not say whether public adjusters are covered; § 2108(r) sets only the 15-hour total
  • ·Reciprocity note: Could not confirm from a primary source whether DFS waives the exam or the prelicensing/experience prerequisite for non-resident public adjusters
  • ·Exam url: PSI's per-state program page is a JavaScript app; the bulletin PDF (bulletin/7208) was the readable primary source
  • ·Sources[6] url: The corpus copy of 11 NYCRR 25 carried no source URL; DFS licensing page substituted

New York in the reference tables

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

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

New York law in the library

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

  • 11 NYCRR Part 216 (Insurance Regulation 64) - Unfair Claims Settlement Practices and Claim Cost Control Measures New York State Department of Financial Services
  • 11 NYCRR Part 25 (Insurance Regulation 10) - Public Adjusters New York State Department of Financial Services
  • New York Insurance Law Article 54 - New York Property Insurance Underwriting Association (NYPIUA / FAIR Plan), §§ 5401-5414 New York State Legislature
  • New York Insurance Law Section 2108 - Adjusters; Licensing and Duties New York State Legislature
  • New York Insurance Law Section 2601 - Unfair Claim Settlement Practices; Penalties New York State Legislature
  • New York Insurance Law Section 3407 - Property Insurance; Proofs of Loss; Notice of Loss New York State Legislature
  • New York Insurance Law § 3404 - Fire insurance contracts; standard policy provisions; permissible variations New York State Legislature
  • New York Insurance Law § 3408 - Fire insurance; appraisal of loss; procedure for selection of umpire on failure to agree New York State Legislature