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State guide

How to become a public adjuster in North Carolina

North Carolina requires a public adjuster license. There is no statutory fee cap; in a declared emergency 10% of settlement for catastrophic-incident claims; the surety bond is $20,000; the governing law is N.C.G.S. ch. 58, art. 33A.

The pathway

Getting licensed in North Carolina

The license is the Public Adjuster (individual); Public Adjuster Business Entity 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 North Carolina Department of Insurance, Agent Services Division, under N.C. Gen. Stat. Ch. 58, Art. 33A (NAIC Public Adjuster Licensing Model Act). Separate from the Self-Employed Adjuster and Company/Independent Firm Adjuster licenses under Art. 33; the same person may hold both but cannot act as both on one claim.

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 Fees and hours change with the legislative calendar, and this page may be out of date.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. Confirm you are at least 18 and can make North Carolina your home state (residence or principal place of business, with a public-facing office).

  2. Schedule and pass the North Carolina Public Adjuster exam with Pearson VUE ($45 per attempt; no prelicensing course is required).

  3. Apply for the resident Public Adjuster license online through NIPR and pay the $169 state fees plus NIPR's transaction fee.

  4. Follow the NIPR email instructions to have your fingerprints taken electronically by an SBI-approved law enforcement agency and pay the $38 criminal history fee.

  5. Obtain a $20,000 surety bond on the NCDOI 'NC Bond-PA' form (or a $20,000 irrevocable letter of credit) and file it with the Department.

  6. Once issued, renew every year through NIPR by March 31 ($109) and complete 24 hours of approved CE, including 3 ethics hours, every two years.

  7. If your firm is a corporation, LLC, or partnership, also license it as a Public Adjuster Business Entity through NIPR ($144) with fingerprints for each key person.

Who can apply
At least 18 years old · Residents and non-residents · None required by statute. Resident license requires NC as home state (principal residence or principal place of business) and an office in the home state open to the public by appointment or regular hours (G.S. 58-33A-20). Nonresidents licensed in their home state get a reciprocal nonresident license (G.S. 58-33A-35).
Prelicensing course
Not required NCDOI Public Adjuster FAQ: resident individual public adjusters are not required to take pre-licensing education but must pass the state exam. Pearson VUE handbook: 'Prelicensing education is not required for adjusters.'
State exam
Pearson VUE · 100 questions · 135 minutes · pass at 70 (scaled score) · $45 per attempt 100 scored four-option multiple-choice questions plus up to 20 unscored pretest questions, per the handbook's North Carolina Adjusters content outline (effective March 15, 2024). Fee is nonrefundable and paid per attempt. Exam waived for applicants licensed by exam in another state (currently licensed or cancelled in good standing within 12 months) and for former NC licensees reapplying within 12 months (G.S. 58-33A-30).
Application
NIPR (NAIC Uniform Application) · $169 application fee The $169 is the NCDOI total for a resident individual: $50 registration fee + $75 license fee + $44 application processing fee (G.S. 58-33-125). NIPR shows the resident state fee as $207, which is $169 plus the $38 fingerprint fee. State exam $45 paid separately to Pearson VUE. NIPR transaction fees are charged in addition. Applications are valid six months; NCDOI notes background review can add 4-6 weeks. Bond or letter of credit must be on file before the license issues.
Background check
Resident applicants submit electronic fingerprints for a state (SBI) and FBI criminal history check; fingerprints must be captured by an SBI-approved law enforcement agency (G.S. 58-33A-15; 11 NCAC 06A .0906). Instructions arrive by email from NIPR after the application is filed. Not required for nonresident or renewal applicants. Fingerprint fee $38
Surety bond
$20,000 Surety bond in favor of the State (NCDOI form NC Bond-PA) or an irrevocable letter of credit of $20,000 from a qualified financial institution; must remain in force for the life of the license and cannot be cancelled without 30 days' notice to the Commissioner. Authority to act terminates automatically if it lapses (G.S. 58-33A-50).
Renewal
Every year · $109 License expires March 31 each year; renew through NIPR in the window 60 days before through 60 days after (through May 30). Renewal is $75 license fee + $34 processing fee. Late renewal within 60 days after expiration adds a $75 lapsed-license fee (reinstatement total $184 per NCDOI). Reinstatement is possible up to one year after lapse; after one year the person must reapply (G.S. 58-33A-40(f)).
Continuing education
24 hours · Every 2 years · 3 in ethics 24 hours biennially including 3 hours of ethics; NCDOI also requires 3 hours of flood CE every other biennium. CE must be Commissioner-approved. Exempt: licensees not licensed a full year before the biennium ends, and nonresidents who meet their home state's CE where that state reciprocates (G.S. 58-33A-55). Licenses expire if CE is not met within 4 months after the compliance date.
Already licensed elsewhere?
Reciprocity available Nonresident license issued without exam to anyone holding a resident public adjuster license in good standing in a home state that reciprocates (G.S. 58-33A-35). Nonresidents still need the $20,000 bond or letter of credit. Public adjusters moving to NC apply for a resident license within 90 days and are exempt from the exam if licensed by exam elsewhere.

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: Handbook lists the Public Adjuster exam (code 36) with a 2h15m limit but its only adjuster content outline is titled 'North Carolina Adjusters' (100 + 20 pretest); assumed to apply to the public adjuster exam as no separate outline exists.
  • ·Continuing education law update hours: No law-update requirement found; NC requires 3 ethics hours plus 3 flood hours every other biennium instead.
  • ·Continuing education ethics hours: 3-hour ethics figure comes from the 2015 NCDOI Public Adjuster FAQ; the current NCDOI CE page confirms 'mandatory ethics and flood hours' without stating the number.

North Carolina in the reference tables

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

See how a claim runs in North Carolina, stage by stage Associations covering North Carolina

North Carolina law in the library

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

  • 11 N.C.A.C. 06A, Section .0900 - Public Adjusters (verbatim) North Carolina Office of Administrative Hearings, Rules Division
  • 11 N.C.A.C. Chapter 10 - Property and Casualty Division (complete chapter, PDF) North Carolina Office of Administrative Hearings, Rules Division
  • 11 N.C.A.C. Chapter 4 - Consumer Services Division (verbatim) North Carolina Office of Administrative Hearings, Rules Division
  • 11 N.C.A.C. Chapter 4 - Consumer Services Division - official PDF North Carolina Office of Administrative Hearings, Rules Division
  • N.C. Gen. Stat. Chapter 58 - Insurance: complete article and section index (verbatim) North Carolina General Assembly
  • N.C. Gen. Stat. Chapter 58, Article 2 - Commissioner of Insurance (verbatim) North Carolina General Assembly
  • N.C. Gen. Stat. Chapter 58, Article 2 - Commissioner of Insurance - official PDF North Carolina General Assembly
  • N.C. Gen. Stat. Chapter 58, Article 33A - Public Adjusters (verbatim) North Carolina General Assembly