Which States License Insurance Adjusters

There is no authoritative, maintained list of which US jurisdictions license insurance adjusters. We went and built one from the statutes, and it disagrees with the figures the industry repeats on all three counts.

35license independent adjusters

47license or register public adjusters

11license company or staff adjusters

27will serve as your designated home state

All 51 jurisdictions, each read from its own statute, rule or department page. Verified July 2026.

Why a correct list did not already exist

The NAIC's figures appear as an undated prose aside inside Chapter 18 of its State Licensing Handbook, and its own two counts disagree with each other. A long standing sentence says 33 states license independent adjusters. The 2024 revision of the same chapter implies 30 reciprocating jurisdictions. That revision is a track changes working draft carrying the editorial note "Need to fact check this with NIPR."

No official source enumerates the non licensing jurisdictions by name at all. Every free fifty state table published by the adjuster course industry is derived from that same unmaintained prose, which is why they repeat the same errors. Iowa began licensing independent adjusters on July 1, 2025 and tables still say it does not.

The matrix

Each jurisdiction links to its own page, where the cost, exam, fingerprint, continuing education and renewal detail lives.

Jurisdiction	Independent	Public	Company or staff	Serves as a home state	Authority
Alabama	Yes	No	No	Yes	Ala. Code 27-9A-3; 27-9A-1 exclusions
Alaska	Yes	No	No	Yes	AS 21.27.010; home state defined at AS 21.27.900
Arizona	Yes	Yes	No	No	A.R.S. 20-321.01; 20-321 exemptions
Arkansas	Yes	No	No	Yes	Ark. Code 23-64-202(c), 23-64-102 definition reaches only adjusting on behalf of the insurer; AID Order 2022-38
California	Yes	Yes	No	Split	Cal. Ins. Code 14020, 15006, 15001(g); 14022 exemption
Colorado	No	Yes	No	No	C.R.S. 10-2-417(2), public adjuster license, $20,000 bond
Connecticut	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Conn. Gen. Stat. 38a-792 (casualty adjuster); 38a-723 (public adjusters)
Delaware	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	18 Del. C. 1702, 1703; ch. 17A public adjusters
District of Columbia	No	Yes	No	No	D.C. Code 31-1631.04, public adjusters only
Florida	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Fla. Stat. 626.864; DHS route documented as license class 70-20, not in 626.8734
Georgia	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	O.C.G.A. 33-23-1, staff excluded from licensure
Hawaii	Yes	Yes	No	No	HRS 431:9-202, adjuster defined as independent contractor or contractor's employee
Idaho	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Idaho Code 41-1103, 41-5801
Illinois	No	Yes	No	No	215 ILCS 5/Art. XLV, public adjusters only
Indiana	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	IC 27-1-28 (adjusters), IC 27-1-27 (public adjusters)
Iowa	Yes	Yes	Optional	No	Iowa Code ch. 522C as amended by SF 619; Iowa Admin. Code ch. 191-55
Kansas	No	Yes	No	No	K.S.A. 40-5501 to 40-5519
Kentucky	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	KRS 304.9-430(2)(c)2 conditions the resident-track license on being "eligible to designate Kentucky as the individual's home state"; KRS 304.9-295(5)(a) and 304.9-260(1)(f)2 name designating nonresidents as a distinct population; inbound acceptance express at 304.9-430(14)(a)
Louisiana	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	La. R.S. 22:1662, narrow exemption for insurer employees only
Maine	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	24-A M.R.S. 1402, insurer employees excluded from "adjuster"
Maryland	No	Yes	No	No	Md. Ins. 10-401 et seq., public adjusters only
Massachusetts	No	Yes	No	No	M.G.L. c.175 s.172, public insurance adjuster license only
Michigan	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	MCL 500.1222, insurer employee or manager exempt
Minnesota	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Minn. Stat. 72B.03, three classes, insurer employees exempt
Mississippi	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Miss. Code 83-17-401, salaried insurer employees excluded
Missouri	No	Yes	No	No	RSMo 325.010, 325.015, public adjusters only; NIPR has no Missouri non-resident adjuster page at all
Montana	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	MCA 33-17-102(1)
Nebraska	No	Yes	No	No	Neb. Rev. Stat. 44-9204, public adjusters only
Nevada	Yes	Yes	Not established	Yes	NRS 684A.040; NV DOI, "If the individual designates Nevada, the individual must comply with the same requirements as a Nevada resident"
New Hampshire	Yes	Yes	Not established	Yes	RSA 402-B:2, adjuster "whether employed by or contracted by or with an insurer"
New Jersey	No	Yes	No	No	N.J.S.A. 17:22B-3, public adjusters only
New Mexico	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	NMSA 59A-13-7, separate independent and staff licenses
New York	Yes	Yes	No	No	N.Y. Ins. Law 2101(g), staff adjusters exempted from definition; 2108, resident or nonresident only
North Carolina	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	G.S. 58-33-26(a),(n); NCDOI DHS Adjuster FAQ
North Dakota	No	Yes	No	No	NDCC ch. 26.1-26.8, public adjusters only
Ohio	No	Yes	No	No	ORC 3951.01(E), 3951.02, insurer staff and independents excepted
Oklahoma	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	36 O.S. 6202, 6203
Oregon	Yes	Yes	No	No	ORS 744.505, 744.515
Pennsylvania	No	Yes	No	No	63 P.S. 1601 to 1608, public adjusters only
Rhode Island	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	RIGL 27-10-5; 230-RICR-20-50-4
South Carolina	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	SC Code 38-47-10, 38-48-20; SC DOI requires the exam but no fingerprints and no CE, so it fails the DHS standard
South Dakota	No	No	No	No	SDCL Title 58 contains no adjuster chapter; 58-30-144.1 consultant duty is satisfied by a producer license
Tennessee	No	Yes	No	No	Tenn. Code Ann. 56-6-903; 56-6-905 (public adjuster home state). Open question: a TN Dept. of Commerce and Insurance page affirmatively stating no independent or company license is issued
Texas	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Tex. Ins. Code 4101.001; TDI, "Only residents of states that don't license adjusters can apply for this license"
Utah	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Utah Code 31A-26-201
Vermont	Yes	Yes	Not established	No	8 V.S.A. 4791, 4800
Virginia	No	Yes	No	No	Va. Code 38.2-1845.1 et seq.; SCC states no other adjuster type requires licensure
Washington	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	RCW 48.17.010
West Virginia	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	W. Va. Code 33-12B-3, 33-12B-5, three classes plus home state
Wisconsin	No	Registers	No	No	Wis. Stat. 629.02(2), registers public adjusters only
Wyoming	Yes	Yes	Not established	Yes	W.S. 26-9-219

What the columns mean

Independent: Licenses adjusters who contract to insurers. This is the column that sends you to a designated home state when it says no.
Public: Licenses adjusters who represent policyholders rather than insurers. A few jurisdictions register them instead of licensing them.
Company or staff: Licenses salaried employees of an insurer. A no usually means staff are written out of the definition or covered by an employer exemption.
Serves as a home state: Will issue a resident style license to someone who lives in a jurisdiction that licenses no adjusters. This is the Designated Home State mechanism under NAIC Guideline 1224.

How to choose a designated home state covers the eligibility gate, the four states to avoid and the continuing education trap inside the most popular answer.

Where a one word answer would mislead you

24 jurisdictions carry a condition that a yes or no cannot express.

AlabamaPublic, ALDOI states public adjusters are not licensed or regulated.
ArizonaIndependent, single license covering work for insurer or insured. Public, but not a separate class. Home state, gives DHS status to no one.
ArkansasPublic, and public adjusting is prohibited, not merely unlicensed.
CaliforniaHome state, No for independent, YES for public adjusters (see note).
ConnecticutIndependent, "casualty adjuster". Public, separate statute.
DelawarePublic, separate class. Home state, but public adjusters "are prohibited from designating a home state".
FloridaIndependent, all lines. Home state, the 70-20 Non-Resident Designated Home State Adjuster license.
IdahoHome state, independent only; public adjusters barred.
IowaIndependent, since 2025-07-01. Home state, confirmed from statute: ch. 522C contains no designation mechanism and 522C.2(10) was written without the NAIC model's declaration clause. Note 191-55.2 DOES keep that clause for public adjusters, a possible California-style split.
KansasPublic, first-party claims only.
KentuckyPublic, but closed to new applicants until 2028-04-13. Home state, both directions (resolved 2026-07-30).
LouisianaHome state, (corrected, see note).
MaineIndependent, single undifferentiated adjuster license. Public, same license, "does not differentiate". Home state, but no CE, which creates downstream renewal risk.
NevadaHome state, but see conflict note.
New YorkHome state, DHS license type offered, though NY imposes no residency requirement so the same person can qualify on NY's own terms.
North CarolinaHome state, "Yes, North Carolina (NC) is a DHS".
OklahomaHome state, but public adjusters "are ineligible to designate a DHS".
OregonHome state, gives DHS status to no one, though it accepts inbound DHS licensees.
South CarolinaHome state, "SC should never be selected as a DHS state when completing a new or renewal application through NIPR".
TennesseeHome state, for the all-lines license anyone actually shops for; the Public Adjuster Act does contain home state language.
TexasIndependent, all lines. Home state, "Designated home state, all lines," restricted to residents of non-licensing states.
VermontHome state, and now confirmed in Vermont's own words on its PC Adjuster page rather than inferred from NIPR.
WisconsinPublic, not licenses, effective 2020-07-01.
WyomingHome state, "Wyoming offers a designated home state license that is accepted in all US states".

How we established the absences

Regulators document what they license and stay silent about what they do not, so an absence usually has to be proved from outside the state's own materials. Colorado does not license independent adjusters and its own site never says so anywhere. The only clear statement sits on NIPR.

That is why this list did not exist before, and it is why each row carries its own citation and confidence note on the state page rather than a single blanket claim here. Where we could not establish something from an official source, the cell says so rather than guessing.