New Jersey Public Adjuster License: Bond, Exam, and Contract Rules

To work as a public adjuster in New Jersey, you need a license from the Department of Banking and Insurance (DOBI). Getting a New Jersey public adjuster license means passing the state exam administered by PSI, posting a $10,000 surety bond, and filing an application with electronic fingerprints, two passport photos, and a $70 fee. Once you’re licensed, you renew every two years, complete continuing education including an ethics course, and follow strict rules about written contracts and escrow handling of claim funds.

Who Needs This License

The Public Adjusters’ Licensing Act, N.J.S.A. 17:22B-1 et seq., requires anyone who negotiates or settles insurance claims on behalf of policyholders to hold a DOBI-issued license. That applies to individuals, firms, associations, and corporations.¹

Company adjusters and independent adjusters working for insurers are not public adjusters and follow a different track. A public adjuster works only for the policyholder, which is why New Jersey attaches consumer-protection requirements to the license that don’t apply to the other adjuster types.

What You Need to Apply

You must be at least 18 years old.² The application form is available through DOBI, and you submit it with several supporting items:³

Your PCN number from DOBI’s Live Scan electronic fingerprinting session, which serves as the criminal background check.
Your score report from the state licensing examination.
Proof of a $10,000 minimum surety bond from a surety authorized in New Jersey.
Two passport-size photographs.
A $70 license and processing fee. Disabled veterans can get this fee waived by submitting a current U.S. Veterans Administration certificate confirming a service-connected disability.

The application also includes a background questionnaire covering criminal history, prior administrative actions against any professional license, bankruptcy or unpaid judgments, delinquent taxes, fraud-related lawsuits, consumer protection violations, and child support arrearages. A “yes” answer doesn’t automatically disqualify you, but it triggers additional DOBI review.³

Passing the Exam

DOBI contracts with PSI Services LLC to administer all New Jersey insurance licensing exams. You can schedule through PSI’s website or by calling 1-800-733-9267.⁴ The exam covers insurance policy interpretation, claims procedures, and New Jersey insurance law.

Most applicants prepare with review materials or a prep course. Since your passing score report is a required piece of the application, you can’t file until you’ve cleared the exam.

The $10,000 Surety Bond

Every public adjuster in New Jersey must maintain a surety bond of at least $10,000, and it must stay on file with the Commissioner for as long as the license is active. The bond covers the licensee and any sublicensees named on the license, and it runs to the State of New Jersey for the benefit of anyone harmed by a willful, malicious, or wrongful act connected to the adjuster’s work.⁵

The Attorney General approves the bond’s form, and the Commissioner approves the surety’s financial sufficiency. Letting the bond lapse is one of the most common compliance failures and can lead to suspension. If you change surety companies, check that coverage doesn’t gap during the switch.

Contract Rules Once You’re Licensed

A licensed adjuster has no right to compensation unless it’s based on a written contract signed by both the adjuster and the insured. The contract must include the adjuster’s license number, a clear description of services, the compensation, and notice of the insured’s right to cancel within three business days.⁶

In 2025, the legislature enacted P.L. 2025, c.84, adding Section 17:22B-13.1 and expanding these rules. The contract must now be executed in duplicate, with one original kept by the adjuster and one given to the insured, and it must include:⁷

The adjuster’s name, business name, license number, phone, email, and physical address, and the same for the firm.
The policyholder’s name and address.
A description of the loss and its location.
The insurer’s name and policy number, if known.
The full compensation the adjuster will receive.
A description of what the adjuster will do for the insured.
Both parties’ signatures with the date and time each signed.

The contract must also carry mandatory disclosure language explaining that the adjuster is retained to advise and assist with the property damage claim and that services will be documented. The three-business-day cancellation right must be disclosed. After that window closes, the insured can still terminate, but the adjuster keeps the right to a fee for the reasonable value of services already provided, payable from any insurance proceeds recovered.⁷

Escrow Handling of Claim Funds

If you receive, accept, or hold settlement money on behalf of a policyholder, those funds go into an escrow account at a federally insured bank or savings institution in New Jersey. The money, and any interest it earns, remains the insured’s property until disbursed under the signed contract.⁶ Commingling settlement funds with your own business money is a career-ending violation.

Renewal and Continuing Education

Public adjusters renew every two years. Resident individual licensees must complete continuing education credits that include at least three hours in an approved ethics course.⁴ Approved providers and courses are listed through PSI’s continuing education site, which also tracks credits for DOBI.

The renewal fee for an individual public adjuster license is $50.⁸ Submit proof of completed CE hours with the renewal application. Missing the CE requirement or the renewal deadline can result in suspension, and you cannot work until you’re back in compliance.

What Can Cost You the License

Under N.J.S.A. 17:22B-14, the Commissioner can refuse to issue or renew a license, or suspend or revoke one, after notice and a hearing. The statutory grounds include:⁹

Any violation of New Jersey insurance law or Commissioner rules, or any law violated in the course of working as an adjuster.
Withholding material information or making false statements on the application.
Committing a fraudulent or dishonest act.
Demonstrating incompetence, lack of integrity, financial irresponsibility, or untrustworthiness.
Helping another person violate any New Jersey insurance law.

DOBI can also impose civil fines under the administrative code. A first offense carries a penalty of up to $2,500, and each second or subsequent offense carries up to $5,000. Each violation is a separate offense, so a single audit can produce stacked penalties.¹⁰

The statute does guarantee due process. The Commissioner cannot suspend or revoke a license without notice and an opportunity for a hearing under the state Administrative Procedure Act.⁹ Documented compliance history and clean records help at that stage, but a hearing right isn’t a guarantee of leniency. Lapsed bonds, missing contracts, and commingled escrow funds produce real consequences.

1
Legal Information Institute. New Jersey Administrative Code 11:1-37.3 – General Licensing Requirements
2
National Insurance Producer Registry. New Jersey Non-Resident Adjuster Licensing – Individual
3
State of New Jersey Department of Banking & Insurance. Application for Initial Resident or Nonresident Individual Public Adjuster License
4
NJDOBI. Insurance Licensing and Education
5
Justia. New Jersey Code 17:22B-12 – Surety Bond
6
Justia. New Jersey Code 17:22B-13 – License Required for Adjuster
7
Justia. New Jersey Code 17:22B-13.1 – Public Adjuster Contract Requirements
8
NJDOBI. Insurance Producer Licensing Fees
9
Justia. New Jersey Code 17:22B-14 – Refusal to Issue or Renew License
10
Legal Information Institute. New Jersey Administrative Code 11:1-37.14 – Violations and Penalties