Insurance License Hub

The California Cargo Shippers' Agent license

Cargo Shippers' Agent

Buys cargo insurance for a cargo owner or shipper the agent is also arranging carriage for. At $64 to file and $64 to renew it is the cheapest license California issues, and it cannot be used at all until a $10,000 bond or a business entity endorsement is on file.

Course

None

This license has no pre-licensing course route.

Ways in

1

There is no state exam for this license.

Exam

n/a

Not required on any of the routes below.

Every way to qualify

  1. Route 1 Apply, then file the bond or be endorsed by a licensed entity

    No state exam for this license

    • a Bond of Cargo Shippers' Agent in the penal sum of $10,000 from a California admitted surety, in the applicant's own name

    • or

      A business entity licensed in California completing a Business Entity Endorsement for the applicant, which stands in place of the bond

    California Insurance Code section 1757.1 defines the licensee as somebody who acts for cargo owners or shippers "to procure cargo insurance only on behalf of a cargo owner or shipper for whom the agent is also arranging for the carriage of goods", so the license is tied to a shipping relationship rather than to a line of insurance. Prelicensing education, continuing education and the examination are all Not required. The Department separates issuing the license from being allowed to use it, in as many words: the license can be downloaded on approval, but the holder "may not act or aid in any manner" until either the $10,000 bond or the business entity endorsement is received. California residency IS required, unlike the administrator's.

    Read at the Department on 2026-08-20

California asks nothing taught and gives no examination for this license, so there is nothing for a school to sell against it.