Insurance License Hub

The Maryland Public Adjuster license

Public Adjuster

Adjusts a first-party property claim on the insured's behalf. Maryland issues it to individuals and to business entities, examines every resident applicant, requires no course at all, and says plainly that it does not license the other kind of adjuster: a staff adjuster employed by an insurer needs nothing.

Course

None

This license has no pre-licensing course route.

Ways in

2

1 of them skips the state exam.

Exam

$62

Required on some routes and not others.

Every way to qualify

More than one route leads to this license, and which one you take changes what you study and whether you sit the exam. There is no pre-licensing course among them: this license is qualified for by sitting the examination or a license held in another state.

  1. Route 1 Pass the public adjuster examination

    State exam required

    The examination

    • A written examination given by the Commissioner to determine the applicant's competency to act as a public adjuster, sat at Prometric. An applicant who fails may not sit again for 14 days. There is no pre-licensing course anywhere in the subtitle.

    and trustworthy and competent

    • Trustworthy and competent to transact business as a public adjuster so as to safeguard the interests of the public, on an application signed under oath naming any other insurance license held.

    Md. Code, Insurance 10-403 makes the license compulsory and backs it with a criminal penalty nothing else here carries: acting without one is a misdemeanor and on conviction a fine of up to $500 or six months in prison or both, for each violation. 10-404(b) is the qualification and it is short, competence plus the paper plus the fee, with one closed exemption at (b)(3) for anybody licensed as a public adjuster in Maryland on 1985-06-30. A business entity qualifies under (c) by being trustworthy and competent, employing one or more licensed individual public adjusters and paying the fee, and 10-405(b)(3) has it name the individual who is its principal contact with the Administration. The subtitle's own scope is where the interesting reading is: 10-401(g)(2) says a public adjuster "does not include a person that investigates, adjusts, or appraises claims for loss or damage covered by a motor vehicle insurance policy", and 10-402 exempts seven more, among them an insurer's own adjuster, an attorney who does not regularly act as one, anybody settling life, health, motor vehicle or annuity claims, a photographer or estimator or engineer furnishing technical assistance, a health care provider filing a patient's claim form, and anybody settling subrogation between insurers.

    Read at mgaleg.maryland.gov on 2026-08-19

  2. Route 2 Hold the license in a home state that returns the favor

    Exempt from the state exam

    • a valid public adjuster license, current and in good standing, from the applicant's home state, where that state awards nonresident public adjuster licenses to Marylanders on the same basis

    10-409(a)(1) is written more widely than most reciprocity clauses: the Commissioner "shall waive the license requirements", not merely the examination, for a nonresident whose home state licenses them and reciprocates. 10-409(a)(2) then carries the designated home state shape this site has met in nine states: where neither the state of residence nor the state of business has a substantially similar law, the adjuster may declare another state where they are licensed and act. The Administration publishes a list of the states that do not reciprocate, and a resident of one of those completes the Maryland resident requirements instead, which means the examination.

    Read at mgaleg.maryland.gov on 2026-08-19

Courses

You do not have to buy any of this. The Maryland Insurance Administration asks for no pre-licensing course, so nothing below is required of you. They are exam prep, priced here so you can see what they cost.

  • ExamFX

    Exam practice. No course is required, so this is what to study.

    $129.95 to $179.95

    See 2 options ▾

    • Maryland Adjuster Basics - Self-Study Package

      60 Days Course Access · Interactive Learning Portal · Online Exam Simulations · Readiness Exam · Instructor & Technical Support read 2026-08-22

      $129.95

    • Maryland Adjuster Basics - Video Study Package

      60 Days Course Access · Interactive Learning Portal · Online Exam Simulations · Readiness Exam · Instructor & Technical Support · On-Demand Video Lectures · Online Flashcards read 2026-08-22

      $179.95

    Go to ExamFX

  • Mometrix

    Exam practice. No course is required, so this is what to study.

    $59.99/month

    See 1 option ▾

    • Insurance Claims Adjuster Course

      $59.99/month

    Go to Mometrix