How to get a Florida 6-20 all-lines adjuster license

Who qualifies

To apply for the 6-20 resident license you must:

• be a natural person at least 18 years of age;
• be a resident of Florida;
• be a United States citizen or a legal alien with a work authorization from the United States; and
• not hold a resident license in another state.

[DFS 6-20 license page] Not a Florida resident? The handbook says non-resident adjusters must be licensed in their home state for comparable lines of authority. [Florida handbook p.6]

When you don’t have to take the exam

The DFS exempts you from the state exam if you have any one of these:

• a current license as an all-lines public adjuster;
• an original letter from an institution awarding one of its listed designations, such as Associate in Claims (AIC) or Chartered Property and Casualty Underwriter (CPCU);
• an insurance degree with at least 18 semester hours of college credit in property, casualty, health and commercial insurance;
• a current General Lines (Property and Casualty) agent license; or
• a Letter of Clearance showing you held an all-lines adjuster license for at least one year immediately before applying, with the Florida application made within 90 days of becoming a Florida resident.

If you hold none of them you take the state exam. [DFS 6-20 license page]

The steps

1. Apply online through MyProfile and pay the fees. [DFS 6-20 license page]
2. Send proof of your qualification to the Bureau, if you have one that exempts you. [DFS 6-20 license page]
3. Get fingerprinted. The DFS requires it. [DFS 6-20 license page]
4. Take the exam, if you need to. After your application is approved the DFS emails you to check the messages in your MyProfile account, where the exam authorization and instructions are. The handbook also lets you reserve the exam with Pearson VUE first and apply after you pass. [DFS 6-20 license page] [Florida handbook p.6] You are not qualified for a license until the DFS has a passing result. [DFS 6-20 license page]
5. Get approved. The DFS emails the approval, and you print your license from MyProfile. [DFS 6-20 license page]

A passing score is good for one year. If you do not finish the licensing process in that time you have to retake and pass the exam. [DFS FAQ]

What it costs

• License application: $50, paid during the application. Members of the U.S. Armed Forces and their spouses, and honorably discharged veterans, are exempt from this fee. [DFS fees]
• License ID: $5, paid during the application. [DFS fees]
• State exam: $44.00, paid to the exam vendor, “as of October 1, 2018” on the DFS fees page. [DFS fees]
• Fingerprints: $52.50, paid to the fingerprinting vendor, local county sales tax may apply. [DFS fees]

On exam day, and if you fail

Bring one form of current, unexpired, government-issued photo identification that carries a valid signature. [DFS FAQ] If you fail, you schedule and pay for another exam with Pearson VUE, and you cannot take the exam for a license type more than five times in a rolling 12 months. [DFS FAQ]

After you have the license

• You need an appointment. The license requires one to be active, and an adjuster license can hold only one appointment at a time. The license expires if it is unappointed for 48 months. [DFS 6-20 license page] The appointment is how an insurer, an adjusting firm or you, if self-appointed, puts you to work: the 6-20 license can be used as an independent adjuster, a company employee adjuster or a public adjuster apprentice. [DFS 6-20 license page]
• Continuing education: the DFS lists 24 hours every two years. [DFS 6-20 license page] By statute that is a 4-hour update course plus 20 hours of electives; a licensee of 6 or more years completes 16 elective hours instead, and the statute reduces it further for some long-tenured licensees. [Fla. Stat. §626.2815]
• What the license covers: all lines of insurance except life and annuities. [Fla. Stat. §626.869]
• Tell the DFS if you move. A change of name, address, phone numbers or e-mail must be reported in writing within 30 days. [Fla. Stat. §626.551]

Practice

The 30-question Florida practice test is free, what’s on the exam has the outline, and the Florida FAQ answers the rest.