How to Check a Public Adjuster’s License in Florida

Why the license check matters

After a storm, people knock on doors offering to deal with your insurance company. Some are licensed public adjusters. Some are not. Florida law draws a firm line: except for an attorney, no one may, for pay, prepare or file your claim, negotiate its settlement, or advertise those services unless they are a licensed and appointed public adjuster (s. 626.854(20)).

The penalties are serious. Acting as a public adjuster in Florida without being licensed and appointed is a third-degree felony, and each act is a separate offense (s. 626.8738). DFS may also take administrative action and fine people who adjust or solicit without the required license (s. 626.854(21)).

The check costs nothing, and you can do it from your phone in the driveway. It is the first step in choosing a public adjuster.

How to run the DFS licensee search

The search is run by the Florida Department of Financial Services at licenseesearch.fldfs.com. Adjusterman is not affiliated with DFS. Here is how it works:

• Ask for the adjuster’s full name and license number. DFS suggests comparing the license number with a government-issued photo ID, such as a driver license.
• On the search page, type the license number in “FL License #,” or the first and last name in the individual name fields. For a company, use “Agency/Firm Name.”
• Under “License Status,” choose “Both” if you want to see expired or invalid licenses as well as valid ones.
• If a name search returns many people, narrow it with “License Category” (Adjuster for a person, Adjusting Firm for a company) or with the county.
• Click the name in the results to open the Licensee Detail page.

What the record tells you

The Licensee Detail page has a few parts. Here is what each one means for you.

Valid Licenses

This lists each current license by name and code, with its issue date and whether it has a qualifying appointment. For an individual public adjuster, look for “Public Adjuster-All Lines (0320).” For a company, look for “Public Adjusting Firm (2507).”

Active Appointments

Florida requires a public adjuster to be both licensed and appointed (s. 626.854(20)). For an individual adjuster, this section should show a current public adjuster appointment with an expiration date that has not passed.

Invalid Licenses and enforcement actions

Past licenses that ended show up here. An entry alone does not show discipline. A license can end for other reasons, such as when the person moves to a different license type, as in the example below. To check for discipline, use the links to final orders under “Enforcement Actions” on the search results page.

Reading a DFS license record

A worked example

Here is the same search run on our own licenses on November 8, 2026, so you can see what a complete record looks like.

• Searching license number P151443 returned one record: Michael Klavan, with a business address in Oakland Park. Under Valid Licenses, it lists Public Adjuster-All Lines (0320) with a qualifying appointment, and Active Appointments shows a current public adjuster appointment.
• The same record lists an older all-lines adjuster license and a public adjuster apprentice license under Invalid Licenses. That fits one path the law allows: an applicant may qualify for a public adjuster license after holding an all-lines adjuster license and a continual appointment, for example as a public adjuster apprentice, for the previous 6 months (s. 626.865(1)(e)).
• Searching W913130 returned Adjusterman LLC, with Public Adjusting Firm (2507) under Valid Licenses and the same Oakland Park address.

Your adjuster’s record should match the names, license numbers and address printed on the contract. Florida requires the contract to list the public adjuster’s full name, business address and license number, and the firm’s full name and license number (s. 626.8796(2)).

Apprentices and the bond

You may meet a public adjuster apprentice. An apprentice must hold an all-lines adjuster license and a current appointment from a licensed public adjusting firm (s. 626.8651(3)). A supervising public adjuster may supervise only one apprentice at a time, and a firm may appoint no more than four at once, with an exception for certain commercial-only firms (s. 626.8651(2)).

An apprentice has the same authority as the public adjuster or firm that employs them, with one key exception: an apprentice may not sign contracts for public adjusting services (s. 626.8651(3)). If an apprentice hands you a contract, make sure a licensed public adjuster signs it.

Public adjusters and apprentices must also file a surety bond in favor of DFS and keep it in force while licensed (s. 626.865(2); s. 626.8651(1)). The licensee search record does not show the bond, so this is something the law requires rather than something you can see on the screen.

If the license does not check out

If you cannot find the person, the license is invalid, or the names do not match, do not sign. Keep the business card, flyer or text message, and write down the date and time of the contact.

DFS says that if you suspect an adjuster is working without a license, or an adjuster urges you to overstate a claim, you can call the Insurance Fraud Hotline at 1-800-378-0445. For a concern about a licensed adjuster’s conduct, the DFS Division of Consumer Services takes insurance concerns through its helpline at 1-877-693-5236 and its online portal, and it asks for the full name of any agent or adjuster involved.

You can compare a record against what a firm publishes. We list both of our license numbers on our about page. If you are deciding whether to hire anyone at all, read public adjuster vs insurance adjuster, and for door-knocking rules, see solicitation rules.