Designated Home State Adjuster License: Who Qualifies and Which State to Choose

A designated home state (DHS) adjuster license lets someone who lives in a state that does not license adjusters earn a license from another state, qualifying there as if they were a resident. Other states then treat that license as your home state license, so you can apply for nonresident licenses elsewhere. Texas and Florida (the Florida 70-20) are two well-known options, but at least 20 other states offer some form of DHS license, and they are not all accepted equally.

What a DHS license is

States generally issue a nonresident adjuster license only to someone who already holds a license in good standing in their home state. That rule breaks down if your home state has no adjuster license to give you. The DHS concept fixes it: you designate a licensing state as your home state for adjuster purposes.

Texas writes this into its definition of home state, which includes a state the adjuster designates when the adjuster’s state of residence does not license adjusters. West Virginia and Kentucky use similar language. When you later apply for nonresident licenses through NIPR, you enter that state as your Adjuster Designated Home State.

Who qualifies

You generally qualify only if your state of residence does not issue a resident adjuster license for the line you want, and you hold no active resident adjuster license anywhere.

• Texas: only residents of states that do not license adjusters can apply. TDI says applications from residents of states that offer a resident adjuster license will be declined, and the fees will not be refunded.
• Florida 70-20: you must not hold a valid resident adjuster license or another DHS license in any state. You must live in a state that does not offer a resident adjuster license, or be a company adjuster living in a state that licenses only independent adjusters.
• NIPR rules in several states, including Idaho, North Carolina, Vermont and Washington, also require that the DHS state show an active nonresident adjuster license on the national Producer Database.

States that do not license adjusters

According to our state research, these 14 jurisdictions do not license company or independent adjusters, so their residents are the main DHS candidates:

• Colorado, the District of Columbia, Illinois, Kansas, Maryland, Missouri, Nebraska, New Jersey, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Virginia and Wisconsin.
• Massachusetts licenses public adjusters and motor vehicle damage appraisers, and Tennessee licenses public and crop adjusters, but neither licenses property and casualty company or independent adjusters.

Watch out for old lists. Iowa began licensing independent adjusters on July 22, 2025, yet some published lists of non-licensing states, including Alabama’s, still include it. An Iowa resident should confirm eligibility before paying for a DHS application. Check your state on our license by state page.

Which states offer a DHS license

Each state sets its own path, and DHS holders generally follow the resident CE rules of their DHS state. The last column shows which of five published lists of accepted DHS states name that state: Alaska’s, Florida’s (for its 7-20 nonresident license), New Mexico’s, Oklahoma’s and Wyoming’s. Those states use the lists to decide which DHS licenses they will accept.

Alabama, Louisiana, Minnesota, Texas and Utah appear on all five lists, and Florida and Wyoming on all four lists besides their own. Many other licensing states, Texas included, accept a DHS license as the basis for a nonresident license. The reciprocity map shows how each state treats a DHS license.

How to choose your designated home state

1. Acceptance. Pick a DHS that the states you want to work in will honor. Alaska, for example, accepts a DHS license only from a state that requires a background check, an exam and CE, and Rhode Island itself warns that most states do not reciprocate with its DHS status.
2. A real CE requirement. States are rejecting DHS licenses from states with no adjuster CE. South Carolina tells applicants never to select it as a DHS because it requires no fingerprints or CE, New Mexico refuses Maine and Michigan, and New Mexico and North Carolina refuse New York.
3. Exam route. Texas and Florida let you replace the state exam with an approved 40-hour course or designation, which suits people who learn better in a structured class.
4. Where you will work. In May 2025 BLS data, Texas (29,220) and Florida (28,100) had the most claims adjusters, examiners and investigators of any state with a published estimate. Holding one of them as your DHS means one fewer nonresident application for that market.
5. Ongoing obligations. Florida requires an appointment to act as an adjuster, and the license expires after 48 months without one. Texas has a straightforward 2-year renewal.

How CE works for DHS holders

DHS states generally treat you like a resident for continuing education:

• Texas DHS: 24 hours each 2-year period, including 3 hours of ethics, with at least half in a classroom or classroom equivalent. Texas rules apply resident CE to DHS adjusters while exempting ordinary nonresidents who meet home state CE.
• Florida 70-20: 24 hours every 2 years: the 4-hour law and ethics update plus 20 electives. DFS states that its nonresident reciprocity list does not apply to DHS holders.
• Other DHS states: Alabama, Mississippi, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Washington, West Virginia and Wyoming expressly require DHS holders to meet their CE. Georgia is the outlier: its handbook lists Georgia DHS adjusters as exempt.

For your nonresident licenses, many states accept your DHS state’s CE as compliance. Some add conditions: New Mexico requires its own CE if your home state has none, and Oregon requires nonresidents to make up any shortfall to 24 hours.

Texas DHS vs Florida 70-20

For a full comparison, see Texas vs Florida adjuster license.

How to get a DHS license, step by step

1. Confirm that your state does not issue a resident adjuster license and that you hold no resident adjuster license elsewhere.
2. Choose your DHS state using the factors above.
3. Pass that state’s exam or complete its approved course. Prepare with the Texas practice test or the Florida 6-20 practice test.
4. Get fingerprinted if the state requires it.
5. Apply. Texas uses Sircon and requires that you pass the exam before applying; some states, such as North Carolina, use a paper or Pearson VUE-assisted process instead of NIPR.
6. Apply for nonresident licenses, entering your DHS state as your Adjuster Designated Home State.

Common mistakes

• Applying while you hold a resident license. You cannot hold a DHS license if you hold a resident adjuster license elsewhere, under Florida’s 70-20 rules and NIPR’s rules in several states.
• Applying from a licensing state. Texas declines the application and keeps the fee.
• Applying to Texas before you pass. TDI says you must then file a new application and pay again.
• Letting the clock run out. Texas requires you to apply within one year of passing, and a Florida score is valid for one year.
• Choosing a DHS with no CE. It may save hours now and cost you licenses later.
• Forgetting DHS CE. Your DHS state expects resident-level CE, and a lapse there can put the nonresident licenses built on it at risk.
• Moving without updating. If you move to a state that licenses adjusters, you will generally need that state’s resident license, and your DHS basis no longer applies.