What This License Is
The Independent Adjuster license lets you investigate, evaluate, and settle claims in Hawaii on behalf of insurers — as a contract adjuster working for multiple carriers or as a staff adjuster. It is issued by the Hawaii Insurance Division, part of the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs (DCCA).
Hawaii writes adjuster licenses in two classes, and the license itself has to say which one you hold: independent adjuster (you work for the insurer) or public adjuster (you work for the insured, for a fee). Public adjusters carry an extra requirement independent adjusters do not — a $10,000 surety bond.
Two narrower adjuster licenses also exist: a workers' compensation adjuster limited license with its own shorter exam, and a crop adjuster license that needs no exam at all, just a valid Crop Adjuster Proficiency Program (CAPP) card. Most claims professionals want the full adjuster license.
There is no prelicensing course requirement for Hawaii adjusters. The statute instead asks that you have experience, education, or training in handling loss claims sufficient to make you competent — a qualitative standard, not an hour count.
Eligibility Requirements
You must be at least 18 and domiciled in Hawaii — or in a state that would let a Hawaii resident act as an adjuster there (HRS §431:9-222). That domicile clause is the reason Hawaii is not a practical Designated Home State option the way Texas or Florida are.
Fingerprinting is required and comes first. Schedule through Fieldprint at fieldprinthawaii.com using the code HI-DCCA-INS, then submit your license application within 60 days of being printed.
Everything is filed electronically through NIPR — Hawaii has moved adjuster applications off paper. The application fee is $165.
The Adjuster Exam
Pearson VUE administers the Hawaii Adjuster exam (exam code InsHI-Adj14 at a test center, OPAdj14 for OnVUE online proctoring). The fee is $75 per attempt, paid when you reserve your seat, and you must book at least 24 hours ahead — Hawaii allows no walk-ins.
The exam runs 105 minutes and carries 80 scored questions plus 10 unscored pretest questions. Unlike Hawaii's producer exams, which split into a general portion and a state portion, the adjuster exam is coded as a single sitting — but do not read that as 'state law only.' The content outline devotes 16 questions each to types of policies and bonds, insurance terms and concepts, and policy provisions and contracts, then adds roughly 12 questions on Hawaii laws pertinent to adjusters plus Hawaii property and casualty law.
The adjuster exam also has to be taken by itself — Hawaii does not let you combine it with another exam in the same session. Fail at a test center and you can retest after 24 hours; fail on OnVUE and the first retake wait is two weeks.
Passing Score
You need a scaled score of 70 to pass, and you get the result before you leave the testing session. Candidates who fail receive a numeric score plus diagnostic feedback by content area — use it to target the retake.
Because the scale is scaled rather than raw percentage, a 68 does not mean you missed exactly 32% of the questions. Aim for a steady 80% on practice exams before you book.
Emergency Independent Adjusters
Hawaii's answer to catastrophe surge staffing is registration, not licensing. Under HRS §431:9-201(b), when losses are severe enough that Hawaii's licensed adjusters cannot handle them in a reasonable time, the commissioner issues a declaration allowing unlicensed nonresident adjusters to work those claims temporarily.
The mechanics: the adjuster must hold a current license in another state with substantially similar requirements, and the company employing the adjuster must file an Emergency Independent Adjuster (EIA) registration with the Insurance Division within 3 working days of the adjuster starting work, giving the adjuster's name plus Hawaii and permanent contact information. The authorization runs up to 120 days from registration, or less if the commissioner says so.
Hawaii has actually used this — declarations followed the August 2023 Maui island wildfire and later statewide fires, and the division formalized the EIA registration process in April 2024.
Keeping Your License Active
Important CE details: Hawaii imposes no continuing education requirement on adjusters — the 24-hour CE mandate applies to producers, not adjusters. The adjuster CE part of the insurance code (HRS §§431:9-301 to 431:9-305) was repealed. (VERIFY)
The adjuster license runs on a 2-year cycle. The fee math makes it obvious: the license fee is $75 plus $45 for each year of the term, so a new license is $165 and an extension is $90. Hawaii ties the expiration to the licensee's birth month (VERIFY) — check your record in NIPR or the NAIC State Based Systems license manager rather than guessing.
There is no continuing education requirement for Hawaii adjusters. Hawaii's 24-hours-every-2-years CE rule, including 3 hours of ethics, applies to producers; the adjuster CE part of the insurance code was repealed. That makes Hawaii one of the cheaper adjuster licenses to hold long-term, though you should still confirm current requirements with the division before you skip CE entirely.
Miss the renewal and the license goes inactive, but HRS §431:9-232 gives you 12 months to reinstate by paying the fee plus a penalty of double the unpaid fees — without retaking the examination. Let that window close and you are back to the exam.
Quick Reference
Official Links
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