Vermont Adjuster Insurance Exam 2026

Five Licenses, Not One

Most states issue one adjuster license with lines of authority attached. Vermont issues five separate credentials, and 8 V.S.A. § 4803's own catchline names four of them: *"Adjusters, workers' compensation adjusters, public adjusters and appraisers."* DFR adds the crop adjuster.

P&C Adjuster — the main credential. § 4791 defines an adjuster as *"any person who investigates claims or negotiates settlement of claims arising under policies of insurance in behalf of insurers."* You act for the carrier. $120 license fee.

Public Adjuster — the same sentence with one word changed: *"in behalf of the insured."* You act for the policyholder. It carries a $200 license fee — the highest in the family — and, unusually, takes the *same* Series 14-33 exam as the P&C adjuster.

Workers' Compensation Adjuster — a genuinely separate license with its own 50-question exam, and the only one in the family that carries a continuing education duty.

Motor Vehicle Damage Appraiser — § 4791 defines an appraiser narrowly: someone who *"for compensation, appraises the loss or damage under policies of automobile insurance on the behalf of the insurers."* Automobile only. Automobile repair shops appraising at the request of the insured or the insurer are exempt.

Crop Adjuster — the outlier. No Prometric exam at all; § 4803(f) substitutes *"a proficiency examination approved by the federal Risk Management Agency."*

The Qualification Vermont Kept

Under § 4803(a) you must be at least 18, and *"competent, trustworthy, financially responsible, and of good personal business reputation."* Then comes the requirement most states repealed — § 4803(a)(4) demands one of three routes:

Two years' experience handling loss claims (or, for a WC adjuster, workers' compensation claims; for an appraiser, insurance loss appraising).

Special training of *"sufficient duration and scope reasonably to make the applicant competent."*

Supervised employment — and here is the detail that decides whether this route is actually open to you. The statute requires employment *"subject to the immediate personal supervision of a licensed adjuster ... who has been so established in business for not less than three years preceding the date of application."* A newly licensed supervisor does not qualify you.

No fingerprinting and no criminal background check. § 4800(4)(E)(iii) expressly authorizes the Commissioner to require fingerprints — but that authority has never been exercised. No fingerprint requirement appears in any of the 75 DFR insurance regulations, on any DFR adjuster page, or in NIPR's Vermont requirements.

No prelicensing education, for any of the five credentials.

Prometric — And Which One You Sit Depends on the License

Prometric administers all Vermont insurance exams, at test centers and by remote proctoring. The question counts and time limits are not in the candidate bulletin — they live in Prometric's per-exam content outlines.

Series 14-33, Adjuster's Property and Casualty — 150 scored questions plus 5 unscored pretest items, 2 hours 30 minutes, $87. This is the P&C adjuster exam *and* the public adjuster exam.

Series 14-34, Adjuster's Workers Compensation — 50 scored questions plus 5 pretest, 1 hour, $73.

Series 14-37, Motor Vehicle Damage Appraiser — 60 scored plus 5 pretest, 1 hour, $73.

Exam fees are *"not refundable and not transferable,"* and a registration stays valid 90 calendar days after processing.

Once you pass, § 4800(3)(D)(i) gives you a hard deadline most states leave unstated: *"An applicant must submit an application to the Commissioner within 24 months after the date of examination."* Miss it and you sit again.

Vermont Does Not Publish a Passing Score

This is not an oversight in our research — it is a fact about Vermont, and it is worth stating plainly because every exam-prep site in the country will tell you the number is 70%.

8 V.S.A. § 4800(3)(D)(vii) says only that the applicant *"must pass the examination or series of examinations with a grade determined by the Commissioner to indicate satisfactory knowledge and understanding."* No number.

All 75 of DFR's insurance regulations were enumerated. None sets a passing score.

All three Prometric content outlines (14-33, 14-34, 14-37) are silent.

The current Prometric bulletin's "Exam Results" section tells you that you will receive a notice of completion by email and points you at the score-report portal. It states no passing score and explains no scoring methodology.

Because the score is undisclosed, we also cannot tell you whether Vermont reports a raw percentage or a scaled score — and we will not guess at it. Prepare to a comfortable margin rather than to a threshold. If you want it in writing, DFR Producer Licensing is at 802-828-3303.

Fees, and the Common Expiration Date That Costs You Money

Every application carries a $30 fee plus the license fee. Under § 4800(2)(A)(v) — amended effective January 1, 2025 — the license fee is $120 for adjusters, workers' compensation adjusters, crop adjusters and appraisers, and $200 for public adjusters.

If DFR refuses your license, § 4800(3)(E)(ii) refunds the license fee — and expressly refunds nothing else.

Every adjuster-family license in Vermont expires on the same day. § 4798(b)(2) puts *"all other license type"* — everything that is not a producer — on April 1 of the even-numbered year. Producers renew in odd years; you renew in even ones. DFR states the current common expiration date and adds the two consequences that matter: it *"applies to new applicants regardless of the date of issuance,"* and *"the fee charged will not be prorated."*

So a license issued in January of an even year costs the full $120 and expires roughly ten weeks later. There is no proration and no partial-term discount. If you are close to a common expiration date, ask DFR whether to wait.

One more housekeeping duty that does bind adjusters: § 4800(3)(F) requires notice to the Commissioner of any change in residential or business address within 30 days.

No CE — Unless You Adjust Workers' Compensation

For P&C adjusters, public adjusters, crop adjusters and appraisers, Vermont requires no continuing education at all. The proof is structural: 8 V.S.A. § 4800a imposes 24 hours per two years on *"an applicant for an insurance producer license renewal"* and the words *"adjuster"* and *"public adjuster"* appear nowhere in the section. Regulation I-2000-02 § 1.B confirms it from the regulatory side — *"This regulation applies to producers for any line of insurance"* — and § 3.G defines "producer" as an agent or broker. We read the scope section, not just the caption, because a regulation's title can exclude a licensee its scope sweeps in. Here they agree.

Workers' compensation adjusters are the exception, and it is mandatory. § 4803(e): *"The Commissioner shall require workers' compensation adjusters to complete educational or training programs in their field. The Commissioner may suspend or revoke a license ... of any person who fails to comply."*

DFR implements it as one continuing education seminar every two years — administered by the Vermont Department of Labor, not by DFR. The agency that issues your license is not the agency that trains you.

The Catastrophe Exemption — Read It Precisely

Vermont has no separate catastrophe or emergency adjuster license, and no registration. What it has is an outright exemption, buried in § 4803(d)(2):

*"No adjuster, public adjuster, or appraiser license is required as to any adjuster, public adjuster, or appraiser sent into this State on behalf of a duly admitted insurer for the investigation or adjustment of a particularly unusual or extraordinary loss, or of a series of losses resulting from a catastrophe common to all such losses. Nor shall such a license be required of a marine-average adjuster."*

Three details decide whether it covers you. First, there is no declaration requirement — no governor, no commissioner, no declared disaster. The trigger is factual: an unusual or extraordinary loss, or a catastrophe-driven series. Second, you must be sent in on behalf of a duly admitted insurer. An independent adjuster who self-deploys after a storm, or one working for a surplus lines carrier, is outside it. Third, the subsection's heading mentions workers' compensation adjusters and the operative sentence does not — the exemption names only adjuster, public adjuster and appraiser.

Three Years of Records, and Personal Exposure to the Commissioner

§ 4803(c) gives Vermont adjusters their own retention rule — you do not borrow the insurer's. Keep, at the address shown on your license, a record of all transactions under the license, including *"a copy of all investigations, adjustments, or appraisals undertaken or consummated"* and *"a statement of any fee, commission, or other compensation received or to be received."* Make them available to the Commissioner *"at all times,"* and retain them for at least three years.

Do not substitute Regulation 99-1's five-year policy and two-year claims periods — those apply to *"each insurer or related entity,"* which is an insurer-side concept. Your number is three.

Vermont's unfair trade practices act reaches you personally. § 4723 says *"no person shall engage in any trade practice"* that the chapter defines as unfair — and § 4722(1) defines "person" to include *"agents, brokers, appraisers, and adjusters."* § 4726(b) then authorizes an administrative penalty of up to $1,000 per violation, or up to $10,000 for a willful violation, against *"any person."*

Separately, § 4804(a) lists fifteen grounds for denial, suspension or revocation of any license issued under the chapter — including cheating on a licensing examination, felony or misdemeanor conviction involving moral turpitude, forgery, misappropriating monies, failure to comply with a child support order, and failure to pay Vermont income tax. § 4804(d) adds an administrative penalty of *"not less than $500.00 nor more than $2,500.00."*

Every Deadline Is in the Regulation — and They Are Business Days

This is the single most useful thing to know about adjusting a Vermont claim. 8 V.S.A. § 4724(9) contains no numbers at all — it speaks only of acting *"reasonably promptly,"* of *"prompt"* investigation, of affirming or denying *"within a reasonable time."* Citing the statute for a deadline is citing the wrong instrument.

The numbers live in Regulation I-1979-02 (Revised), "Fair Claims Practices," effective July 1, 2018, and every one of them is counted in business days:

Acknowledge the claim — 10 business days from notice. Reply to any claimant communication — 10 business days. Respond to a DFR inquiry — 15 business days.

Affirm or deny — 15 business days after receipt of properly executed proofs of loss.

Need more time? Notify within 15 business days on a first-party claim (running from proofs of loss) or 30 business days on a third-party claim (running from notice of claim) — then send a status letter every 30 business days.

Pay — 10 business days from the date settlement is agreed upon, to the claimant and/or loss payee.

Warn the claimant before the limitations period runs — 30 business days ahead on a first-party claim, 60 on a third-party one.

There is no numeric deadline to begin an investigation — that one really is only a reasonableness standard.

Six Places a National Course Will Steer You Wrong

UM/UIM cannot be rejected. 23 V.S.A. § 941(a) is an absolute bar on issuance — *"No policy ... may be delivered or issued for delivery in this State ... unless coverage is provided."* The words *"reject,"* *"rejection"* and *"waive"* appear nowhere in the section. There is no signed waiver form in Vermont. And the minimums are $50,000/$100,000 — double the $25,000/$50,000 liability minimums, which have not moved since January 1, 1999.

Stacking is allowed and anti-stacking clauses are void — but § 941 never says so. *Monteith v. Jefferson Insurance* (Vt. 1992) holds that *"interpolicy, antistacking provisions violate the terms of § 941 and will not be enforced,"* because UM/UIM attaches to the insured person, not the vehicle. Read the statute alone and you would conclude Vermont is silent on stacking.

Comparative fault is measured against the defendants COMBINED. 12 V.S.A. § 1036(a) lets a plaintiff recover if her negligence *"was not greater than the causal total negligence of the defendant or defendants."* A 40% plaintiff suing two defendants at 30% each recovers in Vermont. In a per-defendant state she is barred against both. Fifty percent recovers; fifty-one is barred.

There is no valued policy law and no standard fire policy. Chapter 105's subchapter 3 is titled *"Fire Insurance Valuations"* and looks like a valued policy law in the table of contents — it is an optional, pre-loss, coinsurance-triggered agreed-value scheme instead. Vermont regulates fire policy forms by Commissioner approval, not by a prescribed form.

There is no total-loss percentage threshold. § 2001(14) defines a totaled vehicle simply as one *"declared by an insurance company to be a total loss."* The decision is your economic judgment, reviewable under the fair claims regulation — not a formula.

Vermont DOES have a matching rule, and it is in the regulation. Reg. I-79-2 § 8.A(6) requires replacement *"so as to conform to a reasonably uniform appearance within the same line of sight, taking into account natural breaks,"* and — critically — *"the insured shall not bear any cost over the applicable deductible."* It is a general property provision, so it reaches siding and roofing, not just autos.

If You Hold the WC Credential

Benefit rates run July to July. For 7/1/2026 – 6/30/2027: maximum weekly compensation $1,914.00 (for injuries after 6/30/86), minimum $638.00. The formula is in 21 V.S.A. § 601 — the maximum is 150% and the minimum 50% of the state average weekly wage, both rounded up.

The 21-day decision rule is in the rules, not the statute. § 662 states no deadline. Rule 3.2200 requires the carrier to determine compensability within 21 days of notice or knowledge of the injury and, to deny, to file a Form 2 with the Commissioner *and* the injured worker inside that window with reasons and supporting documentation. Rule 3.2210 allows one written-justified extension of up to 21 more days. Miss it and Rule 3.2400 lets the Commissioner order interim payments.

Permanent partial disability does not use the statute's number. § 648(a) says impairment multiplied by *"330 weeks"* — but Rule 10.1400 and 10.1500 set the operative multipliers at 405 weeks for everything except the spine and 550 weeks for the back or spine. (The spine figure is not really a conflict: § 648(c) calibrates a 60% spine impairment to 330 weeks, and 60% of 550 is 330.) Combined injuries are added, not blended.

Two AMA Guides editions are in force at once. Rule 10.1300 uses the Fifth Edition generally; Rule 10.1310 sends mental and behavioral disorders to Chapter 14 of the Sixth Edition.

Three days waiting, paid back retroactively if disability runs seven consecutive calendar days or more. Notice to the employer *"as soon as practicable"*; claim filed within six months of injury or death.

Medical control is a hybrid. § 640 lets the employer designate the provider who *initially* treats — and then lets the employee switch on written notice stating the reasons for dissatisfaction plus the new provider's name and address. Neither the pure employer-direction rule nor the pure employee-choice rule.

The Guaranty Association and Its Workers' Compensation Carve-Out

Vermont's property and casualty guaranty association is not its own chapter — it is subchapter 9 of chapter 101, 8 V.S.A. §§ 3611–3626. Looking for a standalone guaranty chapter finds only the life and health one at chapter 112.

The cap is $500,000 per covered claim — *and workers' compensation is expressly excluded from it.* § 3615 obligates the Association for the amount of each covered claim *"that, unless it is a claim arising out of a workers' compensation policy, is less than $500,000.00."* A workers' compensation covered claim has no statutory ceiling; it is bounded only by the policy limits.

There is no $100 deductible. Vermont did not adopt the NAIC model's per-claim deductible, and it did not adopt the net-worth exclusion for large insureds either.

Unearned premium has a $25 floor, not a cap — covered only *"in excess of $25.00,"* and Vermont sets no dollar ceiling on it.

Excluded lines under § 3611: *"life, title, surety, health, credit, mortgage guaranty, and ocean marine."* Claims are barred if filed more than three years from the determination of insolvency. § 3626 makes it an offense punishable by up to $500 per violation to use the Association's existence to sell insurance.

No Warning Statement, No Bureau, No Reporting Deadline

Vermont requires no fraud warning statement on claim forms. Not mandatory, not optional — there is no provision. 8 V.S.A. § 4750, 13 V.S.A. § 2031 and Regulation I-79-2 were all checked.

There is no insurance fraud bureau. Title 8 contains exactly one fraud chapter, chapter 130, which contains exactly one section, § 4750, which creates no bureau and routes referrals to *"the Commissioner of Labor or the Attorney General."*

Chapter 130 is about anti-fraud plans, not the fraud crime. § 4750 requires every insurer writing direct premium to maintain an insurance anti-fraud plan providing for prevention, detection and investigation *"including fraud involving the insurer's employees or agents,"* employee education, *"hiring of or contracting for fraud investigators,"* law enforcement referral and pursuit of restitution. Failure to maintain one costs $500 per day, up to $10,000. Note the statute requires fraud *investigators* — it does not require a designated SIU.

No individual reporting deadline exists. The reporting obligation is systemic — the *plan* must contain referral procedures. There is no statutory clock on an individual suspicious claim.

Good-faith reporting is immunized by 13 V.S.A. § 2031, *"except if the information is furnished solely to obtain an advantage in connection with a claim."*

The fraud crime itself is 13 V.S.A. § 2031: under $900 in benefit or loss, up to six months and a $5,000 fine; over $900, up to five years and a $10,000 fine; a second or subsequent offense, up to five years and $20,000 regardless of value.

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