How to Maintain Your Florida Insurance Agent or Adjuster License

Kevin Milner

Insurance Licensing Coordinator

Maintaining a Florida insurance license requires more than simply obtaining the license. Agents, adjusters, customer representatives, and surplus lines agents must stay current with continuing education requirements, maintain proper appointments, and regularly monitor their license status through the Florida Department of Financial Services.

Florida DFS currently describes insurance agent and adjuster licenses as perpetual when properly appointed. However, a license may expire if it goes 48 months without an appointment. In addition, failure to complete continuing education requirements may result in appointment cancellation, which can directly affect a licensee’s ability to remain in good standing.

Two of the most important areas to monitor are continuing education and appointments.

Continuing Education

Florida insurance agents and adjusters are generally required to complete 24 hours of approved continuing education every two years, by the end of their birth month. Licensees who have been licensed in Florida for six years or more (3 full renewal cycles) generally qualify for a reduced requirement of 20 total hours every two years.

Customer Representative and Limited Customer Representative (Florida 4-40 and 4-42) are generally required to complete 10 hours of approved continuing education every two years, by the end of their birth month.

Agents, adjusters, customer representatives, and limited customer representatives are also required to complete a 4-hour Law and Ethics Update course approved by the Florida Department of Financial Services and specific to the license authority they hold. If a licensee holds multiple insurance licenses, the licensee must complete an update course that is specific to at least one of the license types held. Except as otherwise specified by DFS, the remaining required CE hours may generally be completed through elective courses approved by the Department.

It is the licensee’s responsibility to enroll in the correct courses, complete the required number of hours, and ensure the courses satisfy Florida’s requirements. DFS rules also restrict receiving continuing education credit for duplicate courses within certain timeframes. Licensees should confirm their individual CE requirements through their DFS MyProfile account or by contacting the Florida Department of Financial Services.

Company Appointments

In Florida, holding an insurance license alone is not enough to transact insurance business. A licensee must also hold an active appointment by an appropriate appointing entity or person.

Florida Statute 626.112 requires agents, adjusters, and customer representatives to be properly licensed and appointed. The statute also provides that a person may not act as, advertise as, or hold themselves out as an insurance agent, adjuster, or customer representative unless they are currently licensed by the Department and appointed by an appropriate appointing entity or person.

Conducting unlicensed insurance activity can result in serious legal consequences, including treatment as a third-degree felony under Florida law. This makes appointment management more than an administrative task. It is a critical compliance requirement.

Appointments may be obtained in several ways depending on the license type, regulatory requirements, and business structure. Insurance companies, and in some cases managing general agencies (MGAs), typically appoint agents and insurance company employee adjusters. Licensed and appointed general lines agents or licensed insurance agencies may appoint customer representatives and limited customer representatives, where permitted. Adjusting firms may appoint independent adjusters and public adjusters, depending on the applicable state requirements. Certain licensees, including public adjusters, all-lines adjusters, unaffiliated insurance agents, and surplus lines agents, may also be responsible for securing and maintaining their own appointments when allowed by law. Because appointment requirements can vary by license class, authority, and state, licensees should confirm the applicable appointment process before conducting insurance business.

While the responsibility for submitting an appointment often rests with the appointing entity, licensees should not assume their appointment status is accurate or current. Licensees should regularly verify their license and appointment records through their DFS MyProfile account.

Surplus Lines Agents

Surplus lines agents have additional appointment considerations. A Florida surplus lines agent must generally hold a general lines license and be licensed and appointed as a surplus lines agent in order to originate or place surplus lines business.

DFS has reminded licensees that surplus lines agents are required to hold at least one appointment for their license to remain valid. Surplus lines agents may self-appoint through their DFS MyProfile account, and this self-appointment can serve as a qualifying appointment for the general lines license.

Surplus lines appointments are also subject to renewal or continuation requirements. Because surplus lines business often involves coverage placed outside the admitted market, maintaining the proper license and appointment status is especially important. Licensees should regularly verify that their surplus lines appointment is active and properly reflected in MyProfile before transacting surplus lines business.

Why Ongoing Monitoring Matters

Maintaining a Florida insurance license is not a one-time event. It requires ongoing attention to continuing education deadlines, appointment status, demographic updates, and Department communications.

A missed CE deadline, expired appointment, inaccurate record, or overlooked DFS notification can quickly create compliance concerns. For agents, adjusters, agencies, firms, and surplus lines professionals, the best practice is to review license information, appointment status, and continuing education records before there is an issue.

Staying proactive helps protect the licensee’s ability to lawfully transact business, serve clients, and remain in good standing with the State of Florida.

Kevin Milner

Insurance Licensing Coordinator

Kevin Milner, CIC, CRM, CFE, is an accomplished insurance professional with more than 20 years of experience in insurance operations, education leadership, regulatory compliance, and risk management. A respected speaker, writer, and compliance‑focused subject‑matter expert, he has authored numerous insurance pre‑licensing and continuing education publications used throughout the industry.

Kevin’s background includes leading national instructor‑led and web‑based education programs, guiding curriculum development, and advancing compliance initiatives aligned with evolving regulatory standards. As a Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE), he brings a deep understanding of regulatory oversight, ethical business practices, and risk mitigation to his work.

In his role as Insurance Licensing Coordinator, Kevin helps agencies, FMOs, and carriers leverage Agenzee’s unified, automated platform to simplify licensing, streamline appointments, and maintain seamless compliance across all 50 states.

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