Adviser Licensing: Initial And Renewal Licenses

General Information

 
Maryland issues Adviser licenses to resident and nonresident individuals who, among other things, are trustworthy and competent to act as advisers.
Note: Advisers cannot receive “compensation from an insurer or insurance producer for the sale or placement of insurance.” (Insurance Article, § 10-208, Annotated Code of Maryland)
Resident applicants for the Adviser License must pass the examination for the Adviser Life/Health or the Adviser Property/Casualty, unless the applicant qualifies for a waiver of the examination requirement.
Individuals requesting the Adviser Life/Health authority who actively hold one of the designations below may be granted a waiver of the examination requirement.
Chartered Life Underwriter (CLU)​ Certified Employee Benefit Specialist (CEBS)​
Certified Insurance Counselor (CIC)​ Certified Financial Planner (CFP)

Individuals requesting the Adviser Property/Casualty authority who actively hold one of the designations below may be granted a waiver of the examination requirement.
 
Fellow of the Casualty
Actuarial Society​
​Certified Insurance Counselor
(CIC)
Chartered Property and Casualty
Underwriter (CPCU)​

To schedule your examination visit PROMETRIC at www.prometric.com/maryland/insurance Please contact our examination vendor, PROMETRIC at 1-800-610-1174. You can also download the License Information Bulletin from the PROMETRIC website.
  • The examination results are valid for six months.
Nonresident licenses may be issued to applicants who hold an adviser’s license in the nonresident’s state of residence and are qualified to act as insurance advisers.
 
Nonresidents whose state of residence does not issue an Adviser License or the equivalent must take and pass the Maryland Adviser exam.

Initial License Application

  ​To apply for a license as an Adviser, an individual must:
  • pay the applicable fee of $200 required by Insurance Article, § 2-112, Annotated Code of Maryland;
  • complete and submit the NAIC Uniform Individual Application. *
  • submit an original $1,000 surety bond; The surety bond or continuation certificate must clearly state:
      - bond company and bond amount
      - bond coverage period
      - show the State of Maryland as the obligee
      - duly executed by the principal/producer and bond company/attorney-in-fact
  • submit all forms of statements, receipts, and agreements to the Commissioner for approval and filing;

*Resident applicants requesting an examination waiver to qualify for an initial Adviser license must submit a paper application along with the letter of good standing issued by the organization conferring the designation.*

*Non-residents applying for an initial license must submit a paper application.*

Renewal Application

 
  • Individual adviser licenses are issued on a biennial basis to expire on the last day of the adviser's birth month.
  • Renewal applications may be submitted up to 90 days prior to the license expiration date.
  • The fee to renew an Insurance Adviser license is $215, which includes the $200 renewal fee and the $15 fraud prevention fee (§ 2-112).
  • Licensees must be in compliance with the $1,000 Surety Bond requirement to qualify for approval of the renewal application. 

Online and Paper Application

 
  • ​​Online applications are submitted through NIPR (www.nipr.com). A confirmation email will be sent to the email address provided on the application when your online application has been received. Make note of the transaction number so you may reference this when sending additional documents or when inquiring on the status.

            * All renewals may be submitted online *

  • Paper applications in PDF format are available below. The completed application along with the bond information and any other documents should be mailed to:

The Maryland Insurance Administration
Attn: Producer Licensing
200 Saint Paul Place, Suite 2700
Baltimore, Maryland 

*Payments should be in the form of a check, money order, or cashier’s check made payable to: Maryland Insurance Administration.

Note: Regardless of who completes the application, the license applicant is ultimately responsible for the contents of the application and must provide accurate and complete information (if the application was completed by someone other than the applicant, the person who completes an application may also be held responsible for the contents of the application). An application that fails to disclose or fails to provide accurate information may result in the DELAY and/or DENIAL of the application. If your license has already been issued and it is later discovered that the information contained in your application is not true, correct, or complete, your license may be REVOKED and you may be subject to monetary PENALTIES (if the application was completed by someone other than the applicant, the person who completed the application may also be subject to administrative action). If in doubt, disclose.
Supplement forms and/or inquiries may be submitted by email to producerlicensing.mia@maryland.gov.
 
In most cases, complete applications are verified in 1-7 days and final determination is processed in 7-10 business days. Length of time to complete application: 10-15 minutes. Incomplete applications may incur delays, be rejected/denied or not be processed. Incomplete applications pending over 120 days may be rejected.

Do a NAME SEARCH​ to verify if your application has been approved. When you have your license number, go to PRINT L​ICENSE​ to get a copy of your license. Fill in all search criteria to enable a successful search. Maryland does not send copies of licenses.
    • Note: All license or certificate fees are non-refundable and non-transferable whether the application has been approved, denied, cancelled, withdrawn, or when an applicant submits multiple applications for the same license or certificate.

Maryland Insurance Administration
Producer Licensing Customer Service: 1-888-204-6198
Producer Licensing Fax: (410) 468-2399
Producer Licensing Email: producerlicensing.mia@maryland.