How to check an insurance agent's license in California

How to check

1. Open License Status Inquiry, the California Department of Insurance's own search.
2. Search by the agent's name, or by their national producer number (NPN) or California license number if you have it. The NPN is the steadier search: names repeat, and a producer has one NPN in every state.
3. Open the record and read the license type and its lines of authority, whether it is active, the expiration date, and the name on the record.
4. Compare it with what the agent told you: the same name, the same NPN, and a line of authority that covers the kind of insurance you asked about.

What the record shows

A producer record in any state is built from the same parts, though each department decides how much of it to publish:

• The license type and its lines of authority, such as property, casualty, life or personal lines.
• Whether the license is active, and the dates it was issued and expires.
• The insurers the agent is appointed with, where the department publishes appointments.
• Disciplinary actions, where the department publishes them.

In California the license record is kept by the California Department of Insurance. Its Check a License service, titled License Status Inquiry, looks up an agent, broker, adjuster, bail agent or business entity by license number or name and returns the license status and discipline history, with links on the record to further details; a separate tab searches enforcement actions. California license numbers never begin with a letter, so a search that fails should be retried with a zero where the letter O was typed.

California names its property and casualty licenses by broker-agent type. A Property Broker-Agent may transact coverage on direct or consequential loss or damage to property of every kind. A Casualty Broker-Agent covers legal liability, including for death, injury, disability or damage to property. An applicant who selects both holds a Property and Casualty Broker-Agent license. A Personal Lines Broker-Agent is limited to automobile, residential property (including earthquake and flood), personal watercraft, and umbrella or excess liability written over those policies. What a licensee may actually do also depends on documents filed with the department: an insurer's Action Notice of Appointment lets the licensee act as that insurer's agent, and a filed broker's bond lets the licensee act as a broker.

Licenses run for two years. The first license expires on the last day of the calendar month two years after it was issued, and any license added later expires at the same time. Before each renewal, most property, casualty and personal lines licensees must complete 24 hours of continuing education, including at least three hours of ethics with one hour on insurance fraud; the department lists who is exempt. The department emails a renewal notice about 90 days ahead, and a lapsed license can be renewed late for one calendar year. Nonresidents are issued the same lines they hold at home, and those whose home state requires continuing education do not have to meet California's, except for long-term care and annuity training.

What we checked for California

Department

California Department of Insurance (CDI)Source: cdicloud.insurance.ca.gov, checked 2026-09-22

Official search

License Status Inquiry, on insurance.ca.govSource: insurance.ca.gov, checked 2026-09-26

The search itself

Check a License (License Status Inquiry) at cdicloud.insurance.ca.gov/cal, by license number, individual name or business name, with a separate Enforcement Actions searchSource: cdicloud.insurance.ca.gov, checked 2026-09-26

What a record shows

License status and discipline history, with links on the record to further license detailsSource: insurance.ca.gov, checked 2026-09-26

Search tip

California license numbers never begin with a letter; type a zero, not the letter OSource: insurance.ca.gov (Check a License help), checked 2026-09-26

Consumer help line

1-800-927-4357Source: insurance.ca.gov (Getting Help), checked 2026-09-26

Licensing hotline

(800) 967-9331, Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:45 p.m., excluding state holidaysSource: insurance.ca.gov, checked 2026-09-26

Licenses that sell property and casualty

Property Broker-Agent, Casualty Broker-Agent, Property and Casualty Broker-Agent (both types together), and Personal Lines Broker-AgentSource: insurance.ca.gov (Producer Types and Requirements), checked 2026-09-26

Property Broker-Agent authority

Insurance on direct or consequential loss or damage to property of every kind (Ins. Code s. 1625)Source: insurance.ca.gov, checked 2026-09-26

Casualty Broker-Agent authority

Insurance against legal liability, including for death, injury, disability or damage to real or personal property (Ins. Code s. 1625)Source: insurance.ca.gov, checked 2026-09-26

Personal Lines Broker-Agent authority

Automobile, residential property (including earthquake and flood), personal watercraft, and umbrella or excess liability over those policies (Ins. Code s. 1625.5)Source: insurance.ca.gov, checked 2026-09-26

License term

Two years, ending on the last day of the calendar month two years after issue; later licenses expire with the first (Ins. Code s. 1630)Source: insurance.ca.gov, checked 2026-09-26

Continuing education (property and casualty)

24 hours each two-year license period for most licensees, including at least 3 hours of ethics with one hour on insurance fraud; CDI lists exemptionsSource: insurance.ca.gov, checked 2026-09-26

Appointments

An insurer's Action Notice of Appointment, filed electronically, is what authorizes a licensee to act as that insurer's agentSource: insurance.ca.gov, checked 2026-09-26

Licensed but not yet able to sell

A license can be issued without an appointment, but the licensee may not transact insurance until an appointment, broker bond or similar document is filedSource: insurance.ca.gov, checked 2026-09-26

Nonresident licenses

Nonresidents are issued the same lines of authority they hold in their home stateSource: insurance.ca.gov, checked 2026-09-26

Nonresident continuing education

Nonresidents whose home state requires CE do not have to meet California's, except for long-term care and annuity trainingSource: insurance.ca.gov (Nonresident FAQ), checked 2026-09-26

Renewal notice and late renewal

CDI emails a renewal notice about 90 days before expiration; a late renewal is possible for one calendar year after expirationSource: insurance.ca.gov (Renewal FAQ), checked 2026-09-26

Complaints

Online through File a Complaint - Consumers (cdiapps.insurance.ca.gov/CP/login/), linked from the Getting Help page; printable forms also existSource: insurance.ca.gov (Getting Help), checked 2026-09-26

Questions

Other ways to check

• The National Insurance Producer Registry (NIPR) assigns the NPN. Ask the agent for theirs; any licensed producer has one.
• For an agent licensed in several states, check each state on its own department's search. The fifty-state list has every department.

Lookup link last checked 2026-10-12; the department's entry in our list was confirmed on 2026-09-22.