Maryland splits contractor licensing by the kind of work.
Requirements checked against the Maryland Home Improvement Commission, Maryland Department of Labor, Division of Occupational and Professional Licensing published requirements on October 18, 2026.
| Licensing board | No statewide general contractor license. Home improvement on existing homes: Maryland Home Improvement Commission (MHIC), Maryland Department of Labor. New home construction: Home Builder Registration Unit, Office of the Attorney General. Commercial: county by county, no state license. |
|---|---|
| License required when | No dollar ceiling or tiers. One MHIC Contractor license covers home improvement work of any size. |
| What the state calls the qualifier | MHIC qualifying individual (a sole proprietor, partner, officer, or full time employee who holds the MHIC license); trades use a master electrician, master plumber, or master HVACR license holder |
| NASCLA exam accepted | no |
| Reciprocity and endorsement | MHIC: none. Electricians: Delaware, Virginia, West Virginia (PSI bulletin also names Washington DC). HVACR: Virginia, Delaware. Plumbing: the Board of Plumbing reciprocates only with the state of Delaware (Master Plumber/Gasfitter license only), the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission (WSSC) and Baltimore County. A reciprocal master or journey plumbing license from WSSC or Baltimore County requires holding both the plumbing and gas portion, obtained by examination. The Board's reciprocal licensing page also lists DC next to those two, which its FAQ does not; confirm DC with the Board before quoting it. |
| Exam waivers | MHIC: no waiver, every applicant sits Maryland's own exam. Master Electrician written exam waived for licensed masters from West Virginia (2 years minimum), Virginia or Washington DC, Delaware (5 years minimum); no journeyperson waiver. HVACR waiver contingent on equivalency including matching experience years. |
| Experience required | MHIC Contractor: at least two years of experience in home improvement, construction, or related education. |
| Application and exam fees | 403.75 dollars for an original two year Contractor license (281.25 application, 100 Guaranty Fund, 22.50 processing). PSI exam fee 63 dollars. |
| Renewal | 456.25 dollars every two years (281.25 application plus 175 Guaranty Fund). |
| Time to license | Roughly two to three weeks for a complete MHIC application: about a week for fee processing, about five days review, same day approval, paper license mailed within 10 days. |
| Bond and financial requirements | Net worth assessed case by case with a credit report within 90 days; otherwise a two year 30,000 dollar surety bond or an indemnitor. General liability 500,000 dollars per 2024 statute. |
| Penalty for unlicensed work | Not stated |
| Time to replace a qualifier | Notify MHIC within 10 days of the change by certified mail. Late notice is a civil citation: 500 dollars first violation, 1,000 dollars second or subsequent. No stated deadline to seat a replacement. |
| Companies one qualifier may qualify | No cap in COMAR 09.08.01.04, which is silent on exclusivity. Qualifier must be the sole proprietor, a partner, an officer, or a full time employee of that business; an outside qualifier is not allowed. Confirm with MHIC before relying on more than one. |
Facts checked on August 17, 2026.
Each line was checked against the state board’s published requirements on the date shown. Not stated means the board material we reviewed did not state it, so we do not guess. Boards change rules; confirm the current figure with the board before you file.
Home improvement work on existing homes requires a license from the Maryland Home Improvement Commission under the Maryland Department of Labor, new home builders register with the Attorney General's Home Builder Registration Unit, and the electrical, plumbing, and HVACR trades are licensed through their own state boards. Commercial general contracting has no statewide license, though some counties, such as Prince George's County with its Board of Registration for Building Contractors, impose their own registration. Every MHIC licensed business must have an individual who holds an MHIC license, so the designated individual license holder plays the role other states assign to a qualifying agent.
Maryland requires a Qualifying Agent for all licensed contractor entities.
Yes. General contractors doing residential home improvement work need a Maryland Home Improvement Commission contractor license, issued by the Division of Occupational and Professional Licensing within the Maryland Department of Labor. The license is tied to a designated qualifying individual: a sole proprietor qualifies themselves, while a corporation or LLC must designate a qualifying individual meeting experience and exam requirements.
General contractors who perform residential home improvement work (alteration, remodeling, repair, or replacement of one to three unit dwellings, including individual condo units) are licensed by the Maryland Home Improvement Commission, part of the Division of Occupational and Professional Licensing within the Maryland Department of Labor (Maryland Department of Labor). Commonly owned condo areas and buildings with four or more units are not covered by this license (Maryland Department of Labor).
Electrical, plumbing, and HVACR trade work are licensed by separate boards within the same division. An MHIC home improvement license does not authorize licensed trade work in those categories (Maryland Department of Labor).
MHIC issues two license categories: contractor and salesperson, with no further monetary tier classifications on the official site (Maryland Department of Labor). Maryland eliminated the separate subcontractor license category effective July 1, 2016. Unlicensed subcontractors may still work under an MHIC licensed contractor, but only an MHIC licensed contractor may sign a home improvement contract directly with a homeowner (Maryland Department of Labor).
Maryland licenses the business, but the license is tied to a designated qualifying individual, sometimes called the qualifying party. A sole proprietor is their own qualifier. A corporation or LLC must designate a specific person who meets the experience and exam requirements (suretybondsdirect.com). Corporate and LLC applicants must also submit articles of incorporation or organization and a certificate of good standing from the Maryland Department of Assessments and Taxation (suretybondsdirect.com). A Maryland appellate opinion illustrates that the designated individual can be held personally responsible, as the individual licensee in responsible charge, for losses tied to the company's licensed work (mdcourts.gov).
Whether one individual can qualify more than one company at a time, and any numeric limit on this, is not stated in the board materials reviewed for this page. Confirm this directly with the Commission.
A specific deadline or grace period for replacing a qualifying individual who leaves a licensed company is not stated in the board materials reviewed for this page. Confirm the current replacement rules with the Commission before relying on a specific deadline.
The MHIC contractor exam is administered by PSI, the state's current exam vendor for this license, confirmed on the official MHIC page (Maryland Department of Labor).
Not accepted. Maryland requires its own PSI administered exam for the MHIC contractor license and does not accept the NASCLA Accredited Commercial Contractor credential in place of it.
Effective June 1, 2024, Maryland law requires every home improvement contractor holding an MHIC license to carry general liability insurance of at least 500,000 dollars, confirmed on the official MHIC page (Maryland Department of Labor).
MHIC uses a Guaranty Fund rather than a universal bond requirement for every applicant. The official MHIC page states that its Guaranty Fund, which is distinct from a license bond, pays homeowners up to 30,000 dollars per claim for actual losses, capped at the amount paid to the contractor, with awards pro rated if total claims against one contractor exceed 250,000 dollars (Maryland Department of Labor). The Guaranty Fund assessment paid at licensing is 100 dollars for an original two year contractor license and 175 dollars at each two year renewal, confirmed on the official page (Maryland Department of Labor).
Application processing time is not stated in the board materials reviewed for this page. Confirm current timelines with the Commission before quoting one.
Maryland does not offer reciprocity for the MHIC contractor license. This is not stated as an explicit reciprocity policy on the official MHIC page itself, so it should be confirmed directly with the Commission.
The separate Board of Electricians does have stated reciprocal agreements, currently with Delaware, West Virginia, Virginia, and the District of Columbia, confirmed on the official board page (Maryland Department of Labor).
Electrical, plumbing, and HVACR work are licensed by their own boards, not by MHIC, and a home improvement contractor license does not substitute for these trade licenses (Maryland Department of Labor).
Electricians: the Board of Electricians licenses apprentice, journeyperson, and master tiers. A 2021 law requires a state level apprentice, journeyperson, or master electrician license to offer or provide electrical services, and local only licenses stopped being sufficient after a 2022 transition deadline, confirmed on the official board page (Maryland Department of Labor). Electrician license holders must carry general liability insurance of at least 300,000 dollars and property damage insurance of at least 100,000 dollars, confirmed on the official board page (Maryland Department of Labor).
HVACR: the Board of HVACR Contractors licenses apprentice, journeyman, limited contractor, master restricted, and master tiers, each with its own experience hour and exam requirements, confirmed on the official board page (Maryland Department of Labor). Master, master restricted, and limited HVACR contractors who can approve contracts or pull a local permit must carry a combined minimum of 400,000 dollars in personal liability and property damage insurance per occurrence, confirmed on the official board page (Maryland Department of Labor).
Plumbing: the Board of Plumbing licenses this trade separately as well. Current official experience and exam figures are not stated in the board materials reviewed for this page. A figure from a 2012 legislative fiscal note describing roughly 7,500 hours of journeyman experience may be outdated; confirm current requirements on the official board page before relying on it.
MHIC licenses the business through a designated qualifying individual, not the business on its own, and that individual can be held personally responsible for the company's licensed work (mdcourts.gov). MHIC is a home improvement license only; it does not cover electrical, plumbing, or HVACR trade work, which each require their own separate state license (Maryland Department of Labor).
This page does not have a prior verification date to compare against. Three effective dates are worth noting because they are easy to miss when relying on older material: general liability insurance minimums for MHIC licensees rose to 500,000 dollars effective June 1, 2024; MHIC application and licensing fees increased effective August 1, 2024; and the 2021 law requiring state level electrician licensing completed its local license transition in 2022 (Maryland Department of Labor).
Official Licensing Authority
All contractor license applications, renewals, and qualifying agent changes must go through this board.
We place a licensed qualifying agent with your company as a full time W-2 employee and prepare the qualifier filing with the Maryland Home Improvement Commission, Maryland Department of Labor, Division of Occupational and Professional Licensing. Tell us your trade and what you have going on, and pick a time for a discovery call. Or call 615-219-2110.
Provide your information for a compliance assessment.
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