Maryland contractor licenses: the MHIC license and the trade boards behind it

The MHIC license covers most residential repair and improvement work

Maryland's main contractor credential is the home improvement license from the Maryland Home Improvement Commission (MHIC), part of the Department of Labor. State law defines home improvement as adding to, altering, converting, improving, modernizing, remodeling, repairing or replacing a building used as a residence, a structure next to it, or land improvements next to it. Under Business Regulation Article 8-301, a person must have a contractor license whenever the person acts as a contractor in Maryland, and a person selling a home improvement needs a salesperson or contractor license.

The commission publishes lists so you do not have to guess. Work it says usually needs a license includes:

• Exterior: roofing, siding, decks, driveways (adding gravel counts), fences, landscaping and similar work, plus paver patios and retaining walls.
• Interior: carpentry, painting (interior, exterior and decorative), plastering, drywall, tile, wood and other flooring other than carpet.
• Cleaning and treatments: waterproofing, sealants, radon mitigation and lead paint abatement.
• Openings and energy: doors, windows, skylights, shutters, insulation and solar panel systems.
• Structures: garages, porches, foundations, permanent hot tubs and pools, sheds the contractor installs on land adjacent to a residence, and permanent playground equipment.

If you pressure wash, note two items. Sealants and waterproofing are on the licensed list, so a deck-sealing add-on can pull a washing company into licensed territory. Exterior painting is on it too. The commission's FAQ says carpet installation and cleaning, chimney sweeping alone, demolition and clean-up only, and interior window treatments do not need an MHIC license. Check the lists on the commission's site before you add a service line, and call 410-230-6231 for edge cases. See our pressure washing startup guide for the wider picture.

Insurance, Guaranty Fund and penalties for working unlicensed

As of October 2026 the MHIC page lists these items for contractors:

• General liability insurance of at least $500,000, under Business Regulation Article 8-302.1, effective June 1, 2024.
• A Guaranty Fund assessment of $100 for an original contractor license and $175 every two years at renewal.
• A licensing exam run by PSI, the commission's testing firm. Application and licensing fees rose on August 1, 2024, and the dollar amounts are on the commission's fee schedule rather than the main page.

Subcontractors can work without their own license when they work for a licensed contractor, per the commission. The statute also exempts a contractor's salaried employees who are not salespeople, and licensed professionals such as architects, electricians, plumbers and HVAC or refrigeration contractors acting within the scope of their own license.

The penalty section, 8-601, makes violations a misdemeanor. A first conviction carries a fine of up to $1,000, up to six months in jail, or both. A second or later conviction raises that to a $5,000 fine, up to two years, or both. Separately, if the Guaranty Fund pays a homeowner's claim against you, the commission can suspend your license until you repay the fund with interest of at least 10% a year (8-411).

Two more rules to know. New home construction sits outside the MHIC license: builders register with the Home Builder Registration Unit of the Attorney General. And a contract signed after an in-home approach can be canceled until midnight of the fifth business day, or the seventh day for buyers 65 or older, under the Maryland Door-to-Door Sales Act. If you knock doors or run a sales team, that cancellation window affects when you schedule work. Our general contractor license guide covers the national pattern.

Electrical, plumbing and HVACR have their own boards

Each of these boards sits in the Department of Labor, and the MHIC statute carves licensed members of these trades out of its own license requirement when they work within their trade.

The electrician board adds that licensees must carry general liability insurance of at least $300,000 and property damage insurance of at least $100,000, with no umbrella substitute, and warns that unlicensed electrical work can bring fines up to $5,000, imprisonment or both. The plumbing board says plumbing and natural gas fitter licenses are required statewide except in Baltimore County and the areas served by the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission (Montgomery and Prince George's Counties), which issue their own licenses and keep their own plumbing code. If your crew works across the Baltimore and Washington suburbs, you may need local credentials in some places and state ones in others.

Solar is a good example of overlap. The MHIC says solar panels need a home improvement license, and a licensed master electrician must connect them to the electrical system. For the wider national process on wiring, see how to become a licensed electrician.

Pesticide firms, tree experts and other licensed trades

Pesticides. The Department of Agriculture says a pesticide business is any business offering pest control or applying pesticides for hire, and that this includes lawn care companies using weed and feed or organic pesticides, landscapers using Roundup or animal repellents, and structural pest control firms. The firm needs a business license, listed at $150 a year, with a license period of July 1 through June 30. It must name at least one certified pest control applicator in each category it serves and keep proof of general liability insurance: $100,000 per person and $300,000 per occurrence for bodily injury, and $15,000 per occurrence and $30,000 annual aggregate for property damage. Applicators must be at least 18, have a year of practical experience as a registered employee (a biology-related degree can substitute), pass a core exam and a category exam with 70% or higher, and pay $75 for the first category and $25 for each additional one. Certification is annual and needs recertification training each year. A certificate cannot be held for more than one place of business at a time.

Tree experts. The Department of Natural Resources says only Maryland Licensed Tree Experts should be hired to trim branches and remove trees. Unlicensed providers who advertise or perform tree care can face criminal prosecution. Licensed experts must carry insurance that covers tree care work. The MHIC page itself lists tree expert work as licensed by DNR instead.

Home inspectors. The commission lists a 72-hour approved course, passing the National Home Inspector Examination, a high school diploma or equivalent, general liability insurance of at least $150,000 and a $325 fee.

Locksmiths. Maryland licenses locksmith businesses, including sole proprietors, and hands-on workers need a criminal background check rather than their own license.

Marine contractors. The Maryland Department of the Environment licenses them, not the MHIC.

For the national view on pesticide licensing, read our pest control license guide and lawn care startup guide.

Work the state leaves unlicensed, and what still applies

The sources above do not list mowing, house cleaning, window cleaning, junk hauling or plain pressure washing as licensed trades. They do carry other requirements:

• Sales tax. Maryland's rate is 6% under Tax-General 11-104. Cleaning of a commercial or industrial building (floors, carpets, walls, windows, ceilings, exterior and janitorial) is a taxable service under 11-101, so a washing or janitorial company serving businesses collects tax while the same work at a house is not on the list. Register with the Comptroller. See our sales tax by state table.
• Workers' compensation. Labor and Employment 9-402 requires employers to secure compensation for covered employees through an authorized insurer, an approved self-insurance group or individual self-insurance.
• Lead-safe work. The MHIC notes that work on homes built before 1978 falls under the EPA's Lead-Safe Renovation, Repairs and Painting program, and contractors must be certified before doing it.

Our Maryland startup page covers the LLC filing, trade name and annual report steps.

Confirm before you bid

General information only, not legal advice here. Fees, insurance minimums and thresholds change, and the MHIC, the trade boards and the Department of Agriculture each publish their own current forms. Check the agency pages in the sources below before you quote, and call the commission if a service sits near the edge of its lists.

Frequently asked questions