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Quick answer
Maryland issues a home improvement license through the Maryland Home Improvement Commission (MHIC), Maryland Department of Labor, for home improvement work on buildings used as residences. Applicants pass an examination before applying and keep general liability insurance of at least $500,000. As of August 1, 2024, the contractor license application fee is $281.25 for each place of business.
Maryland · Contractor licenseVerified 2026-10-06
State license
Home improvement license (residential)
The Maryland Home Improvement Commission licenses and regulates home improvement contractors and salespersons, and contractors pay a Guaranty Fund assessment when they obtain their Home Improvement license. Home improvement work includes alteration, remodeling, repair or replacement of a building or part of a building used as a residence, and work done on individual condominium units; it does not include work done on commonly owned areas of condominiums or buildings that contain four or more single family units. Except as otherwise provided in the title, Maryland law says a person must have a contractor license whenever the person acts as a contractor in the State.
An applicant for a contractor’s license passes the examination before submitting an application; the examination tests the applicant’s knowledge of the law about home improvement and competency to engage in the licensed occupation
Home improvement license (residential). The Maryland Home Improvement Commission licenses and regulates home improvement contractors and salespersons, and contractors pay a Guaranty Fund assessment when they obtain their Home Improvement license. Home improvement work includes alteration, remodeling, repair or replacement of a building or part of a building used as a residence, and work done on individual condominium units; it does not include work done on commonly owned areas of condominiums or buildings that contain four or more single family units. Except as otherwise provided in the title, Maryland law says a person must have a contractor license whenever the person acts as a contractor in the State.
The Maryland Home Improvement Commission licenses and regulates home improvement contractors and salespersons. Home improvement work includes alteration, remodeling, repair or replacement of a building or part of a building used as a residence. Home improvement also includes work done on individual condominium units. Home improvement does not include work done on commonly owned areas of condominiums or buildings that contain four or more single family units.
The Commission has a Guaranty Fund (The Fund) supported by licensed contractors, who pay a Guaranty Fund assessment when they obtain their Home Improvement license and each time they renew their license.
(a) Except as otherwise provided in this title, a person must have a contractor license whenever the person acts as a contractor in the State.
Md. Code, Bus. Reg. § 8-301(a) · Official text · retrieved 2026-10-03
License classes
Class
Scope
Source
Contractor license
Acting as a contractor for home improvement work: alteration, remodeling, repair or replacement of a building or part of a building used as a residence, including work on individual condominium units, but not work on commonly owned areas of condominiums or buildings that contain four or more single family units
Exam. An applicant for a contractor’s license passes the examination before submitting an application; the examination tests the applicant’s knowledge of the law about home improvement and competency to engage in the licensed occupation. Source: Md. Code, Bus. Reg. § 8-302(a); Md. Code, Bus. Reg. § 8-302(f)(2)
Liability insurance. General liability insurance of at least $500,000, maintained by an applicant for a contractor license and by a licensed contractor. Source: Md. Code, Bus. Reg. § 8-302.1
(a) An applicant for a contractor’s or salesperson’s license must pass the examination prior to submitting an application for a license.
Md. Code, Bus. Reg. § 8-302(a) · Official text · retrieved 2026-10-03
(2) The examination shall test: (i) the applicant’s knowledge of the law about home improvement; and (ii) the applicant’s competency to engage in the licensed occupation.
Md. Code, Bus. Reg. § 8-302(f)(2) · Official text · retrieved 2026-10-03
(a) An applicant for a contractor license shall maintain general liability insurance in the amount of at least $500,000. (b) A licensed contractor shall maintain general liability insurance in the amount of at least $500,000.
Md. Code, Bus. Reg. § 8-302.1 · Official text · retrieved 2026-10-03
(e) For renewal of a contractor license, the licensee shall: (1) submit to the Commission, by a credit reporting agency approved by the Commission, a credit report that contains the information required by the Commission; or
Md. Code, Bus. Reg. § 8-308(e)(1) · Official text · retrieved 2026-10-03
(2) pay to the Commission or the Commission’s designee a credit report fee in an amount not to exceed the cost charged by a credit reporting agency approved by the Commission to obtain a credit report that contains the information required by the Commission for renewal of a contractor license.
Md. Code, Bus. Reg. § 8-308(e)(2) · Official text · retrieved 2026-10-06
(1) License application fees: (a) Contractor — $281.25 for each place of business of the contractor; (b) Salesperson — $112.50; and (c) Application processing fee — $22.50;
COMAR 09.08.07.02A(1) · Official text · retrieved 2026-10-03
(2) License renewal fees: (a) Contractor — $281.25 for each place of business of the contractor; and
COMAR 09.08.07.02A(2) · Official text · retrieved 2026-10-03
The MHIC Guaranty Fund two year assessment will remain at $100.00 for an original MHIC contractor and the MHIC Guaranty Fund two year assessment has increased to $175.00 every two years for a renewal MHIC contractor.
B. Examination Fee. An applicant for an examination or reexamination shall pay an examination or reexamination fee directly to the testing service chosen by the Commission to develop or administer the examination, as such fees are established by the testing service selected by the Commission.
COMAR 09.08.07.02B · Official text · retrieved 2026-10-03
Term and continuing education
Term and renewal. Before a license expires, the licensee may renew it for an additional 2-year term, if the licensee meets the conditions the section lists; if the Secretary does not stagger the terms of licenses, a license expires on the first June 30 that comes after its effective date in an odd-numbered year
(d) (1) Before a license expires, the licensee periodically may renew it for an additional 2–year term, if the licensee:
Md. Code, Bus. Reg. § 8-308(d)(1) · Official text · retrieved 2026-10-03
(2) if the Secretary does not stagger the terms of licenses, on the first June 30 that comes after the effective date of the license in an odd–numbered year.
Md. Code, Bus. Reg. § 8-308(b)(2) · Official text · retrieved 2026-10-03
Contracting without a license
Except as otherwise provided in the title, a person may not act or offer to act as a contractor in the State without a contractor license; a person who violates the section is guilty of a misdemeanor and, on first conviction, is subject to a fine not exceeding $1,000 or imprisonment not exceeding 6 months or both, and on a second or subsequent conviction, a fine not exceeding $5,000 or imprisonment not exceeding 2 years or both
(a) Except as otherwise provided in this title, a person may not act or offer to act as a contractor in the State unless the person has a contractor license.
Md. Code, Bus. Reg. § 8-601(a) · Official text · retrieved 2026-10-06
(c) A person who violates this section is guilty of a misdemeanor and, on first conviction, is subject to a fine not exceeding $1,000 or imprisonment not exceeding 6 months or both and, on a second or subsequent conviction, is subject to a fine not exceeding $5,000 or imprisonment not exceeding 2 years or both.
Md. Code, Bus. Reg. § 8-601(c) · Official text · retrieved 2026-10-03
Maryland's credential in this area is the home improvement license, handled by the Maryland Home Improvement Commission (MHIC) within the Maryland Department of Labor. The Commission licenses and regulates both home improvement contractors and salespersons [1]. Under the Business Regulation article, and except as otherwise provided in that title, a person acting as a contractor in the State has to hold a contractor license [2].
The scope is tied to homes. Home improvement, as the Commission describes it, means altering, remodeling, repairing or replacing a building, or part of one, that is used as a residence, and it reaches work done on individual condominium units [1]. The description leaves out work done on "commonly owned areas of condominiums" and work on buildings that contain four or more single family units [1].
The contractor license and its conditions
The class listed is the contractor license, whose scope follows that residential definition [2][1].
Testing comes first. An applicant sits the examination before an application goes in, and the exam measures two things: knowledge of Maryland's home improvement law and competency in the licensed occupation [3].
Insurance applies before and after licensing. Both an applicant and a licensed contractor maintain general liability insurance of at least $500,000 [4].
A credit check enters at renewal. For each renewal, the licensee either has a Commission-approved credit reporting agency send the Commission a credit report, or pays the Commission or its designee a credit report fee capped at what such an agency would charge for that report [5].
Cost, the Guaranty Fund and the renewal cycle
Maryland's fee schedule sits in COMAR, with separate charges for applying, for processing and for renewing, and the application and renewal charges are figured per place of business. As of August 1, 2024, the contractor license application fee is $281.25 per place of business [6]. The examination fee is not on that schedule as a dollar figure; it is paid straight to the testing service the Commission selects, at whatever rate that service sets [6].
On top of those fees, licensed contractors support the Commission's Guaranty Fund. They pay an assessment when they first obtain the home improvement license and again at every renewal [1], and the original and renewal assessments differ, as the fee rows show.
Before it expires, the licensee may renew for an additional 2-year term, provided the licensee meets the conditions the renewal section lists [5]. Where the Secretary does not stagger license terms, a license expires on the first June 30 after its effective date that falls in an odd-numbered year [5].
Penalties in the statute
Section 8-601 bars acting, or offering to act, as a contractor in Maryland without a contractor license, except as otherwise provided in the title [7]. Breaking that rule is a misdemeanor. A first conviction carries a fine of up to $1,000, up to 6 months in prison, or both [7]. A second or later conviction raises the ceiling to a $5,000 fine, 2 years in prison, or both [7].
