Maryland contractor license requirements
What you need before your first paid job in Maryland, one page for each trade. The license, the least insurance you must carry, whether the state asks for a bond, when you charge sales tax, and the deadlines that protect your right to be paid.
Plumbing in Maryland
- License you need
- Apprentice Plumber/Gas FitterRenews every two years
- Insurance you must carry
- $300,000plus $100,000 for property damage
- Workers' comp
- Required
- Maryland licenses the plumber, not the plumbing company. A business can only contract for plumbing work through a master plumber, and that person's number goes on every ad, contract and truck.
- A Maryland master plumber license covers natural gas work too. You do not need a second license to run a gas line to a water heater.
HVAC in Maryland
- License you need
- ApprenticeRenews every two years
- Insurance you must carry
- $300,000plus $100,000 for property damage
- Workers' comp
- Required
- Maryland has three contractor-level HVACR licenses. Master covers everything, master restricted covers one area such as refrigeration, and limited covers repair and maintenance only.
- The ladder is fixed. Four years and 6,000 hours as a licensed apprentice, then three years as a licensed journeyman, before you can sit the master exam.
Electrical in Maryland
- License you need
- Apprentice ElectricianRenews every two years
- Insurance you must carry
- $300,000plus $100,000 for property damage
- Workers' comp
- Required
- One state master electrician license lets you contract anywhere in Maryland. Some counties still run their own registration, and you have 60 days after the state license to sign up where you live or have your office.
- The master license takes seven years of work under a master electrician. Schooling can stand in for up to three of them.
Across states
Can you charge sales tax on labor? The rule in 25 states. Which states tax the work itself, which tax only the parts, and how a repair differs from a new install.