2.2 Experience and Character Requirements

Qualifying for a Contractor License

The MHIC does not issue a contractor license to just anyone who fills out a form. Bus. Reg. Title 8 requires each applicant to demonstrate experience, good character, and — for business entities — proper legal organization. Expect several exam questions on the details, especially the two-year experience rule and the SDAT filings.

The Two-Year Experience Requirement

An applicant for a contractor license must prove at least two (2) years of experience in home improvement work, construction, and/or related education. A few practical points the exam may probe:

• The experience can come from hands-on home improvement or construction work, or from related education (for example, formal construction or building-trades schooling) — or a combination of the two.
• The applicant must be able to prove the experience, not merely assert it. Employment records, prior licenses, education transcripts, and similar documentation support the claim.
• For a business entity, the experience is supplied through a qualifying individual associated with the company — the entity itself cannot have "two years on the tools."

Exam Before Application

The sequence matters. An applicant must pass the licensing examination administered by PSI before applying for the license. You cannot file the application first and sit for the exam later. In practice this means:

1. Register with PSI and schedule the contractor exam.
2. Pass the exam and keep the passing score documentation.
3. Include proof of the passing score with the license application to the Commission.

Exam trap: Questions that reverse the order — for example, "an applicant may take the exam within 90 days after filing the application." That is backwards. The passing exam score is a prerequisite to applying.

Criminal History and Character Review

The Commission evaluates the character of applicants. The rule to memorize: an applicant who has been convicted of a felony, or of a misdemeanor relating to a home improvement transaction, must provide the conviction records to the Commission with the application.

Key distinctions:

• The duty attaches to felonies of any kind — not just fraud or theft.
• For misdemeanors, the duty is narrower: only those relating to a home improvement transaction (for example, a misdemeanor conviction for contracting without a license or home improvement fraud).
• A conviction does not automatically bar licensure; the Commission reviews the records in deciding whether to grant the license. What is fatal is concealing a disclosable conviction.

Corporate and Business-Entity Applicants

When the applicant is a corporation (or similar entity), extra filings are required. A corporate applicant must submit:

• Its articles of incorporation, and
• A Certificate of Good Standing issued by the State Department of Assessments and Taxation (SDAT) — the Maryland agency that charters and tracks business entities.

The Certificate of Good Standing proves the corporation legally exists and is current on its state filings. An entity that has forfeited its charter or fallen behind on SDAT annual reports cannot obtain the certificate until it cures the problem.

Trade Name Registration

Many contractors do business under a name other than their legal name — "Smith Enterprises, Inc." operating as "Chesapeake Kitchen & Bath," for example. Maryland treats that as a trade name, and the statute layers two requirements:

1. The trade name must be checked for availability with the Commission — the MHIC will not approve a name deceptively similar to one already licensed.
2. The trade name must be registered with SDAT, and the certificate of trade name registration must be filed with the license application.

A sole proprietor who contracts under his or her own legal name needs no trade-name filing; the requirement attaches only when the public-facing business name differs from the legal name.

Exam trap: Candidates confuse the two agencies. Availability is checked with the Commission; the registration itself is made with SDAT, and the SDAT certificate accompanies the application. Remember that SDAT handles both the good-standing certificate and the trade-name registration — it is the state's business-registry agency.

Worked Scenario

Priya formed "Harbor View Renovations, Inc." last year, passed the PSI exam in March, and has three years of carpentry experience. She wants to contract with homeowners as "Harbor View Homes." What must accompany her application?

Proof of the passing PSI score and of her two-plus years of experience; the corporation's articles of incorporation and an SDAT Certificate of Good Standing; and — because she will use a trade name — an SDAT certificate of trade name registration, after first confirming with the Commission that "Harbor View Homes" is available. If she had any felony conviction, or a misdemeanor relating to a home improvement transaction, she would also have to include the conviction records.

Application Checklist Summary