How can I tell if my painter is licensed in Maryland?
Ask the painter for their Maryland Home Improvement Commission (MHIC) license number, then verify it at the board's public lookup. The license must be Active, the class must include Home Improvement Contractor, and there must be no open disciplinary actions. Groundcheck (earthmove.io/trust) does this in under 90 seconds and cross-checks court, OSHA, and BBB records simultaneously.
Confirming a painter's license in Maryland is a 3-step process. First, get the license number from the contractor — every legitimate painter working in Maryland should have one and should give it on request. If they refuse or hedge, walk away. Second, plug it into the Maryland Home Improvement Commission (MHIC) public lookup at https://www.dllr.state.md.us/license/mhic/. Third, verify three fields on the lookup result: license status (must read "Active"), expiration date (must be in the future), and disciplinary history (must be clean).
What classification matters: Home Improvement Contractor. Maryland painters working under any other classification are not authorized for the performs interior and exterior painting, surface preparation, drywall repair, and protective coating work on residential and commercial buildings you're hiring them for. Confirm the license covers the type of work being performed.
Red flags that the license isn't legitimate or the painter is misrepresenting: the license number doesn't return a result, the lookup returns a different name or business than you were given, the status is "Suspended" or "Inactive," the license is in another contractor's name (the painter is using someone else's license — illegal in every state), or the disciplinary history shows multiple open complaints.
What if the painter won't share their license number? In Maryland, every licensed painter is required to display the license number on all advertising, business cards, contracts, and vehicles. If they can't or won't provide it, they're either unlicensed or hiding something.
The fast path: run a free Groundcheck at earthmove.io/trust. Enter the contractor name and Maryland as the state. Groundcheck queries Maryland Home Improvement Commission (MHIC), the Secretary of State, federal court records, OSHA inspection history, and BBB complaints, then returns a single sourced verdict. The contractor is never notified.
Detailed Maryland painter licensing rules: earthmove.io/trust/license/painter/maryland.
Verify a Maryland painter now
Free Groundcheck cross-references Maryland Home Improvement Commission (MHIC) licensing with court records, OSHA history, and BBB complaints. Under 90 seconds. The contractor is never notified.