Information, not legal adviceRules checked Oct 4, 2026
Deposit: one-third at most
Before or at signing
The limit
1/3
A deposit taken before or at signing can't be more than one-third of the price, and nothing is due before you sign.
Ask: Can the deposit at signing be one-third of the price or less?
Read the full rule
A contractor may not take any payment before the contract is signed, and the deposit taken before or at signing cannot be more than one-third of the contract price. After that deposit, the law does not set the payment schedule; it is whatever the contract says.
Cancel in writing by midnight of the fifth business day (seventh if you're 65+). Saturday counts. Money back in 10 business days.
Some sales are excepted, such as emergency work you ask for in a signed waiver.
The 5 exceptions, in the rule's words
You agreed to the deal on a visit to the seller's permanent store or showroom, after earlier negotiations.
You can cancel the transaction under the federal Consumer Credit Protection Act instead.
A real emergency (the law counts adding features that make a home accessible for someone with a mobility impairment or other disability): you contacted the contractor, you gave it a dated, signed statement in your own handwriting describing the emergency and giving up the right to cancel, and the contractor made a substantial start on the work in good faith.
The whole deal was done by mail, phone or electronic messages, with no other contact before the work was done.
A written change order to a contract you already signed, if you gave the contractor a dated, signed statement in your own handwriting giving up the right to cancel that change order.
Longer in some cases
7 instead of 5, for buyers age 65 or older.
Read the full rule
When it applies
The contractor or its representative personally solicited the sale (even if you invited them), you agreed to buy somewhere other than the contractor's place of business, such as your home, and the price is $25 or more. This is the Maryland Door-to-Door Sales Act. Saturday counts as a business day; Sundays and the listed holidays do not.
If the contractor or its salesperson sold you the job in person at your home or anywhere other than its place of business, you can cancel without penalty until midnight of the fifth business day after the sale (the seventh business day if you are 65 or older) by giving the seller written notice. Saturday counts as a business day; Sundays and certain holidays do not. The contractor must refund your payments within 10 business days of getting your notice.
Contractors doing this kind of work must hold a current Maryland Home Improvement Commission (MHIC) license.
Read the full rule
A Maryland contractor doing this kind of work must hold a current Maryland Home Improvement Commission (MHIC) license. The license number must be on your contract and the contractor's advertising. You can check a license with MHIC before you sign.
Who needs one: Anyone who does, or offers or agrees to do, a home improvement for an owner, and anyone who sells one (a salesperson license or a contractor license is needed). Home improvement means adding to, altering, remodeling, repairing or replacing an existing home or a structure next to it, or improving the land next to it, such as driveways, fences, decks, landscaping and pools. It also covers work on individual condominium units. The licensing law sets no dollar minimum.
Who doesn't
Employees who work for a contractor for a salary or wages and do not sell; clerical and retail staff of a licensed contractor dealing with customers on its premises; and solicitors who only telephone owners
Subcontractors working for an MHIC-licensed contractor (since July 1, 2016); only licensed contractors may sign contracts with homeowners
Architects, electricians, plumbers, HVACR contractors and other State- or locally-licensed tradespeople acting only within the scope of their license, or installing a central heating or air-conditioning system, and people selling work those tradespeople will do
State-licensed security systems technicians, and marine contractors licensed under the Environment Article
Work the law does not count as home improvement: building a new home, apartment buildings with four or more units, commonly owned areas of condominiums, and selling materials without installing them
Where the number must appear
the contract
advertising
both sides of the contractor's work vehicles
building permits
Issued by: Maryland Home Improvement Commission (MHIC), Maryland Department of Labor
An estimate isn't the contract. Ask for all 11 in writing before you sign.
Written, legible & signedA copy signed by them before work: show the rule's own words
In the rule's words
Be in writing and legible, describe every document it incorporates, and be signed by each party. You must get a copy signed by the contractor before work begins.
Name, phone & MHIC license #: show the rule's own words
In the rule's words
Show the contractor's name, address, telephone number and MHIC license number, plus the name and license number of any salesperson who sold you the job.
Start & finish datesWhen work begins and is mostly done: show the rule's own words
In the rule's words
Give the approximate dates the work will begin and be substantially completed.
Work, materials & price: show the rule's own words
In the rule's words
Describe the work and the materials to be used, and state the agreed price.
Monthly payments & chargesIf you pay monthly or with a finance charge: show the rule's own words
In the rule's words
State the number and amount of any monthly payments, including any finance charge, and describe any collateral securing what you owe.
MHIC licensing noticeWith MHIC's phone and website: show the rule's own words
In the rule's words
Include a notice with MHIC's phone number and website saying every contractor must be licensed by MHIC and anyone may ask MHIC about a contractor.
Guaranty Fund & bond noticeMediation, Guaranty Fund and a bond: show the rule's own words
In the rule's words
Include the MHIC notice that mediation is available through MHIC, that MHIC's Guaranty Fund may cover certain losses caused by licensed contractors, and that a performance bond is available for extra protection.
Mortgage or lien noticeIf payment is secured by your home: show the rule's own words
In the rule's words
If payment is secured by a mortgage or lien on your home: a notice in at least 10-point bold type on the first page, initialed by you, saying so and that you may rescind within 3 business days of signing.
Arbitration clause rulesIf there's a mandatory arbitration clause: show the rule's own words
In the rule's words
If there is a mandatory arbitration clause: name who will arbitrate, list any fees, say whether the decision is binding and that a Guaranty Fund claim waits until the arbitration ends, and have both sides initial and date it.
5-day cancel notice & formsIf sold in person away from their office: show the rule's own words
In the rule's words
If the job was sold to you in person away from the contractor's place of business (a door-to-door sale): a bold cancellation statement next to your signature, a separate Notice of Cancellation form in two copies, and an acknowledgment you sign saying you were told of your right to cancel. The contract must be in the same language as the sales pitch.
Solar: wildlife barrierUnless you waived it in writing: show the rule's own words
In the rule's words
For rooftop solar panels: include a wildlife barrier, unless you waived it after being told its cost and the risks of going without one.
Independently re-verified on 2026-10-04. Statutes read on mgaleg.maryland.gov: Business Regulation 4.5-101, 4.5-301, 8-101, 8-301, 8-302.1, 8-501, 8-504, 8-601, 8-615, 8-617, 9A-103 and 9A-301; Commercial Law 14-301, 14-301.1, 14-302, 14-302.1 and 14-303; Business Occupations 6-103, 6-301, 6-302, 6-605, 6-607, 12-103, 12-301 and 16-3A-01; Agriculture 5-207 and 5-209; Environment 13-101 and 13-301. COMAR 09.08.01.06, .08, .09, .25 and .26 were read on regs.maryland.gov, and the MHIC, State Board of Electricians, State Board of Plumbing and HVACR board pages on labor.maryland.gov. Every page loaded.
Deposit: Business Regulation 8-617(a) bars any payment before the contract is signed. 8-617(b) caps the deposit taken before or at signing at one-third of the contract price. The section lists no exceptions (none for special-order materials), so exceptions is an empty list. MHIC's contracts page says the law does not control the payment schedule after the first deposit. The app must not present one-third as a limit on later progress payments.
Cancellation wording: Commercial Law 14-302.1 and MHIC's door-to-door page say the seventh business day for buyers 65 or older. MHIC's contracts page and its FAQ say 'seventh day' without 'business'. Use the statute's business-day wording.
Business days: Commercial Law 14-301(b) counts every day except Sunday and nine listed holidays (New Year's Day, Washington's Birthday, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Columbus Day, Veterans' Day, Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day). Other holidays are not on that list.
Refund timing: 14-302(7) gives the seller 10 business days, not calendar days, to refund after it receives a valid cancellation. refundWithinDays = 10 means business days here. Under 14-303, if the seller breaks any rule in 14-302 (for example, leaves out the required notices), the buyer may cancel by notifying the seller in any manner and by any means.
Commercial Law 14-301.1(6) also excludes sales or rentals of real property, insurance and securities. They are not home improvement work, so they are left out of the exceptions list.
A separate right: when payment is secured by a mortgage or lien on the home, Business Regulation 8-501(c)(2) requires a first-page notice of a 3-business-day right to rescind. This is apart from the 5/7-business-day door-to-door right.
Installing only smoke, heat or carbon monoxide detectors is not a 'home improvement contract' under Commercial Law 14-301(e)(2). The longer 5/7-day home improvement period therefore does not apply to those jobs; if the sale is otherwise a door-to-door sale, the Act's general 3-business-day period in 14-302 does.
The required-notice wording differs. COMAR 09.08.01.26 requires notices on MHIC mediation, the Guaranty Fund, and that the homeowner 'may request that a contractor purchase a performance bond'. Statute 8-501(c)(1)(ix) says to advise the consumer of 'the right to purchase a performance bond'. MHIC's contracts page lists only the Guaranty Fund and bond items, not mediation. The app should say only that a performance bond is available for extra protection.
MHIC's home page says its Guaranty Fund can repay a homeowner's actual losses from a licensed contractor, up to the amount paid and capped at $30,000. Claims against one contractor are prorated when they total more than $250,000. The Fund applies only to work by licensed contractors.
MHIC's home page says the subcontractor license category ended July 1, 2016, subcontractors working for an MHIC-licensed contractor need no license, and only MHIC-licensed contractors may contract with homeowners. COMAR 09.08.01.06 still refers to 'subcontractors' displaying numbers on vehicles.
COMAR 09.08.01.08 makes getting every required permit the prime contractor's non-delegable duty. Business Regulation 8-504 bars local permit offices from issuing a home improvement permit without a licensed contractor's number, except for owner-performed work. Business Regulation 8-615 and COMAR 09.08.01.09 require the MHIC number in advertising.
New home construction is outside MHIC's license. MHIC's FAQ says new-home builders must register with the Attorney General's Home Builder Registration Unit; Business Regulation 4.5-301 requires home builder registration and 4.5-101 names the Attorney General's Consumer Protection Division. The Attorney General's own page was not opened.
Business Regulation 8-302.1 requires licensed contractors and license applicants to carry at least $500,000 in general liability insurance. MHIC's home page says this took effect June 1, 2024.
Plumbing: Business Occupations 12-103 says the State plumbing law does not apply in Baltimore County or in the parts of Montgomery and Prince George's Counties under the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission (WSSC), except for a few listed sections. The State Board of Plumbing page says those jurisdictions issue their own licenses under their own plumbing code. A plumbing license is needed everywhere, but there it is local, not state, so plumbing is not listed as a statewide credential.
Electrical: Business Occupations 6-607 bars providing electrical services for pay without a license issued under the electricians title, and 6-605 requires employed electricians to hold State Board licenses. Under 6-301 and 6-302 a county may also require local registration, and there the State license serves to obtain that registration. The app should not say a State license is the only electrical credential a job may need.
Verifier change: plumbing was removed from statewideCredentialedTrades because of the Baltimore County and WSSC carve-out in Business Occupations 12-103.
Verifier change: cleaning was removed from notCoveredTrades. MHIC's FAQ says only that carpet cleaning and chimney cleaning are not home improvement, while MHIC's what-is-home-improvement page lists sandblasting, acid treatment, sealants and waterproofing under 'Cleaning and Treatments' as work that usually requires an MHIC license, and the app's cleaning trade includes pressure washing. The slug could not be decided as a whole.
General information from official Maryland sources. For your situation, ask the state's consumer protection office or a lawyer.